Aaron Spransy loves a good sandwich. And really, who doesn't? They have the ability to offer a sampling of the majority of the food groups in one well-crafted little package and for Spransy, they also work as a nice vehicle for describing his band, Those Royals.
So, what are the ingredients for a tasty rock n' roll sandwich, according to this Milwaukee musician?
"Jeff (Grabowski) and Mike (Stewart) provide the buns," he says of the Royals' bass player and drummer. "J.D. (Kinart, lead guitar) is the toppings and I am the cold cuts."
But for those of you who don't think in terms of lunch meats, this Milwaukee quartet could be appropriately described as pleasant and poppy indie rock without the typical jaded edge so often found in any genre that utilizes the suffix "-core."
Sometimes moody and melodic, sometimes packing a punkish punch, Those Royals have, for the past two years, crafted catchy, yet original ideas into impressively tight and well-balanced songs. They don't whine, they don't scream, and Spransy's lyrics are thoughtful, smart and definitely engaging for any local listener.
"The Great Escape" -- a track off their August 2005 debut "Sleepy Suburbia" -- reveals "When it's Friday in Milwaukee all the old folks go to fish fries," which is not only quite accurate, but also, spoken like a true blue Brew City slicker. Spransy humors us by saying -- whether he intended to or not -- "M'waukee."
The hooky "I Was a Wedding DJ," which has an especially Jimmy Eat World, dream-like vocal presence to it, is, apparently, somewhat autobiographical.
"Jeff and I were both actually wedding DJs before we knew each other and J.D., believe it or not, was a DJ at a strip club," admits Spransy. "Jeff got paid like $6 an hour and, as a band, there are many nights that we don't make much more than that."
All hailing from the area, except Appleton native Stewart, the band agrees that while support in this city tends to be "hit or miss," Milwaukee is lucky to have a few crucial resources, like 91.7 WMSE.
"We are in love with WMSE. It's nice to have such an outlet in a city where the small commercial market cares little about local bands."
They've played twice at WMSE as part of the Milwaukee Sound Environment Project and Spransy says they have plans to return to the studio in February or March.
"Lately it does seem as though we're getting a lot more support and interest (in Milwaukee), which is really nice," he says. "Pretty much no matter what we always amuse our selves and have fun."
You can have fun with Those Royals at the Cactus Club's "Bloody Sleeping Bags" show on Friday the 13th of January with Awesome Car Funmaker and the Willis. The show starts at 10 p.m., but the backdrop of "Jason" movies goes all night.
The band's very fun Web site can be found here: thoseroyals.com.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
