When Colyn Cameron and his band Wake Owl made their Milwaukee debut at the Cactus Club back in February, the debut EP, "Wild Country," had just been released.
The visit here was part of the band’s first U.S. tour and in Bay View they were at the bottom of a three-band bill. Since then, they’ve completed that tour, have written new material for a full-length they’ll begin recording this summer and today Wake Owl plays Bonaroo.
Anecdotally, I've been hearing songs from the EP, especially "Gold," which had been featured on "Grey's Anatomy" last fall, in shops, on the radio ... seemingly everywhere.
The spring and summer tour began in late May and on Tuesday, June 18, Wake Owl plays a 7 p.m., $10 show in The Pabst Pub. Recently, we got a chance to catch up with Cameron, who we interviewed in advance of the Cactus gig, too.
OnMilwaukee.com: How have things changed for you and the band since we last talked three months ago?
Colyn Cameron: Three months ago we were preparing for our first U.S. tour and we were playing with a new rhythm section. A lot of new stuff. We were a little bit in the dark about our own immediate future. How the four-piece would suit the EP songs, how the shows would be having never been to most of the cities before, etc.
OMC: How did that go?
CC: We were very fortunate on that tour. Good turnouts, some really fun shows, and each show we got stronger as a band. It's hard to talk about the outside of what we actually experience. We will see how this tour goes as it's just beginning. But the band is tighter, better friends and we have a new – used – van! We are having fun.
OMC: When you came to Milwaukee in February, you played the Cactus Club...
CC: It was great! Cool venue! Unfortunately most of us were sick that night so we didn't have the most energy, but it was one of the best crowds of the tour.
OMC: The record was basically just out at that point. Did you find folks already knew the songs?
CC: We were opening for two bands so I wasn't even sure how many folks were there for us. People seemed into what we were doing.
OMC: How was your Milwaukee experience? Did you get to see anything other than the venue?
CC: Absolutely nothing beside Whole Foods and the venue, which is the case in a lot of cities.
OMC: This time you'll play the Pabst, which an historic old theater. Really beautiful and with an amazing backstage with a chef. Is there a jump to bigger venues happening?
CC: Well my understanding is we are playing the bar in the theater, so not so big but it's exciting to be playing our own show in Milwaukee and we will put on the best show we can! There isn't a big jump happening anywhere really. We're building this. It's fun.
OMC: Are you bringing us a bunch of new songs?
CC: Yup. The EP is only five songs. A show has to be 10-12 to not completely disappoint people, so you do the math. Should be fun. We are working on a lot of new stuff as we are heading into the studio this July.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
