OnMilwaukee.com photographer Whitney Teska -- who is half of the multimedia hitmaking team that also includes Julie Lawrence -- is likely too modest to boast about the fact that he's touring Europe this month with William Elliott Whitmore. So I'll do it.
Whitney, who was once the drummer for Racine's Forstella Ford, has toured the continent before, with his band Torn Avalanche. But this time, he's the sole accompanist invited by Whitmore to perform on the tour, which kicks off in England on Sept. 11 and finished in Holland on Oct. 3.
Whitney told me recently that he will likely perform part of the set with Whitmore, who will then play solo the rest of the evening.
Whitmore's ANTI- Records debut, "Animals in the Dark," was released in February.
Sept. 11 -- South St., Reading, UK
Sept. 12 -- Belgian Cafe, Ramsgate, UK
Sept. 13 -- End of the Road Festival, Dorset, UK
Sept. 14 -- The Relentless Garage, London, UK
Sept. 15 -- STADTGARTEN STUDIO 672, Cologne, Germany
Sept. 17 -- Paradiso, Amsterdam, Holland
Sept. 18 -- Leffinge Festival Leuren, Leffinge, Belgium
Sept. 20 -- Whelan's, Dublin, Ireland
Sept. 21 -- Roisin Dubh, Galway, Ireland
Sept. 22 -- Cyprus Avenue, Cork, Ireland
Sept. 24 -- Open House Festival, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Sept. 25 -- Open House Festival, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Sept. 26 -- Reeperbahn Festival, Hamburg, Germany
Sept. 27 -- Magnet, Berlin, Germany
Sept. 28 -- Ut Connewitz, Leipzig, Germany
Sept. 29 -- Manufaktor, Schorndorf, Germany
Sept. 30 -- Muffathalle Cafe, Munich, Germany
Oct. 1 -- Emile Vache Art Cafe, Metz, France
Oct. 2 -- Botanique, Brussels, Belgium
Oct. 3 -- Take Root Festival, Groningen, Holland
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.
