08-07-2009
ON A ROLL: Portage native headed to Music Fest as member of Johnny Rocker & The High Rollers
By Craig Spychalla, Portage Daily Register, Capital Newspapers | Posted: Friday, August 7, 2009 10:30 pm
For an online link to the article, Click here.
One wants to be a lawyer for rock stars. Another wrote a popular Green Bay Packers anthem, but no longer plays it. And Johnny Rocker - well, he just wants to find the biggest beer tent.
Touring Midwest towns on a bus and only coming home with $50 was fun for Johnny Rocker and the High Rollers. But that was a handful of years ago, before band members had families and priorities changed.
Now, the Madison-area band is happy to be building on its local celebrity one show at a time - and taking legendary country and rock songs and putting its own twist on them.
While Johnny Rocker and the High Rollers started off in 2003 by writing original material, the dream now is about getting people on the dance floor with songs they know.
"We did a full CD and some demos, and that was fun for awhile. But the big thing was money," said lead singer Johnny Rocker, who was born John Richards. "When you keep traveling around with five guys in a bus and not getting paid very well, it gets old after awhile."
Next Saturday, Johnny Rocker and the boys will play the fourth annual Music Fest in Portage, along with Westside Andy/Mel Ford Band. The band is making a name for itself in Wisconsin by keeping a level head about a career in music.
"Right now, it's just exciting. We've got a lot of fans that come out and support us. There is a buzz in the air," Rocker said. "(We want to be) the next big beer tent band."
The song
If the Green Bay Packers tempt fans with a playoff run this year, Jeff Brikowski will no doubt hear more requests.
But a note to fans: The Green Bay Packers song "Go You Packers Go" is retired.
Brikowski, who plays guitar with Johnny Rocker and the High Rollers, penned the song during his nine-year run with the Wizenhiemers.
"I wrote the song, but Sam (Daily) sang it. It's kind of awkward to ask John to sing it, so we don't go there," Brikowski said. "It's kind of retired. But people still ask for it."
And with no Brett Favre, the lyrics would need to be updated.
Brikowski and High Rollers drummer, Scott Theis, were both members of the Wizenhiemers - a Madison band that took on a heavy touring schedule with about 100 dates a year.
"Back then I was a lot more starry-eyed," Brikowski said. "Writing songs and playing in mostly original bands and playing in clubs for 20 bucks a night."
Brikowski, who played college football for a year, said he joined a band after realizing they hit much harder in college than high school football. And he could get just as many girls playing in a band.
But the touring grind over the years became old.
"When (the band) broke up, we took time off and wanted to get something going that was less stressful ... and (still) have some creative outlet," Brikowski said.
"Scott got us together with John, who I always thought was a great lead singer. And we hit it off really well," Brikowski said.
When Johnny Rocker and the High Rollers first took the stage, the idea was to make their own music, and a name for themselves.
Rocker said he knew the band had something special when they started with a sound he called "boot-stompin' rock 'n' roll."
But priorities soon shifted to their families, full-time jobs and a more normal life - one not on the road.
"The reality of making a living off (playing) and selling songs, the odds aren't with you. Right now, we're kind of looking to still have that band experience and be realistic about that," Brikowski said.
The sax man
Justin O'Rourke's goal in the music business is not to stand on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans. He just wants to be the lawyer for those guys.
While he's still working on his law degree, O'Rourke is carving out a career in the music industry by wearing many hats.
He's the saxophone player in Johnny Rocker and the High Rollers, he has his own music agency, and he's finishing school - all while holding down a full-time job.
O'Rourke, who grew up in Portage, found himself playing in Johnny Rocker two weeks after he graduated high school.
The only trouble was that he was into jazz, not rock.
While attending Portage High School, O'Rourke played with the UW-Baraboo/Sauk County Campus Community Band. It was the community band's director, Claude Cailliet, who suggested O'Rourke play with a new band being formed by Johnny Rocker and two former members of the Wizenhiemers.
"I met them and played a couple of times," O'Rourke said. "July 2, 2003, was our first show. At that time we did a lot of original music, but now we focus a little more on covers."
By performing around the Madison area and meeting more people in the music business, O'Rourke became involved in other bands and decided to create The Shamrock Agency in 2005. And now the agency is starting to take on bigger acts.
O'Rourke said last weekend he was in Iowa trying to set up an '80s reunion tour that would include Tommy Tutone and A Flock of Seagulls.
"I'm also working with Tiffany and the lead singer of Survivor," he said.
While he went to college as a music education major, O'Rourke's goal now is to finish law school and become an entertainment attorney. But he has no plans to ever leave the stage himself.
"I think I have (to play). I think I would miss it too much if I don't. It's been a hobby since the fifth grade," he said.
Keeping the dance going
Going to a Johnny Rocker concert is about having a good time.
The band realizes people come to festivals around the state wanting to hear music they know.
And Johnny Rocker gives that to them - with a curve and a few sharp twists.
While the group hasn't stopped writing original songs, their mainstay is putting their own spin on classics like the Kenny Rogers hit song "The Gambler."
"It starts out the typical way, but launches into a Ramones style of it," Brikowski said.
Putting their own twist on music is not only about making a song their own, it's also about keeping the band together.
"You see a lot of other bands go through band mates," Rocker said. "I think because they cover music to a tee, and it does get boring."
Brikowski said they want to keep the dance floor going, because if that happens, the owners or organizers of an event will hire you back. And hopefully fans also will come back and buy a T-shirt.
"When I was in college, 'you're only in it for the money' was a bad thing to say. Now it's not," Brikowski said of trying to make the venture profitable.
Summer is a busy time for the band; it averages about four shows a month. Rocker said the buzz around the band is bigger and better than ever.
And keeping the shows in southern Wisconsin allows these guys with day jobs to live the rocker life at least once a week.
"We play a lot of places. Three of us have families, and none of us want to ruin the relationships we have at home," Brikowski said.
But the chance to play in front of a large crowd - if only for a weekend - still beckons.
"My wife wonders why I do (it). My second wife, by the way," Brikowski said.
