{image1}Singer, songwriter, guitarist and power pop purveyor Nick Pipitone has been on the scene for years. But we'll forgive you if you don't know his name because even though he's been making some of the catchiest rock and roll in town, he's been doing it relatively quietly.
After a succession of bands over the years, Pipitone released "Music for Minivans" three years ago and it seemed to come and go with barely a notice here at home, despite the fact that numerous international mags hailed it for its smart, melodic pop that evoked the best of Squeeze and Elvis Costello & the Attractions. Pipitone's newest disc, the EP "Anything I Want to Say," was recorded with Daniel Holter at his Wauwatosa Burst Collective studio and released on his Burst Records.
Incendiarily hummable, the five-track EP is tuneful and addictive, and is the result of an unlikely collaboration; one between an "amateur" musician with a passion for power pop and a professional musician who makes his living creating music for television, movies and radio.
Pipitone's CD is the grittiest thing to emerge from Burst so far. But that's just fine, says everyone involved.
"Our different backgrounds meant that his EP became more than the sum of our parts," says Holter. "He is so schooled in 'his thing,' you know? I wanted to bring a wider lens to his songs, allow the 'pop' to come through without losing the 'power.' I am a bit more radio-friendly in my approach, I would say ... but I think Nick would say he's well represented in this recording. That always makes me happy as a producer."
To find out whether or not he's happy, we asked Pipitone about recording with Holter and about his new band.
OMC: Did you feel like you were taking a chance working with Daniel at Burst since he'd never really done a rock and roll record before?
NP: I never felt like I was taking a chance. Daniel has always been a pop guy, but not necessarily a power pop guy. The key for me was I think he is a rare breed in Milwaukee: someone who understands production. He knows how much of a difference a producer can make. He is looking for a certain level of performance out of musicians to take the sound to the next level. It was perfect for this situation; at the time we started I did not have a band so I let Daniel bring his guys in to record with me.
Fortunately -- or unfortunately -- as the project continued I got a band together. That's when Nick Verban introduced me to Don Moore, who plays all the electric guitars on my album and is in my band. He's brilliant.
OMC: Except for the drummer, you used some of the usual Milwaukee power pop suspects. What was the vibe like during the recording, as you sort of brought two worlds together? Did everything go smoothly; did you all speak the same language musically?
NP: Everything went really smoothly. It's not like my songs are challenging or require a special vibe. This is rock and roll. The other huge thing I have going for me is that I have a computer music rig set up in which I had recorded pretty fully realized demos of my songs. A lot of the tempos and parts and feels were set before we started. All the musicians had to do was listen, take notes and play.
OMC: Are you happy with the results? Is there something unexpected that came out of the sessions that you are especially satisfied about?
NP: I'm generally happy with the results. It's the best thing I've ever done to this point. It has revitalized me as a musician and songwriter. I'm very proud of it. The best thing that came out of the sessions was that I was able to have Don Moore play all the guitar parts and they sound great. His playing has allowed me to concentrate solely on singing and writing.
OMC: Is the EP a taste of a longer CD or is it everything that was recorded at the sessions?
NP: The EP was a taste of everything that was recorded. Daniel wanted to start out with five songs, send it out to some of his people and see if anyone is interested in financing the rest of the album. For me, it really doesn't matter. I have a lot of songs I want to do, so if we don't find someone to finance finishing this one I will do one on my own. I really want to do a record with my band. There's great energy and chemistry there that I want to capture.
OMC: What's next? Will you do a full disc with Daniel or use the EP to try and get a label deal?
NP: When my band finally does a record I'd like Daniel to be involved. Having his head in the room helps. I'm going to let the EP take its course, play some gigs then decide from there what to do.
Pipitone celebrates the release of "Anything I Want to Say (EP)" on Burst Records, Friday, July 22 at Points East Pub at 10 p.m. Stall also plays. Meanwhile, the title track of the disc also opens OnMilwaukee.com's "OMCD_0.10" summer Milwaukee music sampler CD.
Pipitone's Web site is nickpipitone.com.
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.
