In spring we told you that Chester French, the Massachusetts-based band that features Milwaukee-area native D.A. Wallach, was in town recording its new CD at Wauwatosa's Burst HQ studios.
Now, the band will play a free show Thursday night at Washington Park's bandshell.
"After months in seclusion working on our next album, we are returning to Milwaukee, one of our home towns, for a free show," wrote Wallach in an e-mail to fans this week.
"We’re partnering with Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin to put on this free show for the community, and we hope that through the show we can raise awareness of Milwaukee's teen pregnancy epidemic and the preventive services that Planned Parenthood provides for the community."
The show starts at 4 p.m. with DJ Madhatter and Prophetic. Chester French performs from 6 to 7 p.m. Admission is free and the show is open to all.
There will also be health care information and free literature and giveaways from Planned Parenthood and other community organizations. Planned Parenthood has posted a Party in the Park microsite for the event.
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.
