Local hard rock outfit Enemy Star has called it quits, according to guitarist and founder Paris Ortiz, who wrote in today to say the band will play two final gigs this weekend, including one at Club Anything with a special surprise guest ... one that is closely tied to an Enemy Star band member.
In a Facebook post, Ortiz and singer Kassy Gruszkowski wrote:
"It’s not very often that bands can genuinely claim to end on good terms. This is a rare occurrence, and we are very happy to say we are fortunate enough to go our separate ways with fond memories and feelings.
"We’ve had an excellent run since the fall of 2009. We put out 'Light It Up,' our first and last album. We’ve gotten great coverage in various publications both online and in print, and we had the opportunity to play on Fox 6 Wake Up morning news. We’ve played tons of great gigs with many talented bands. We even started writing new tunes. Yet, things began to slow down for us and some of us got involved in other creative outlets. No complaints or anger here – we are all very proud and supportive of the accomplishments of our members, even if it means the band ends. Our main concern is seeing that everyone is happy, and sometimes that means we end up pursuing other endeavors. We have other fantastic things to look forward to and will continue to support each other as we always have.
"You’ll certainly see Paris around the music scene. He has lots of exciting plans hidden away, so don’t lose track of him. Dan (Kubinski) has practically set his bass on fire with all of his adventures with Die Kreuzen and Boy Dirt Car. Kassandra is getting swept up in theater and acting, and will continue to release music with The Mill Dogs and John Prassas. Mike (Olson), best known as the monster behind the kit of Realm … what kind of secret planning has he done, and what does he have in store for the future?
"Try not to think of this as a sad thing. We’ve celebrated our successes, and now as we depart, we celebrate our futures. Think of it instead as 'Enemy Star is going Supernova.'"
Catch the star before it burns itself out on Friday, May 17 at Club Anything, 805 S. 5th St., and Saturday, May 18 at Phat Headz in Green Bay with Alleyway and Old Nails.
We’ve got two final shows lined up for May 17 and 18. We’ll be rocking out at Club Anything in Milwaukee on May 17 with some very special guests, though we can’t say who… Let’s just say they may have to use a fake band name for the evening. On May 18 we will be bringing down the house at Phat Headz in Green Bay.
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.
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