If all you heard about in Wisconsin Grammy Award nominees this week was the name Bon Iver, you missed a lot of other Badger State music news.
Bon Iver nabbed four nominations for his eponymous record this year on Jagjaguwar – Best Alternative Music Album, Record of the Year (for "Holocene"), Best New Artist (yes, puzzling, and if you ask me, this sums up the Grammys, but I digress) and Song of the Year ("Holocene" again).
But the Florentine Opera Co. was also nominated three times for the Naxos Records disc of its production of "Elmer Gantry": Best Contemporary Classical Composition, Best Engineered Album (Classical) and Producer of the Year (Classical).
Hometown boy Eric Benet was nominated for Best Tradition R&B Performance for his song, "Sometimes I Cry," Madison's Butch Vig was cited for his production of the latest Foo Fighters record ("Wasting Light"), Nicolet High alumna Tierney Sutton earned a nod for Best Jazz Vocal Album ("American Road") and Skylar Grey, who was born in Mazomanie as Holly Brook Hafermann, was nominated in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category for "I Need A Doctor," on which she worked with no less than Dr. Dre and Eminem.
Finally, Rihanna garnered a number of nominations based on her latest record, which was recorded, in part, at Wauwatosa's Burst HQ.
Daniel Holter, who owns the studio, tells me that even if Rihanna takes home some statuary for her "Loud" disc, the studio won't get one.
But, he says with a smile, "We're still waiting to receive our gold/platinum plaque for 'Loud.' That one I'll fight for."
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.
