Back in December 2012, we reported that Aimee Mann and Ted Leo were collaborating on a song about Milwaukee.
Well, the song has now officially emerged on Rolling Stone's site and despite Mann's suggestion that the Fonz reference in the earliest version of the song might not survive, Bronzie is – as Leo assured his Twitter followers – mentioned in the first line.
The collaboration is credited to The Both and the song will be the second track on the duo's self-titled debut, set for April 15 release on Mann's SuperEgo label.
"Walking along Milwaukee's riverfront between sound check and show time last year, Aimee and I were startled by a very disconcerting bronze statue of Arthur Fonzerelli, a.k.a. 'The Fonz,' a.k.a. 'The Bronze Fonz,'" Leo told Rolling Stone. "In that very moment, we knew we had to start a band to immortalize it (more than a bronze statue already immortalizes something), and the Both was born."
Live versions of the song surfaced last year on the internet, including this one recorded in Lisbon in November, and featuring Mann's not-especially-flattering explanation of the song's inspiration.
Interestingly, last May, Pennsylvania singer/songwriter Ben Smith was inspired by Mann's inspiration by the Bronze Fonz and wrote his own song.
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.
