Sound Pass with Will Phalen & The Stereo Addicts

By Josh Adams Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published May 13, 2010 at 5:04 AM

After hearing the well-received album, "Middle West," it's easy to understand why Will Phalen and the Stereo Addicts have created a strong footprint in the region that bears their album's name.

Nominated for several awards, including three Radio Milwaukee listener awards and a Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) nod -- along with a spot among the top 30 Chicago releases of 2009, Will Phalen and company have established themselves as fixtures in the Midwest music scene.

Phalen, who has been actively playing in bands from his time at the University of Wisconsin, has put together a Milwaukee "supergroup" of sorts. Uber-utility man Eric "Doc" Holliday and drummer Aaron Vold helped set the coarse of Milwaukee music as members of Decibully. Guitarist Andy Gulotta was right there with them as a member of Freshwater Collins, while bass player Joe Ledger has been actively involved with several leading Milwaukee bands.

While the quintet works on a followup to "Middle West," Phalen and Holliday stopped by Mindpool Live headquarters to play a few tunes and talk about their dynamic approach to songwriting on this episode of "Sound Pass."

Josh Adams Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Mindpool Live Producer, Director and Blogger Josh Adams has made a career of following bands around the globe. He spent the first decade of his career as a video director and designer with Tina Turner, Beastie Boys, Barenaked Ladies, Janet Jackson and others. Josh now owns Mindpool Live, a film and video production company nestled in Milwaukee's East Side just steps from OnMilwaukee.com's headquarters.

Josh, along with Mindpool Live Producer Ryan Schaber, focus on the production of high-quality video vignettes that present some of the most intriguing bands in Milwaukee and the world. The Mindpool Live Web video series "Sound Pass" is an interview-based piece giving viewers an inside look at some of the country's most relevant musicians, while "Open Mic" is a intimate performance piece woven together with documentary style interviews -- giving viewers unprecedented access to the inner workings some of the most prolific artists in Milwaukee and the country. "Sound Pass" and "Open Mic" are featured in Josh's OnMilwaukee.com blog.

Josh grew up in South Milwaukee and resides in Wauwatosa with his wife and equally ambitious music connoisseur Sandi Anderson. Josh believes Milwaukee is music industry's best kept secret and hopes it won't be that way for long. "There are artists in Milwaukee and Wisconsin that are doing things that are unique to the whole world and the industry is beginning to notice."

Josh has recently directed or produced video for some of the largest festivals in the world including, Montreux Jazz Festival, ACL Festival, Coachella, Lollapalooza and Milwaukee's own Summerfest. He has also won two Midwest Emmy's for Mindpool's production of Bucks and Brewers programming.

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