Litmus Vinyl

By James Livesey


With a dearth of songwriters and 25 originals in
their repertoire, Litmus
Vinyl routinely plays three-hour sets, allowing them to show off the
creative edge they hold over many of their peers.
"We have four songwriters in
the band," said guitarist Chad Sikkink. "We can
all write fast, slow, happy or sad." Sikkink and Seamus Holloway are the two
main songwriters for Litmus Vinyl.
Holloway also plays guitar and harmonica and is the band's lead singer. Jess
Hrobar provides keyboards and vocals, Reed Fox plays bass and Bill Pogue is
the drummer.
Sikkink, Holloway and Fox all met when they were freshmen at the
University
of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
"Seamus and I first played together at the end of
freshman year, doing coffee
shops," Sikkink said. "Reed auditioned for that band, but he was too good."
Sikkink said Hrobar has been contributing more in terms of writing and
singing as of late, too. Pogue is the only member who doesn't write songs.
"Bill
doesn't write, but he can," Sikkink said. "He's probably the only one
in the band who can play everyone else's instrument." And the cross over
doesn't end there. Litmus Vinyl's approach to song-writing
is very democratic.
"I wouldn't consider a song finished until the whole band
gets a look at it,"
Sikkink said.
It's all about the crowd
And even more people get involved when it
comes to Litmus Vinyl's live shows.
Sikkink said live shows are all about "crowd
reaction - complete and total.
If the crowd is up, it makes it a lot of fun."
He said the band's sound changes
with the crowd.
"It all depends on the mood," he said. "Some shows we sound like
a jam band,
and sometimes we sound like a country band. We do about 90 percent
originals." But the band isn't afraid to dust off a cover, especially a
classic.
"Our favorite cover is 'A Day in the Life,'" Sikkink said. "We're all
Beatles
fans." With a nod to "the whole life of classic rock," Sikkink explained his
own
musical evolution.
"When I was young, the easiest way to play guitar was to play
the blues," he
said. "That progressed into more jam-based music, and that morphed into
alternative-country." Chi-Town next on wish list
Litmus Vinyl has a self-titled
CD, released in October 2004, that's available
on their Web site. Their EP, also self-titled, is out of print, but songs
from it are available to download. Sikkink said the band already has enough
new material for another EP. He said the songs would either be demos for a
new recording project, or be released as is.
Although the hope is to eventually
land gigs in Chicago and Madison, for now,
Litmus Vinyl only plays in the Milwaukee area.
"We've never toured outside of
Milwaukee," Sikkink said. "I honestly don't
know why."
He did mention, however, why Litmus Vinyl doesn't normally share
the bill
with other bands.
"In our career, we haven't played with a whole lot of other
acts," he said.
"We got sick of other bands promising a whole lot of people (would come to
the show), and then having everyone show up just to see us." And filling the
house is precisely what Litmus Vinyl hopes to do this
Saturday when they play at The Highbury Pub.
"(To) anyone that hasn't gone
there, I would suggest it," Sikkink said of The
Highbury Pub. "Having no cover at the door is huge. It's really nice to play
to a full house. They definitely bring in a diverse blend of music." On Stage
Who: Litmus Vinyl
When: 10 p.m. Saturday, April 23
Where: The Highbury Pub, 2322
S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
Contact: (414) 294-4400, www.thehighbury.com or
www.litmusvinyl.com - The Bayviewer,