The Delta Routine

The State of straight-ahead blues based party rock has diminished in Milwaukee. It used to be that you could catch The Probers or someone of that ilk on any given weekend. Hope has been resurrected in Brew Town's own Delta Routine. With the obligatory three-piece line up, drummer Kyle Ciske, bassist Lewis Gatford and vocalist/guitarist nick Amadeus come on like a volcano. Blues, rock, and jam combine for a sound reminiscent of the first Jet release. They have followed the same path taken by acts such as the Black Crows by putting out a record that flows from track to track without losing a step. Their debut album, Donna, was produced by Mike Hoffmann. The disc pounds and jumps with stand-out tracks such as Little Truth and Donna which beat simple chord progressions into submission in a delicious way. Songs such as Once More show the band boogie side with a punk edge. Live, the act steams up a room. Their following is growing at an amazing rate. - Maximum Ink - Lane Klozier

Gritty vocals, check. Crunchy guitars, check. Rock 'n' roll swagger, check. Delta Routine has the quintessential classic-rock sound down pat
- MKE Magazine

Of note from Milwaukee, The Delta Routine brings reverb-drenched revivalist rock to the stage, with an emphasis on an era when rock itself still leaned heavily on blues. Fresh off releasing their full-length, "Donna", the band has a healthy amount of originals but can bust out any number of covers with the same old school, amps-to-eleven energy. There's no doubting the band's talent, energy and classic sound that'll surely draw a mighty crowd. - Maximum Ink

If you're basing everything on its name -- and the fact that The Up & Under Pub has become its honorary "home venue" -- The Delta Routine could easily come across as a blues band.

But based on the band's sound, you'd be more likely to peg the trio as classically-tweaked bar rock.

But ask the members -- Nick Amadeus (guitar / vocals), Lewis Gatford (bass) and Kyle Ciske (drums) -- and they'll tell you that the crux of the band lies somewhere in the grey area that exists between stringent music labels.

The Delta Routine takes pieces of the past -- a bit of the Rolling Stones, a hint of The Who -- and transforms that inspiration into a more modern take on the rawness of the gritty genre.

But when it comes down to it, no matter how many decades it's had to evolve, rock 'n' roll is still grounded in what it's always been grounded in: Girls. And The Delta Routine's debut full-length album, "Donna," is a case in point.

"Collectively, I would probably have to say this album is about the great and not-so-great women in and out of my life," says principle songwriter Amadeus. In the rock world of heartbreak set to song, he is hardly alone. Still, "Donna" has a unique way of expressing what could be a sappy sentiment as something a lot more fun.

The CD -- released Jan. 19 and produced by Mike Hoffmann, of E.I.E.I.O. fame, and who worked with The Verve Pipe and the Violent Femmes -- plays out like the soundtrack to a good night out. It's very Milwaukee in nature; that is to say, it's eager and energetic, loads of fun and goes down as smoothly as a pint of Pabst.

And although Amadeus admits the blues have an enormous influence on his band -- so much so that an early Delta song, "One Day in the Rain," received nomination for best blues song of the year by the Independent Music Awards -- he says the band name is not a reference to the Delta blues, one of the earliest and most influential forms of the genre.

"We are influenced by all sorts of different genres of music," he says. "Delta is the Greek symbol for change, and Routine suggests a pattern. I guess it's just a paradox."

Paradoxes aside, one thing is straightforward and clear: The Delta Routine is determined to make a Milwaukee impact. We think it's on the right track.

- OnMilwaukee.com