Cream City Soundcheck Features Milwaukee's Attributes and National Bands

doc|UWM, a documentary center housed in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts Film Department, in collaboration with Pabst/Riverside/Turner, is pleased to announce that the national bands Generationals and YACHT have confirmed their participation in Cream City Soundcheck. This exciting new project brings together the very best of Milwaukee's music scene with the city's unique historical and cultural landscapes to create a video series that is as unique as the city we live in -- diverse, experimental, and creative.

Since January 2011, 18 doc|UWM students have been developing video documentaries of up-and-coming touring musicians and musical groups that are playing concerts at historic Turner Hall in Milwaukee.They have been documenting these musicians playing in concert and also experiencing our city's interesting landmarks, people and events. Students are now working with national bands that are on tour here in Milwaukee, with Generationals and YACHT as the first two national bands to be confirmed. Students will conclude filming soon, and post-production will finish in the summer of 2011 with a target project unveiling in fall of 2011.

"We know that our students are endlessly creative and this project gives them the chance to flex their creative muscles, gain skills in documentary filming and have an invaluable professional experience," said Wade Hobgood, dean of the Peck School of the Arts."We're thrilled that Pabst/Riverside/Turner is invested in this project, and believe this is yet another great example of how creative collaborations between higher education and industry can help raise Milwaukee's profile."

The five- to seven-minute videos will be pushed out to the world via social media and online marketing. They will also be accessible on a dedicated website created by Peck School design students that will include links to the interesting places the musicians visit and Milwaukee music venue websites.

"This projects gives our students an intense and exhaustive hands-on crash course in various modes of documentary. We teach them to be fast thinking, creative problem solvers, which helps when you only have a subject in town for a day or less," says Ryan Sarnowski, project director of doc|UWM. "Thankfully, we have some very gracious and talented local acts who have let our students practice their documentary skills by making small documentaries that highlight up-and-coming bands with strong Milwaukee roots so that they are now ready to work with national bands."

Adds Andrew Nelson, Pabst/Riverside/Turner public relations manager, "We've enjoyed working with Peck School doc|UWM students on this great project.From our lakefront to our many museums, unique neighborhoods, restaurants and bars, we have a lot to be proud of in Milwaukee.Cream City Soundcheck is a distinctive and fun way to capture this vibrancy and spread it around the world."

Funding for this project has been gratefully provided by The Herzfeld Foundation, Julia and David Uihlein, and the Wisconsin Preservation Fund, Inc.

"Cream City Soundcheck has been a great experience, not only am I learning the technical-side of filming live concerts, but it is also giving me a chance to explore the music scene in Milwaukee. It is letting us show a side of Milwaukee that not everyone sees at first glance," said senior Travis Torok.

About doc|UWM
doc|UWM is a documentary media center that provides students the opportunity to work on professional productions and learn the art, craft and business of making media. Based in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts Film Department, doc|UWM students and affiliated faculty collaborate on feature-length documentaries for public television broadcast, short form videos that raise awareness about a variety of contemporary political and social issues, as well as boundary-defying projects like our animated poetry series, Poetry Everywhere. Over 300 students, both undergraduates and graduates, have made over 120 videos on 12 projects that have taken students all over the globe, from filming with urban track clubs in Milwaukee, to digging through the National Archives, to sailing Lake Michigan, to trekking through the jungles of Laos.

About Pabst/ Riverside/ Turner Hall
Located in the heart of downtown Milwaukee, the Pabst Theater, Riverside Theater, and Turner Hall Ballroom have quickly become Milwaukee's premier touring destinations for some of today's biggest names in music and comedy. Hosting artists from Neil Young and My Morning Jacket to Jerry Seinfeld and Louis C.K., these historical and architectural marvels represent not only the rich, cultural heritage of Milwaukee's past, but also the city's vibrant future in nighttime entertainment that still lies ahead

About GENERATIONALS
Generationals are an American indie rock duo formed in New Orleans, Louisiana. The duo, consisting of Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer, released their debut album, Con Law, in July 2009. They our now touring for their second full-length album, Actor-Caster, just released.

About YACHT
YACHT is an American band from Portland, Oregon, Marfa, Texas, and Los Angeles, CA comprised of core group members Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans. They are currently on their "Road to Utopia World Tour 2011".

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