This Wednesday the Whigs, a rock band from Athens, Ga., will bring their incendiary sound to the Majestic Theatre here in Madison.
Once called the best unsigned band in America"" by Rolling Stone, their emergence in the modern rock scene is part of the wave of back-to-basics rock bands that have chosen to stress energy and exuberance instead of overly-polished recordings full of overdubs and harmonies. Although this sound may not get the Whigs much airtime on the mixtapes of any teeny-bopper Aguilera/Lohan/Maroon 5 acolytes, it is clear that this stripped-down rock sound makes for a vicious live show.
In 2005, the Whigs were just three mild-mannered college kids going to class on weekdays and playing shows across the Southeast on weekends. In the spirit of the American dream, the Whigs managed to self-release their first album, Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip during that summer on a very limited budget.
""We didn't have much money, so we decided we needed to buy equipment instead of going to a studio,"" drummer Julian Dorio explained. ""So we bought all the equipment on the Internet and recorded in a frat house that was vacant for the summer - a big, southern mansion - and then when we were done we sold back all of the equipment on eBay."" They actually sold some of the pieces back for more than they paid for them, making the album a profitable venture before a single record was sold.
The circumstances surrounding the Whigs' new album, Mission Control, were much more conventional than Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip. ""For the new album we went to Los Angeles and recorded at Sunset Sound. The place has been around forever - the Stones and Led Zeppelin recorded there, and all the Doors albums were made there,"" said Dorio.
Although the work environment for the new album was much more posh, the output was purposefully more raw and authentic than their previous release. ""The goal for Mission Control was to record in a way that was more indicative of the live show,"" said Dorio. One need only YouTube ""the Whigs""
to get a better picture of what Dorio and the Whigs were looking for on their new album.
The Whigs' live set is a clenched-knuckle burst of white-hot sexuality, that draws on the songs of old masters like the Stones and the Who, as well as more recent rockers like the White Stripes and Oasis.
One question often put to the Whigs involves the band's name ,which, according to Dorio, came about rather organically. It wasn't until, while booking their first gig at a bar when they were asked what they are called, that lead singer Parker Gispert and the rest of the band realized they had forgotten this most crucial component of the band's success. Gispert told the bar owner he'd call back, and after 30 minutes of deliberation in a parking lot, the band had arrived at the Whigs. Dorio is quick to note that any relation between his band's name and the British political party of the late 17th century is purely coincidental.
What is no coincidence is that the Whigs continue in the strong tradition of bands from Athens, which is widely known as a Mecca of rock music in the South. Those looking for a bit of heat on this witch's tit known as the state of Wisconsin need look no further than the Majestic this Wednesday. They'll make your innards warmer than a fifth of whiskey.
