« Nov 22nd Sullivan Hall FINALS Showcases Best of NYC!!! | Main | The Road To Rock Stardom – Chapter 2 »
Local Band Has Much To Be Thankful
By Gregg | December 6, 2008
BY JANET ORTEGON • Sheboygan Press staff • November 28, 2008
Well, that might be overstating a little, but just six months after winning the title of Sheboygan’s Best Band, local band Benson Klemme is trying to land a record deal and a yearlong tour in a national battle of the bands sponsored by Gorilla Productions of Cleveland, Ohio.
The band, fronted by and named for 30-year-old Ben Klemme of Sheboygan, is a quintet of musicians that is relatively new in the universe of rock bands with one foot in the pond of big-time record labels.
Klemme and vocalist Scott Schmidt form the core of the band, and the other three members — Jenna Lee Krueger on keyboards, Matt Burzon on bass and Jeff Schloesser on drums — came on board just recently.
The band has already made it through the first level of competition in the Gorilla Productions contest, culminating in a show Nov. 2 at the Miramar Theater in Milwaukee. They won that first round, earning them a spot in the second-round competition, which will wrap up Dec. 20 at a battle of the bands show at Milwaukee’s Rave Theater.
Ray Rowe, a talent buyer at Gorilla Productions, said Benson Klemme is a strong competitor.
“They’re an extremely motivated band,” Rowe said. “Very, very talented. They’ve got everything it takes to make it in this business. They’ve got a very marketable sound, they’re very professional people.”
Klemme said the band’s goal is to win the top prize in the nationwide contest, and to do that they have to show organizers that they can fill theater seats.
“The upcoming show at the Rave is kind of important,” Klemme said. “It’s local venues like the Rave (that want to see) we can bring in a crowd. That’s really huge for us. We’re just overwhelmed with the response and support we’re getting from Sheboygan.”
The band did a radio interview with WXER, 104.5 The Point, which ran Tuesday morning. It’s part of the band’s effort to build local recognition and get its songs played on the station.
Klemme said the band’s songs were going to be put into the station’s weeknight and weekend rotation, which was a significant achievement.
“That will be our first U.S. radio airplay and we’re so pumped about that,” he said. “It’s getting kind of numbing, but it’s just a joy to have such a great city to be part of things in.”
Klemme said the search for Sheboygan’s Best Band, a contest sponsored by The Sheboygan Press, is one of the things that got the ball rolling for them.
“It caused us to make the music video,” he said. “If you can have your fans see you, it’s so much better.”
The other part was a documentary video made of Benson Klemme and the other finalists in the contest, available online for people to watch and vote on.
“We’ve gotten unbelievable response,” Klemme said. “We’ve gotten this snowball on a roll, and it’s just getting bigger and better and it keeps getting more exciting.”
Topics: Band News | No Comments »
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.




