Green Mountain Rebels

Rebel-rousing rock and roll has made its way to the Chippewa Valley. And if you are admidst the rowdy beer-drinking crowd of a Green Mountain Rebels show, it's easy to get the impression that the five musicians onstage are performing soley for the pleasure of you, the audience. A combination of southern acoustic rock and roll with diligent lyrics and raw, stimulating energy make the Green Mountain Rebels a must see in the Valley's music scene.

Singer/guitarist Jered Shaw and lead guitarist David Koenig gave birth to this musical stallion in the spring of 2004, with the addition of creamy crooner Susan Johnson shortly thereafter. Drummer Chuck Caldwell and bassist Matt Saudenmaier take care of the rhythmic duties with their compound mixture of inspirational oomph and dependable accuracy.

Like the bands namesake, these five musicial hellions are rebelling against most musical genres of today. "The Rebels are a unique, creative and honest rock and roll band who rely on songs based on spirit and sweat," says Koenig. With influences like The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, the Rebels are trying to revitalize a classic style, but with their own unique perspiring flavor. "(The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan) taught us to keep it simple and value great lyrics over getting caught up in musicianship," says Koenig.

By following this musical creed, the Rebels have accomplished their creative goals substantially quicker than most bands, and people have noticed. Heavy interest was sparked during their July Summerfest show. "We have sent some demos out to some record companies that had some interest, but with that said we are crossing our fingers and not holding our breath," says Shaw.

The Rebels have been working on a live album from that successful Summerfest performance and will release it at a September 23rd show at the Stones Throw--where you can get the real live experience of songs "based on spirit and sweat."

- VolumeOne

The Green Mountain Rebels have been confusing audiences ever since their first public performance at a Stones Throw open mic night in December.

Confused or not, people apparently like what they've been hearing from the five-member group that started with an Eau Claire city parks worker whose desire to perform finally outweighed his shyness and led him to post "bandmates wanted" signs.

On Friday, The Green Mountain Rebels will play from noon to 2pm on the Harley-Davidson free stage at Milwaukee's Summerfest--a slot earned this spring in Leinies Battle of the Bands.

"We have pretty much confused everyone who has ever heard us. We take our roots from the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan and Tina Turner," said guitarist-vocalist Jered Shaw. "I'm a raw, rough singer, and Susan's got this beautifully perfect voice."

Susan is lead singer Susan Johnson. Lead guitarist Dave Koenig, bassist Matt Staudenmaier and drummer Chuck Caldwell round out the group.

Shaw, 25, the city parks worker, wrote songs and played acoustic guitar--but had not performed for an audience before he started the band.

"I decided I was going to be very old very fast, and if I wasn't going to do this now, it never ever would happen, " Shaw said.

The Medford natives UW-Eau Claire history degree came in handy in choosing a band name. (It comes from the Green Mountain Boys of the American Revolution.)

"We get asked about it a ton, and everybody things we're a bluegrass band, but we are not a bluegrass band. We play rock," Shaw said by telephone days before we would pack his Ford Escort for the Milwaukee trip. "Even owners of the bars write down that we are some bluegrass band."

The bands demo CD, which contains songs such as "Dirty T-Shirts" and "Shotglass on the Dashboard", lives up to Shaw's rough-around-the-edges description.

"We don't sing many love songs. That's kind of our rule, because we figure they've been done already," Shaw said.

The Green Mountain Rebels' next Eau Claire gig is set for Aug. 27th at the House of Rock--the same stage where they edged out Milwaukee's FatMaw Rooney and Minneapolis' Ladder El. - Leader-Telegram

Chris: GMR was the winner of night two and the only band competing that I had not seen or talked to before, so I could not have guessed that they would go on to win. There was one crew-cut individual who, let me tell you, really freaking loved GMR. I mean this guy would just not stop with the dancing. On the stage, off the stage, it didn't matter.

I think they have a good thing going; I would describe the bands sound as hick-alternative. Meaning it had a sort of mix between country and mellow rock, which mixes well with the folkness imbedded already in some alternative bands. The band also had the only female member of the night. At first, I thought she was a girlfriend of a dude in the band because all she was doing was playing the tambourine. Later, when she took the lead vocals over from the male lead singer, she showed the crowd why she was really in the band--her contemporary-country crossover voice. I appreciated the switching back and forth between the guy and gal vocals to keep it interesting.

Nicole: It was quite shocking to hear GMR won Battle of the Bands. In retrospect, Chris and I both agreed the band was really interesting, but its music wasn't as interesting as its group dynamic. The male vocalist played a mean harmonica in one of the songs, which I will take over a fiddle.

One of its songs had audience participation and at least 10 people hopped on stage. I'm glad there was at least one female performer, but there's a reason there's a girl in front in a halter-top going crazy with a tambourine. She jumped around the stage like she's punk, but sings like a country vixen.

Its music was creative and it had a unique sound--blugrass meets Gwen Stefani with a Wisconsin accent. - The Spectator