Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"A beautiful and beautifully unconventional rock album."
Jim Lundstrom, Appleton Post Crescent
"Cryptic and cerebral post-punk that, thankfully,
doesn't prove impenetrable. The fresh scent of
Glade in a Wisconsin manure field littered with
cowboy hats and uninspired classic rock riffs."
Thomas Rozwadowski,
Green Bay Press Gazette
“The best indie rock band I have heard out of Oshkosh for a while; Great pop sensibilities, yet quirky and interesting enough that it never gets boring and cliché.”
Jake Shut, host of WORT's Charlie Don't Surf
“. . .an awesome amalgamation of rock and
atmospheric music . . . Willis write ingenious, tight
songs that could easily hook you in no time at all.”
J-Man, Maximum Ink - Area Press
Discography
Our debut album, "Bathtub, Lightbulb, Heart Attack," is recorded, mixed and on the market. We are targeting a fall, 2005 release..
In the meantime the internet, through upload sites like Garageband, Myspace and Rocket Radio, has been helpful in garnering both listeners and feedback. And more recently the song, “Jimmy Fallon” has been popping up on radio webcasts like De-Fi radio and Indiefeed.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The Willis formed in 2003, and is made up of longtime friends and bandmates from Congratulations on your decision to become a pilot, Cookie Bug, and others.
Shortly after forming, the group began playing shows around Wisconsin, and is currently expanding its range to Minneapolis, Chicago, and Iowa, and plans an East Coast tour following the release of their album.
Originally conceived of as a techno band, The Willis gradually evolved into a hybrid of rock, punk, and electronica. The sound is driven by Fender and Gibson guitars, and grounded by Roland synthesizers and Rhodes piano. The songs draw on the sonic inspiration of Chavez, Modest Mouse, The Beach Boys, and Foo Fighters. Complex arrangements, rich dynamics, and a vast sonic palette, animate The Willis's sound which is at once offbeat and familiar, catchy and challenging, dissonant and lovely.
The band's debut record, Bathtub, Lightbulb, Heart Attack, is an amalgam of styles and moods, produced by James Lison (formerly of Smart Studios), and Alan Weatherhead (Cracker, Sparklehorse, Hotel Lights) assisted with the mixes and played pedal steel on "They Have a Theory". The band is currently discussing the release of the record with a few indie labels, and is currently writing their follow-up album.
Links
