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"Make Milwaukee": The Hinterlands | Richard Newman and Liza Bielby

 

Listen: The Hinterlands are hard to describe. If you haven't heard of them, check out the group's Facebook profile. Long story short, they're a group of open-minded and maximally-talented performers from all over who have decided to make Milwaukee their creative home base. And besides that, they're really great people.

I invited Richard Newman and Liza Bielby, half of the company, into the studios to chat about a little bit of this and a little bit of that. We had a solid and consistently interesting 30 minute conversation. So how did I translate that for air play? When I sit down to edit an interview, I try to recreate the experience I had during the conversation. After the Hinterlands left the studio, I was left with a really big smile on my face. So, in the following pieces, I decided to share a bit of these performers' wonderful personalities. Take a listen.

Liza on stage! (Photo from Bob Doron's Flickr)

 

"What was the first song you remember dancing to?" Liza's answer, Madonna's "True Blue," came without a moment of hesitation: Oh Madonna. How you shaped our imaginations.

Richard in Isaac Newton Is Our DJ! (Photo from Richard's Facebook)

 A young and raw performer, Richard expresses his passions to "From A Distance" by Nanci Griffith: Even on the way to the studio, the Hinterlands were incredibly entertaining. I'm a sucker for mouth-guitar sounds: I love the Velvet Underground, especially this album. Thanks Richard, for making a dream come true.

More Isaac Newton Is Our DJ! (from Richard's Facebook)

Sometimes I have long and really interesting interviews and I end up using the silliest parts for the radio. Go figure. Keeping that in mind, the Hinterlands don't just entertain, but they also approach performance in incredibly interesting and thoughtful ways. These out takes are just some examples. The Hinterlands spend a good chunk of time in intensive training. And what do they mean by training? Here's an example: Here's another example of how the Hinterlands approach performance -- unsure of exactly how it would turn out, Liza attempted to crowd surf at a recent performance: Richard and Liza on how they incorporate the idea of "community" into their performances:

You really need to meet and see The Hinterlands perform... and your opportunity is now! Or at least coming soon! You can see them tomorrow and the following Thursday in Isaac Newton Is Our DJ at Moct. Follow this link for more details.

P r o d u ced by: Adam Carr

The wonderful Hinterlands in character! (From Facebook)