"One night, while on a worldwide voyage, a pirate captain fell in love with a fair-skinned gypsy. He courted her, they married and eventually gave birth to six beautiful children. They showered these children with weapons of sound: a piano, a megaphone, some guitars and a big-ass metal chain. The children mastered their sound, becoming one in the process. They called themselves John the Savage, and the people of the world smiled in acceptance." -- MKE
“…a band throwing everything in all at once. Each part clicked and worked as a collective whole. It was as if an orchestra made an impromptu stop at this Bay View cellar to play for 20 or so people…Plenty of bands mix the different musical styles and ideas of their members to create their sound. With John the Savage, these differences aren't assimilated to create something else; they're celebrated…John the Savage doesn't follow the typical formula for a guitar-bass-drum band. The members are experimental and inventive in pulling music out of anything they can get their hands on. They squeeze accordions, blow trumpets, pluck mandolins and shake maracas. They even rattle chains, beat on tambourines and scream through megaphones. If you just looked at their instruments, you'd think the members were part of a marching band…And then there are the backing vocals…Because of its vast musical arsenal, the band's exact sound is hard to pinpoint. Instead of sticking to one feel or genre, the sound constantly shifts. At times, the band rolls out horn-infused songs that feel more Mexico City than Brew City. Other times the songs are growling and dirge-like. Or the band can shift to a tune that could easily be the theme song of an old spaghetti western…Describing John the Savage's musical style sounds like a case of genre ADD, but the members don't care. They've embraced the variations of their sound, creating a style can be described as being "very John the Savage…" -- MKE, Justin Shady
"The Milwaukee-based opening act John The Savage sounded like Tom Waits fronting an American version of The Pogues, a version still well in touch with its punk roots. The band was messy and drunken in all the right ways, crafting a sound that was unpredictable and gloriously noisy. Yet when things threatened to spiral out of control, the blaring trumpet of Michael Henderson provided the band with a much-needed sonic focal point. Local music fans take note: This is a band to keep your eye on." -- THE SHEPHERD EXPRESS, Michael Carriere
"[One] of Milwaukee’s most novel new bands...John The Savage, a Bay View band that wonderously emerged in time for this summer's Bay View Bash, kicks up a lot of drunken racket with accordions, a trumpet and, occasionally, a megaphone." -- THE SHEPHERD EXPRESS
"...[John The Savage] uses unorthodox instrumentation to whip up sweepingly dramatic music, touching on rock, folk, Latin, and Ennio Morricone film scores with punk-inspired verve..." -- THE ONION--MILWAUKEE
“…even with my camera, I still couldn't capture the sheer magnitude of John the Savage's awesomeness…For those of you who've never had the pleasure of being "Savaged," know this: they're a supergroup of sorts...About half of the band can claim "multi-instrumentalist" on their resume, and will showcase said skills during the course of one live show. During the course of their shows, you'll hear more musical styles than you would listening to all three discs of The Clash's Sandanista…In the less-than-a-year John the Savage have been playing out, they've yet to release a proper album. But somehow, their audience knows every word to every song, and have no problem singing along at the show. I realized this Friday night, as I, too, was locked amidst the chain of concert-goers, arms around each other, beers aloft, shouting along with the band during "Sinking Ship." There's just something undeniably infectious about this band, something you need to experience for yourself to truly understand…There's really nothing else like this going on right now. In Milwaukee, and in general. And I'm pretty sure that's only going to lead to them becoming bigger, and more popular. So, enjoy these small-venue shows while you can.” -- FAN-BELT--MILWAUKEE, Milan Zori
" …Now that’s how you sing amazing grace. Milwaukee’s John the Savage imagine what would happen if Booker T used his MGs for evil instead of good. From the cacophonous percussion to the overzealous trumpet to their howling singer, Michael Skorcz (who channels Tom Waits’ drunken, pirate pastor persona), everything about their ramshackle sound is bold and loud, so the band made a swift impression with their headlining set last night at the Cascio Groove Garage. 'Who are these guys?' several passersby asked. 'John the Savage,' an audience member responded, inaudible over the racket. 'Who?' 'JOHN THE SAVAGE.' 'John the Sausage,' the band suggested after their first song, as onlookers congregated around the stage, taking in the spectacle." -- EXPRESSMILWAUKEE.COM
"Best of 2007 List" -- TASTES LIKE CHICKEN
"John the Savage is a relatively new six-piece band that defies easy categorization. Current and former members of El Oso, Spransy & Kolb, Dangeresque, Moonfire Funeral, and others, perform together with guitars, drums, upright bass, keyboards, trumpet, accordion, violin...if you like what you hear, go see their raucous live set..." -- WWW.WMSE.ORG / 91.7FM WMSE
"Being a fan of this band already, it’s very enticing for me to go over-the-top with this post. I’m tempted to use all the colorful metaphors in my arsenal to explain how their performance will make your naughty parts quiver as the band gingerly pleasures your respective ear-p*ssies. But instead, I’m gonna take the high road. I want to approach this in the most rational way possible. I’m not going to marry the sounds of two bands in an attempt to describe John The Savage’s style. It would only end up in me being wrong and quite possibly turning people off to a great band. So all I ask is that you check them out...If you’re a music-lover looking for something a little different, you’ll find it. If you’re an opportunist, bask in the fact that you were one of the first on the bandwagon. And if you’re a hater, here’s some new shit for you to hate on. It’s as simple as that." -- TASTES LIKE CHICKEN
"This six-piece has been around for only six months but they play as if they've been making music together for years. They are so, so good. Seriously. I mean, I know I'm not supposed to say "***" on here, but holy *** they're good. They're that good...So good!" -- Justin Shady, MKE Online Blog
John The Savage is a new group from Milwaukee, Wi.
We like to play dirty.
John The Savage came from a small well behind the barn.
a well once used to carry carbon through the core.
Please enjoy these live recordings of a few of our songs as well as the video for "Sinking Ship" from a recent show at Mad Planet in Milwaukee produced by Joseph Strand with help from Alexander Boyes. Learn the words, and sing along.
Purchase our demo DVD/CD of this performance!
DVD features the entire 6 song set, and the CD features 4 songs from the performance, packaged and screen printed by the band.
$7 at shows, $8 by mail, or now available at Atomic Records.
Introducing the first ACTIVITIES compilation: packaged in super-slick high rez triple encoded polyeurothane enamel backing with 7,000 weight pristine virgin cardstock & downloadable baby animal ink hand carved by a blind Lithuanian lithographer (limited addition) activities tracks: 1-3, 8-10, 18, 19 all others are milwaukee bands
Mother said the show was great. Actually she said you guys never sounded better. Sorry I couldn't be there. I'll be checking you out again very soon. Its been a while and I need my fix!
what happened?? are you coming to the west? we lost contact .... we..re playing in milwaukee on july 30th in lulu..s. are you gonna be there? so we could play together... write us!
i stopped by the festival yesterday but i couldn't find you guys. i was having a super bad day. so i guess i will have to party with you on friday. friday the 13ths are always magical for me.
Can't wait to see your show tomorrow! Forget all the mailing checks and crap, I'll just be buying a handful of CD/DVDs at the show. Best of luck to the Savage.
