Every year, crowds numbering more than 20,000 people spill onto two blocks of Mifflin Street to drink beer, listen to live music and enjoy a carefree afternoon before pre-exam anxiety fully sets in.
After all, what could be more appealing than ignoring your studies and doing exactly what you shouldn't be doing a week before finals?
It is this carefree environment that draws musicians from near and far to Mifflin Street to play for rowdy beer bong-toting, red and white-clad audiences. This year's block party will have music to suit all tastes. Among those plugging in their amps and taking to a back yard or front porch along the crowded street are the Bad News, a hip-hop duo from New York; Define Normal, a Wisconsin-based indie cover band; Ryan Sallis, a UW soccer player and John Mayer-influenced solo acoustic artist; Northern Light, a Racine-based blues-influenced jam band; and Sol, a five-piece alternative pop band whose keyboard player met its drummer in the elevator of Ogg.
The Bad News
517 W. Mifflin St.
Between 1 and 4 p.m., The Bad News will be playing two sets of self-proclaimed "revolutionary hip-hop for the masses." The duo of Dash Speaks and NickName wants to speak for the underrepresented generations of Americans who feel like they can't relate to the trite themes of pop music. Their message rings true to college students who seek music that can be fun while addressing serious political issues such as global warming and bringing out the absurdity of the government.
The hip-hop duo was prompted to perform during the party by Northwestern alum Lee Drucker, who runs a clothing company that promotes the band and sells merchandise at their shows. Drucker, a Mifflin Street veteran, visited many times as an undergrad, which is where he got the idea to bring the Bad News to Madison.
Drucker's personal Mifflin experiences in his undergraduate days were not without a few funny memories. After overenthusiastically coming from Northwestern to arrive at Mifflin at 9 a.m. to an empty street, Lee and his friend knocked on the door of a random house and the attitudes of a few friendly Mifflin residents to this day.
"We said, 'Uh, I think we're a little early, but can we hang out?' We ended up becoming friends with everyone in the house, and by the time anyone showed up, we had turned it into the biggest, wildest party," Drucker recalls. "There was no pretentiousness. It was just like, 'Hey, you want to party, and we want to party,' and that is the type of environment that is perfect for this music."
And that very environment is what drew him to book this show for the Bad News.
Firmly planted in the Midwest, Madison does not often feel the tension between East Coast and West Coast hip-hop, but the Bad News is quick to emphasize that its style is decidedly East Coast, drawing on early hip-hop roots that were more politicized.
"In New York, it's about coming up with relevant things to say and saying them in the best way. It's more about having concise lyrics. For the last few years, I've realized that most popular hip-hop is not about the lyrics," Dash says, noting that this is exactly what they try to avoid.
"'This is Why I'm Hot' has got to be one of the most ridiculous songs I've ever heard."
Dash and Nick each write their own lyrics and work on the choruses together. Dash sees to the more technical, engineering side of the business, and when it all comes together, it is the result of the pair's ability to constantly build off one another throughout the creative process.
"It's fun. We have good chemistry," Dash says. "Our voices complement each other. Our flows complement each other; he comes very hard, and mine has more range and is more melodic. They juxtapose each other nicely."
Although it won't be available in time for Mifflin, the Bad News is working on the final stages of mastering its album that will be released sometime this summer.
Define Normal
448 W. Mifflin St.
Around 4 p.m., Define Normal will play its first show altogether in the back yard of a high school friend.
This developing band has been together just a few months, so to supplement the four original songs written so far, the group will be doing 26 covers from a vast range of artists.
"We'll be covering everything from Guster to the Foo Fighters to Rage Against the Machine to Radiohead to Death Cab for Cutie — different genres that reflect our taste in music and hopefully will have something for everyone to enjoy," says Chris Schwab, the lead singer and guitarist of Define Normal.
When it comes to writing original songs, the band also hopes to emphasize the members' diverse musical tastes.
"All our songs hopefully will have some sort of message that falls under the category of human relationships — either romantic or about equality among all people — depending on who brings the song to the table," Schwab says.
The vocalist has never been to the Mifflin Street Block Party, but he has a pretty good idea what to expect in his first experience and hopes the party-going state of mind will work to the band's benefit.
"I know there are going to be a lot of people there and everyone's hammered by noon, so hopefully everyone's still awake by the time we play — or else maybe it'll just make us sound that much better."
Ryan Sallis
405 W. Mifflin St.
UW soccer player Ryan Sallis will be playing his acoustic set starting at 3:30 p.m. He describes his sound as acoustic/folk/rock/soul, heavily influenced by the likes of John Mayer, Jack Johnson, Bill Withers and Ray Charles.
He plans on primarily performing his own material, with a few covers thrown in to keep the crowd involved. Sallis may even do a few covers of things like Justin Timberlake to "spice things up a little."
According to Sallis, when writing his own song lyrics, he tends to focus on daily life.
"I write about what I see around — past experiences — hopefully something people can relate to because music is the universal language of the world," he says.
In addition to having a good time, Sallis also hopes playing at Mifflin will draw some attention to his new album, Brighter Days, which is set to be released in a couple of weeks.
Northern Lights
405 W. Mifflin St.
Racine natives Northern Light will be playing at 10:30 a.m. on a stage set up in the back yard of 405 W. Mifflin St.
The band was contacted by the residents in the house on Mifflin via MySpace and asked if they would like to come play at the event.
Northern Light is currently promoting its recently released blues, rock and jazz-influenced debut EP, For the Love of It.
Sol
405 W. Mifflin St.
For those who attended the 10,000 Hours Show or saw the bands at the All-Campus Party, Sol may be a familiar sight. This alternative pop band that draws on a fusion of jazz and blues influences will be playing its fourth large show in the past month, starting around 11:30 a.m.
Playing outdoor shows can be a challenge, Sol lead singer and guitarist Charles Kim says, because people aren't necessarily there to see you.
"You have to win the crowd over every time," says Kim, the writer of the band's music and lyrics. "I think people on campus will enjoy our music a lot."
"Most of the songs are almost philosophical. One of the songs is called 'Change.' It's about getting stuck in a routine. As a college student, sometimes it seems like all you do is eat, sleep, study, repeat. And I don't want to be like that in the future — making music is about not falling into that little cycle."
Despite the personal nature the lyrics often take, Kim is not shy about expressing himself.
"You have to think about how the crowd is going to accept it. If they don't like the lyrics, I spend a lot of time on the melody, but I try to not hold back because that defeats the purpose of writing music," Kim says. "If anything, I'm really pumped to share my songs with everyone."