Name: Courtney Collins
Website: http://courtneycollins.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/courtneycollins

So...2007...how was it?:

I sort of took a break from music in 2007 to work on producing the comedy series "Chad Vader." I did contribute a bit of music to the series, but I didn't do any serious recording or any live shows this year. My former band, Arena Venus, reunited for a Christmas show, but that was the only one for 2007.

What do you have on tap for 2008?

I'm hoping/planning to record at least an EP in 2008; either a solo CD or as a duo with my friend/musical collaborator Jeremy Ylvisaker. We'd most likely be recording sometime in the summer in Minneapolis.

Kevin is the most recent dane101 contributor to submit an end of the year list. To read them all click on "2007 Reflections" above.

It’s time to once again throw my top 10 music selections onto the heap of top 10 lists. My annual tradition of “Top 10 Night” went off again without a hitch (with the exception of the Jameson induced headache the following morning). My friends and fellow music lovers, Peter and Mary, once again joined me for an evening of tunes, whisky, and discussion about the year in music. This year we added another audiophile, Tim, to the mix.

What follows are the top ten lists (and some near misses) that emerged from that night:

Band: The German Arts Students
Website: http://www.thegermanartstudents.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thegermanartstudents

1. So...2007...how was it?

How was 2007 for your band? Pretty good. We played a wedding up in Green Bay on one of the coldest weekends ever. Our bass player's wife gave birth to a baby boy in May. We managed to squeeze in some shows here and there.

2. What do you have on tap for 2008?

Hopefully record a 7" and play more rock shows.

Shelley Peckham is the most recent dane101 contributor to submit a end of the year list. To read them all click on "2007 Reflections" above.

1. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Baby 81

Just when I thought this band couldn’t possibly get any better, BRMC raised the bar once again with the release of their epic fourth album, Baby 81. If you knew nothing about the band upon first listen, you would be hard-pressed to pinpoint what era the mixed bag of heavy psychedelic blues, shoegaze, and grunge songs were recorded in, but BRMC is anything but a throwback band. The grit-infested power of their music combined with the sincerity of their stand-up-and-count-for-something ideals makes them a truly unique and admirable trio of performers. It’s also been proven that listening to their music instantly raises your cool points by a minimum of 25%, which never hurts. If Baby 81 doesn’t convince you that BRMC is a band deserving of massive respect, nothing will.

Band: The Kissers
Website: http://www.thekissers.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thekissers

1. So...2007...how was it?

In 2007, The Kissers scaled back our touring considerably (75 shows and 25,000 miles as opposed to 2006's 126 shows and 46,000 miles). However, we learned that the expenses of touring are so great, that we made similar incomes in both years.

Band: Null Device
Website: http://www.nulldevice.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/nulldevice

1. So...2007...how was it?:

Fantastic, albiet a little bittersweet in parts. We finished and released our new album, "Excursions" this year and it's doing well. I think we've finally settled on where to go next with the band too. We had the plus of getting to collaborate with some exceptionally talented musicians on this record, too.

The bittersweet part comes in when we played the Reverence Festival this summer. Oh, it was a fantastic gig, one big amazing electronic-music party with friends from around the country, but it was a little sad because this may be the last Reverence, and it was also our last gig with Dan, our longtime guitarist. We parted amicably and I still see the guy often but it's still sad to not be working with such a talented artist - but we wish him the best, as he's got a dozen or so other projects ongoing.

Band: Flat Atom
Website: http://www.flatatom.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/flatatom

1. So...2007...how was it?

Very good for Flat Atom. We had a pretty big year. Most successfull so far for us.

A successful remix contest on ACID PLANET w/ over 150 entries: http://www.acidplanet.com/contests/flatatom/
Played a total of 27 shows in 07.

Band: Stephanie Rearick
Website: http://stephanierearick.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/stephanierearick

So...2007...how was it?

It was great because I started playing again with the original members of Your Mom, my band from 1993 - 1995. Jon Hain, Justin Berens, and David Fawcett. We're called The ManSisters now. It's huge fun - we're playing lots of really old stuff and some new and we're all better players now. We just recently kind of hit our stride - too bad we haven't been able to play more shows since then. Our last show (end of May) was the first we played that showed kind of what we're doing in practice. It's really psychedelic and it also rocks, if I do say so myself. So that's good. Now our bass player is about to be a papa so it'll be awhile before we play again.

This is part of our "2007 Reflections" series looking back at 2007 and ahead to 2008 through the eyes of Madison bands, politicians, business owners, and more. To read them all click "2007 Reflections" above.

Band: Screamin' Cyn Cyn and the Pons
Website: http://cyncyn.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/cyncyn

1. So...2007...how was it?

2007 was sweet for Screamin' Cyn Cyn & The Pons. We released our new CD, Screamin' Target Heart Rate, hopped onto local label Crustacean, toured the West Coast, and bought some new shoes. We felt fine and looked even better.

This is part of our "2007 Reflections" series looking back at 2007 and ahead to 2008 through the eyes of Madison bands, politicians, business owners, and more. To read them all click "2007 Reflections" above.
Band: Caustic
Website/Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/causticmusic

So...2007...how was it?

Honestly this year couldn't have been much more incredible for Caustic. The new CD topped a couple charts for industrial (the new ltd edition we just put out did as well), we played all over the country, we played 2 shows in friggin' ENGLAND to hundreds of people, and I had the good fortune to play on stage and on some bills with people I've idolized since I was too young to drink. This'll be a hard year to top, but I'm gonna try...

Dane101's contributors and readers continue to roll out our lists for 2007. To read them all click on "2007 Reflections" above.

1) The Final(?) Reverence Festival. With promoter Matt Fanale getting out of the business, he decided to extend the Midwest's premier dark electronic music festival to 4 nights in a row, much to the chagrin of those who have a weak liver. Day one, on a Wednesday night, was perhaps the most interesting as it was headlined by a couple of Wisconsin acts that don't fit into the genre so easily: The Dark Clan, who aren't all that dark onstage (singer Dan Clark wore a suit of white, claiming that vampires do the same) and The Gothsicles, a couple of goofballs who have just as much in common with Dr. Demento as they do with the industrial scene.

This is part of our "2007 Reflections" series looking back at 2007 and ahead to 2008 through the eyes of Madison bands, politicians, business owners, and more. To read them all click "2007 Reflections" above.

Team: Madison Mallards
Website: www.mallardsbaseball.com

1) So...2007...how was it?

In a word, memorable. The 16 game winning streak, Chewbacca, our millionth fan, Randy Molina, C.J. Thieleke, & so much more. We missed the playoffs for the first time since our second season (2002) which was devastating, however we had so many highlights to the season that it is hard to be disappointed by how things turned out. We had a shot to make the playoffs coming into the last two games of the season & with the league getting so competitive we feel good we had an opportunity & that every game meant something. I honestly feel like the team on the field was one of the best we ever had & really provided special memories for our fans. That said we really learned a lot about how to compete as the league continues to improve. We realized a simple lesson, that winning isn't about fielding the most talented team, it is about getting the right guys on the team that build chemistry & learn to understand how they can help the team win. We had several guys leave the team for strange reasons (that were extremely talented, that just didn't really fit in from a personality perspective & kind of created reasons to go home) up until the middle part of the summer & after that dead weight left was when the team really started to click.

This is part of our "2007 Reflections" series looking back at 2007 and ahead to 2008 through the eyes of Madison bands, politicians, business owners, and more. To read them all click "2007 Reflections" above.

Band: Mama Digdown's Brass Band
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mamadigdown
Website: http://www.mamadigdown.com/

1) 2007 was good! MDBB kept a low profile as far as Madison club shows go, but stayed busy w/private gigs, touring, writing, and recording at Madison's E-Labs studio. Some memorable gigs:

This is part of our "2007 Reflections" series looking back at 2007 and ahead to 2008 through the eyes of Madison bands, politicians, business owners, and more. To read them all click "2007 Reflections" above.

Bands: The Kites and The Shabelles
Shabelles on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/theshabelles

1. How was 2007 for your band?

Both The Kites and The Shabelles recorded and released albums.

The Kites was done very guerilla style and recorded mostly in one drunken night at The Work Shop with Shazy Hade's Gaven engineering. There were no instruments overdubbed and very little vocal overdubs.

What follows are my observations on the past year in local theater as I experienced it. To see year-end retrospectives from other Dane101 contributors and readers, select the 2007 Reflections link.

Favorite overall performances, in chronological order:
– Bug
– “Bake Off,” directed by Stephanie Durrant and “Breast Men,” directed by Meghan McDonnell (two intriguing comedies performed at the Edgewood College Student-Directed One Act Play Festival)
– Urinetown (University Theatre)
– Finale of Disarming by Rob Matsushita (performed at Mercury Hot Pants)
– Dr. Faustus