Various (Milwaukee) Artists “Season For a Smile Vol. 2” 2024. A limited edition collection of holiday songs by local Milwaukee musicians to benefit the Team Bryce Foundation which is dedicated to “facilitate improving the lives of children with special needs and their families by helping them achieve their full potential through participation in sports and other activities.” The first track, “Here It is Christmastime” by Driveway Thriftdwellers even features Bryce Tock, the foundation founder’s son who is the inspiration for the organization. I’m familiar with most of the bands on this comp (and know a few personally): there’s the big name BoDeans (though I’m assuming they appear here without founding member Sam Llanas; there’s some really bad blood between him and the other founder Kurt Neumann) on “Christmas Everyday,” local fave Trapper Schoepp joins forces with bluegrass band Chicken Wire Empire on the sad “Christmas in Prison” and Tigera performs “Every Other Day.” A special nod to my friends The Quilz, a fantastic new-wave dream pop duo, who play “Wonderful Christmastime.” (Quilz member Sage Scwarm is one of the LP’s producers.)

But I really want to highlight “O Holy Night” by Heart of Black. I’m so thrilled to finally have something tangible by this band (who I’ve never seen perform but that’s on me – they play out all the time in the greater Milwaukee area). Heart of Black play heavy rock/alternative dance, a mix of covers (influences include Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails) and originals (their song “Down” won the WAMI award for Best Video of 2024 – it is alt-metal and NOT Christmasy). We met Heart of Blacks’ singer Marcus in 2022 in Ibiza, Spain in one of the most random, kismet experiences ever. We had just arrived at our hotel, located right on the Mediterranean, and were hanging out on the patio waiting for our room to be ready for check-in. The couple next to our table leaned over and asked “Are you from Milwaukee?” We thought it was our accent! But no, they noticed Joe’s WMSE shoulder bag. Turns out they were from ‘Tosa and Marcus is huge Duran Duran fan and they were in Ibiza for the Duran three-day festival, same as us. We ended up seeing him and his wife (whose name now escapes me) on and off for the remainder of our time there, including the nail-biting final festival evening where we essentially had to dodge the law to secure a last-second shared ride to the Duran concert from our hotel. The topping was the next morning when our connecting flight to Madrid was running very late and we had to sprint at top speed through the Madrid airport to catch our international flight home. We just made it, gasping, sweating, onto the plane and there, towards the front, were Marcus and wife applauding our dramatic arrival onto the plane. I haven’t seen them since but am enjoying the heck out of their over-the-top last track on Seasons for the Smile – which feels almost as epic as that Ibiza weekend.