Photo courtesy of 105.1 WIPZ Radio
Adam Sutkiewicz, guitarist-vocalist with Milwaukee band The Appalachians
Milwaukee band The Appalachians formed in 2009 and three years later released their debut EP Long Wait, Slow Lines. With a hard-working Midwest mindset, the band dug in, eventually playing coveted shows at festivals like Summerfest and Appleton’s Mile of Music.
For six years the band focused on music until that part of guitarist-vocalist Adam Sutkiewicz’s life seemed to have run its course. As a husband and father with his own tree removal service his days were full. In January 2020, Sutkiewicz noticed pain in his shoulder. “At first I thought it was from work or even just wrestling around with my kids,” he says. “I did the normal guy thing—gave it a couple of weeks to see if it got better. It didn't.”
His range of motion was declining and figured it was a rotator cuff problem related to work. He took his wife’s advice and made an appointment. X-rays showed nothing but an MRI did. “On my way home from the MRI I got a call from my doctor’s office saying the doctor has an opening right now to go over your MRI results. His words hit me like a freight train: ‘cancer.’” Sutkiewicz recalls.
Envisioning his daughter having no one to walk her down a wedding aisle someday or his son getting ready for his first date all by himself or his wife, who he had I’ve been with since they were young, having to go to bed every night alone, he made a decision. “I already wanted my life back hours after diagnosis, before the fight even began,” he says.
Rare Condition
The official diagnosis was Dedifferentiated Chondrosarcoma, a rare sarcoma that attacks cartilage. Sutkiewicz said only 600 Americans a year get diagnosed. 82% of patients catch it too late upon diagnosis to treat. It doesn’t respond to chemotherapy, nor radiation “My only shot was surgery.” he says. “The idea was to remove 50% of my right scapula. I was told I might not be able to work again, and how my arm operates in the future was uncertain. I didn’t care.”
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The surgery went as well as planned, for the surgeons anyway. Upon waking up he felt intense pain. “It felt like I had been shot 20 times in the back.” he says.
Physical therapy was helping, but the mental recovery was through his family and music. It became clear that music was going to help save the part of his life Sutkiewicz could control. “It’s really unfortunate that sometimes death has to be at your door to put things in perspective, and see what is important,” he says. “I just wanted to be a husband, a dad, and I wanted to pursue music again.”
His wife was fully supportive of the idea. He called the other guys in the band and asked them their thoughts of playing music again. “To my surprise, it was something all four of us needed. Bassist Adam Plew had just gone through a divorce; drummer Ryan Claxton wasn't having any luck finding musicians to connect with; and guitarist Jake Wachal had become totally burnt out of his career in the medical field. It was about a two-minute decision over a conference call,” Sutkiewicz says.
COVID-19 delayed the musical reunion, but mid-May the band took the proper precautions and they were back in a room together playing music. “From the first note played, it was like we were speaking a language only the four of us could understand,” he says. “It was therapeutic for everyone, and our new material was evidently powerful for all of us to say "OK, let’s fucking do this".
The Appalachians have booked a reunion show at Shank Hall for Friday, October 23, 2020, and will begin recording their third release this winter.
“Everything is much different this time around. We are re-energized, more mature, and solely focused on the music,” Sutkiewicz said. “Let's rock!”
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