Image via The Shivvers
The Shivvers
(from left) Jim Richardson , Jim Eannelli, Jill Kossoris, Scott Krueger, Mike Pyle.
“I think the Shivvers were ready to take the next step, but we didn’t have a manager to help us get there. Looking back, I think we should have moved to Los Angeles”.
-Jill Kossoris
The Shivvers, a Milwaukee-based dance band, were regulars on the nightclub scene in the early 1980s. Fronted by singer-songwriter Jill Kossoris, the band assembled an impressive collection of studio singles and soundboard recordings from live shows during their short time together. Their sets usually consisted of original material and covers of ABBA, Shaun Cassidy, and Iggy Pop songs. Founding member Kossoris said their aggressive, power pop sound failed to attract much interest from established record labels. “We played the Starship, Zak’s, the Palms, and the other clubs, and audiences loved us.”, she said. “But the suits were confused. They didn’t understand our music, so they didn’t know how to sell it”.
Kossoris said several of the Shivvers’ songs would have been perfect AM radio. “Teenline would have complemented what the Go-Gos, the Pretenders, and Blondie were doing”, she said. “But we were in Milwaukee, and the music at that time was coming out of New York and L.A.”.
Forty years later, the band surprised longtime fans with “Reckless” and “My Love Calling,” two new singles that could be viewed on YouTube. Kossoris said the band had been writing and recording new songs whenever they could find the time to get together. “At first we were going to release a new album, but that seemed pretty daunting”, she said. Ultimately, we decided to put two songs out there and see what the response was”. Kossoris was pleased that the old fans had stayed with the band. “The Internet is great because it’s getting a lot of younger people to listen to us”.
In a recent interview, Kossoris delved into the Shivvers’ past and talked about what might happen next for the band.
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Facebook fans are wondering if you’ll perform the new songs live.
(laughs) Part of me wants to do it. I love singing live. But putting the band back together would be a bit of a challenge. We can record anytime we feel like it but committing to shows is another thing altogether. Plus, we’re in our 60s now, and you can’t do the same things onstage that you did when you were 20. (laughs) When I hear music, I want to move, but unless you’re Mick Jagger, it’s not going to happen.
You weren’t a punk rock band, but you kind of adopted the look. The heavy eyeliner, the hair in your face.
That’s who I was then. I was always inspired by the drama of women in silent films. I loved that. And the glamorous Hollywood stars of the 1940s. But at a show, I’m playing a character. Off stage I’m a very private person.
Females in rock bands were not as common as they are now. Did you experience any trouble with men at the shows?
(laughs) Not really, but that’s because the guys shielded me from that stuff. Instead, I’d get someone who said, “My brother’s in love with you!” That was very sweet. But after the show, I was the one who unscrewed the legs from my piano and put them in the truck. It was a lot of work, and I sure didn’t feel like partying until dawn. I was playing in the band called In a Hot Coma when I was 16, so this was nothing new.
There’s a great deal of responsibility fronting a band. The audience is always focused on you.
It’s a huge responsibility. It can be very intense up there. Tom Petty once said he didn’t want to be the focal point of The Heartbreakers. But he wrote the songs, and he sang them, so it was inevitable.
What about your songwriting process? Do you come up with a melody and find a lyric, or is it the other way around?
Every song is different. Scott [Krueger] and I usually write together. I do the lyrics and some of the music. The songs start with an idea, either lyrically or musically. When I feel like something is happening there, I’ll explore it further. For “Reckles,” I dreamed some of the melody. The word “reckless” popped into my head and I wrote a song. I love the creative process.
You talked earlier about the frustration of missing out on national exposure.
We were so close. And we were ready. There’s nothing that makes a band tight like playing night after night. What we were lacking was someone in the business who could take us there. The Beatles were on the verge of breaking up when they met Brian Epstein. He was exactly what they needed, and he made all the pieces fall into place. We didn’t have that kind of good fortune. We didn’t have a record producer and we didn’t have a guy in a suit telling us what to do next. We remained an independent band.
The new film Taking the City by Storm is an excellent documentary about Milwaukee’s music scene four decades ago.
It captures that time so well. When you’re living in the middle of it, you aren’t aware of what it all means, but looking backwards, the film shows the great venues and the support for local bands that disappeared long ago. I’ve seen some good bands around town and there’s no one in the audience. That’s a tragedy.
People seem to be staying home more.
Video games and giant TV screens are a huge distraction. Also, back in the day the drinking age was 18 years old. There was a big difference between 18 and 21. Younger people were out exploring the world and they went to hear live music at the clubs. It was a completely different atmosphere.
I’m guessing you grew up in a home with music.
My dad loved music and it was always in the house. He owned a store called Egyptian Records in the late 1940s. He convinced me to study classical piano. He hated rock and roll at first, saying it was garbage, but suddenly, he’s listening to AC/DC and Led Zeppelin and loving it! (laughs).
Did he ever see you perform?
(laughs). Way too often. He’d be pounding on the stage, saying, “Play that goddamn song again. I paid for it!”
And where did the name Shivvers originate?
It was based on the sensation you felt when hearing a great song. Like goosebumps. I hope we accomplished that. I wanted the audience to feel like I felt the first time I heard ‘Jumping Jack Flash’.
