Jaill have been compared to dozens of other acts over the years, including bands as wide-ranging as XTC, R.E.M., Buddy Holly, Superchunk and The Buzzcocks. Never once, though, has the Milwaukee garage-pop group been compared to Cyndi Lauper, who the band will honor with a Halloween tribute set Saturday night at Club Garibaldi. Given how most groups use their Halloween cover sets to pay homage to kindred spirits or large-looming influences—note Architects of the Aftermath\'s Slayer tribute, which performs Saturday at the Cactus Club—the \'80s icon is a bit of a surprise pick.
“We wanted to do something poppy and fun and something that everybody would kind of know, or at least know the majority of the songs,” explains bassist Andy Harris. “Rather than covering a band that we sound more like, which we thought might be a little too obscure, we choose Cyndi Lauper because we wanted to play really catchy, popular hit songs, just to try to make it as fun for the audience as possible. And also visually stimulating, as we\'re going to be dressed up \'80s as we can.”
The three-piece Jaill is rejiggering its lineup for the night. Harris\'s girlfriend Katie will take over vocals in the Cyndi Lauper role, and the band\'s friend Neil Weingarth of Hearts of Stone will fill in on bass while Harris moonlights on keyboards.
After the show, the band\'s attention will turn back to original material. They just finished recording their follow-up to last year\'s Sub Pop debut That\'s How We Burn, which they\'ll be mixing in New York next month.
“We\'re excited to get that out, though it probably won\'t be released until spring time,” Harris says. \"We\'ve started recording a video for one of the songs.\"
Below is the lineup for the two-day Halloween covers event organized by Jon Heibler of the Sugar Stems:
|
|
Friday, Oct. 28 @ Linneman\'s Riverwest Inn
Head on Electric (Nirvana)
Sugar Stems/Midwest Beat (Neil Diamond)
Lonesome Savages (The Cramps)
Saturday, Oct. 29 @ Club Garibaldi
Jaill (Cyndi Lauper)
Hue Blanc\'s Joyless Ones (Spinal Tap)
Jordan Davis w/ members of the Sugar Stems, White Faces and Goodnight Loving (Slade)
The Olives (The Go-Go\'s)
The Cactus Club\'s two-night Halloween covers shows, meanwhile, include The Summertime Dudes (doing a pop and rock grab-bag), Hand of Doom (Black Sabbath) and The Get Wets (Andrew W.K) on Friday, and Slayer and Metallica tributes on Saturday.
