Milwaukee Music Legends The Tygers To Open For The Grass Roots and Three Dog Night At Wisconsin State Fair

Online, July 30, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Milwaukee, WI - With the recent success of Milwaukee music legends The Tygers latest CD 'Second Album', the band will be debuting their live show this August much to the anticipation of music aficionados around the world. The Tygers will be performing with fellow sixties legends The Grass Roots and Three Dog Night on August 13th on the main stage at the Wisconsin State Fair Park, starting at 8:00 PM. After a 40 year hiatus, The Tygers have released their follow-up album aptly titled 'Second Album'. "Releasing a solid debut album is one of the tougher accomplishments in the music industry," says Drew Olson of OnMilwaukee.com "The only thing more difficult, it seems, is making a good sophomore disc. The old saying in the recording industry holds that bands have 'a lifetime to make the first record and six weeks to make the second.' The Tygers broke that mold ... and it only took 40 years!"

The tale of The Tygers is one of the great "one that got away" rock 'n' roll stories of all time. Back in 1967 Tony's Tygers, comprised of five Milwaukee teenagers (Tony Dancy, Craig Fairchild, Dennis Duchrow, Fred Euler and Dave Kuck) entered and won the Wisconsin State Battle of the Bands, sponsored by the Jaycees. As a result, local pop music impresario Jon Hall became their manager. The Tygers went on to Boston to compete in the National Battle of the Bands, where one of the judges was Les Paul. He immediately took an interest in the group and decided to visit them in their hotel room. He played for them on Tony's Gretsch Country Gentleman guitar, and exclaimed to the band, "I haven't been this excited about a band since I saw The Young Rascals when they were starting out in New Jersey." Les Paul invited Tony and the boys to come and stay at his home in Mahwah, New Jersey, where he wanted to produce a record with them. The Tygers placed 3rd in the nation and soon after their return to Milwaukee, Les Paul came to town and met with the band at Tony's house. He made his pitch to the band members' parents and to Jon Hall, but Jon, realizing that he had a hot property, refused to give anything up or make any sort of deal with Les. Reportedly, Les Paul confessed that he couldn't work with the band's manager in any event. Likewise, the parents were indecisive. Sadly the whole thing eventually fell through. Why did the parents and the band allow such a golden opportunity to slip away? We'll never know.

In early 1968 The Tygers ventured into RCA Studios in Chicago and recorded "Little By Little" and another Dancy-Duchrow composition, "Days and Nights", in two hours. Jon Hall released the record locally on his Teen Town label and with the support of WOKY's Bob Barry, the number one disc jockey in Wisconsin (the guy that brought The Beatles to Milwaukee), the record soared up the charts to #2. Only The Monkees "Valleri" prevented the song from hitting #1 in March of 1968. Upon the success of The Tygers new single, Herb Alpert, head of A&M Records, bought the master and released the single on A&M, making it a national record. In the March 2, 1968 issue of Billboard magazine, "Little By Little" was picked as a Spotlight Single. The write-up declared: "A hot master out of Milwaukee, purchased by A&M, features the third place winners in the nationwide Battle of the Bands contest. The easy-beat rocker is aimed right at the teen market and should spread fast nationally." Jack Devaney of Record World magazine raved in his Coast Capers column on March 16, 1968: " 'Little By Little" A&M's Tony's Tygers will take the nation by storm."

In order to "strike while the iron is hot", The Tygers rushed to create a debut album but did so without the services of their lead arranger and singer Tony, who was ill. The album failed to gain traction and the record deal evaporated. Duchrow left for the Vietnam War, two other members left for personal reasons and the remaining four members - Tony Dancy, Craig Fairchild, Lanny Hale and Fred Euler - kept up the fight for a few years, only to find frustration. Hale was accepted into medical school and became a cutting-edge ophthalmologist. Euler left to pursue a very successful career in hotel management. Dancy and Fairchild headed for California, where they created music for "The Brady Bunch" and "The Flintstones." Dancy reformed The Tygers, with new and old members, for shows in the 1980s and '90s. About a year ago, Dancy and Fairchild gathered at Hale's home studio and began working on the long-awaited follow-up record, 'Second Album'.

"It wasn't easy to have a hit record in Milwaukee back in the 60s, not even locally. The music charts were dominated by the East and West Coasts and the British invaders. The Tygers were one of the few local groups to make the charts. When I appeared on stage with The Tygers back in the '60s and '70s we had a lot of fun. Now that we're older, does that mean we can't have that same fun again? It's about time we bring all of those good times back with 'The Tygers Second Album'. Then is now, yesterday is today. The music we enjoyed then we can enjoy today, only it's brand new. However I say it guys and gals, moms and dads, grandpas and grandmas ...THIS IS OUR MUSIC! - "Beatle" Bob Barry on The Tygers new album

Here's what the press have been saying about The Tygers 'Second Album':

"First and foremost, this is a great album: 10 fast paced, kinda-country, faintly-folky, sorta-soft-rocky cuts that put you in mind of a host of forebears, none so much as late-period 10cc (the harmonies and bounce), with a dash of Raspberries, Steely Dan and The Beach Boys thrown in for luck." - Dave Thompson, Goldmine Magazine

"The Tygers' Second Album isn't exactly a trip down memory lane either. Rather this work is more like 'then is now' or yesterday is today.' I can't think of anyone attempting to revitalize this vintage rock (whether they are young or original artists). Most bands like The Tygers are playing that 'oldies' circuit, reliving past glory, and not attempting to do anything new. Kudos should be reserved for The Tygers simply because they're composing their music again." - Craig Hartranft, Danger Dog Music Reviews

"Outstanding, smooth, polyphonic vocal phrases that sound like in the bloom of youth, but not as of old masters. The result is more than amazing - a perfect nostalgia album!. Pop songs that could come from the original period 1967 - 1970 and so includes almost everything that was then successfully produced between the Mersey River and the West Coast for the charts." - Rocktimes, Germany

"With a disc length of thirty-four minutes and twenty-seven seconds, if this were a prog rock album, I'd have to complain about the length of the disc. Yet, while I would love more Tygers, I still find myself satiated. This pleasant surprise trip down memory lane is the perfect thing for when you have one of those days when you are constantly reminded that it's 2010 and your life is soooooo much more difficult." - Jeff Boule, Looney Tunes CDs

"Nearly forty years on, The Tygers have been rediscovered like some rare prehistoric creature (Sabre tooth perhaps), and many classic rock supporters are finding out that this lot aren't toothless after all! The band model their sound on the rich harmony vocals from the 60's and 70's a la Crosby Stills And Nash and Poco, some down country rockin' that Credence Clearwater Revival wouldn't be ashamed to own, plus the godfathers of 60's pop - The Beatles." - Glory Daze

"It's like they've never been gone, and if nostalgia pervades the steel-guitar-awashed country rock of the opener "How Long Does It Take", for the most part the adult experience is well hidden behind the youthful sunshine swirl so prominent in the surf-ey "Girl Like You" twist, with "Never Too Late" taking an infectious foray into the music hall territory thanks to its piano strut. Harmonies reign here, but there's also the predatory "Night Walker" with its ominously plonking bass and a creepy crunchy pace of the brass-oiled "Voo Doo" that are impossible not to love, too. Always tongue-in-cheek but never going for pastiche, it's one of the most adorable records of 2010." - Let It Rock

The Tygers today feature: Tony Dancy - vocals, guitars and keyboards, Lanny Hale - vocals and guitar, and Craig Fairchild - vocals, piano and B3 organ. The Tygers 'Second Album' showcases an array of musical styles and intelligent themes throughout, with lush vocal harmonies, catchy hooks, and exciting arrangements and performances, all wrapped in a top notch production by the band. The influence of many of The Tygers contemporaries, like CSN&Y, Poco, Buffalo Springfield and Simon &Garfunkle, can be heard throughout the band's music, whether by conscious effort or not. The pedal steel featured on "How Long Does It Take" is by Kenny Knoll, who has toured with such greats as Faron Young, Ferlin Husky, The Browns, Carl Smith, Crystal Gayle, Marty Robbins and Dottie West. The sophisticated horn arrangements were by Joe Turano, who was a Tyger in the 1960s along with Tony, Craig and Lanny. Joe went on to tour with Michael Bolton for a number of years and is currently musical director for Al Jarreau. Joe replaced some of Tony's synthetic horn arrangements with live horns and created fresh arrangements for other songs.

The Tygers Second Album CD can be obtained through iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, eMusic, Napster and soon on CD Baby, as well as the band's official website. A limited vinyl edition of the new CD is also available through the band's website.

For more information visit www.thetygers.com

Press Inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, [email protected]