Briggs' National 'Battle of Bands' Winner Pays Visit to Tosa

Employees at Briggs & Stratton Corp.’s Wauwatosa facility at 12301W. Wirth St., enjoyed an unusually entertaining lunch break Friday.

About 250 gathered outside for hot food, warm weather and a live performance from SLAMABAMA, winners of the 2011 Briggs & Stratton national “Battle of the Bands” competition.

As reward for receiving the most online votes, the Illinois-based country quartet will play at the newly remodeled Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard stage at Summerfest at 2 p.m. Saturday, serving as an opening act for the night’s headliner, Phil Vassar.

“Our fans were so loyal,” said lead singer Rosanna Juliano. “We are so thankful and so blessed.”

J Juliano, guitarist, singer and husband of Rosanna, said the band doesn’t normally enter competitions because acts are normally forced to play covers in such situations. But they made an exception for the Briggs & Stratton battle after being tipped off from a friend who works as a Milwaukee area DJ.

“We get to do our original music,” he said. “And we get to go out and play in front of a bunch of new folks. We’re excited.”

Dennis Gilpatrick, bass and backup vocals, and Derek Bernal, drums, were also excited over the opportunity.

SLAMABAMA has only played in Milwaukee on one previous occasion, at Trinity Three Irish Pubs, 125 E. Juneau Ave. After Summerfest, they will travel to Superior for five days of performing at Ropers Saloon.

Briggs & Stratton, headquartered in Wauwatosa, has been a Summerfest stage sponsor for 16 years and began the “Battle of the Bands” promotion in 2009. Over the course of the three years, more than 1,000 bands have participated and more than 1 million online votes have been cast.

“We’ve been really excited about the number and diversity of bands that have entered the contest,” said Deanna Zabel, corporate communications manager at Briggs & Stratton.

She said the majority of entrants are rock bands, but recently the company has seen in uptick across other genres. Several rap groups did well this year, as did a “speed metal” band from Finland, she said.

Nearly 200 acts entered the contest back in March, submitting one song for the online audience to listen to and vote on. SLAMABAMA entered with their single, “What Happened to Jack and Diane?” a song that appeals to both rock and country fans, said J.

By April, the pool was narrowed to 10, and then a panel of Briggs & Stratton employees selected three finalists.

“It was close for awhile,” Zabel said. “Then they ran away with it. SLAMABAMA has an amazing, enormous fan base.”

Rosanna and J said the band promoted itself in nearly any way possible and mentioned the competition at every gig they played during the last several months. Voting was done over Facebook.

“We didn’t rest,” J said.

The band tours tirelessly, and has played more than 200 nights over the past two years. Prior to Summerfest, they performed at the South Dakota State Fair and Carlton Winter Fest in Carlton, Minn.

“We’re doing it the old-fashioned way,” said Rosanna. “We’re hoping a major country label will pick us up.”

She said she realizes the Big Gig is a great opportunity to gain new exposure and new fans. During their one-hour act, SLAMABAMA will play originals from their self-entitled debut album and one track from their upcoming CD “Planting Flowers on the Moon.”

“Everything we do is fast-paced and fun,” she said. “You can tell we’re having a good time. You feel like you’re in our living room.”

SLAMABAMA beat out Milwaukee native Matthew Haeffel and A Hero en Route, of Evansville, Ind. to claim the crown. And as the first country band to win the “Battle,” SLAMABAMA proved particularly popular with employees, Zabel said.

“The employees are really engaged in the contest,” she said, noting that some voted up to 10 times each day. “We wanted to do something to thank them.”

Dawn Bauer, an international creditor at Briggs & Straton, lip-synced along to SLAMABAMA’s performance.

She said she voted for them more than 100 times because “they’re country,” and “they’re very good.”