2008 Woodie Awards
Seventies band America brings 'timeless sound' to campus
Jake Zinsli
Issue date: 10/3/07 Section: Arts & Lifestyle
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The band that captured and kept an audience for four decades is coming to UW-Whitewater. America has been on the concert circuit for 34 years, and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. they will perform at the Irvin L. Young Auditorium.
"We're continuing our efforts to get a growing older audience coming to see the shows," Ken Kohberger, director of Young Auditorium, said.
Kohberger planned for America to perform on Saturday Oct. 6, but due to scheduling conflicts they couldn't make it on that date.
The world discovered America in 1972, when "A Horse with No Name" made the band a household name. Slightly more than a year after the launching of the group, Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek were global superstars. Their music has a timeless sound that mixes rock, pop and folk elements.
"My brother gave me my first America album when I was 12 or 13 years old," Lynette Furley, copywriter for the local radio station WSJY, said. "I was learning how to play guitar and America had good solid harmonies and lyrics."
Furley will attend the performance with her husband. They're both looking forward to the show.
America became a cornerstone of the '70s top 40 and FM rock radio, but by the mid-1970s the band started to feel the pressure. Inter-band conflict combined with an exhaustive touring and recording schedule exacted its toll.
Peek departed from the group in 1977, and the two remaining members were forced to rise to the challenge of carrying on as a duo.
Over the years America stayed true to their music and their fans.
Ticket prices for tomorrow night's show range form $19 - $39. The band's opening act is the Jon Troast Band, a local band out of Lake Geneva.
"We're continuing our efforts to get a growing older audience coming to see the shows," Ken Kohberger, director of Young Auditorium, said.
Kohberger planned for America to perform on Saturday Oct. 6, but due to scheduling conflicts they couldn't make it on that date.
The world discovered America in 1972, when "A Horse with No Name" made the band a household name. Slightly more than a year after the launching of the group, Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek were global superstars. Their music has a timeless sound that mixes rock, pop and folk elements.
"My brother gave me my first America album when I was 12 or 13 years old," Lynette Furley, copywriter for the local radio station WSJY, said. "I was learning how to play guitar and America had good solid harmonies and lyrics."
Furley will attend the performance with her husband. They're both looking forward to the show.
America became a cornerstone of the '70s top 40 and FM rock radio, but by the mid-1970s the band started to feel the pressure. Inter-band conflict combined with an exhaustive touring and recording schedule exacted its toll.
Peek departed from the group in 1977, and the two remaining members were forced to rise to the challenge of carrying on as a duo.
Over the years America stayed true to their music and their fans.
Ticket prices for tomorrow night's show range form $19 - $39. The band's opening act is the Jon Troast Band, a local band out of Lake Geneva.
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