#FreezingMan and Joey’s Song founder Michael Gomoll heating up on Max Ink Radio

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Mike puts our concerts to help fund research into treatments and cures for epilepsy.

It's a little thing every January called Joey Song, named for his son who passed from epilepsy.

This year, Joey Song is growing again and attracting even more national talent with a new hashtag,

Freezing Man. And here in the studio to tell us about Joey Song is the founder, Mike Gummel.

Yeah.

Mike, welcome back to MagSync Radio Rock.

Thank you, Terry.

It's always great to see you.

You as well.

Yeah. So now we want to know about Freezing Man. What's the idea behind this?

And how does it kind of jump out of Joey Song?

Sure. So this is under the category of good problems to have.

Hashtag humble brag.

I'm writing that for you.

I think it's already gone viral.

Okay.

So, you know, in the past, we've had all these great artists that have come.

Oh, it's wonderful.

Times great artists. Everybody keeps coming back year after year.

The problem is, then, like last...

You don't want to disinvite anybody.

They're all much more talented and appealing than I am.

But last year's show was four and a half hours, which is real...

I mean, that's the kind of show that would make Springsteen or the Great Full Dead Cry.

Right.

It's like, oh, no, no, no.

Let alone an older audience like we have.

So in order to not disinvite anybody and or have somebody fly all the way from Hawaii or California

to sing one song, we decided to do a festival.

Well, we think of all the great festivals.

There's Coachella and La Paloza and then there's Burning Man.

But you can't do Burning Man in January and Wisconsin.

So we flipped it to Freezing Man.

That's brilliant.

I love that.

That's the idea behind it.

We're doing a week-long music festival and we're calling it Freezing Man.

A week long.

Yeah, tell me about it.

Is this going to be outsider?

Yeah.

Good one.

Jimmy, I'm not very broke, but I'm not that stupid.

So this will be at the Sylvie Van.

Sylvie and the majestic so far, there may be a few other announcements as well.

So this is kind of, you know, more of a spread-out event now, not just at one venue.

Yeah, so the idea is Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, there'll be a series of shows around

all the venues that are more like traditional concerts, with bands doing their regular sets,

like bangles, belly.

I don't remember who I can announce so far and who I can't Portugal.

I can't say all of them.

I can't Portugal the man, silver sun, pickups, can you hoopla, who's this really hot musician

from Appleton right now, who's blowing up, he's huge.

And they're going to be doing more traditional sets at majestic and Sylvie during the week

and we're going to put combinations together.

And then Saturday, it'll still be that big mash-up thing that we do.

Wow.

Everybody from the week is going to be staying as well.

So we're still going to do these combinations.

But so now we've got more traditional concerts, three days leading up to them.

What a great opportunity for people that maybe haven't been able to go to Joey's song.

Now they've got all these other choices, and it still supports what you're doing.

Well, and the hope is too, because some of the folks that are playing don't get to Madison

as a band like belly hasn't played in years forever.

The bangles are really no more as an entity, all of those things.

So we're also hoping some of the fans that may not have traveled from a farther radius

just to see them do a few songs, might come to town, see the full show,

and then also stay for the Saturday thing as well.

So we're hoping it's a reason for making it more of a destination.

Hey, it's freezing man again. Let's go to Madison and get a hotel for three or four days.

I can see an event like this, you know, not only the fans getting excited about it,

but you kind of touch on the bands getting excited about it, coming to Madison.

And what are three for us, people that live in Madison, to have this talent,

to converge on Madison?

Well, you make a really good point to me too, because I've actually had a few of them

use the phrase foam along me, fear of missing out.

Because some of the bands aren't playing until like Friday and Saturday,

and I'm saying, you know, well, you don't have to come in then until Thursday and blah blah.

And they're like, no, we're all, everybody's coming in on Tuesday,

because nobody wants to miss.

So all the shows are staggered, so there'll never be two Joey songs going on at the same time.

So we'll be doing matinee shows at the majestic, and then shows at the Sylvie that night.

And so there's, you know, you could literally go to six concerts over those days,

and none of the bands that have been around would want to miss.

So, you know, literally, literally, I got that feedback when I was working with travel with some of them.

And saying, we're going to play until Friday.

Oh, no, we're coming in on Tuesday.

Rock star vacation in Madison.

How about it?

You can imagine walking around, and then you're seeing all these people.

And it's like, what is going on?

This is amazing.

That's how Madison should be too.

That's the idea.

So Mike, you know, I was talking to you about doing Joey song in July.

And you did it.

And we did it.

It was awesome.

So it fast, but I was trying to get Joey.

I was trying to get Mike there, right?

And he said, well, I don't know.

I might have to go to this like huge concert trying to get somebody to come in and play.

Now, I don't know who that was, but what's happening on that front?

Who's coming?

Who's the new blood?

So as I just kind of alluded to in me having to edit myself,

there's still some stuff in the work.

So I will tell you, who's announced?

Who's new so far this year that we've got coming?

We've got John Resnick from the Goo Goo Dolls.

Who is the ladies seem to be very fond of that, everyone?

Can I interview him?

You may.

You may.

And then because we are an equal opportunity,

Ogler, we have Jane Weedlin from the Go-Ghost Clan.

All right.

And for those of you that don't know,

Jane was born and raised in O'Connor,

because she is a Wisconsin gal.

They've been here in Madison for years.

She did.

She did.

And then we've got Steve Porcaro from Toto,

the guy that wrote Roachland.

Are you kidding me?

And wrote Human Nature for Michael Jackson.

So Steve's coming as well.

My college boyfriend loved Toto.

So Steve, that's it.

He probably like spam, Terry.

Yes.

That's right.

The checklist.

Jimmy K.

I wish I could throw a pen at you right now,

but it's basically.

I'm sorry.

That's quite all right.

And then we've got a few other,

how do I say this without giving everything away?

Some of the folks that traditionally come

might be trying to get their old bands back together

that don't play anymore.

So I'll leave it at that.

And then we are working on,

we've got a couple A-list folks

that we're still working on that.

Unfortunately, I can't spill the beans out.

So like these bands that people probably really know

are getting back together just for joy, son.

It's kind of wild.

Wow.

Did you ever think?

No.

I mean, and we...

I know the question, the answer is no.

Oh, we are so grateful to you,

and we are so lucky to have this,

but I'm so happy that we can help you.

Oh, absolutely.

The Madison and the South,

Eastern Wisconsin music community has been so supportive of this,

even when it was a small little thing,

all the local bands would come and play,

and you know, the crowds would turn up,

and it's been great.

I have to be honest, though.

It helps when you're ace in the holes, butch-vig.

I'm not going to lie to you when you're in jail.

He is the best.

I was literally not to be Mike the name-dropper,

but I was on the phone yesterday with Steve from Toto,

and we were talking about stuff.

And he was gushing about butch.

He's like, oh, he's the legend,

and we kind of take him for granted now,

because he's our guy, but he is revered.

I mean, revered in all corners of the music business.

So while my story in the event,

I know helps sell it.

It doesn't hurt when some of you say,

no, who's all involved?

And I automatically go, well, there's butch,

and then there's some other people,

and I just go with that, and that tends to work.

You had mentioned local bands,

are you going to be able to get some local bands

on the bills here in Madison?

Well, the closest we're going to come is the know it all.

Boyfriends are going to do a full show.

So yeah, on Wednesday at the majestic,

so Jay and Pi, and that crew will all do that.

And they are in charge of bringing their own local guests

for that one.

So I'm leaving that in Jay's corner

on what that's going to be, but what's the date?

What's the date?

So it starts.

The first show is Wednesday, January 8th,

and that's the know it all.

Boyfriends set at the majestic.

And then we end, and there's shows on Thursday, Friday,

and then we end with the big show on January 11th,

which is the whole crew again.

Wow.

It's January 8th through the 11th.

Make plans to be in Madison because there's going to be

a lot of rock stars coming to rock.

Get your hotel now, right?

Especially those ones down on eastward.

Oh, yeah.

The Indigo.

Yeah.

But do we ask you, at this point,

are you happy with what has been raised?

Oh, God.

For why you're doing this in the first place?

Tell us about that.

The record's last year.

Yeah.

So if you look at some of the first interviews I did back in 2010

when we released the CDs before I did it,

there's a quote that I say to the reporter.

I said, you know, my goal is to raise, you know,

sell them at the local century and read a $500 check

to the uplift.

And that was all I had in my mind at the time.

Yeah.

And the other thing I said to people is,

I never felt like this was a calling.

And I still don't feel like it's a calling,

but I do feel like it's an opportunity.

Yeah.

You know, I've been given this opportunity

because of my narrative well passed in Madison with Butch

and some of those other folks to do this.

And I would be negligent if I didn't take advantage

of the opportunity.

And the size of the checks were able to write to the

really smart people in the lab coats that are mixing the test tubes.

It's okay.

Okay.

So what's the great amount at this point?

You don't even know.

Well, as of closing the books at the end of the last one,

we've raised 1.3 million.

Oh, my goodness.

It's over the time.

And we'll see what this year brings.

Oh, wow.

That's amazing.

Yes.

You would imagine.

Yes.

Yes.

You would only imagine it's on an upward trajectory.

So the freezing man for Joey Song is happening Wednesday,

January 8th through January 11th through the Saturday.

Yep.

If people wanted to get tickets, get more information.

How do we do that?

Everything is through JoeySong.org.

We've got a tickets button.

We've got a donate button.

There will soon be...

We haven't even talked about the guitar auction and some

of the guitars we have.

There'll be auction up there soon as soon as I get organized.

And some other stuff.

But that'll take you all there.

You'll come back before January.

That sounds good.

Yeah, why won't you?

That sounds good.

Then we'll talk about the guitar auction and some of the new

additions to line up.

Yep.

You can tell us everything then.

Yeah.

And you will release this.

Hopefully I can spill all the beans.

And then maybe he'll put some spam in the auction for Jimmy Kay.

Well, if I'm spilling the beans, I'll spill the spam too.

I'm sorry.

So you ate spam.

What was your spam recipe to go to?

It was literally just fried between bread and simple.

It was mostly...

I didn't grow up with it, but college.

Where you're looking to get...

You're looking to get by Mac and cheese.

Yeah, thank you.

It's the most simple thing and it requires literally slicing

and putting it in the pan.

And you don't feel like you're eating baloney.

You don't know what you're eating, but it doesn't feel like baloney.

It is so true.

Baloney can be kind of a mystery in itself.

That's right.

So we're kind of like...

We're going to remember where...

Wisconsin, we're the land of head cheese.

So when there's head cheese...

I'm getting blank stairs.

Do you know what head cheese is?

Of course.

Yeah.

So we're the land of head cheese.

We really can't swarm a spam.

No head cheese either, Hunter.

No.

I didn't see head cheese until I came to Wisconsin.

This is a bad...

Right.

I'm from on New Yorker originally.

So when I got here, it was like...

They're bubblers and head cheese.

Head cheese, brown shwiger.

You name it.

We have got texture problems here in this day.

And they're hairy.

Oh yeah.

Like the raw hairy in my grandparents.

You see and I...

Not to take us down a whole nother path.

But I used to work at Ellis Deli down on steak.

Oh yeah.

And he's washed.

And gefelt the fish.

And all those things.

You...

There's like I said, we have texture issues.

What's that Norwegian...

Loot of fish.

Loot of fish.

That stuff is disgusting.

Oh, we found one.

And that's a very Wisconsin thing.

It really is.

It really is.

I've had it once.

Now you know why we drink so much.

Not.

Right.

Watch it down.

It's clear.

Mike, thank you.

Thanks, guys.

JoeySong.org.

You know the details.

Let's do some cheap trick.

Why not?

Yeah!

It's back, St. Cons.

Saturday night.

Civic Media.