This is New Wisco Weekend.
I'm Lisa Hale.
The final segment on New Wisco Weekend is always a musical feature.
This week we have the La Bonte brothers.
They're an up-and-coming brother duo inspired by family, with a goal to get people up and
dancing with some country music.
Recently they were a guest on Civic Media's Mino in the Mayor's Show, and here's a bit
of their appearance.
My name is Derek, and this is my name is Brett, and we're the La Bonte brothers.
You're new on the scene.
We've been playing together since the basements of our house.
I mean, just jamming.
We worked ourselves up from the basement to the living room to garage.
My graduation party was the first time I school graduation party, was the first time I
ever played in front of people.
And I played, and then I remember looking at my dad, and my dad looked at me and he goes,
so that's what you've been working on.
That's right.
Nice.
Yeah, so all the times we were downstairs jamming and stuff, you'd open the door and
be like, quiet.
And then I was learning from YouTube.
He learned from, he had a class in middle school that he took, and we just decided, we
should do this together.
So we've been playing together for the past two years now, we've been doing shows together.
It's been absolutely amazing.
I mean, the stuff that we get to do together, playing these places, creating memories,
making people smile, have a good time, that's what it's all about.
We play a lot of covers at our shows, and a lot of country music, a lot of music.
So hopefully we're going to get you up and dance, smile, grab the person next year and
give him a big ol' hug, and dance.
That's the way we grew up.
In honor of Friday, we'll play an Eric Church song, drinking my hands, so.
Oh, you gotta do is put a drink in my hand, and fill it up, I'll throw it down, you gotta
40 hour a week, we're the trouble, the drown, no need to complicate it.
I'm a simple man, oh, you gotta do is put a drink in my hand, here's the parking light
of this muddy, can't get to the door, I'll take my jacked up, drop it down, and 4x4,
chill down a long neck, warm up the band, oh, you gotta do is put a drink in my hand,
and fill it up, I'll throw it down, I'm about to tear a new one in this old town,
five, four, three, two, one, I'm a rocket man, oh, you gotta do is put a drink in my
hand, make me want to go, when you dance like that, you got that little tattoo,
playing picky boo on your back, if you want to impress me, baby, here's my plan, oh,
you gotta do is put a drink in my hand, and fill it up, I'll throw it down, when you
drive me on, take the long way around, you be my little explain, I'll be your superman,
oh, you gotta do is put a drink in my hand, my head Monday morning at a long clock,
I really gotta do is bang, bang, bang, wow, it rang, rang, rang, yeah, I'm
ready to roll, if you want to rock again, oh, you gotta do is put a drink in my hand,
and fill it up, I'll throw it down, you got a little hung over, still hanging around
it, that hair of the dog is howin' hey there man, oh, you gotta do is put a drink in my
hand, oh, yeah, that's great, that's great.
Tell me who inspired you, the main influence that we both had was our great Uncle Roy, he
is hence passed, but growing up, going to family events and stuff like that, he would
come out just kinda whip out his guitar and play for everybody at family reunions or
just get together and stuff like that.
He started like building up with him, so we'd go to his basement sometimes as well,
and he would just teach us a G chord C chord a lot and like how to really find a rhythm,
so being kids like watching, we'd sit cross-legged and just be mesmerized, we wanted to be just
like him.
How proud are we be of you guys right now?
I think he would be a little floor that we're on the radio right now, like I said, we
play music because we saw it from him and the joy and the smiles and the laughter, I mean
music can bring people together.
You wrote a song about your dad, you've lost your dad.
Family is a big deal, I mean losing our father too and being able to write that song
is about our dear camp and our favorite place in the world and just how nothing's changed,
we're just missing you.
Father passed, well 10 years ago and I stopped playing for a while because that was
kind of a big thing too.
He'd always be standing in the corner if I can't be like, play that one song.
Play that one song.
I'll play it.
And never that one song.
Yeah, it was never that one.
We never knew what song he wanted.
And no matter what song we played, it always been.
No, that wasn't it.
No.
That one I went like.
And if you want to get through the entire song.
No, it's the one that goes like, blah, blah, blah.
Yeah.
Let's just play this one.
Okay, but here's what I want you to know.
He's always in your corner and he is still requesting that song.
He is.
But when we got back together, I actually started getting back into it and knock off some of
it.
I mean, now it's just a snowball effect.
Well, my buckle makes impressions on the inside of her thigh.
There are little feathered Indians where we tussle through the night.
If I'd known she was religious, then I wouldn't have came stoned to the house of such an angel to messed up to get back home.
Looking over West Virginia, smoking spirits on the room.
She asked ain't anybody told you that them things are bad for you.
I said many folks warned me there've been several people tripled up till now.
There ain't been nothing that I couldn't leave behind.
And hold me close my dear and sing your whispering song.
Thank you for being a part of Newisco Weekend, your look at stories and issues facing Northeast Wisconsin.
Newisco Weekend is produced and written by Terry Barr and Lisa Hale, our executive producer is Todd Michaels, directed by Lisa Hale.
With lead correspondent Terry Barr and features by Conrad Krieger, Brittany Merlot, Melissa Kay and Peach Schwabba.
Plus commentator Amanda Nimmer.
This week's issue featured special appearances by John Mino, Jim Schmidt and Nikki Z.
If you have a story you'd like to hear covered, please feel free to email me anytime.
Lisa.hale at civicmedia.us.
I'm civic media Northeast Wisconsin bureau chief Lisa Hale for WISS and WGBW News.
Be unstoppable.
