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Biography
Paul Cebar is a songwriter, singer, guitarist, and bandleader from Milwaukee, Wisconsin , who has a penchant for Music of Africa|African , Latin American music|Latin American and Caribbean music . He has released four albums and an EP with his band, Paul Cebar & the Milwaukeeans, which have received airplay from Adult album alternative|triple-A stations across the US, one album with his current band Paul Cebar and Tomorrow Sound, and one solo album.
Early performing
Cebar graduated from Pius XI High School in Milwaukee and began performing in coffeehouses on the local folk scene in the mid-1970s. His repertoire consisted in large part of rhythm and blues and jump blues songs, played solo on his guitar. He attended New College of Florida|New College in Sarasota, Florida . Afterwards, he played in New York while working with the R& B Cadets in Milwaukee.
The R& B Cadets
Throughout the early 1980s, Cebar was a member of a Rock music|rock and R& B combo, The R& B Cadets, along with Jon Sieger, Mike Sieger, Robyn Pluer, Bob Jennings, Juli Wood and Bob Schneider. The band played Sieger's compositions, along with obscure songs from the mid-century that Cebar had unearthed.
The R& B Cadets released an album entitled Top Happy in 1986, and a 7-inch 33fraction|1|3 entitled Get a Move On in 1981, including song titles Hook, Line, and Sinker , One Is Green , ''Headin' for the Poor House , and Down by the River .
During this period Paul and Claudia Schmidt released a 7-inch 45 The Outskirts Of You b/w ''Baby, It's Cold Outside .
Parallel to his work with the R& B Cadets, Cebar had his own group, Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans. The group played many R& B, jazz ,and bebop songs, by Louis Jordan , Duke Ellington , Ella Fitzgerald , Billie Holiday , and others. The members were Cebar (acoustic guitar and vocals), Robin Pluer (vocals), Rip Tenor (sax), and Alan Anderson (bass). They were often joined by percussionist Guy Hoffman .
After the Cadets disbanded in 1986 Cebar reconstituted the group, which then was made up of Cebar (guitar, vocals), Pluer (vocals), Juli Wood (saxophone), Anderson (bass), Tenor (sax) and Randy Baugher (drums). The band explored African, Latin American and Caribbean sounds in a rhythm and blues context.
Reggie Bordeaux (who still performs with Paul in his current band Paul Cebar and The Tomorrow Sound), was taught drums by his father from an early age. He had much experience under his belt when he met Paul Cebar; he had already performed with The Artist Formerly Known as Prince as the lead drummer. His talents combine with his performing experiences made him a perfect fit for Paul Cebar's sound. Reggie's groove, and gospel biased drumming style brought an incredibly unique element to Paul's already unique music. If there is anything that stands out about Paul Cebar's music it is the drums, they carry the songs in a way that only a talent like Reggie can. Garrison Keillor has even commented on Reggie's drumming after the band's performance on his show A Prairie Home Companion, saying "Mr. Reggie Bordeaux... You got a great percussion section there mister." (speaking to Paul)
Patrick Patterson was one of the longest acting members of Paul Cebar & The Milwaukeeans and one of the most talented members that has ever performed with Paul. His talents with bass (as well vocals) were impeccable and made a perfect fit to Paul's groovy and rhythmic sound. Patrick sang back up vocals (in falsetto), that truly complemented the band's sound. Sadly Patrick left the band after expressing concerns about the instability of "road life" and a personal desire for a more formal life. He is now living in Atlanta, Georgia and is currently teaching at an elementary school, he has said he is very happy with his work. He attends all the band's performances in the Atlanta area. He still plays bass and posts videos of his one man performances online.
All of the original members other than Cebar have moved on. Some alumni are:
sax: Tony Jarvis, Greg Tardy (briefly), Paul Scher
guitar: Peter Roller, Rob Gjersoe, Terry Vittone
bass: Mike Kachou, Ethan Bender (briefly), Patrick Patterson
The current lineup includes former R& B Cadet Bob Jennings (sax, keyboards), Mike Fredrickson (bass), Reggie Bordeaux (drums), and McKinley "Mac" Perkins (percussion). While earlier incarnations of the band were more pop-oriented, more recently the band is heavily into African, Latin, Caribbean, reggae , zydeco , R& B and Soul music|soul styles.
The band continues to perform regularly, and tours the US.
Discography
That Unhinged Thing - 1993
Upstroke for the Downfolk - 1995
''I Can't Dance for You (EP) - 1996
The Get Go - 1997
Suchamuch - 2001 (live album)
Tomorrow Sound Now for Yes Music People - 2007
One Little Light On - 2009 (solo album)
Radio
Cebar began guesting on local musician Steve Cohen's show on WMSE radio in Milwaukee in the early 1980s. At the suggestion of another DJ there, he applied for, and received his own show, which he has hosted since 1985. The show runs Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. - noon. In the late 1980s, he also began hosting a show Sunday afternoons on WYMS in Milwaukee, which ran until the station changed its format in 2002.
http://www.mongrelm.com/artist_page.php? aid=A105 Paul Cebar and Tomorrow Sound performance schedule
http://user.mc.net/~tmotheus/cebar.html An Alternative Paul Cebar Home Page
Persondata | NAME = Cebar, Paul | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Cebar, Paul Category:Musicians from Wisconsin Category:Living people
