“The scene: a bunch of nice Jewish boys … plunked in the middle of a scary biker bar,” said Jeff Green, M.D., describing a recent “battle of the bands” rock show at The Rave concert hall just outside of downtown Milwaukee.
“It was smoky, noisy, dirty and full of creepy people. Some of the … Jewish brahmin that showed up to support us turned around and left because it was too scary.”
Green, 49, is a slender 5’5” with a calm, easy-going demeanor. Wearing warm-up pants and a long-sleeve T-shirt over his relaxed posture; his round, boyish face crowned by a mildly restrained mop of dark, looping, curls, Green was the picture of comfort as he sat down for an interview with The Chronicle last week at Stone Creek Coffee Roasters in Glendale.
The topic of discussion: the rock band he and four high school sophomores have formed called Dr. Green and the Machine.
Once you speak with Green for a few minutes, it becomes less of a surprise that he is in a band with four pubescent teenagers. When he speaks about the band, his face lights up; he uncorks an ear-to-ear grin that gives him an almost precocious affect as the child inside of him leaps to the surface to talk about his music.
Of course, another source of that pleasure is fatherly pride, as his son, Matan Koplin-Green, is one of the members of the band. Matan (guitar, bass, drums, vocals) is joined by Zak Rickun (lead guitar, bass, vocals), Zach Schley (keyboard, lead vocals) and Nathan Frazer (keyboard, electric violin, lead vocals). All are 16 years old and 2006 graduates of Milwaukee Jewish Day School.
The first time the band performed together as a unit was at their in-school eighth grade graduation ceremony, when they played Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen” with the lyrics changed to “I’m Fourteen” in the MJDS lunchroom.
Over their first three semesters of high school, the guys would get together and jam at the Green household on a semi-regular basis, with or without Green. Then last fall Zak Rickun announced that he had entered them into a battle of the bands that was promoted by Guerilla Productions and was slated to be held in January at The Rave.
“We weren’t really a band yet,” said Green (bass, drums, guitar, vocals). “Suddenly [the band] was forced to get its act together. We had about two months to get ready.”
The winners of the battles were determined by audience applause after the show. DGATM and a large teen band called the Two-Tone Bandits tied for the lead at the January show, so both bands were among the 10 bands who advanced to the finals, also held at The Rave, on May 17.
At the finals, DGATM’s set was cut off before their 30-minute allotment was up, according to Green, but they were the only band that received an encore. Green said that the band sold the most tickets (about 150, he estimated), had the nicest fans, played the best music, and easily won the battle.
“Some of the competition didn’t feel that way and became very unruly and belligerent afterwards,” said Green, noting that there was spitting, shoving and swearing directed at them.
At that point, The Rave’s security stepped in and offered to escort the winners to their vehicles, “to which all the boys cheered and said ‘Yeah! We made it, we’re rock stars, we get to be escorted to our vehicles!’” said Green.
Wolfgang and Wolfmother
“I just want to make people happy with our music,” said Zak, who is arguably the most musically accomplished teenager in the band. Four out of the last five years, he has won a scholarship from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music to receive electric guitar lessons. The year he did not win, he had a torn cartilage in his pinkie finger.
Zak teaches private guitar lessons on the side, as does Matan. Nathan, who also has won a pair of scholarships to the conservatory for his violin play, has emerged, along with Schley, as the band’s two “monstrous lead singers,” according to Green.
“Nathan is more restrained and refined, and Zach is a total wild man,” said Green. “So it really works for different songs.”
The guys collaborate not only in performance but also in the songwriting process. But it’s different for each of them.
“When I write lyrics, [I just write] whatever I’m feeling at the moment, even if it’s about absolutely nothing,” said Schley, the lone band member who attends Homestead High School; the other three go to Nicolet High School.
Matan and Nathan both said that hearing other songs can inspire them to try to create something similar, but with their own twist.
When asked about musical influences, the band members listed an eclectic array of sounds, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Wolfmother, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix Beethoven, Mozart and George Gershwin.
Green is the leader of the band if not because of his age and work ethic, then because of his musical acumen. He grew up in a musical household and played in bands all through high school, college, after college and has played in the world music ensemble One Drum for the last 10 years.
“Without him we would get nothing done,” said Schley. Watching them interact, one can see that he does not act as the band’s parental authority; he offers suggestions and gets along with the teens as one of the guys. The respect is mutual.
“With my brains and their raw energy, we are unstoppable,” said Green. “It’s just a beautiful, multi-generational thing. Our relationship is not forced – we all love what we’re doing.
“It’s a message to society to show how a bridge can be built. People from a wide expanse of ages all want the same thing. I think people can relate to that when they see us.”
Dr. Green and the Machine’s next gig is at the Nicolet football field on May 30, 9 p.m., at the Amnesty International “Leave Your House at Home” event.
Extra information not found in the print edition:
Click here to see the band’s appearance on Fox 6 Wake Up Show, in which they are interviewed by Kim Murphy and perform their original song “Red Box of Blues.”
The prizes that Dr. Green and the Machine were awarded for winning the battle of the bands are $500, a 20-hour recording session at Studio Z in Milwaukee, and submission of their press kit, which includes the product that they make in the studio, to Warner Bros.
The versatility of all of the musicians in the band allows them to play different instruments for different songs. They have a jam in which they actually trade instruments during the song.
The band would like to acknowledge the support they have received from Louis and Grandpa Joe.
Green grew up in a house full of music. His father was a department store owner/drummer with swing bands that played the “Borscht Belt” summer resorts in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. His brother Donald was his first guitar teacher. Green’s sister Sally introduced him to bands such as Led Zeppelin, and took him (and Donald) to his first concert, which was a Zeppelin show at Nassau Colliseum when he was about 12 or 13 years old. This came right after the album “Led Zeppelin IV,” which featured the track, “Stairway to Heaven,” had been released. They bought front row center seats from a scalper. The effect such an experience had on a youngster? “Look at me,” said Green. “This is the result. I’m playing ‘Whole Lotta Love’ with my boy.”
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