The Band
Hell on Heels is Milwaukee's Premiere Classic Rock cover band. It was awarded the first place in the Battle of the YPO Bands in Los Angeles of six top contenders. The jury, among them Scott Page (Pink Floyd, Brian Wilson, Supertramp, Toto) and Kenny Lee Lewis (Steve Miller Band) unanimously voted Hell on Heels the best performing band.
Vocals & Keytar: Renee K. has a voice as "down and dirty" as her shimmy. She punctuates the fast-driving Euro-inspired tracks like "Checkin' Out" while giving a sensitive touch to ballads such as "Beast of Burden". She was known in Germany as an "energy bomb" for ability to send a vibration through a room. In her book, life is to short to stay seated, so be ready to get out of "park" and had guest appearances with Gene Simmons and Billy Idol live on stage.
Bass: Andy Brienen ensures that the groove hits the spot. His full tone resonates through instrumentals and he and Rene have "fine-tuned" into each other over the years and the result is a tasteful musical experience.
Keyboards: Julian Herzing-Burkard studied classical piano and jazz for years and loves classic rock.
Drums: John Calarco, who started drumming at age 10, has received seven WAMIs and played in many local bands including Big Bang Theory, Greg Koch and the Tone Controls, Common Faces (from Madison), Tony Jarvis, Daryl Stuermer Band, NC-17 (Gabriel-era Genesis Tribute band featuring Todd Sucherman from Styx ), "H," Chasin Mason, Kirk Tatnall Trio, Mike Standal, Dan Trudell Trio, The String Station, The Willy Porter Band and many other side projects. Calarco also worked with Andy Summers of The Police, Bruce Springsteen guitarist Nils Lofgren, Pat Travers, The B-52s' Kate Pierson and Frank Zappa's guitarist Mike Keneally.
Guitar: Rene Burkard has been playing guitar for over 54 years and was in 1984, 1985 & 1986 repeatedly quoted as being one of the best rock guitar players in Germany. His band “Broomstick Dusters” won two prestigious award competitions among several thousand qualified rock bands and they were touring all over Germany. Rene also played with greats like Luther Allison in Germany and France, Helge Schneider and Eelco Gelling (Cuby & the Blizzards/Golden Earring). Besides touring and production Rene worked for many years in the music industry as a product development specialist and sales manager for a large multinational musical instrument distributor.
Vocals: Claudia Johnson, a New York City native has been a professional singer for over 20 years with a successful career in and around NYC. She is currently also working as a professional vocal teacher.