Rock is LIVE!

After lots of audio cleanup, and an overhaul of the catalog layout, we now have the following audio available to stream:

All Target and Tee Pee releases from 1996 and 1967!
The ONLY LP ever released by Tee Pee Records!
The ENTIRE DBL catalog!

Click on the Archive link above to enjoy!

More on the way very soon!

Keep Rockin'!

Happy New Year 2020!

I want to thank everyone who has visited this page over the last year and a half, as well as everyone who has shared it with others. It has meant the absolute world to me that people are finding value in our music heritage. We are working hard to get the word out, and it has been amazing to see the shares and hear word of mouth spread what we are doing.

2020 promises to be a watershed year for our little group. I can only share a few of the things we are up to, but rest assured, the rest will be lots of fun and very exciting!

What I can share is that pages are going live with full audio and catalog listings of Target, Tee Pee, Rollo, and DBL. Each page will have links to every recording we have in our library, as well as pages of relevant recordings from before and after Target et al were in operation. You can find the link to "The Rockin' Music Archive" at the top of any page on the site (click the drop down menu if you are viewing from a mobile device.)

Currently, as I type this, the complete catalog of DBL Enterprise is up and active. Both Singles and both LPs from Dan Liebhauser's post-Target label are able to be streamed on demand and for free, thanks to our partnership with Clyp.it!

Once complete, this will allow access to over 200 rare, vintage Wisconsin rock, folk, polka and country records. Check back often, as it will be kept live while we continue to fill out, for the first time anywhere, the complete catalog.

Additionally, we are proud to announce that we will be expanding the site to include the history of Kelly DiCianni's KEL Records label, from Oshkosh, WI. Nathan Wolff, son of Nomads and Friends member Larry Wolff, will be researching the history of the label. Nathan has a long history in the Oshkosh/Fond du Lac music scene, and his family connection makes his easily one of the best people to present the story of KEL.
We will also be making available the entire KEL catalog, including many rare unissued recordings from private collections, photos and news articles!
Please look forward to it!

Keep Rockin'!

Andy Pemrich

The Return of the Catalinas?!

A new wrinkle in the timeline of the Catalinas has appeared in the form of this ad sheet we recently unearthed. Based on the Lake Street address on the bottom, it dates from no earlier than mid 1970.
 According to this page, the four original members of the Catalinas (Al Posniak, Jim Kelly, Harry Wheelock and Bob Dix) were set to reunite and start playing limited gigs again. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that day ever really came. By 1972, Al was in bad health. He chose to sell Target and the Neenah facilities to Dan Liebhauser, and moved to Illinois to recuperate near his family following surgery for a brain tumor. Harry went back to his day job in Milwaukee, and Bob went back to the Inn. It makes one wonder, what if...


This will be available soon in our text repository along with other written items, including our transcriptions of the Post-Crescent. Until then, please enjoy this slice of an alternative outcome for the boys (formerly) in gold.

From the ad copy:

"NEENAH, WIS. — One of Wisconsin's most famous rock bands from the past is returning after three years of retirement. The Catalinas, billed as Wisconsin's No. 2 rock band during most of the group's existence, is again playing on a limited basis only.

   The Catalinas were formed early in 1962 by Bob Dix, James Kelly, Alan Posniak, and Harry Wheelock, all from the Fox Cities area of the state. After achieving an almost immediate popularity the Catalinas went on to become the state's No. 2 rock band, to set record crowds at over a dozen clubs, bars, and dancehalls in the midwest, and to become the second band from Wisconsin to be signed to a major recording company, Chess Records of Chicago.

   In 1966 the Catalinas decided to broaden their horizons and to see the country. They dyed their hair gold, had special gold uniforms made, changed their name to the "Golden Catalinas," and left for a national tour, playing nightclubs throughout the country.

   The tour did little for the group except to extend their popularity. In 1967, Posniak decided to leave the group and enter the business side of the music industry. Shortly after leaving the stage he formed Target Productions, a recording company and a public relations firm. 

Kelly decided to leave the stage a short time later, forming J.K. Productions, a booking agency and management organization. 

   Six months later, in the spring of 1968, Wheelock and Dix, after a six-year partnership, dissolved the Catalinas completely. Dix bought a bar in Kaukauna, his hometown, which he calls Bob's Inn, and Wheelock accepted a position with Giddings and Lewis in Milwaukee. 

   Recently old rock and roll has been making a strong comeback, and Kelly has been getting numerous requests from his clients for his old band, the Catalinas. He asked the former members of the group if they would like to play again, on a limited basis. Be-cause of their commitments, the others agreed, but only on a very limited basis, at very select places. 

   Well, the Catalinas are back, so for rock of the '60s, as it was played in the '60s, by a band of the '60s, see the Catalinas."

Thanks to Dan Casaletto for finding this amazing relic!