American Progress is a three-piece band whose origin story started off with a moment of chance when two members came together to start the project. Tristan Wallace (drummer) and David Weber (Vocalist, Certified Yeller) met at the Pabst Tap Room, where Wallace was a house audio engineer and Weber had a residency there. One day after a particularly amazing set, these two sat down to chat, and one thing led to another, which earned the band the name on the spot, American Progress. For a while, their journey was just the two of them; they practiced, hung out, and eventually led to their first official release, “Ace of Spades.” 

Fast forward some time, and Weber met Steve Madsen, their bassist and the final joining member of the group. For a while, it took a hot second for Madsen and Wallace to meet, creating this illusion for Madsen that maybe this guy did not exist. There were several other mishaps that kept happening to start off Madsen’s addition to the group, which made him wonder what sort of wild project he actually agreed to be a part of. But after their first full run-through to now, all three of them agree that it’’s been a crazy ride to watch grow. 

American Progress is a 100% DIY independent group that writes, mixes, produces, tours, and creates their art all on their own with no label backing. I think it’s such a powerful move to choose independence over signing to a group. There is a lot to be said that elevates the pros of being signed, but having full control over who you are and what your music is allowed to sound or stand for is worth a lot. Speaking of, this band has a mascot, so to speak, a secret fourth member named Dewey. Wallace recalls, “In our song, ‘Gvmnt Cheez’ there is a bit where the song goes, ‘Do we know?’ but all I could hear was ‘Dewey No!’ so it just stuck. We thought having a face like an entity or a mascot to be a timeless thing, so we can push our music through this character. Dewey is our fourth member.”  So that is the story behind their album, which is titled Dewey NO! 

Similar to how their story came together, their songwriting process is anything but traditional. Each of them has other jobs and commitments in life, making having a regularly scheduled rehearsal difficult, which I totally understand as someone who works at least five different part-time jobs at this point. Their process is not often done together in the same room, and they have all noted that some songs can come together in the spur of a moment. Weber mentions, “Sometimes we’ll be jamming, and I’ll start hollering; sometimes those hollers rhyme. It’s an ever-changing, over-expanding thing where they [songs] all come together in different fashions, which is why they sound different from each other.” From the one set I witnessed at Summerfest this year, they gave off standard punk rock vibes similar to Bowling for Soup, who are also a three-piece band with silly antics on stage. 

With the other commitments in life and gaps, sometimes they use that moment to really dig into creating their craft to prepare for those live shows. They just played Summerfest this year and are currently on a tour right now. You can definitely expect more music later this year alongside the annual festivities they hold, so stick around for all that fun. Otherwise, if they’re coming to a city near you, go for the music and stick around for the fun vibes. Maybe you’ll get to witness them writing a new song on stage? You can follow them on social media platforms and find their music on streaming platforms for all updates to stay in their loop. Maybe you’ll even see them around downtown Milwaukee on a random Tuesday. All I know is that American Progress is a super down-to-earth group with all the fun punk vibes everyone needs in their life, so don’t miss out and give them a chance to win you over.

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