Live from Wisconsin: Paul Cebar

By Jacki Lyden

Published August 9, 2003 at 12:00 AM EDT

In almost every big city, there's a band like Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans. It's the type of band that everyone knows because they're such a presence at state fairs, weddings and the local dive bars.

They usually have a few CDs, but their mainstay is peforming live. Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans have been playing their particular brand of funk, soul and jazz in Wisconsin and around the country for more than 20 years.

NPR's Jacki Lyden happened upon Cebar earlier this summer in the small town of Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans rocked the small town stage; everyone — including their grandmothers — were dancing away. Lyden talks with Cebar to see what it is about this band that makes all the locals want to go out and dance.

Jacki Lyden

Longtime listeners recognize Jacki Lyden's voice from her frequent work as a substitute host on NPR. As a journalist who has been with NPR since 1979, Lyden regards herself first and foremost as a storyteller and looks for the distinctive human voice in a huge range of national and international stories.

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