Rising from the ashes of some notable and forgettable Wisconsin bands is PUNCH GOLIATH. The band is a product of the 1980s hard rock/hair metal scene. Twin brothers John Berghammer (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar) and Tom Berghammer (vocals, acoustic guitar, bass guitar) are the writing foundation of the band. Tom Reitz (vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar) and Tom Loppnow (vocals, drums, percussion) complete PUNCH GOLIATH.
John Berghammer, Tom Berghammer and Tom Reitz have been great friends since meeting in 1984. Together with Greg Lenske (lead vocals, drums), ANGEL WHITE gigged on the hard rock club circuit in southeastern Wisconsin in the mid 1980s. Successful on a local level, ANGEL WHITE broke up as the demands of life grew.
Through the years 1989-2000, John and Tom Berghammer focused on songwriting. The basement walls were our only audience. Tom Reitz and Greg Lenske played in a variety of successful regional bands.
In 2001, John Berghammer met Tom Loppnow working as an Audio Engineer at a radio/television/movie production studio. The two connected and within a year or so Lopp was jamming with the Hammers. An accomplished vocalist and drummer with a full resume of bands…Lopp fit in well. Songs from the Berghammer archives began to flow out of the sessions throughout 2003-2004. Tom Reitz was called in for lead guitar work and HAMMERED was solidified.
The first song recorded by HAMMERED was in November 2004. The 2005 independent movie DARE TO DREAM: THE ALAN KULWICKI STORY was being shot by Another Planet Film and Post. Basically a title track was needed and we took a crack at it. NUMBER 7 was the result. We had a great time doing that song and decided to keep it going. The years 2005-present have been spent writing and recording.
A name change from HAMMERED became necessary. On the internet and YouTube, many bands already used the name. Plus, many videos of wasted people popped up when the name was searched. As a result, PUNCH GOLIATH became our name in 2008. To date, PG has recorded 20 songs…a couple radio and television jingles….a few stadium anthems….and numerous acoustic demos that will be full band songs in the future.
PUNCH GOLIATH has taken a different path than a lot of bands. Individually members have played hundreds of live shows in a variety of bands. But collectively PG has not played a live show yet. But we will.
THE TREE is the first album by PUNCH GOLIATH and will be released in early 2011..
“You win when you finish, you lose when you don’t try” – NUMBER 7
John Berghammer
Advertising AE…Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee)…1989-1995
Advertising Director…Heiser Auto Group (Milwaukee)…1995-2005
Advertising AE…Greenspun Media Group (Las Vegas)…2006-2009
Tom Berghammer
Business and Regional Sales Manager for various consumer products companies throughout the United States 1989–present
Tom Reitz
Dentist with his own practice in Edgerton, Wisconsin 1988-present
Tom Loppnow
Audio/Video Engineer…Another Planet Film & Post (Milw)…2001-2006 Audio/Video Engineer…City of Milwaukee (Milw)…2007-present
