Milwaukee: A State Of Being
On Friday we played in Milwaukee. To say we had a crazy trip would be a gross understatement. It had its ups and downs, but through it all we kept smiles on our faces. We were there for one day and played three engagements. It felt like we were there for 4 days. The following story and all of the characters in it are real. Any touring band can probably relate to most of the stuff in here, but this is our story… It all really started on Thursday night. 6 out of 8 of us play in Dérobé Dance Band, a loose group of drunk goofballs that play a mix of Ethiojazz, Afro Funk, and Afrobeat. Someone told the fine folks at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts that it would be a good idea to hire that band to play music at one of their Third Thursday outdoor events. Well, the sky opened up and it stormed like something out of the bible. They moved the event inside and we crammed a 12 piece band onto a little 12×8 stage. It was tons of fun, especially since Dérobé hasn’t played out in a very long time. Anyhow, after the gig Sam and I had to drive over to St Paul and pick up our new (to us) bus from the mechanic, making for a very late night.
The following morning we met at our rehearsal space at 5am. That 4am wakeup was rough, but the drive down to Milwaukee went well. Blair brought a stack of cassette tapes to rock out to on the way down. Guns and Roses, De La Soul, Muddy Waters, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Howlin’ Wolf, and Led Zep all helped us pass the time.
We rolled into 88Nine Radio Milwaukee for an in-studio at about 11:30 (just slightly behind schedule). We were super impressed with that place. Their space is super cool and everyone there was incredible. They had some sandwiches and Atari games waiting for us in a lounge… can’t really beat that. We played 3 tunes in front of a small audience and chatted with Stephen Kallao for a live broadcast.
From there we were on our way to Exclusive Company for an in-store performance. We got all loaded up hit the road. Except it didn’t actually happen that way at all. After loading gear into the back of the bus via the motorized lift we discovered that our battery had died. We figured running the lift without the bus on must have drained it. After pushing the bus into place for a jump, we were on our way… or so we thought. 5 minutes into our trek across town the bus died again. We popped the hood (the international sign for help us, we’re screwed) and called AAA. While we were waiting for AAA to come jump the bus a couple of good Samaritans named Mack and Prince Fox stopped and helped us out. We jumped it and it died again. Mack proclaimed, “You can jump this thing all you want, but what you need is a new alternator.” Great, how the hell are we going to get this thing towed, fixed, and somehow make it to our next two gigs in Milwaukee today? Oh, and how are we even going to get back to Minneapolis in the morning?
Prince said that he had a pal that runs a shop nearby and he was extremely confident that they could get us on the road in a couple hours. The AAA guy showed up and said he could get us a tow, but that it could take up to two hours for them to arrive. At that rate we’d never make it to Exclusive Co. Mack chimed in, I’ll just pull you over there with my pickup. I asked if that was a good idea to which he hollered, “This is what we do, baby. All day long!” Sonny volunteered to man the wheel as Mack pulled us to their friend’s shop. When we got there, they said that they wouldn’t be able to help us, but suggested that we head over to see a guy named Spider in Bronzeville.
After Mack and Prince pulled us over there, they refused to take any money. A mechanic at Spider’s named Bald Head fixed us up and had us on the road in under an hour, but not before we got to meet a dude named Boy Dog, a man who’s gratuitous use of the F word made The Lakers sound like a group of ministers. Dog was a drummer who played with Harvey Scales and The Seven Sounds for years (AWESOME). He also happened to know some of the guys who played with our hometown heroes, The Valdons.
We made it over to Exclusive Company about 20 minutes after the planned start time, not too bad all things considered! They were super understanding. What a kick ass record shop! That place had some very cool stuff and everyone there was wonderful. Their stage is very small, so we set up with the horns on the floor. In fact, I played a stripped down kit and we left the B3 in the bus and Sam used his Nord keyboard (always have a backup). Since we were running a bit behind, we only played four tunes. I think we were a little exhausted and perhaps not in the mood to rock. But as soon as we started we snapped right into it and had a total blast! The crowd was small, but appreciative. We even met a couple folks who said they’ve been following the band since we very first started. The internet is cool, man!
While we were playing one of the clerks told Danny, our road manager, that we had to move our bus. Unfortunately, when we unpacked the bus to do the in-store, we left the B3 standing up without any other gear surrounding it to hold it place. As Danny was looking for a new parking space, it tipped over and went through the back window. A little bit of cardboard and a shit ton of duct tape and we were back in business. After we packed up, Tony snagged a copy of the Soul Fire 45 boxed set for super cheap. I think we need to get a power converter set up in the bus so we can hook up a Califone turntable for days like that. I can’t wait to listen to those records. We grabbed a handle of Beam and a 15 pack of Milwaukee’s own Blatz Beer from the liquor store next to Exclusive Co and we hit the road. That 15 pack was literally 7 dollars.
We went straight to Stonefly Brewing Company for the main event. Most of the guys grabbed dinner there, but for some reason I was obsessing over getting a Philly cheese steak, so Casey and I hit the pavement and tried to find some nearby. We went to Shi Chai Hoookah Lounge a couple blocks away. It seems like lots of those gyro places make Phillys. Unfortunately, they didn’t have one on the menu, but the dude behind the counter was sympathetic to my craving and did his best to accommodate. He basically made me a Philly with Schawarma. It was amazing.
We were expecting to go on around 10pm, but as it turns out Kid Millions brought in a DJ to warm up the room. It was super cool, the DJ was Andy Noble, a killer bassist who played in two kick ass bands: The Pacers and Kings Go Forth. I’ll be honest, we started getting antsy as the night went on and we were waiting to play. A few of us (myself included) grabbed a quick nap in the bus. But we were really worried about going on so late. Man were we wrong! By the time we got suited up and came up stairs to take the stage, the place had REALLY filled in! Kid Millions and The Sounds of Time got the room warmed up and people were ready to dance. Later, Millions would tell us he’s learned that people don’t really come out in MKE until after 11:30 or so. Stretching the night out the way he did was a total pro move!
We did our set and hung out ‘til bar close. It was a very fun crowd and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. After shutting down the merch booth, our road manager, Danny, went to hang out with a friend of his who came to the show. The only problem was that there wasn’t a legally sober person among the band. We loaded up the gear and called a cab. The plan was for me and Sam to crash on the bus and the rest of the guys would go sleep at Kid Millions’ place. Thankfully, before the cab arrived, Danny wound up coming back to drive all of us over to Millions’ place (thank god). We had a great time hanging there and listening to records all night.
We woke up around 10am and hit the road. About 20 minutes into the ride Lumpy got car sick in his pillow case. It was gross. About halfway through the ride home the sun came out (finally). It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day. The drive between MKE and MPLS is gorgeous. We had the windows down and the stereo off. It was nice to be able to take it all in. Anyhow, I think we all pretty much fell in love with Milwaukee. Every single person we met was extremely kind. We also really dug the actual city itself. The east side seemed like a ton of fun! Casey kept saying, “They know how to do the waterfront right in Milwaukee.” We have a lot of waterfront in Minneapolis, but most of it doesn’t look nearly as nice it does there.
We’ll be back soon. Thanks to everyone who made this trip so awesome! If it weren’t for the kindness of strangers, this could have been the trip from hell.
‘Till next time, Milwaukee,
-Eric (Drums)
