Matt Wild

What is your job and its responsibilities?
I’m the founder of an unofficial NEWaukee offshoot group called Milwaukeewaukee. We meet once a month at Hardee’s to talk about Milwaukee, the weather, Milwaukee, that episode of Roseanne where Dan loses his job, and art or whatever. So far we’ve had zero meetings.

When I’m not busy with that, I’m the co-founder and editor of a brand-new Milwaukee-focused arts and entertainment website, the Milwaukee Record, set to launch April 7. When my previous gig as city editor for A.V. Club Milwaukee came to a close last year (AVCMKE is currently resting on a nice farm in the country, or so I’m told), I knew there was an opportunity to create a smart, opinionated, and irreverent online daily that covered Milwaukee music and culture. So I teamed up with a fellow writer, Tyler Maas, and decided to go for it. So please, check out our site when it launches. Our lives depend on it.

How long have you lived in Milwaukee and what brought you here?
I moved to Milwaukee in 1996 to study film at UWM. My film career was the definition of “undistinguished,” though I did make a short film called Super Hot Dog Man. It screened for approximately seven people at the UWM Union Cinema. I think my mom got a kick out of it.

Oh, and if you just did the math, you probably realized I’m stretching the definition of a “young” professional. At least I still have all my original hair.

What is your favorite Milwaukee event?
The Milwaukee Film Festival, hands down. The things Milwaukee Film has accomplished in the last few years are astounding, and they speak well of the people who live, work, and create here. The fest itself embodies everything I love about this city: It’s a huge, honest-to-goodness world-class event that still retains an intimate, neighborhood vibe. Is there anything better than seeing incredible films and bumping into friends during the day, and stumbling over to Hotel Foster to see a show at night? No.

What is your favorite Milwaukee tradition?
You know that first weekend of really nice weather after 8,000 years of winter, when everyone in town goes nuts? I love that.

What is the most effective way to implement change in Milwaukee?
Less talk, more rock.

Where do you see Milwaukee in five years?
I’d like to see Milwaukee finally acting like the big-time city it constantly claims to be. That goes for everything from politics to the way we talk about our city. It irks me when we constantly bicker about no-brainer issues like better public transportation, or when local folks trip over themselves to share the latest online list that names us the “Best U.S. city to buy sweatpants” or whatever. Want to be a world-class city? Start legislating like it, start acting like it, start writing like it.