2003-09 Vital Source Mag – September 2003
Brian Jones Lays His Hands on Peter Gabriel
By Brian Jones As sophomores in high school, my small group of friends and I spent most of our time trying to be as cool as possible. By “cool” I mean we knew we weren’t popular, so it was our goal to be as strange, and in our minds, cutting edge as possible. Nobody else in our central Illinois town wore the clothes we wore. Punk meets the new wave and we had an obligation to show everybody else how uncool they were (and, by extension, how cool we were) in our Soviet full-length wool trench coats. Of course nobody listened to the same music. We were determined to be whatever we wanted to be as long as it wasn’t like everybody else. We conformed to being non-conformist. Not many concerts come to Normal, Illinois so when my friend Paul asked me to go a Peter Gabriel show I was psyched. We knew him then only as the former front man for the 70s prog-rock group Genesis. At the time Gabriel was enjoying moderate success with a strange little tune called “Shock The Monkey.” What I did know was that Gabriel was the kind of artist who didn’t conform to any standards. He did what he wanted to do, and I wanted to see what that was all about. Paul and I put on our best punky clothes, complete with Clash and Sex Pistol buttons, and headed to Braden Auditorium one early December evening in 1982. I think Paul’s older sister drove us to the show, and I think we chugged two whole beers before we went in. Our seats were in the 4th row, just to the left of the stage. The house lights were still on when a man walked out. Nobody seemed to notice him at all. I said to Paul, “Hey what’s that guy doing, checking the mics or something?” He stepped up to the mic and said, “Excuse me… Excuse me… .” The man began again. No one really paid attention. “Excuse me. I’m Peter Gabriel. Thank you for coming out tonight. We hope you have a good time. I just wanted to let you know how things are going to go this evening. These fellows are about to come out and play for you and then we’ll be back a little later to entertain you. So please welcome The Electric Guitars.” It was him. He actually came out to introduce the opening act. He had already impressed me. After the Electric Guitars got through pounding an oil drum with a baseball bat and hitting a suspended piece of sheet metal like it was a cymbal, the lights went out. In the distance we heard drums. We looked around but couldn’t tell where they were coming from, when suddenly everybody turned around to see the whole band marching through the mezzanine pounding on marching drums. They headed out into the hallway, then reappeared right in front of us, marched up on to the stage, took […]
Sep 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Milwaukee Colleges
The words “higher education” are loaded with meaning. While most would agree that it’s hard to get very far these days without at least some post-high school training, there are as many takes on what constitutes “education” as there are roads to it. For some it’s a Bachelor’s or better from a college or university that, right or wrong, is the required calling card for entry into many white collar professions. For others, it’s a certificate or Associate’s degree in a specialized field or an apprenticeship in a skilled trade. Our city has a rich history of fostering the long-term well being of its individual citizens. And while, through mismanagement or merely the unfortunate circumstances of a changing world (which is more true could be argued without end), much of the higher social conscience that shaped Milwaukee’s development has withered to some extent with time. We still have sidewalks in city neighborhoods, a robust (but shrinking) amount of urban green space and access to nutrition and health care for most children living below the poverty line. On the other hand, our parks system has become the city budget’s redheaded stepchild. As a population, we gave up an excellent trolley system without batting an eye, and have left our current transit system to an eternal struggle for viability. Poor families must work in what could be arguably termed conscription conditions in order to receive aid, forced to leave their children to be raised on the streets without parental guidance. As a community, there’s much to work through. Wisconsin still fosters higher education. Fortunately, higher education is an area where Milwaukee is still strong. Despite tuition increases and decreases in financial aid at both the state and federal levels, Wisconsin has continued to perform well nationally, according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education’s study, Measuring Up 2002, in such standards of higher education as affordability (6th), completion (12th) and benefits from a degree. This last bears explaining, for although the state was ranked 41st, it tied or beat the top achiever (Colorado) in four of the nine sub-categories, including both measuring increased income from receipt of a degree. Our state’s overall score in the benefits index was brought down by studies done in 1992 and 1994 on adults demonstrating high level prose, document and quantitative literacy skills conducted by the Center for Education Statistics National Adult Literacy Survey, and the U.S. Department of Education, respectively. In the year 2000 (the last for which consistent data was found), 64
Sep 1st, 2003 by Jon Anne Willow
In Search of An Agenda
By John Hughes Sure, it’s early in the race. But some lucky candidate could set the agenda for debate. Who will it be? Early next year, The City of Milwaukee will elect its first new mayor in well over a decade. The field of candidates is crowded and still growing. So far Tom Barrett, Vincent Bobot, Frank Cumberbatch, Sandy Folaron, Martin Matson, Tom Nardelli, John Pitta and Marvin Pratt have declared. More entrants are expected. Even though it’s early in the race, the unique circumstances of this election are already drawing attention to it. Thus far, no one has stepped forward to set the agenda for debate and thereby define the issues that will determine the winner. But the questions are out there. We contacted each of the candidates with four that we think must be addressed. This month, we hear from Barrett, Faloron, Matson and Pitta. The remaining candidates will give their answers in October. Tom Barrett has served in the State Assembly, the State Senate and the United States Congress. This year he suffered a narrow defeat in a bid for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Wisconsin. His concerns include preventing increases in property taxes and mayoral accountability for Milwaukee Public Schools. Sandy Folaron is President of the West End Vliet Street Business Association, and has been involved in numerous neighborhood and community organizations. She is also a successful businesswoman. Martin Matson is former Deputy Director of the city pension offices, and has served Milwaukee for several years in the Department of Public Works, in accounting and business operations. His campaign slogan is “Giving the City Back to the People.” John Pitta is a seventh grade math teacher at Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts. He holds two master’s degrees and is currently finishing a Ph.D at UWM. He has previously worked for J.M. Brennan Inc. and Johnson Controls. He currently serves on the advisory board for the Strive Media Institute, a local non-profit that provides mentoring and media training for Milwaukee area youth. 1. VITAL SOURCE: What specific steps will you take to make the police chief more accountable to the people of Milwaukee? Tom Barrett: I, along with the new chief, will be accountable to the residents of this community, and I intend to work closely with whoever is selected. The state legislature is exploring a change in the selection process for the Chief, and I am interested in the outcome of the issue as well. The current situation reflects a long, protracted, complicated degeneration of this Police Administration’s relationships – with the Mayor’s Office, with the police unions; with the community (the public at large, as well as specific community-based organizations); and with the media. Too often, the current situation has degenerated into tussles in the media among the Police Chief, the County Sheriff and other elected officials. While the arguments get more personal, more crimes are committed and residents begin to lose faith. The next Police Chief must work to build relationships, and […]
Sep 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
What the hell?
Dear Readers, I’d like to open this month with a question: What in the hell is going on in America? Have we been so successfully distracted by the “Iraq Conflict” and the near cataclysmic domestic situation that we don’t care about obvious attempts to undermine democratic process? So that’s two questions, but really, what does it take to make us mad these days? While America munches Doritos and consumes the laughably mismanaged Gray Davis recall like so much reality TV, 11 Texas State Senators are hiding in New Mexico (at press time), using the only constitutionally allowed means (breaking the quorum in the Texas Senate) of blocking an illegal redistricting, spearheaded by Gov. Rick Perry and House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R- Texas) and passed by the U.S. Supreme Court without legislative review. The new districting, which falls outside Texas’ legal frequency of once per US census, is a blatant effort to gerrymander US Congressional districts to a solidly Republican majority. Perry has called in The Departments of Homeland Security, Transportation and Justice to “help bring these guys back,” even though they’re not breaking the law. The Governor has indicated he will continue calling special sessions until the Republican redistricting plan is enacted, despite the fact that the Republican-controlled Texas Supreme Court recently rejected the Governor’s writ of mandamus filing to compel the Senators to return. Meanwhile, eleven Democratic state senators are exiled from their state, unable to be with their families, friends and constituents, for fear of being arrested. In the most recent indignity, Republican Senators voted to fine the absent Democrats up to $5,000 per day, and to revoke parking and other privileges for their staffs, for as long as the Senators are away. Needless to say, while these measures are mean-spirited, they have not been effective. Meantime, Ashcroft is on a stump tour of the country to garner support for the PATRIOT Act, parts of which are scheduled to expire soon. The Administration doesn’t want that, and they’re meeting with more opposition than anticipated. Of special note is that the Attorney General has cancelled his scheduled Milwaukee visit, the only stop in the state. No explanation has been given, so we must ask ourselves: does he feel adequate support won’t be found here, or is he confident enough in our habitually low voter turnout that he doesn’t need it? Read Richard Walter’s special We The People feature, “Hope Lives in Tonasket.” It’s the story of how a tiny town of mostly conservative farmers has passed a town resolution to protect the Constitution from “enemies of the state, both foreign and domestic.” The time to leave affairs of state in the hands of the “experts” has passed. I truly believe this country was founded on principles of Liberty And Justice For All, and the time has come to get off the couch and take notice. Use it or lose it: it’s a phrase never more loaded with meaning for each and every one of us. Back here in […]
Sep 1st, 2003 by Jon Anne Willow
