2007-07 Vital Source Mag – July 2007
Thanks for taking the Milwaukee Music Survey
Thanks for taking our survey. We’ll post the results in the October issue of VITAL and on our website. Your email address will be kept confidential and we won’t contact you again unless you’ve given us permission. You can forward the survey if you like and your friends can vote, too. Please don’t be a jerk and make everyone in your office vote for your cover band, though. With today’s modern technology being what it is, we can see through you, and may even out you to our readers if you’re really obnoxious. Love to all, The VITAL Staff
Jul 30th, 2007 by Vital Archives
The Lady in Question
Gender-bending roles are a trademark in the scripts written by Charles Busch – accomplished playwright, actor and drag artist. Awarded a Drama Desk Award for Career Achievement in 2003, Busch usually plays the leading ladies in his parodies of 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s film. Two of his best-known works are Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommy Die. And one of his recent plays, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, received a Tony nomination. This Milwaukee production of The Lady in Question is a spoof of 1940s film noir with a patriotic bent. The premise is that international piano virtuoso Gertrude Garnet is on tour through Germany as Hitler tightens his reign. A chance meeting with Nazi sympathizer Baron Von Elsner and the mysterious American hero, Professor Erik Maxwell, creates a crazed love triangle. In the end, an aging actress, Raina Aldric, must be saved and multiple questions and answers unfold as foreign intrigue unites unlikely comrades. A staged escape through the Alps in shreds of paper snow completes these comical scenarios in just over two hours. As one lady in question, Mark Hagen puts Garnet in great light and her attire is, indeed, glamorous. Dale Gutzman as Von Elsner, who also directs, is a fine foil to Garnet while their perversions to the German language present sharp edged lines and laughs. Jeremy C. Welter, who plays the part of Professor Maxwell, is a lightweight hero for Hagen, but the two combine for a little chemistry on stage. But Karl Miller as Lotte, the Baron’s oversexed 12-year-old niece, provides another opportunity for drag. Draped in frothy lavender tulle or traditional Lederhosen, Lotte is front and center. Miller, along with an amply talented supporting cast, supplies the remaining comedic timing to this performance. Although the sets may be a bit underdone, the costuming more than makes up for the scenery. And the aisle is used to good advantage as an underground tunnel – just beware of gunshots! VS Off The Wall Productions presents The Lady in Question at 127 East Wells Street until July 29. For tickets or more information, call 414-327-3552 or visit www.offthewalltheatre.com.
Jul 23rd, 2007 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
There is an old joke that starts, “A man comes home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.” It goes on to elaborate on the mess inside the house as well: dishes in the sink, broken glass and sand on the floor, toothpaste on the bathroom mirror and toys everywhere. When he finally finds his wife, she is curled up in bed reading a novel. He says, “What happened here today?” To which she replies, “You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I did today? Well, today I didn’t do it.” As much as I hate to admit it, this joke accurately represents the view many people still hold about stay-at-home parents of both genders. When Mom stays home with the kids, she is bombarded with questions about how she could possibly fill her day if she doesn’t have to work outside of the home, plus the more modern “concern” about whether she is lacking necessary “career fulfillment.” When Dad stays home, he has to answer the same questions while fighting societal stereotypes that cast him as less masculine than his male peers. The truth about being a stay-at-home parent is that it is some of the hardest work a person will ever do. The day starts as soon as the first child wakes in the morning and doesn’t end until the parent climbs back into bed at night. Even then, it is the stay-at-home parent who typically manages any nighttime needs because first consideration is given to the working parent, the one who has to leave the house to earn a living. I know it might sound like hyperbole to say that a parent’s work is never done, but let’s look at a typical day in the life of my friend, Jesi, mother of a 3- and a 1-year-old. A day in the life The 1-year-old wakes up at 6:30 a.m. to nurse with his mama before the hectic day starts. After he dozes off again, Jesi checks her email and attends to the administrative details of the household and the La Leche League chapter for which she volunteers. If there’s time, she grabs a bath. Because her bathroom is next to the bedroom, at least one of the kids wakes up while she’s in there and joins her in the tub. Then everyone needs breakfast. Jesi makes some food for 3-year-old Nora while nursing 1-year-old Max in the sling. While the kids eat, she gets dressed as quickly as possible while making a phone call to another friend to finalize details for a play outing. Once plans are firm, it’s time to pull out clothes for Nora and Max and pack a bag for the day with extra clothes, diapers, board books, snacks, water, sand toys and sun block. She hangs last night’s laundry on the […]
Jul 1st, 2007 by Lucky Tomaszek
Get ‘em while they’re interesting
The 2008 presidential election marks the first time in 80 years that there has been neither an incumbent presidential nor vice-presidential candidate. We at VITAL Source are celebrating Independence Day and the kick-off of the official campaign season with a collection of quotes from the Democratic and Republican candidates. We’ve spent days pouring over campaign speeches, reading debate transcripts and closely examining candidates’ websites to cull out a few small nuggets that articulate each candidate’s feelings about the current state of our country. Exactly what these nuggets are made of is up to you to decide… Senator Joseph Biden Look, freedom is an overwhelming American notion. The idea that we want to see the world, the peoples of the world, free is something that all of us subscribe to. Here at home, when Americans were standing in long lines to give blood after the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we squandered an obvious opportunity to make service a noble cause again, and rekindle an American spirit of community. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton I’m sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and disagree with this administration, somehow you’re not patriotic. We need to stand up and say we’re Americans, and we have the right to debate and disagree with any administration. The American people are tired of liars and people who pretend to be something they’re not. Senator Christopher Dodd Entrenched bureaucracies are always opposed to fundamental changes. Every American deserves to live in freedom, to have his or her privacy respected and a chance to go as far as their ability and effort will take them – regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or economic circumstances. Former Senator John Edwards This is America, where everything is still possible. I have grown up in the bright light of America. Former Senator Mike Gravel We have become a nation ruled by fear. Since the end of the Second World War, various political leaders have fostered fear in the American people—fear of Communism, fear of terrorism, fear of immigrants, fear of people based on race and religion, fear of Gays and Lesbians in love who just want to get married, and fear of people who are somehow different. It is fear that allows political leaders to manipulate us all and distort our national priorities. It’s like going into the Senate. You know, the first time you get there, you’re all excited, “My God, how did I ever get here?” Then, about six months later, you say, “How the hell did the rest of them get here?” Representative Dennis Kucinich We have weapons of mass destruction we have to address here at home. Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction. Homelessness is a weapon of mass destruction. Unemployment is a weapon of mass destruction. This is a struggle for the soul of the Democratic Party, which in too many cases has become so corporate and identified with corporate interests that you can’t tell the difference between Democrats […]
Jul 1st, 2007 by Lucky Tomaszek
Forever young
photos by Kevin C. Groen Chip & Py’s 1340 W. Towne Square Road (I43 at Mequon Road) 262-241-9589 Longevity in the restaurant business is a rare, hard-earned reward. Yet Julie and Richard Staniszewski have made the journey to the 25th anniversary of Chip & Py’s seem practically effortless. From the day they opened their doors at their original location on 5th and National in Walker’s Point to the day they popped the silver champagne corks this May, they’ve delivered consistently excellent food, potables and entertainment with a spirit of warm bonhomie that makes every customer feel at home. A quarter of a century ago, Julie Betzhold and her brother, John Herschede, had a partnership interest in the first location’s building. They were forward-thinking, seeing it as a base for casual sophisticates in a neighborhood that had yet to be discovered. The greater real estate plan included loft living and an infrastructure that was 30 years ahead of its time. Back then nobody understood the concept. Their best prospective tenant wanted banjo music and turtle races on the bar. With no disrespect to Bela Fleck, that wasn’t what they had in mind. What did appeal to them was Mike & Anna’s, Tony Harvey’s Southside avant garde gourmet eatery, and its chef, Richard. So they lured him to their project. Richard, now chef/owner of Chip & Py’s, was an unlikely gourmand. Raised in what he calls a “deep blue collar” family near County Stadium, he grew up sneaking in to Braves games. His father was a machine repairman and his mother loved baseball but hated cooking. His first food memory is of thin pork chops his mother fried. Dropping one on the floor, she returned it to the frying pan, explaining to her son, “That one’ll be mine.” But her son was doubtful. “How did she know which one it was?” he wondered, thinking that there must be better food out there somewhere. His favorite treat was smoked chubs, prompting his longtime friend and fish monger, Tim Collins of St. Paul Fish Market, to ask him later, “And did you have shoes?” Upon graduating from Solomon Juneau High School, Staniszewski put in six months at a factory, hating it so much he turned to bartending at Cassidy’s, Barbieri’s and then for Tony Harvey’s Rent-a-Chef Catering, a big player in the North Shore. When Harvey opened Mike and Anna’s on 8th and Rodgers, Richard took the helm of a restaurant that would be Milwaukee’s first casual fine dining bistro. Due to the demands of the North Shore clientele from the catering business, they kicked up the carte with epicurean entrées, and the place took off. Responding to his market is a hallmark of Staniszewski’s business philosophy, coupled with a commitment to value that he took to his own business in 1982. “We talked to everyone we knew and asked what they’d like, gauged their response and put it on menu,” he says. “It was an exciting time – just prior to the downtown […]
Jul 1st, 2007 by Cate Miller
Kelly Willis
While an American Idol monopolizes the dial with a hit about mutilating a cheater’s automobile, Kelly Willis returns some integrity to crossover-country. This mother of four who took a five-year sabbatical since her last release to raise her children is proof that hip is possible without the need to be trashy or pseudo-political – a misconception common for her gender in the genre recently. More “gingham aprons and bad blood” than restraining order, each song as a slice of the Translated From Love pie is fully baked and plentifully spiced. The light, flaky “The More That I’m Around You” and “Sweet Surrender” are prime candidates for any romantic comedy soundtrack. “Too Much To Lose” brings a taste of Willis’s priorities to the plate: do not take love or life for granted. Lyrics cover everything expected – Texas towns, cheap thrills, head-over-heels affection. Unexpected is Willis’ offset of the nine originals (some co-written with her husband) with three surprising covers including Adam Green’s “Teddy Boys” and Iggy Pop’s “Success.” These tracks muddle up the album’s cohesiveness, but are amusing when heard in Willis’ made-for-country voice. Nevertheless, creating for the public is ideally the result of having something significant to say, and however sweet the melodies and able the supporting musicians, urgency is missing from this recipe. Much like the frustration shared in “Nobody Wants to Go to the Moon Anymore,” it’s a disposable, been-there-done-that world. Translated From Love has little material worth a double take, and as a whole pie, probably won’t do more than cool on the windowsill. VS
Jul 1st, 2007 by Amber Herzog
A Midsummer Night McGivern
One of the most popular people in local theatre, John McGivern has a huge following. Just to see the guy standing there onstage, the uninitiated could be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about. On the surface, McGivern seems like anyone else you might see walking around the East Side. Seeing him perform adds to the mystery of his success a bit at first. He’s a very talented storyteller, yes, but the autobiographical work he performs in his one man shows isn’t the kind of genius one would expect from a man who has reached McGivern’s level of success. It feels much more like the type of thing that might go over well at a comedy club somewhere. Why is it that he’s playing rooms as big as Vogel Hall? Somewhere in the rhythm of McGivern’s delivery, one begins to understand what makes him so popular: he’s a nice guy. His overall presence makes people feel at ease. He’s made this his profession. He’s made a career out of being professionally nice. McGivern isn’t professionally friendly in some synthetic customer service way. His amiability isn’t the kind you’d get out of a politician, a waitress or even that guy who tried to sell you insurance. McGivern has gotten to be as popular as he has because he has a genuine passion for being a nice person. And that friendliness translates extremely well to the stage in the parade of comedy and nostalgia that is his summer show: A Midsummer Night McGivern. The show features a number of stories and a couple of readings from McGivern’s childhood experiences growing up on Milwaukee’s East Side. Laid out generally in chronological order, the stories begin with McGivern’s memories of Memorial Days as a child and gradually work their way through to the end of the season. McGivern delivers these stories with a heartfelt enthusiasm that is so strong one gets the impression that he’d be telling these same stories to friends and family at some placid park somewhere if he weren’t onstage. McGivern’s stories run nostalgically through a greater Milwaukee County of several decades ago. Various bits of Americana are seen through the very specific eyes of a man who remembers his father taking him and his brothers to visit the graves of soldiers as fresh ones were being dug for those still returning from Viet Nam. There’s a bittersweet quality to some of McGivern’s stories, but the overall feeling here is one of comedy. McGivern’s specific kind of enthusiasm pairs exceedingly well with stories told from a childhood perspective. One of his more poignant bits involves him relating what it was like to be interviewed for the Weather Channel about life in Milwaukee as the seasons change. The set McGivern performs on was put together by longtime Milwaukee Rep fixture Edward Morgan. It’s a summery collection of items tastefully lounging around the stage to help set the mood. But McGivern could easily do this on a more or less empty […]
Jul 1st, 2007 by Russ Bickerstaff
The Gourds
Here’s the setting: You’re outside on a warm summer day; there’s a nice breeze and some good conversation flowing and you have a tasty beverage in hand. You hear some music and decide to stroll under the tent to check it out. It ain’t earth-shifting, life-affirmation stuff, but it’s well-played and gets your fingers tapping – in all, pleasant. The same setting could be metaphorically applied to the new Gourds album, Noble Creatures. There’s nothing here that will change your world, but it is a great soundtrack by which to pass some time. Noble Creatures does add another dimension to the band’s considerable recorded history with “Promenade” and “Steeple Full of Swallows.” Both are ballads of particular interest, as they keep with The Gourds’ well-honed songcraft of hitting the mark intellectually and emotionally. The production has a very live “soundboard” feel, which unfortunately undermines the actual quality of the songs. In fact, it disables the disc from ever getting out of the tent, hopelessly miring Noble Creatures under the canvas of a much-narrowed band of appreciative listeners. Even so, artists should always be commended for stepping off the familiar path and creating something new…in that sense, this effort truly is noble. VS
Jul 1st, 2007 by Troy Butero
The limitless as limitation
Creativity has no limits. The freedom to express, within any given medium, is a liberating process and brothers John and David Jenson not only understand this process but are taking it a step further. What started as an idea in 2005, or rather a bouncing of ideas, later grew into what is now Soar Studios, an art-studio space that allows the freedom of expression to transcend across various mediums. Soar Studios encourages people from all walks of life to collaborate in the creative process while utilizing such diverse tools as screen-printing, digital media, sound, photography, illustration, carpentry – really anything that you can get your hands on. Their philosophy is kinetic, collective and maximizes freedom through exploring without limitation. With collaborations from such local studios as Lucky Star and Donebestdone, John and David’s idea for Soar is piloting the sky. So, ladies and gentleman, fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a hell of a ride. John and David were born in Edgerton, WI. After a few short years their father, Hugh, relocated the family to Eau Claire where he found work as an insurance agent. It was around 1976 when the family decided to move back to Central Wisconsin, first to Mukwonago then finally settling in Oconomowoc. Their mother, Kathleen, became the proprietor of a vintage clothing store and from the back-stock of all her threads was able to fashion purses and other garments to sell at local farmers markets. Undoubtedly, her creative endeavors were the first exposure the young brothers had to the creative mind. After graduating UW-Madison with a degree in industrial engineering, David improbably found work in New York as a proofreader/editor translating Russian text for scientific journals. Back home, brother John was freelancing as a designer and doing commercial art. The brothers kept in touch, bouncing creative ideas off each other that eventually hatched a plan. “Hey, why don’t we go into business together? We’re brothers,” John recollects asking David one day after a particularly lively exchange. So David moved back to Wisconsin and the two landed work for GMR Marketing, a local company that handles design work for such companies as Nintendo, MGD and Airwalk Shoes. “It was a team effort for GMR,” David says. “We collaborated on flyers and marketing tools for promotion.” Shortly after, the experience with GMR segued into graphic design work in the publications industry. However, disenchanted with commercial art and the various filters it goes through, the two brothers grew a craving for a broader form of artistic expression. So they branched off on their own and started the design team, Designaholix. Designaholix was really the fodder for what would later become Soar Studios. With the initial start up, Designaholix generated enough income through freelance projects to purchase new equipment and prepare for the launch of Soar Studios. The intended purpose was to allow a space for collective creativity to evolve where each step influences the next and opens doors to fresh artistic outlooks and experiences. The artistic […]
Jul 1st, 2007 by Blaine Schultz
Huey Crowley
Photo by Erin Landry Looking at the studio of Huey Crowley, one can’t help but wonder about the visual landscapes he visits in his mind. “Yeah, it’s a little messy,” he says with humility. There’s a huge canvas lying against the wall; paints, oils, acrylics, books and finished art pieces are scattered on the floor. He hands me a pile of little square cardboard art pieces that he’s been selling on the streets for $20 a pop to buy groceries. For being 20 years old, Huey is no amateur in the art scene. In just two years he’s done illustrations for Stuck magazine and done deck art for Toy Machine Skateboards. He is also a skater and currently a student at MIAD. To see more of Huey’s work, visit hueycrowleypaintings.deviantart.com and myspace.com/hueythebutt. How would you describe your art? Lately I’ve been working on a lot of pieces that are influenced by abstract expressionism, but I don’t want to consider myself just an abstract expressionist. I believe that abstract expressionism is one of the purest ways to capture a feeling as far as painting goes. With these paintings, I am trying to develop a language through my mark-making, to recreate a certain point in my life. When it comes to your paintings, what is your main source of inspiration? I keep reverting back to my childhood. But as far as things that inspire me go, sometimes just walking down the street looking at buildings in Milwaukee, there are different variations of light which I find quite beautiful. I’m also inspired by the objects themselves – the bricks, the old paint, the worn-off advertisements, the painted-over graffiti. The other day I saw some windows in a building that were completely covered with dust. There were about 50 windows where dust had been cleaned off from the inside, each one by a different hand and in a unique way. I get a lot out of stuff like that. I am also inspired by Willem De Kooning, among many other abstract expressionist artists, and the graffiti artist Jean Michel Basquiat. My dad inspires me as well. How would you describe your process of creating? Painting feels sort of like a game of chess. Sometimes I will just sit for an hour or so and look at the painting, trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Paint has a life of its own. I’m just trying to help it along to a finished point. Before I start, I’m never really sure what my painting is going to look like. I don’t sketch it out beforehand. When I am satisfied with the result, I will know, but I don’t believe that there can ever be a set end-point to a painting, or a feeling for that matter. What do you feel is your goal or message as an artist? If I wanted to, I could portray something literally, a story or a feeling. I could draw it, I could film it, I could write […]
Jul 1st, 2007 by Blaine Schultz
Josh Rouse
“The title was conceived during a 70-mile walk through the north of Spain in October. I thought it was a funny name and it’s similar to Aesop’s tale by the name of Country Mouse and the City Mouse,” Josh Rouse says of his seventh full-length album. Filled with reflective lyrics, the sounds around the words reflect the lyrics themselves. “Put on your winter coat my dear / they say the snow is coming hard / gonna be the worst in years / seems my old wool hat’s disappeared,” he sings on “Snowy,” his blue velvet voice against a backdrop of sparse organ notes and a snare being tapped like a naked tree bough against a frosty window. Rouse still manages to make winter feel sunny by popping horns into songs languid with reverb-y guitars and docile upper octave piano (“Italian Dry Ice” ) and by hooking quickly into “Nice to Fit In” with an upbeat tempo incongruous to lyrics about being alien to a new country and feeling out of place. Rouse uses his trademark classic ‘60s and ‘70s pop sound to pay accidental or intentional homage to pop-folkies Bread, infusing his music with many of the same folk qualities and plenty of jazz. Rouse’s vocal team-ups with Paz Suay (who also works with Rouse in the duo known as “She’s Spanish, I’m American” ) is a sweet addition. Suay’s accented but perfectly complementary vocals lend an even more velvet quality to Roush’s smooth delivery. Country Mouse/City House is a summer release, but perhaps this is makes it captivating. Its seasonal timing is askew – a cold front riding on the heat waves of summer’s usual overly tripped-out pop. Conflicting themes of wanderlust versus holing up at home with one’s sweetheart mirror the feelings of cabin fever normally associated with the winter months. It may not be the hit of the summer, but when “mitten weather” comes (as Charlie Brown once called it), this album will be the one to warm up to. VS
Jul 1st, 2007 by Erin Wolf
July 2007
July 3 Ash Twilight of the Innocents Infectious/Warner Circus Diablo Circus Diablo Koch The Rodriguez Brothers Conversations Savant Kelly Rowland Ms. Kelly Music World Music/Columbia Silverstein Arrivals & Departures Victory Velvet Revolver Libertad RCA July 10 Against Me! New Wave Sire Bad Religion New Maps of Hell Epitaph Beatallica Sgt. Hetfield’s Motorbreath Pub Band Oglio Crowded House Time on Earth ATO Gallows Orchestra of Wolves Epitaph HIM Venus Doom Sire/Warner Interpol Our Love to Admire Capitol Reel Big Fish Monkey’s For Nothin’ and the Chimps for Free Rock Ridge Music Kim Richey Chinese Boxes Vanguard Smashing Pumpkins Zeitgeist Reprise Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Merge They Might Be Giants The Else Zöe/Rounder The Unseen Internal Salvation Hellcat/Epitaph July 17 The Cribs Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever Warner Minnie Driver Seastories Zöe/Rounder Editors An End Has a Start Epic/Fader Label Federation It’s Whateva Reprise Mick Harvey Two of Diamonds Mute The Magic Numbers Those the Brokes Astralwerks Meat Puppets Rise to Your Knees Anodyne MxPx Secret Weapon Tooth & Nail Rooney Calling the World Geffen Suzanne Vega Beauty & Crime Blue Note Matt White Best Days Geffen Yellowcard Paper Walls Capitol July 24 Adema Kill the Headlights Immortal Peter Criss One For All Silvercat/RED Emily Haines & The Soft Skeletons What is Free to a Good Home Last Gang Talib Kweli Ear Drum Blacksmith/Warner Mobile Tomorrow Starts Today The Militia Group Sum 41 Underclass Hero Island Tegan & Sara The Con Vapor/Sanctuary UNKLE War Stories Surrender All Jon Vanderslice Emerald City Barsuk July 31 Luka Bloom Tribe Cooking Vinyl Recoil subHuman Mute Shivaree Tainted Love: Mating Calls and Fight Songs Zöe/Rounder The Thrills Teenager Virgin
Jul 1st, 2007 by Erin Wolf
