Dr Awkwarddrummer:IfIHadAHiFi
Making music in Milwaukee:
Wow. Milwaukee for me personally has been a mixed bag--a mostly positive mixed bag, but a mixed one nonetheless. There were a number of reasons why IfIHadAHiFi as a band and I personally made the move here from the Fox Valley: The realization that most Fox Valley music fans equate "quality musical experience" with "live cover band." The closing of Green Bay's Concert Cafe, the one all ages rock club worth it's salt in the entire state (well, ok, there were two: the Cafe and the Mission Coffee House in Stevens Point, which still exists and is a fantastic venue and one any band reading this should attempt to play). Closer proximity to Midwestern cultural "meccas" like Chicago, Indianapolis, Bloomington, Champaign, Muncie(!), etc. It just made sense overall, especially when all our friends in Green Bay bands made the southern migration after the Cafe closed.
Do we plan on staying now? I believe so. There are other cities in the country that would be more welcoming to an art-damaged noise-rock dance band (New York and Seattle immediately spring to mind), but none of those are in Wisconsin. Could you imagine having to go an entire NFL season crossing your fingers and hoping that the Packers are the featured game of the week every week they're not on Monday Night Football or ESPN Sunday Night Football? Throw in the fact that the Seahawks are in the NFC now and the odds would be nightmarish. Like I care about the storied Seattle-Arizona rivalry--Holmgren vs. Green was main event stuff 10 years ago, but not now, ya know?
Also, on the music tip, it's taken a good two years since moving down here, but I feel like the band has finally turned a corner with regard to building a local following. The last few months, we've noticed a few more people making their way to our shows, be they bar or all-ages, and it's been exceedingly encouraging. Milwaukee, by and large, seems to like original music that follows the conventions of whatever is the hip genre at the time (right now, it's hard to throw a rock in this town without hitting a hardcore, garage-punk, or Weezer-inspired pop band, and it's even harder to get past all their fans to try to get a good shot in. The whole Gang of Four-ripoff dance-punk thing has started to infiltrate some of the ex-garagers, too. It's nutty, especially for those of us who love blanket generalizations). However, there's definitely room here for anything, and any band worth a damn can build a following here through sheer force of will and refusing to give up. It's just all about playing, playing, and playing some more (but not so much that people get sick of you, either...it's also about balance).
Booking shows out of town:
When it comes to booking (as well as plenty of other aspects of the music bidness), the old adage holds true--it's not what you know, it's who. A band that hasn't played many shows outside of their home town has a huge hurdle to cross--promoters won't book you if you don't have a following in their area, but you can't develop a following without playing there. All i can say is...get used to it! But also, in order to break into another city or state, you might wanna try tackling it from the following angles:
- Looking to play a specific city outside of Wisconsin (or in Wisconsin, for that matter)? Look for a band from that area with the same style as you and approach them about a show trade. In a ska band and looking to play Minneapolis? Find a ska band up there and offer them a show in Milwaukee...IF they get you a show in the Twin Cities.
- If that's too much like work, a similar option is to keep building up a reputation with the local clubs so that when like-minded bands come through town, you get to open for them. Blow them away with your MIGHTY ROCK POWER and then prod them for info. Where are the good places to play in your town? Who do you need to talk to? If the touring band really likes you, maybe they'll even offer to set up a show for you when you come through town. Stranger things have happened!
- Failing those options, it *is* possible to simply get gigs by looking online for clubs and promoters, but it's a crapshoot. Yes, websites like bookyourownfuckinglife are a great resource, but you basically need to spend evening after evening spamming dozens of listings in order to get a bite from one or two, and then you run the risk of getting into desperation "take the first thing that comes along mode." Soon you're driving 10 hours outside of your tour route to play in Warrensburg, Missouri for three people and a club owner who assures you of crash space and then doesn't provide it after freaking out about your band needing to play about 50 decibels below your optimal playing volume. Um, hypothetically.
Basically, long story short, it never hurts to ask clubs to download your mp3s and press kits, but a surefire way of guaranteeing a solid network of tour hookups is to network and make new friends in other towns. Besides, isn't that the fun of being in a band anyway--using it as a vehicle to travel to interesting new places and meet all sorts of great, interesting and talented new friends?
Putting up with the other guys during long drives on tour:
Where we've been very fortunate as a band is that while we fight--A LOT--at band practices, shows, etc., when it comes time to get in the van and go to work for an extended stretch of floors and cities where no one knows who you are, we cut the shit and get down to business. We've gotten smippy at each other on the road, but rarely to the point where it sunk morale or caused major in-band turmoil. In reality, I don't know if there is a real answer to this question--we're fortunate that we've all known each other for years, know each other's quirks, and are adult enough to know when we're starting to be self-absorbed drama queens and when it's time to knock it off. But if i can offer one concrete, universal piece of advice for keeping harmony on the road, it's this: put out in the open who's expected to drive and for how long, and do it early. If there's anything that's made any member of my band resent another on the road, it's the idea that someone's not doing their share of the driving.
Meeting likeminded musicians:
Well, apparently attending all-night skates at Gem Roller Rink in Menasha, WI works for us. Again, it's hard to put a finger on it...at the risk of sounding overly sentimental, when our guitarist and i met at a roller rink way way way back in 1991, we knew immediately that we wanted to be in a band together. I'm not sure why, but something clicked. (If this sounds like a boy-meets-girl love affair, well first off--that's gross, because Yale's kinda pudgy and while i've kissed men before, i'm just not attracted to him THAT WAY.) Second, in all seriousness, the analogy's not all that far off, because if you're going to be in a band with someone for the long haul...well, there are only a distinct handfull of magic combinations of people out there that can produce something truly great for an extended period of their lives: The Sonic Youth lineup, Lennon and McCartney, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Brett Michaels and CC DeVille...you get the picture. I feel really fortunate that i've fallen into one of those situations with all the guys in my band!) Yale and i have been in 3 bands together spanning those last 13 years, and along the way we found a few people that stuck--MrAlarm for 8 years now (6 in a band with him), and RenoLoner for 7 (3 in the band). Also note that we knew these guys for a few years before we were in bands with them--we've been lucky enough to stay at it long enough to find people in it for the long haul, and if there's any kind of wisdom to be found for the aspiring rocker out there, it's this: Um, do that.
Back to resources |
