by Thomas Durkin
Ah! The smells and sounds of Christmas. Someone stoking the flames of your television fireplace. Hanging the mistletoe and placing the star atop the tree. Warming your belly with spiked eggnog. And let’s not forget the music. Face it, picking the right Christmas music is a daunting task. No one wants to ruin Christmas because of their poor selection of jingles on the hi-fi. That’s why I’ve created the definitive, 10-track Christmas record. So here goes.
by Thomas Durkin
Unlike that traffic jam waiting to happen 100 miles south, music is not the talk of the town. But while Milwaukee is not considered a music hotbed, there are local musicians producing great stuff. In Riverwest, there is a music resurgence taking place. With venues like Linneman’s, Mad Planet, Onopa, Quarter’s, the list goes on, there is music everywhere. You might see a clunker of a band or two, but wouldn’t you rather see a band before they’re gobbled up by the mainstream, even if it’s just mainstream Milwaukee? If you’re not convinced you should shell out $5 (two beers) to see a live act, maybe you’ll pony up $10 for a CD you can play again and again.
by Kathy Grykowski
As both a cop’s kid and the wife of a cop I welcomed the opportunity to read Cop’s Kid: A Milwaukee Memoir by Milwaukee native Mel Miskimen. Curious about what parallels I might find to my own experience, some were rather uncanny. Beyond the fact that our dads had been Milwaukee cops, we both had attended the late, great, all-girls Catholic high school, Saint Mary’s Academy on the south side….
by Suzanne Zipperer
Many Riverwest residents remember Mudlark, a pottery shop located on Bremen and Clarke Streets from 1977-87. Ginny Zipperer’s stoneware and porcelain pottery showed up on many dinner tables — coffee mugs and teapots, casserole dishes and sugar bowls. Functional in design. Made to be used. And, like Ginny herself, unimposing.
On the local Hip Hop scene: Emcee J. Mixon: “I’ve gotta phrase to describe what I do…it be Midwest Hip Hop Ghetto Funk.” J.Mixon defies the usual classifications. His latest project album, “The Die Hard Theory” seeks to help Midwest hip hop come full circle. “The East Coast has the grimy underground beatz and heavy metaphorical lyrics. West Coast is gangsta funk and lyrics w/ deep base grooves. Down South brings it with southern drawl and bounce. Take a lil’ bit from all…you got the Midwest.” …
You must be logged in to post a comment.