On The Record

If you read Milwaukee Record with any regularity, you're likely familiar with the name Lucky Tomaszek. Our resident MKE SEX columnist is better known as the Education Coordinator at The Tool Shed, "An Erotic Boutique" that's become an East Side staple and Midwestern mainstay since opening in 2004. On top of its wide array of offerings, Tool Shed is Milwaukee's only mission-driven, education-focused sex toy store. Tomaszek is a large parts of what helps set the sex shop apart from the rest.

After taking host Tyler Maas on a tour of the store, Tomaszek sat down with him to discuss Tool Shed's inventory, kinks, gender identity, sexuality, consent, and misconceptions both customers and society as a whole have. They also talked about PrideFest, which will feature The Tool Shed workshops and presentations, along with a variety of music, comedy, and dance parties hosted by Milwaukee Record over the course of the weekend.

This episode is brought to you by PrideFest—coming to Henry Maier Festival Park June 7-10—and Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Piles ("Blue Glue") and Tigernite ("Remember").

While you might not know Erik Stolhanske by name alone, you're surely aware of his work with Broken Lizard. The comedy troupe—of which Stolhanske is one-fifth—is responsible for such cult comedy classics as Super Troopers, Beerfest, Club Dread, and The Slammin' Salmon. A few weeks after the release of Super Troopers 2, Stolhanske came to Milwaukee to perform at Turner Hall.

Prior to his show, Stolhanske met host Tyler Maas in a hotel lobby to discuss his latest film, the inner workings of Broken Lizard, memorable moments from set, and his Midwestern roots. The actor and comedian also opened up about growing up with a wooden leg, how his childhood obstacle helped develop his personality and inform his sense of humor, and how everyone has their own "wooden leg" to overcome.

This episode is brought to you by Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Piles ("Blue Glue") and Slow Walker ("Shades Of Ganymede").

Last year, Andy Nelson left a public relations dream job with Pabst Theater Group for a far less glamorous and much more challenging position as the Media Manager with Milwaukee Public Schools. Nelson transitioned from a career that allowed him to hang with celebrities and market Milwaukee entertainment to his current position out of a sense of duty and a desire to bring positive change to his community. He has his work cut out for him, but his efforts and the work of so many others is starting to show itself in a school system that's dealing with student poverty and homelessness, a lack of positive awareness, and segregation.

Nelson came to Milwaukee Record headquarters and talked to host Tyler Maas about his decision to leave his job of 10 years, specific challenges he faces in his new career, great new programs being implemented, and why he feels MPS is a reflection of Milwaukee as a whole. They also talked about the inaugural All-City Arts Festival, which will showcase the talents of more than 8,000 MPS students at the Henry Maier Festival Grounds from March 9-11.

This episode is brought to you by PrideFest—coming to Henry Maier Festival Park June 7-10—and Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Piles ("Blue Glue"") and 16-year-old MPS student Shaddye ("Sincerely Youth").

Jacob Bach is no stranger to this podcast. The Milwaukee improvisor and friend of the site has a few On The Record appearances under his belt, but the repeat guest has kept a pretty quiet profile lately. Over the last year or so, Bach ended his great Yeah, Bro! podcast, threw himself into improv, and started an outdoor adventure service called Good Land Guides. Amid all the life changes, he broke his foot in a climbing accident.

Bach wheeled into a ComedySportz theater last week, where he met host Tyler Maas for a long-overdue return to the podcast. There, they talked about how Bach is handling the limitations of the injury, what Good Land Guides provides (or will provide again when he's better in a couple months), new comedy projects he's planning, and what he's looking forward to seeing at PrideFest. Of course, Bach and Maas go on weird tangents, do voices and bits, and have some fun in the process.

This episode is brought to you by PrideFest—coming to Henry Maier Festival Park June 7-10—and Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Piles ("Blue Glue") and Greatest Lakes ("Forest").

Since beginning as a joke among friends who realized Milwaukee's 414 area code had a striking resemblance to the numerals in April 14 (or 4/14), "Milwaukee Day" has turned into a full-fledged holiday. In the eight or nine years—the organizers don't recall—after its origin, the unlikely holiday has resulted in an official mayoral proclamation, a founder getting to throw out a first pitch before a Brewers game, an abundance of civic-centered specials offered by area businesses, a formidable hashtag, a cameo on Jeopardy!, and the inspiration for a beer.

The citywide celebration also offers its fair share of entertainment options. This year is no different, with dozens of concerts, comedy shows, art openings, film screenings, and even a gaming festival lined up this Saturday. To help prepare you for this year's Milwaukee Day festivities, host Tyler Maas asked the holiday's co-founder, Andy Silverman, to join him at Milwaukee Record headquarters. They were met by Rebecca Ottman, the Director of Marketing at UW-Milwaukee's Peck School Of The Arts. There, the trio talked about Milwaukee Day's unexpected rise to prominence, the April 14 events they're looking forward to (including Peck's Kenilworth Open Studios), and why there's nothing quite like this holiday anywhere else.

This episode is brought to you by Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Piles ("Blue Glue") and Greatest Lakes ("Forest").

Milwaukee's festival season is just around the corner, which means visitors will be swinging by the city to take in the sights, attractions, drinks and dining delicacies, and all the amenities that help make this a special place. For many of those visitors, Visit Milwaukee is a trusted gateway to what the region has to offer. Since it focuses on an out-of-town audience, Visit might be a mystery to many locals.

A few days after the tourist organization debuted its new and improved website, host Tyler Maas invited Visit Milwaukee communications manager Claire Koenig back to Milwaukee Record headquarters to discuss exactly what Visit does, why it's important, what she loves about Milwaukee, and ways the city's identity has changed recently (and continues to today). They also take a tour of the new Visit Milwaukee site.

This episode is brought to you by Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Try Surly's new reduced-gluten Hopshifter IPA now. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Piles ("Blue Glue") and Daydream Retrievers ("New Parade").

After trudging through yet another long, unforgiving, and somewhat boring Wisconsin winter, spring has arrived. Along with the increased sunlight and climbing temperatures, a wealth of great shows are headed Milwaukee's way this season. Between the end of March and mid-June, the city's entertainment calendar is brimming with a mess of local release shows, comedians, touring musicians, and the first festivals of the year.

To help find the best, weirdest, and most interesting events taking place in Milwaukee this spring, host Tyler Maas enlisted the expertise of Milwaukee Magazine and Shepherd Express music writer Kevin Mueller. From his dining room, Mueller (a proud new papa) and Maas ran through some standout shows, talked about the increase in spring festivals in the city, pondered why popular bands are playing in small venues these days, and debated how to correctly pronounce Ty Segall's name.

This episode is brought to you by Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Try Surly's new reduced-gluten Hopshifter IPA now. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Piles ("Blue Glue") and Slow Walker ("Ride").

The "Phobruary" fun (phon?) in Silver City is over, but there are lots of other things that help this neighborhood stand out all year long. This segment of town, along with adjoining neighborhoods of Layton Park and Burnham Park, is regarded as the most racially diverse and densely populated part of Milwaukee. Those distinctions are shown in the wide array of excellent restaurants, the variety of businesses in the neighborhood, and the community that's growing progressively closer despite having no singular shared language. Though there's so much to say about Silver City and its nearby neighborhoods, few people are telling its story.

Layton Boulevard West Neighbors (aka LBWN) is trying to spread the good word of what's happening in Silver City, Layton Park, and Burnham Park. The organization champions this unsung section of town, encourages commercial growth, and attempts to foster a sense of community in the region. Host Tyler Maas recently went to LBWN headquarters, where staffers Gisela Ortega and Celia Benton told him about what makes Silver City special, issues and assets that are unique to the area, and ways the neighborhoods they serve are developing and improving.

This episode is brought to you by Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Try Surly's new reduced-gluten Hopshifter IPA now. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Piles ("Blue Glue") and a Silver City Studios-recorded song by Surgeons In Heat ("Why'd You Start?").

Reggie "The Crusher" Lisowski is known as "The Man Who Made Milwaukee Famous." Over the course of his 40-year professional wrestling career, the South Milwaukee native and World War II vet was the pride of a region, an influence to untold numbers of aspiring wrestlers, and a WCW Hall of Famer with a heft of title belts to his name. If Chris Smith has it his way, The Crusher (who died in 2005) will also be honored with a statue in his hometown.

Smith—an Oak Creek resident and wrestling fan—recently launched a campaign to pay tribute to Lisowski by building a full-size bronze statue in downtown South Milwaukee in 2019. In only a couple of months, 'Da Crusher Statue Memorial Fund has raised more than $33,000 of its $40,000 goal. Days after a Crusher event at The Vanguard, Smith joined Tyler Maas at Milwaukee Record headquarters to discuss his motivation for this endeavor, The Crusher's local significance, statue specifics, and upcoming events to continue to make his dream a reality.

This episode is brought to you by Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Try Surly's new reduced-gluten Hopshifter IPA now. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Piles ("Blue Glue") and Novas ("The Crusher"). Subscribe to On The Record via iTunes or Stitcher (for free!).

Believe it or not, baseball season is just around the corner. Milwaukee Brewers pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training today, and Opening Day is just over six weeks out. After one of the most exciting winters in franchise history and with expectations building around the young team, there's a lot to talk about.

Kyle Lobner covers the Brewers and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers for a variety of publications (including this one), the T-Rats official site, and his daily "Frosty Mug" round-up on his Twitter account every weekday. Before boarding a plane to Florida, Lobner joined Tyler Maas at Milwaukee Record headquarters to talk about Milwaukee's busy offseason, needs that must be addressed before the regular season, the drastic improvement of the team's minor league system, and the sport's economic flaws. They also reminisced about going to minor league games together and dredged up some forgotten prospects from Brewers past (anyone remember Brad Nelson and Eric Arnett?). It should be noted that this episode was recorded before Milwaukee signed Wade Miley to a minor league deal.

This episode is brought to you by Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Piles ("Blue Glue") and Platinum Boys ("We Don't Dance (Anymore)").