On The Record

Host Tyler Maas talks to the mayor of Cudahy, John Hohenfeldt.

Host Tyler Maas was joined by Yeah, Bro! Podcast host, ComedySportz improviser, and proud "gay sherpa" Jacob Bach to discuss this year's PrideFest Milwaukee, what to expect at the Yeah, Bro! LIVE show, and the significance June (which is National Pride Month) has in the LGBTQ+ community. The pair also run down the acts they're excited to see, many of which are part of the Milwaukee Record Stage lineup.

For this endearingly slipshod episode, hosts Matt Wild and Tyler Maas (that's us) decided to try something a little different and do an "Ask Us Anything" kind of deal via Facebook Live. So yes, as we were recording the audio for this podcast, we were also broadcasting live video on Facebook and taking real-time questions from viewers. Beyond that, summer was our general theme, and we managed to run down some of the Milwaukee summer festivals we're most excited about, discuss the issue of a seemingly small handful of bands playing the bulk of these festivals, and dig into the massive and always divisive Summerfest schedule. Thanks to our viewer questions, we also talked about "Weird Al," how we manage work and personal time, and what constitutes a "Milwaukee 8."

David "Punky" Wastak had a front row seat (or more accurately, a backstage pass) for much of the prosperous epoch of Summerfest comedy. As the longtime stage manager of Summerfest's Comedy Stage, Punky booked an astounding list of comics, such as Jon Stewart, Dave Chappelle, Tracy Morgan, Jay Leno, Louie Anderson, Drew Carey, Billy Crystal, Dana Carvey, Paula Poundstone, George Lopez, Joe Rogan, Frank Caliendo, Emo Phillips, Bobcat Goldthwait, and his good friend Lewis Black. In the early 2000s, the laughs began to die down as the stand-up presence at Summerfest ground to a halt, which spelled Punky's departure. He joined host Tyler Maas to share hilarious anecdotes, discuss the rise and fall of Summerfest's Comedy Stage, and ponder whether we can expect comedy to return to "The World's Largest Music Festival" any time soon.

In addition to being an accomplished Milwaukee filmmaker, the lead singer of a band, a sex educator, and an occasional Milwaukee Record contributor, Ashley Altadonna is an ardent trans activist. Though we're living in a time of unprecedented acceptance and consideration of one's gender, America is still presently wrestling with boycotts and increasingly heated debates about which bathroom somebody uses. Yet even with that opposition, the world is changing for the better. But is it changing fast enough? And what, if anything, can be done to accelerate society's understanding of gender identity? Altadonna recently joined host Tyler Maas at the uncharacteristically loud Milwaukee Record office to discuss America's apparent obsession with restroom labels, what the "trans" umbrella term covers, gender confirmation surgery, her work in film, and her own harrowing experience.

Host Tyler Maas was joined at Milwaukee Record HQ by Johanna Rose, a busy local musician and co-organizer of this year's FemFest and Arte Para Todos benefits. Joining her in the studio were Milwaukee comedian (and former funniest man in Vermont) Phil Davidson and Chicago-by-way-of-Milwaukee comic Sammy Arechar, two of Cream City Comedy Festival's three founders. They all discussed the formation and focus of their particular benefits, the underlying hope for artistic exposure and collaboration, and why artists who are struggling to make a living in their creative fields are willing to play for free to support worthy causes.

In an era of unprecedented online criticism, how can prospective consumers possibly sift through the noise to figure out, simply, what's good? To many people, the answer to that question is Yelp. Like it or lump it, the popular online review resource and its numerous counterparts are here to stay, both throughout the world and right here in Milwaukee. In her time as Yelp Milwaukee Marketing & Community Director, Rachel Fell has helped foster a passionate and (predominately) positive community of reviewers while also developing a localized presence for the polarizing international corporation. Fell and host Tyler Maas met up to discuss how she happened upon her unique position, the ups and downs of online criticism, and how quality and care are still paramount to a business' success.

Since 2009, the young professional group NEWaukee has become an ever-present player in Milwaukee's social and cultural scenes. What began as a simple social networking group started by a handful of friends looking to meet their peers and explore their city has become a social architecture firm looking to change the way Milwaukeeans young and old live, work, and play in their city and beyond. The NEWaukee Night Market, an arts and crafts fair that takes over a chunk of W. Wisconsin Ave. for four nights every summer, has become a huge success. The NEWaukee-organized Young Professional Week, a statewide program featuring hundreds of free events, workshops, and panels, kicks off April 23. On top of that (and dozens of other events), NEWaukee has been working with the new ownership group of The Shops of Grand Avenue, offering input and shaping the redevelopment of the long-struggling downtown mall. For this episode of On The Record, Matt Wild dropped by the NEWaukee offices (which, coincidentally, are in the basement of the Grand Ave.) and spoke to NEWaukee president Angela Damiani about the future of the mall, the history of her group, and what, exactly, social architecture means.

Host Tyler Maas was invited to the soon-to-be-vacated Lucky Cat by Eric Apnea (Holy Shit!), a booker at Cocoon Room who currently lives in the Lucky Cat space. Kelsey Kaufmann (Gallery Night, Youth Crush), a lifelong proponent of all-ages venues, joined in on the conversation. Together, the trio delved into the broad topic by comparing the state of all-ages music in Milwaukee today, discussing the importance of all-ages venues, laying out the limited businesses that can cater to young crowds (some better than others), and suggesting lasting ways the city can address this artistic absence.

Ramie Makhouf—stand-up comedian and co-host of "The Big Show" on 105.7 The Fan—comes to Milwaukee Record headquarters to tell host Tyler Maas his 2016 Brewers predictions, draw parallels between Chicago and Milwaukee's rebuilds, and discuss the ups and downs of making something he loves into his career.