Listen: Over the course of week 7 in our Make Milwaukee campaign, Mike Brenner introduced us to artists based in Milwaukee who could work in any city they’d like. So, why call Milwaukee home? Each of these artists have their own personal reasons, but there is a common thread throughout their answers — community. There are certainly flaws and frustration when it come to how Milwaukee receives art, but that’s true in any city. We’ve got something good going on here. Additionally, for an artist, Milwaukee doesn’t need to be an either/or proposition. All of these artists travel and work outside of the city, and when they return, their exposure and experiences enrich their work back home. This will always be part of how the local community grows.
So, for our final piece with Mike, we went down to Bay View and Jon Mueller’s basement percussion studio. Jon’s a veteran of Milwaukee’s music scene, having played in a number of bands and solo projects over the years. In this piece, Jon discusses his origins as a musician and how he’s seen Milwaukee’s audience change over the years: see podcast below.
And I’ll be talking to Jon again sometime next week at Austin’s SXSW as he’ll be down there drumming for Collection of Colonies of Bees. Listen for that on 88Nine’s SXSW-devoted blog.
-Out takes! At the beginning Jon’s piece, the music I used in the background is actually a piece from Christian Fennesz due to the demands of aesthetic immediacy — in order to get the full thrust of his snare-gong set up, you’d need a minimum of around 40 minutes. Here’s a taste:
-Jon discusses Crouton Music, and how his experiences with the label pushed him musically:
-The drummer for both Collection of Colonies of Bees and Volcano Choir, Jon discusses those bands a little with Mike:
To absorb more of Jon’s work, you can check out his Myspace page or visit his personal website or try Co llection of Colonies of Bees or listen to Volcano Choir. He also organizes Milwaukee’s Pecha Kucha. Haven’t heard about it? Learn more about Pecha Kucha here.