DIY music scenes are an amorphous culture that's built to be as open to the public as possible. That means a scene in a given area can consist of four bands or 40 — it’s entirely up to the people involved.
Milwaukee is home to dozens of DIY artists that distinguish themselves through their music and stage presence. To start our dive into the scene, I wanted to talk to a band that doesn’t just embrace the spirit of this community, but embodies it. A band that treats every show the same, regardless of the size of the crowd. Because a mosh pit only takes two people to start.
Fake My Death is an alternative rock/punk band consisting of guitarist Cullen Huggard, bassist Charlie Heflin, vocalist/guitarist Victor Calvo and drummer Kevin Reed. The individual members got started in the DIY scene separately, interacting with the culture in their own ways.
Heflin: “I started playing in bands and going to shows when I was 15.”
Huggard: “I started getting more into this stuff within the last two or three years. One of my coworkers invited me to a show, and I was like, ‘This is awesome.’”
Calvo: “Right around the time I got into ska music, maybe around 15, I stumbled into a show in some attic, and it blew my mind. You meet people, you follow them on social media, and they end up posting a show, and you see what comes out of it.”
Reed: “My whole music career is me getting kicked out of bands, school or local. But I met Victor on a boat cruise, and he invited me to jam with him. That was two years ago now.”
That’s a prime example of how easy it is to start a band in Milwaukee. Most of the time, it’s a matter of being in the right place at the right time. But it can only happen if the barriers to entry are small. The opportunities that come from DIY culture are built on people having a genuine interest in music and each other.
“I had a hard time finding places to fit in,” Heflin said, “and going to local shows was the first time I felt like everybody was there for the same reason: keep local music alive and support each other.”
The idea of creating a space for people to thrive in and enjoy each other's company isn’t an original idea. What makes the scene in Milwaukee special is that ease of entry. There are no exclusive tickets, shows are promoted online or anywhere you staple a poster, and there isn’t even a need to know who the bands playing are.
These are shows that occupy dive bars and basements — places where people can enjoy music and talk to strangers who want to hear their whole deal.
“There’s just a lot of people from all walks of life who just want to hangout and listen to music,” Reed said. “Getting my friends to come to shows who never thought they would be into something like this is really cool. It just feels way more inclusive.”
For the community surrounding bands like Fake My Death, coming from different backgrounds doesn’t matter because they’re honed in on the same thing: supporting artists. People buy art, merch and concert tickets not only because they find them interesting, but also because they want to help a neighbor. It’s a community of people who look after each other and ensure these tangible pieces of art continue to exist.
As Calvo put it, “Maybe we can’t be rockstars playing in arenas. But we can make each other feel that way.”