Brick Through the Window

Brick Through the Window: An Oral History of Punk Rock, New Wave & Noise in Milwaukee, 1964-1984
book release, signing, and reading
Friday, July 14, 7-10 PM

“For the men and women who created the world of music in Milwaukee, the most American of cities, this book is not just an important historical document; it’s critical. Their story is told, and told well. In interviews with the players, and fantastic photos, the adventures and misadventures are chronicled with more gusto than the beer that made Milwaukee famous.”
–Wayne Kramer, singer/guitarist/activist, founding brother, the MC5

In late-1970s Milwaukee, a compact circle of locals drew from their city’s cultural heritage, as well as the examples of New York, London and Los Angeles, to embrace the new in the form of a dynamic punk rock scene. Drawing on influences from 1960s garage rock and early ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll, Milwaukee punks created a formidable body of work. A new book published by Brickboys/Splunge Communications, Inc., tells the story in the words of the pioneers and participants.

Brick Through the Window: An Oral History of Punk Rock, New Wave & Noise in Milwaukee, 1964-1984 chronicles a small number of people who made history in a setting that produced internationally recognized bands such as the Violent Femmes, Die Kreuzen, Plasticland and Oil Tasters. Original interviews with such visionaries as the late Mark Shurilla and Richard LaValliere tell stories of imagination, creativity, resourcefulness and sacrifice.

Nothing came easily for Milwaukee punks. The police were oppressive, city government was reactionary, the established media scoffed and mainstream rock fans were hostile. An industrial city sinking into the Rust Belt, Milwaukee had a deserved reputation for thrift and hard work, as well as a lingering socialist heritage. Milwaukee’s punks were able to build a scene on a shoestring; their work ethic lent itself to punk rock’s do-it-yourself ethos; and the scene was imbued with a sense of common purpose echoing the city’s history as bastion of progress.

Compiled from hundreds of hours of interviews, Brick Through the Window brings vividly to life a short-lived period of creativity and excitement in a heartland American town that was home to a musical subculture more prolific and diverse than that of many larger cities.

At 7:00 p.m., on Bastille Day, Friday, July 14, author/editor, Eric Beaumont, and  legendary musician Wayne Kramer will celebrate the release of Brick Through the Window with a brief discussion and book signing, with recordings of music mentioned in the book, at La Luz de Jesus Gallery, 4633 Hollywood Blvd.

Your book purchase is your ticket.

“As Brick Through the Window makes abundantly clear, the city has a rich indie-rock past that has never been properly recognized or much beyond Lake Michigan. In testimony from hundreds of the scenesters who contributed to Brick Through the Window, the stories of James Chance, the Haskels, Die Kreuzen, the Frogs, Plasticland, Couch Flambeau and dozens more are told in loving, zany and potent recollections that will immediately resonate with anyone who’s ever spent real time in a shitty bar with a stage and a P.A.”
-Ira Robbins, co-founder/editor, Trouser Press

Brick Through the Window: An Oral History of Punk Rock, New Wave & Noise in Milwaukee, 1964-1984
by Steven Nodine, Eric Beaumont, Clancy Carroll, and David Luhrssen
Published by Boswell Book Company
ISBN # 978-1491046975
6 x 9 x 1.8 in.
Shipping weight: 2 lb.
Music | Rock n Roll | Punk | History | Biography
Price: $22

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Steve Nodine is a web developer and author of The Cease Is Increase: An Oral History of the Milwaukee Punk & Alternative Music Scene, interviews from which provide the foundation for this book.  Steve has written for the ShepherdExpress, OnMilwaukee.com, Loose magazine and Fall from Grace, in addition to several blog sites.  Steve was the lead singer for the Milwaukee-based bands Dark Façade and Between Walls, and has recorded with the renowned Milwaukee noise band Boy Dirt Car.  His most recent musical project is as singer and songwriter for the Milwaukee band Newly Damaged.

Eric Beaumont is a musician, DJ, paralegal and writer living in Milwaukee.  His literary criticism has appeared in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, African American Review, Milwaukee JournalSentinel and ShepherdExpress.  As Eric Blowtorch he has written, performed, and arranged five albums, seven singles and numerous songs on compilations and soundtracks.  As a solo singer/guitarist and bandleader he has played across America and in London, Toronto and Kingston, where he performed with the Alpha Boys Band.  Beaumont has lectured on Jamaican music and history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. His published interviews include those with George McGovern, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello, KRS-ONE, Wayne Kramer, Linton Kwesi Johnson, De La Soul, Manic Street Preachers, Jeffrey Lee Pierce and filmmaker Karyn Kusama.

Clancy Carroll is a musician, record label owner and music writer based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  His past bands including Ozone, the Ones, the Dominoes, the Clancy Carroll Band, 3 On Fire, c2, and AlNiCo have released numerous 45s, EPs, CDs, and compilation tracks.  As King and CEO of Splunge Communications, Inc., he has released records by the likes of the Prosecutors, Triple Forbidden Taboo, Wanda Chrome and the Leather Pharaohs and Fuckface, as well as the double-CD compilation History in 3 Chords: Milwaukee Alternative Bands 1973-1982.  Carroll has written record reviews, reviewed live shows and conducted interviews for Autonomy, Milwaukees first punk fanzine; Express; and Milk magazine, in which “Clancy’s Kookie Corner” was a reader’s favorite.

David Luhrssen lectured at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.  He is author of Mamoulian: Life on Stage and Screen and Hammer of the Gods: Thule Society and the Birth of Nazism.  He is coauthor of War on the Silver Screen; Elvis Presley, Reluctant Rebel; Changing Times: The Life of Barack Obama; A Time of Paradox: America Since 1890 and Searching for Rock and Roll.  He has contributed to Women and War and The International Discography of the New Wave, and has been published in Historically Speaking, History Today, Journal of American History, Wisconsin Academy Review and other journals.  Luhrssen is Arts & Entertainment Editor and Film Critic of Milwaukee’s weekly ShepherdExpress.  He has written for Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, the Milwaukee Journal, Op, New York Rocker, Trouser Press and other publications.  He is a commentator on film for WUWM-FM, Milwaukee’s NPR affiliate, and is co-founder of the Milwaukee International Film Festival.

Only books purchased from La Luz de Jesus are eligible for signing.
For more info, email: sales@soapplant.com.
Call (323)663-0122 to order by phone.