We recently shared news that Irving Place Records, 1627 W. Irving Pl. on the East Side is doubling in size. But for that good news to happen it means that Blast Radius Record & Video, which was next door at 1625 W. Irving Pl. must vacate.
But, don’t worry, the nearly 5-year-old independent shop, focusing on underground hardcore and metal, isn’t going away. Instead, it’s moving to Riverwest.
But the shop at 2708 N. Booth St. won’t open for a few months as the owners ready the space.
In the meantime, we caught up with Austin Naamani, James Dunbar and Zach Moffat to ask about Blast Radius’ past, present and future...
OnMilwaukee: For those who haven’t been following closely, give us the history of Blast Radius.
Austin Naamani: It's a lengthy story but I will do my best to keep it short. Blast Radius Records started in 2021 with myself and two long time friends: Zachary Moffat and Andrew Czarnik. Our vision was a record store and all around cultural touchstone to serve the diy hardcore punk community in Milwaukee, a community which we all have long and strong ties to.
What started as a small string of pop-ups very quickly mutated into a small art studio located at 536 W. National Ave, above Promises bar (RIP). Things were complicated back then. We were located on the second story and folks had to text us to be let in.
After a year and a half in the art studio, Drew parted ways to pursue tattooing full time while simultaneously we were invited to join forces with our long time friend James Dunbar who was running Video Nerd located at 1625 E. Irving Pl. We moved in and rebranded the entire store Blast Radius Record & Video, under which we have operated for the past 16 months or so.
Zach Moffat: When we started Blast Radius, we had already been kicking around the idea for over a year. It was just a matter of time. The concept of a place where members of various diy underground subcultures can congregate, meet and exchange ideas was really important to us because we didn't feel that this sort of space existed in Milwaukee.
Punk, metal, techno, film, street art, and other subcultures tend to exist separate from one another. Blurring those lines was our mission statement.
Tell me a bit about the video side of the shop.
James Dunbar: We like to supply a lot of forgotten and unheard of titles. While this sounds sort of cliche to say, boutique Labels like Severin Films, Vinegar Syndrome and Terror Vision have made a lot of "Underground" titles accessible. We tend to carry horror, exploitation, art house, cult film, action and comedy. A lot of B-roll stuff that is unforgettable.
And yes, we buy, sell, trade, AND rent!
Zach Moffat: We carry multiple formats including VHS, DVD, Blu-ray and 4K. With our move we are bringing in a couple new faces to further expand our video section and events. We are doing well to encourage everyone to check out titles that may be off the beaten path.
Is it challenging having a video shop in the 2020s?
Austin Naamani: There's a ton of opportunities for video stores in the modern age. Of course it comes with challenges and there's competition. A lot of folks are selling online. The Milwaukee Film community that supports us makes everything feel worthwhile at the end of the day.
Can you talk a bit about the record shop side of the business?
Zach Moffat: To piggyback on an earlier statement; We had not really seen a record store like us existing in Milwaukee, one that specializes in underground hardcore and metal, especially new releases. As lifers, we wanted to create a space that champions the music and subculture we love so much.
Austin Naamani: DIY hardcore practically raised me. Zach too. James, Drew – everyone involved with the store. So you will always find us slinging hardcore punk and metal records. In addition to that though, we carry house music, techno, noise, industrial and some hip-hop.
Why the move from Irving Place?
Austin Naamani: We had an amazing opportunity to move closer to a large percentage of the community who frequent our store, as well as bring a video store back to Riverwest. Before Blast Radius Record & Video, there was Video Nerd, and before Video Nerd there was Riverwest Film & Video.
Riverwest Film & Video played an important role in proliferating film culture in Milwaukee, and people like Xavier Leplae, Mark Borchardt, Frankie Latina and Max Hey are great examples of what type of impact this culture has.
Any success we had operating Blast Radius Record & Video at 1625 E. Irving Pl. cannot be mentioned without mentioning Bullseye Records and Irving Place Records. Luke (Lavin), Terry (Hackbarth) and crew have been on that block grinding hard for over 20 years. Our move, their expansion, it's all well-earned and well-deserved.
How does the new location compare in terms of size, etc.?
Austin Naamani: The new location is a touch larger. The retail space is 1,100 square feet, with another 2,000 square feet of storage, office and potential event space.
Zach Moffat: Truly, every aspect of the new location ... we view it as nothing short of a massive upgrade.
When do you expect to open?
Austin Naamani: The store is not open currently. We have some work ahead of us, but our goal is to be open by the end of May.
Zach Moffat: Can we take this opportunity to shout some people out who have helped us along the way – Drew Czarnik, Kelsey (Kaufmann) and Cactus Club, JJ (Kaiser) and X-Ray Arcade, Tom Hively and @milwaukeehardcoreshows on Instagram, Leo & Unlawful Assembly Records, Delaney, Pete & Quarters RnR Palace, Original Fuel Cafe, Daily Bird, Truly Spoken Cycles, Emilio, Michelle, Vivie, Robbie Pauly @birthday_party_tattoo on Instagram, Promises Bar (RIP).
Austin Naamani: Shout out Milwaukee hardcore.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
