Milwaukee’s Irving Place Records – an East Side record shop at 1627 E. Irving Pl. – has partnered with Denver-based Label 51 Recordings on a compilation album of Milwaukee music that is the first installment of a planned series featuring bands in different cities.
“Notes from the Underground Vol. 1: Milwaukee” features 12 tracks from Brew City bands, selected by Kip Gasparick, who works at the record label, but has Milwaukee ties, including having lived here for a few years.
The track listing for the album, which will be released on green vinyl and on CD (as well as digitally):
Side A
- Trolley - “Record Store”
- Diet Lite - “Stuck Again”
- Certain Stars - I Don’t Drink Much (About That)"
- Operations - “Fog Museum”
- The Quiet Canon - “My Love Will Shine on You" (Radio Edit)
- Apollo Vermouth - “After School”
Side B
- Testa Rosa - “Alice Anything”
- Elephonic - “Wonderin’”
- Immortal Girlfriend - “Hourglass”
- Lauryl Sulfate & Her Ladies of Leisure - “Laguna”
- Nick Maas - “House For Two”
- Dead Horses - “Brady Street”
“My friend Kip works with the label,” says Irving Place co-owner Terry Hackbarth. “He also maintains our website and manages our social media accounts from Austin, Texas.
“He selected and sequenced the songs for the compilation, but ran them by me for approval.”
Hackbarth also is a founding member of Trolley, though he says his record store partner Don Kurth asked for "Record Store" to be included, which seems only fair and is a great power pop tune.
The record is dedicated to Trolley guitarist and singer Mike Perotto, who passed away in 2021.
“Bill Hein is one of the co-founders of the label,” Gasparick explains when I ask about the genesis of the compilation series idea. “He ran the Enigma Records label with his brother in the ‘80s. They signed bands like Motley Crue, Poison, Great White, Ratt, etc. As you know, compilation albums were popular in the ‘70s and ‘80s so I'd imagine that is where the idea came from.
“I pitched reissuing the Rhino DIY compilations in an A&R meeting and one thing led to another.”
Gasparick says he’s been friends with Trolley for more than 30 years.
“When Terry shared that he and Don were taking over Bullseye, I offered to help with whatever I could. I mentioned the record store to (the label’s other co-founder) Andy Zicklin, who I report to directly, and that I'd be helping them, I suggested kicking off the city series that was discussed and was immediately given the green light.”
The first two songs from the LP – Diet Lite’s "Stuck Again" and Immortal Girlfriend’s "Hourglass" are being released digitally on Friday and the rest of the tracks will go online on Dec. 6.
The physical release will follow on Dec. 13 and will be limited to 500 CDs and 300 green vinyl LPs, which can be pre-ordered on the shop’s website now.
The front cover, designed by Jon Krop, features a Bridger Flory photo of Diet Lite performing at Turner Hall Ballroom.
Liner notes were penned by Milwaukee’s Eric White.
Gasparick says that Denver will be the next city featured in a compilation, adding that, "Before that gets started though, Label 51 Recordings will release 'Kids Hate Power Pop,' a modern power pop compilation that will include Milwaukee's very own Brett Newski."
Additionally, he believes Brew City bands could be the subject of another comp from Label 51.
“I think another Milwaukee compilation is a reality if this one does well. I also see other exclusive releases for Irving Place Records as possibilities in the future. Label 51 Recordings also signed Victor DeLorenzo's band Night Crickets and released their latest album. So, yeah, Milwaukee is under the microscope as a result of my conversations with Andy and friendship with Terry.”
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.
