Milwaukee's own Latest Flame Records celebrates 10 years – and nearly 40 releases – of independent music with a pair of gigs this weekend at the Cactus Club in Bay View.
I talked to label boss Dan Hanke about the impending anniversary last year.
On Friday, you can see IfIHadAHiFi, Portland's System and Station, Victory and Associates, from the Bay Area, and Milwaukee's Heavy Hand. Saturday, Chicago's The Gunshy, Animal Lover, from St. Paul and Fargo, Indiana's Waxeater and our own Karl J. Paloucek perform.
The label continues the celebration on Oct. 27 at Quarter's in Riverwest with Seattle's Police Teeth.
Hanke says he'll distribute copies of a 12-track Latest Flame label sampler at the gigs. Alas, the disc has no tracks from LRF-01, better known as Troubled Hubble's great – but out-of-print – "Penturbia" disc, issued, natch, in 2002.
So, head down to Bay View this weekend and honor Hanke for a decade of hard work on behalf of great music and maybe you'll get a little gift to take home with you, too.
Get yourself in the mood with this new video for "Arson, You Let Me Down," from IfIHadAHiFi:
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.
