On The Record

If you read Milwaukee Record with any regularity, you're likely familiar with the name Lucky Tomaszek. Our resident MKE SEX columnist is better known as the Education Coordinator at The Tool Shed, "An Erotic Boutique" that's become an East Side staple and Midwestern mainstay since opening in 2004. On top of its wide array of offerings, Tool Shed is Milwaukee's only mission-driven, education-focused sex toy store. Tomaszek is a large parts of what helps set the sex shop apart from the rest. After taking host Tyler Maas on a tour of the store, Tomaszek sat down with him to discuss Tool Shed's inventory, kinks, gender identity, sexuality, consent, and misconceptions both customers and society as a whole have. They also talked about PrideFest, which will feature The Tool Shed workshops and presentations, along with a variety of music, comedy, and dance parties hosted by Milwaukee Record over the course of the weekend. This episode is brought to you by PrideFest—coming to Henry Maier Festival Park June 7-10—and Su

While you might not know Erik Stolhanske by name alone, you're surely aware of his work with Broken Lizard. The comedy troupe—of which Stolhanske is one-fifth—is responsible for such cult comedy classics as Super Troopers, Beerfest, Club Dread, and The Slammin' Salmon. A few weeks after the release of Super Troopers 2, Stolhanske came to Milwaukee to perform at Turner Hall. Prior to his show, Stolhanske met host Tyler Maas in a hotel lobby to discuss his latest film, the inner workings of Broken Lizard, memorable moments from set, and his Midwestern roots. The actor and comedian also opened up about growing up with a wooden leg, how his childhood obstacle helped develop his personality and inform his sense of humor, and how everyone has their own "wooden leg" to overcome. This episode is brought to you by Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Piles ("Blue Glue") and Slow Walker ("Shades Of Ganymede").

Last year, Andy Nelson left a public relations dream job with Pabst Theater Group for a far less glamorous and much more challenging position as the Media Manager with Milwaukee Public Schools. Nelson transitioned from a career that allowed him to hang with celebrities and market Milwaukee entertainment to his current position out of a sense of duty and a desire to bring positive change to his community. He has his work cut out for him, but his efforts and the work of so many others is starting to show itself in a school system that's dealing with student poverty and homelessness, a lack of positive awareness, and segregation. Nelson came to Milwaukee Record headquarters and talked to host Tyler Maas about his decision to leave his job of 10 years, specific challenges he faces in his new career, great new programs being implemented, and why he feels MPS is a reflection of Milwaukee as a whole. They also talked about the inaugural All-City Arts Festival, which will showcase the talents of more than 8,000 MPS s

Jacob Bach is no stranger to this podcast. The Milwaukee improvisor and friend of the site has a few On The Record appearances under his belt, but the repeat guest has kept a pretty quiet profile lately. Over the last year or so, Bach ended his great Yeah, Bro! podcast, threw himself into improv, and started an outdoor adventure service called Good Land Guides. Amid all the life changes, he broke his foot in a climbing accident. Bach wheeled into a ComedySportz theater last week, where he met host Tyler Maas for a long-overdue return to the podcast. There, they talked about how Bach is handling the limitations of the injury, what Good Land Guides provides (or will provide again when he's better in a couple months), new comedy projects he's planning, and what he's looking forward to seeing at PrideFest. Of course, Bach and Maas go on weird tangents, do voices and bits, and have some fun in the process. This episode is brought to you by PrideFest—coming to Henry Maier Festival Park June 7-10—and Surly Brewing,

Since beginning as a joke among friends who realized Milwaukee's 414 area code had a striking resemblance to the numerals in April 14 (or 4/14), "Milwaukee Day" has turned into a full-fledged holiday. In the eight or nine years—the organizers don't recall—after its origin, the unlikely holiday has resulted in an official mayoral proclamation, a founder getting to throw out a first pitch before a Brewers game, an abundance of civic-centered specials offered by area businesses, a formidable hashtag, a cameo on Jeopardy!, and the inspiration for a beer. The citywide celebration also offers its fair share of entertainment options. This year is no different, with dozens of concerts, comedy shows, art openings, film screenings, and even a gaming festival lined up this Saturday. To help prepare you for this year's Milwaukee Day festivities, host Tyler Maas asked the holiday's co-founder, Andy Silverman, to join him at Milwaukee Record headquarters. They were met by Rebecca Ottman, the Director of Marketing at UW-Mil

Milwaukee's festival season is just around the corner, which means visitors will be swinging by the city to take in the sights, attractions, drinks and dining delicacies, and all the amenities that help make this a special place. For many of those visitors, Visit Milwaukee is a trusted gateway to what the region has to offer. Since it focuses on an out-of-town audience, Visit might be a mystery to many locals. A few days after the tourist organization debuted its new and improved website, host Tyler Maas invited Visit Milwaukee communications manager Claire Koenig back to Milwaukee Record headquarters to discuss exactly what Visit does, why it's important, what she loves about Milwaukee, and ways the city's identity has changed recently (and continues to today). They also take a tour of the new Visit Milwaukee site. This episode is brought to you by Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Try Surly’s new reduced-gluten Hopshifter IPA now. Music used in this episode com

After trudging through yet another long, unforgiving, and somewhat boring Wisconsin winter, spring has arrived. Along with the increased sunlight and climbing temperatures, a wealth of great shows are headed Milwaukee's way this season. Between the end of March and mid-June, the city's entertainment calendar is brimming with a mess of local release shows, comedians, touring musicians, and the first festivals of the year. To help find the best, weirdest, and most interesting events taking place in Milwaukee this spring, host Tyler Maas enlisted the expertise of Milwaukee Magazine and Shepherd Express music writer Kevin Mueller. From his dining room, Mueller (a proud new papa) and Maas ran through some standout shows, talked about the increase in spring festivals in the city, pondered why popular bands are playing in small venues these days, and debated how to correctly pronounce Ty Segall's name. This episode is brought to you by Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record.

The "Phobruary" fun (phon?) in Silver City is over, but there are lots of other things that help this neighborhood stand out all year long. This segment of town, along with adjoining neighborhoods of Layton Park and Burnham Park, is regarded as the most racially diverse and densely populated part of Milwaukee. Those distinctions are shown in the wide array of excellent restaurants, the variety of businesses in the neighborhood, and the community that's growing progressively closer despite having no singular shared language. Though there's so much to say about Silver City and its nearby neighborhoods, few people are telling its story. Layton Boulevard West Neighbors (aka LBWN) is trying to spread the good word of what's happening in Silver City, Layton Park, and Burnham Park. The organization champions this unsung section of town, encourages commercial growth, and attempts to foster a sense of community in the region. Host Tyler Maas recently went to LBWN headquarters, where staffers Gisela Ortega and Celia Be

Reggie "The Crusher" Lisowski is known as "The Man Who Made Milwaukee Famous." Over the course of his 40-year professional wrestling career, the South Milwaukee native and World War II vet was the pride of a region, an influence to untold numbers of aspiring wrestlers, and a WCW Hall of Famer with a heft of title belts to his name. If Chris Smith has it his way, The Crusher (who died in 2005) will also be honored with a statue in his hometown. Smith—an Oak Creek resident and wrestling fan—recently launched a campaign to pay tribute to Lisowski by building a full-size bronze statue in downtown South Milwaukee in 2019. In only a couple of months, 'Da Crusher Statue Memorial Fund has raised more than $33,000 of its $40,000 goal. Days after a Crusher event at The Vanguard, Smith joined Tyler Maas at Milwaukee Record headquarters to discuss his motivation for this endeavor, The Crusher's local significance, statue specifics, and upcoming events to continue to make his dream a reality. This episode is brought to yo

Believe it or not, baseball season is just around the corner. Milwaukee Brewers pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training today, and Opening Day is just over six weeks out. After one of the most exciting winters in franchise history and with expectations building around the young team, there's a lot to talk about. Kyle Lobner covers the Brewers and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers for a variety of publications (including this one), the T-Rats official site, and his daily "Frosty Mug" round-up on his Twitter account every weekday. Before boarding a plane to Florida, Lobner joined Tyler Maas at Milwaukee Record headquarters to talk about Milwaukee's busy offseason, needs that must be addressed before the regular season, the drastic improvement of the team's minor league system, and the sport's economic flaws. They also reminisced about going to minor league games together and dredged up some forgotten prospects from Brewers past (anyone remember Brad Nelson and Eric Arnett?). It should be noted that this episode

If you go to enough local comedy shows, you're bound to encounter Tyler Menz. The Milwaukee comedian has been kicking around stages throughout the Midwest for six years, and his material is beginning to spread to larger audiences in more and more places throughout the country. Fresh off his run of shows in support of the legendary Todd Barry, Menz met host Tyler Maas at Milwaukee Record headquarters. There, they talked about how something Maas wrote once got the similarly named Menz banned from a local comedy club, the evolution of local stand-up, Menz's new podcast about bombing called "Eating It," and his worst show experiences. This episode is brought to you by Surly Brewing, a Minnesota-based brewery and the official beer of On The Record. Intro and outro music comes courtesy of Piles ("Blue Glue") and Kiss Critique ("Prom").

Our apologies for the delay between episodes! Other than taking some time off for the holidays, we've been busy putting the finishing touches on our annual Local Coverage benefit concert. This year's show (Friday, January 19 at Turner Hall) will feature a diverse blend of eight Milwaukee acts covering each other to raise money for a local organization. That organization is the Milwaukee Women's Center. Since 1980, Milwaukee Women's Center has provided services and treatment for women, children, and (recently) men dealing with domestic violence, addiction, mental health issues, and poverty. Before Friday's show, host Tyler Maas went to Community Advocates (the Women's Center's parent organization) to speak with CEO Andi Mallmann-Elliott about the services the Women's Center provides, what their various programs strive to accomplish, and ways people can help. Call 414-671-6140 to speak to a domestic abuse crisis counselor. If you wish to donate to the center or volunteer, call 414-270-2984 or visit the Milwauke

Twenty-seventeen was, well, it was a year. So let’s talk about it, or at least let’s talk about the things we actually liked about it. For this year's end-of-the-year recap, Milwaukee Record's Matt Wild, Tyler Maas, and Josh Hoppert chat about their favorite Milwaukee albums of 2017, reminisce about their favorite Milwaukee Record stories of 2017, and look ahead to what they'll be up to in 2018. Unusually large Gatorade displays, Corey Feldman dental mishaps, haunted cigar bars that aren’t really haunted, and Andrew W.K. shopping sprees are all included. Plus, a lot of great, great music.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens December 15. 'Nuff said. Two years after sitting down and talking about the impending release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rob Wieland, John Revord, and host Matt Wild once again shoot first the shit about a galaxy far, far away. And there's a lot to shoot the shit about: What did everyone think of TFA? How about Rogue One? What's the deal with the Han Solo movie and the new, non-Skywalker trilogy? And, most importantly, HOLY SHIT THE LAST JEDI IS GOING TO BE AMAZING, ISN'T IT? THANK YOU RIAN THANK YOU! AHHHHHHH! Matt also finally finds out what a "Mary Sue" is.

Oh my gosh! Charlie Berens is the guest on this week's podcast. Last fall, the Los Angeles (by way of Elm Grove, Wisconsin) actor, writer, and Emmy-winning host first made his mark with viral voiceover videos imagining what it'd be like if Titanic's Jack Dawson and Bane from Batman hailed from Wisconsin. More recently, Berens rose to regional notoriety as the host of Manitowoc Minute. Through about 20 episodes, the weekly Wisconsin-influenced news segment has garnered millions of views on YouTube and Facebook. While back in his home state for a run of performances (including a pair of sell-out shows at Turner Hall), Berens met host Tyler Maas at the Cactus Club to discuss the origin of the character that's quickly struck a chord in his home state, his path to L.A., where he hopes to bring the segment, and the care he puts into the 90 seconds of northwoods-accented perspective he puts into the world each week. Before episode's end, Berens also makes a bold prediction about the Packers. If you like the Manitowo

Though sports is always a relevant topic (especially in Wisconsin), each autumn seems to bring about a competitive crescendo of sorts. Not even counting NCAA football and basketball, the local sports world is booming with activity. The Packers are weathering the storm following Aaron Rodgers’ injury. The Bucks (and Herd) season is underway. After a surprisingly competitive season, a promising young Brewers squad is gearing up for Winter Meetings. There’s a lot to talk about. Ramie Makhlouf—co-host of “The Big Show” on 105.7 The Fan—is familiar with all this. The sports talk radio personality and stand-up comedian returned to Milwaukee Record headquarters to tell host Tyler Maas his thoughts on the Brew Crew’s offseason plans, what the final five games (and beyond) hold for the Pack, and whether the Bucks are on the path to Eastern Conference dominance. They also talked about Makhlouf’s allegiance to Illinois sports teams, the ever-changing landscape of sports media, and 105.7’s annual Toy Drive (which runs th

Occasionally, we decide to bring ye olde On The Record to the public by booking variety shows at bars or other performance venues. We strive to offer something for all tastes, with a blend of music, comedy, and general interest guests. On Thursday, November 9, we convened at Mojo Dojo (inside Urban Harvest Brewing Company) to talk to husband and wife synth-pop duo Golden Coins about their ongoing attempt to adopt a child, Liz Smith and Kari Houghtaling about their two-woman Home Alone remake, and Milwaukee writer Caleb Westphal about all things fish fry. Golden Coins performed a few songs, and we surprised Milwaukee Record Director of Advertising Josh Hoppert with some questions about being the former largest baby in Waukesha County. Fun!

The state of craft beer in Wisconsin is rapidly changing and steadily improving. At this point, it's impossible to document everything that's happening in Milwaukee brewing and in the other microbreweries spread throughout the state. That didn't stop Matthew Janzen from trying. The author and photographer took his interest in beer to the next level when he quit his job and took it upon himself to visit dozens of breweries, fields, and other facilities that work in concert to shape the reputation of Wisconsin brewing. Janzen combined the images, interviews, and information he collected into his first book, State Of Craft Beer. Between stops on his book tour of Wisconsin libraries, Janzen came to Milwaukee Record headquarters to talk about what led to his decision to take on the daunting task of capturing the story of the state's brewing scene, ways things have changed since the book's release, the economic impact beer has in Wisconsin, and what's next for him. Music comes courtesy of Piles ("Blue Glue") and Ra

Brian Butch's basketball career started in the Fox Valley. After the Appleton West High School standout was selected as a McDonald's All-American alongside the likes of LeBron James and Chris Paul, he attended the University of Wisconsin and was an instrumental part of a Badgers team that made tournament runs and was at one point ranked number one in the country. Following his impressive collegiate career, Butch played internationally in Japan, China, Greece, Dubai, and the Philippines, as well as the NBA's D-League (now called "NBA G-League") during his 10-year professional basketball career. Butch's latest stop brings him back to the region where it all began, this time as a coach. The Wisconsin-born big man recently accepted a position on the coaching staff of the Wisconsin Herd, a G-League expansion team and Milwaukee Bucks affiliate franchise based in Oshkosh. Milwaukee Record's Tyler Maas made the drive to Oshkosh and met up with Butch at Herd facilities. There, Maas—who grew up one town away from Butch

As far as career options go, professional video game player sits somewhere between food tester and sleep study participant. Unthinkable as it is, one Milwaukee man has managed to make an occupation out of gaming with the help of a charismatic puppet he made out of an old Super Nintendo. Joe Vella got his start in entertainment as a performer (and eventually a teacher) at ComedySportz. Two years ago, he combined his love of improv, gaming, and Mystery Science Theater 3000 into BizSNES. As one of Twitch's first, and one of the gaming platform's most popular character streamers, Vella's sole income comes from recording himself (and his plastic puppet) playing video games and streaming it online. Prior to taking part in a character streamer panel at TwitchCon, and before his upcoming move to the Twitch hotbed that is Seattle, Vella joined host Tyler Maas at Milwaukee Record headquarters to expand on their recent discussion about the professional gamer and all-around entertainer's foray into his unique occupation,