My First Band Podcast  By  cover art

My First Band Podcast

By: Milwaukee Record
  • Summary

  • Each Friday, My First Band features a long-form interview with a different notable musician about all of the projects that preceded what you know them for. We discuss their musical origins, and we trace a few of their embarrassing high school bands and other associated bands that happened before they broke out. This show digs deeper than any Wikipedia page or band bio would ever dare to go. And, sometimes, the guests will even share some of their old songs. You can expect to hear a lot of interesting, informative and hopefully entertaining anecdotes about all of the bands along the way. My First Band is sponsored by Boulevard Brewing. It is hosted by Tyler Maas, of Milwaukee Record, and edited by Jared Blohm.
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Episodes
  • 200 – Andy Junk (Holy Shit!, The Fragments, Chinese Telephones)
    Jan 13 2023

    This week's guest — the 200th and final My First Band guest! — is the incomparable Andy Junk. These days, you can see Junk on stage as a member of Holy Shit! and Chinese Telephones, taking photos at a ton of concerts in Milwaukee and beyond, and spreading Lakefront Brewery's sales territory to faraway lands. Before he was in two long-running and respected bands, Junk was a teen starting his musical journey in unknown projects based in the tiny Wisconsin towns of Winneconne and Omro. Prior to his Milwaukee move, Junk was also an instrumental part of the once-mighty Green Bay punk scene as a member of The Fragments, an employee at the legendary Concert Cafe and a booker/resident of a short-lived house venue.

    Before returning to Green Bay for a concert at Lyric Room this weekend and heading back to Japan for another Holy Shit! tour in March, Junk stopped by Milwaukee Record headquarters to chat with My First Band host Tyler Maas about those recent developments, the forthcoming Chinese Telephones release, his musical start, his formative years in Titletown, basement show-related troubles with the law, relocating to Milwaukee, tricking an AOL music site into covering his band, and much more. Oh, and they talked about his honorary Lakefront beer, My Turn: Junk, and the unique reason it made headlines a few years ago.

    My First Band is sponsored by Mystery Room Mastering and Lakefront Brewery. The show is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever else you get podcasts. You can also listen to rebroadcasts of previous My First Band episodes on WMSE every Wednesday from noon to 12:30 p.m. CST. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Devils Teeth ("The Junction Street Eight Tigers") and Holy Shit! ("Ban Me"). Thanks to everyone who listened to this show, sponsored episodes, helped us book guests and took the time to be interviewed. It was a pleasure doing My First Band for close to four years!

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    1 hr and 37 mins
  • 199 – Ian Olvera (Daydream Retrievers, The Sleepwalkers, Wire & Vice)
    Jan 6 2023

    This week's guest is Ian Olvera, whose work can be heard in a variety of ways. Beyond being a current member of Blueheels and the bandleader of Daydream Retrievers, Olvera has helped record and mix music from a wide variety of other musicians at Wire & Vice and Mystery Room Mastering (and on his own), and he's been a live sound engineer for a bunch of Milwaukee venues and some very well-known artists. Before he was doing any of that, Olvera was teaching himself guitar, recording himself with a Fisher Price microphone and making friends in the Green Bay music scene.

    A day before heading out to Europe for a month to serve as a touring sound technician for Lucinda Williams, Olvera met up with My First Band host Tyler Maas at Milwaukee Record headquarters to talk about being on the road with a music legend, recent solo shows he played, and some recording projects he's taken on lately. Of course, the conversation also focused on his musical start. Olvera talked about being influenced by his dad's records, playing shows in Titletown as a highschooler, starting The Sleepwalkers while studying recording at UW-Oshkosh, moving to Milwaukee and getting more creative opportunities, and some surreal experiences from his varied career in music.

    My First Band is sponsored by Mystery Room Mastering and Lakefront Brewery. The show is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever else you get podcasts. You can also listen to rebroadcasts of previous My First Band episodes on WMSE every Wednesday from noon to 12:30 p.m. CST. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Devils Teeth ("The Junction Street Eight Tigers") and Daydream Retrievers ("Living Hell").

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    1 hr and 20 mins
  • 198 – Mark Waldoch (The Celebrated Workingman, Hallelujah Ward)
    Dec 22 2022

    This week's guest is Mark Waldoch, a Milwaukee mainstay who has been a prominent part of the city's music scene for more than 25 years. Over that quarter-century span, the multi-instrumentalist and owner of Brew City's most booming voice has released outstanding material with The Celebrated Workingman, under his own name and with his current Hallelujah Ward project. Along the way, he's contributed harmonies and horns to a wide variety of songs by other local musicians and he's been relied upon to be a go-to local opener for an incredible list of touring acts coming through town. Oh, and he's also a major part of Milwaukee's holiday music tradition with an array of Christmastime concerts most years.

    Earlier this week, Waldoch made a long-overdue stop (our bad!) at the My First Band studio, where he talked to host Tyler Maas about all of the above, as well as his upcoming yuletide show at The Cooperage, his amazing and arduous life story, and many memories from his lengthy tenure in the local scene. As Waldoch looked back on his artistic origin, he also treated listeners to anecdotes about touring the U.S. and Europe with Volcano Choir, working at the iconic Atomic Records store, and playing with the likes of Bright Eyes and Interpol before they became worldwide sensations. There's also an incredible and cathartic tale about the time he quit a particularly bad service industry job!

    My First Band is sponsored by Mystery Room Mastering and Lakefront Brewery. The show is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever else you get podcasts. You can also listen to rebroadcasts of previous My First Band episodes on WMSE every Wednesday from noon to 12:30 p.m. CST. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Devils Teeth ("The Junction Street Eight Tigers") and Hallelujah Ward ("86,000").

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    1 hr and 17 mins

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