Guitar Town Gala

You really need to check out the Gibson bus!

Kya, Barry and I in front of "Songbird". The plan had changed, it will be at Five Point tomorrow!

Jeff and his creation.

The crew and more.

Rich, Mr. Nipple Gate and Danger Girl 1

Slash (Tony Bodway) and HBR.

Jason and the high bidder of his guitar. It went for $4300!!!

Slash and Waukesha's own Sammy Llanas

Jason and Sabrina

Birthday girl and Sam.

It was a great night, I even get a "Thank you for your support." from Mayor Scrima, eat your heart out, Wiggy...;)

5.31.12

Someone asked me about Guitar Town, and they did not know what is going on at all. It is a well kept secret to some I guess. Perhaps we will get the projected 25,000 people this weekend (knock on wood), but maybe not with bad weather... Is this a setup for major disappointment with such an optimistic projection? I don't think the Guitar Town corp. will suffer, they have sponsors' money in the bank already... If the opening of Guitar Town and WFFNL flop, the downtown elders lose, and the merchants so count on the big windfall lose. Mayor Scrima might not think so and appreciate, but WTC is a big sponsor and supporter of the artists. We do hope it will be a good weekend for downtown's sake...

The locations of the guitars are finally released. (Typo! "Jennifer" not "Jennnifer" and our submitted sponsor name is Waukesha Tattoo Company @ Galleria Edge) The map is also a little strange with Bodway's across from us to the west.. Katie Musolff's name is spelled wrong. Is it so hard to get the basic sponsor/artist information correct? Did anyone double check anything?

At least there are some opening bids now... It should be interesting at the Live Auction tonight...

Interesting... Yup, I was told a sprinkler system is needed for any place with more than 100 people occupancy, and Danny said the water main is on the north side of the street. They won't get hit with the parking question because anything east of Maple is exempted.

Erik's new entry.

Sarah's Miller Park report part 2

OOPS!

Waukesha C.A.R.E.S.

Is that Tom Noll on No.28?

B & B?

I'll report about tonight's Gala tomorrow...

FREEMAN is late to post this morning... I will update when that happens...



UPDATE: Freeman's report with the same map. * Mia's is north of the parking lot, Bodway's is east of the parking lot entrance.

FYI, the event schedule.

Put a human face on the tragedy.

Wiggy is off to the Recall land.

SOUND OFF

POLICE BLOTTER

Perhaps they will put the phase 2 of the tattoo law into practice one of these years... Bill helped with it but only to see phase 1 carried out.

Brien's entry.

Have a nice day, folks... Do plan to come out tomorrow... Rain or Shine.

5.30.12

T minus one and it really should be all about the Guitar Town hype, but reality happens... One honest working man's American Dream ends but continues in his family. My deepest condolences and thoughts go out to them.

The question of race was a hot topic in Patch discussion board.

A loss of life sure makes Guitar Town kinda trivial... However, here is the headline:

Downtown Waukesha get ready to party...

The committee is expecting 25,000 people...

Gregg said it could be like the Harley-fest few years back...

30% chance of rain for the Gala and 20% chance of rain for WFFNL.

Darryl had a tenant issue...

SOUND OFF

POLICE BLOTTER

Did I mention the Guitar Town gala will also be Ms. Kool's birthday celebration? The whole WTC team will be there to cheer for the artists we know and recommended. There are quite a few that had shown in Galleria Edge before: Jennifer "Kya" Espenscheid (a solo show coming in October), Wis Guthrie, Amy Cropper, Peggy Farrell, Katie Musolff ( BTW Guitar Town spelled her name wrong on the website/a solo show coming in 2013), Andy Fletcher and our own WTC tattoo artist Jason Vogt, his show is coming up in 2014.

(I did get the bad news that M.H. can not make the gala with a last minute schedule conflict, darn that Jennifer Lopez... )

25 more WTC trivia questions coming this weekend.

Someone did say the Save and Save will be a German Brew Pub now... With how slow 453 project is going through the process, I wonder how this brew pub will be ready for July 1st.

Brien's blast from the past.

FYI, the opening bid is lowered from $2000 to $1000.

Pray for good weather this weekend, everyone.

UPDATE: Katie's name is now corrected on the ARTISTS page, not on the map however..

5.29.12

I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend. Ms. Kool and I went up to U.P. to pay respect to Becky and Kenny's resting place, and brought the whippet pup Nikko to Swan Lake for the first time.

T minus 2. Locations of the guitars are not made public yet... "Songbird" will be inside of WTC because of all the sharp metal sticking out... You do have a shot here if you like to bid on one of the three remaining guitars including the Jason Vogt guitar. The sponsorship for one of these was $5000, so it is quite a deal right now. People will be bidding during the Gala live.

Don't forget it is Donut Day on Friday June 1st as well... I am sure WTC will find a way to observe it too.

Gray Vacation is going to be playing in the Moxie parking lot too on June 1st, and it is free and open to public.

Whoa, is that the mayor? He's just allergic to Christmas Parade, Wiggy.

People were raving about this during the Riverwalk for Cancer team orientation.

SOUND OFF

POLICE BLOTTER

Brien's old posts 1 and 2. Scott L. made a website here.

Breaking news from Patch. This will make everyone uneasy in downtown...

Good stuff.

Erik's report 1 and 2

The question I always want an answer to...

D'OH!!!!

UPDATE:

WFFNL will be closing the streets... Whoa, no one saw that coming.... NOT! :)

Landscape service people are cutting the grass at O'Brien property right now, isn't it ready for demolition?

A robo call came into WTC from Waukesha Police Department asking for clues on the gas station homicide, this is getting serious. Condolences to the victim's family...

5.26.12

Magellan proudly presents "Hole in the Wall" summer music concert series. (Photos via Angie.)

Bodway's made a run for more Yuengling... Tell your server you like a "Facebook Burger and a Beer Special" and you get a free Yuengling with your burger from Tue-Thurs. ( I like the beer a lot, it is a roasted caramel malt... You can not buy this beer within 100 miles of Waukesha... )

Eric is on the front page of Freeman!

Scott made something special...

Donald Driver in Waukesha and Darryl wrote about him.

What should I wear to this Gala?

What is happening next week in City Hall.

More construction...

History Lesson 10 of 10- I remember the Oriental Grocery...

A little more detail...

Something for the Biker Gang... Adam is gonna help out Salvation Army with his expertise... Thank you!

POLICE BLOTTER

What is happening this weekend...

For this Memorial Day weekend, I would like to remember my late brother-in-law Kenny and my late mentor Bill. Kenny was in the Navy and Bill was in the Army in Nam.

Have a great and safe weekend!!! WTC 3000 trivia, Guitar Town Gala and WFFNL are coming next week...

Tear down this wall!

Magellan's and M2 are just about to become one....

(Photos via Angie. Thank you!)

Something for the Fan Club

Yes, Tattoo artist/Guitar Town artist Jason Vogt can play guitar too...

5.25.12

I think Wiggy has a Napoleon reference in there somewhere... From what I was told, it will be a tight fit for 345 people in the Rotunda without a tent outside, especially if the guitars are in there, and the band needs room too. Regarding the stage at Five Point, not sure who talked to the press but it is one of the worst kept secrets of the Guitar Town ( ...and there are many secrets ). Hey, I will be there to support the artists and celebrate them, I can do without the politics and the smelly stuff.

Speaking of politics, another slap down of Scri-Drama attempt via Mr. Shay Johnson and the mayor likely arrived an hour after the meeting was over BTW.... I was told the Ethics Board were just all reappointed from the last time, so if this is a Naughty List payback, the mayor even screwed this one up without appointing his Smart People on it. This might be a fatal mistake down the road... I am just saying...

Does it mean a Scri-Drama free June? What damage can be reversed when he is out of town?

From rumor to news...

When news is quite different from the rumor...

You like higher tax, more Scri-Drama and no water but little property owner input? Hey, welcome!

The fix.

History Lesson 9 of 10.

Good Stuff.

Check your sidewalk for spray paint marks.

SOUND OFF-"Guitar Boy"

POLICE BLOTTER

Brien has a nice report...

A man hunt happened in the Far West End yesterday, cops were all over the place, even cops with IL plate. The little info I can gather from all the witnesses were that someone was hiding in the trees at the end of the WTC parking lot and when the police came, he did even more hide and seek in the neighborhood. The suspect's car with Iowa plate was near and the cops deflated the tires. I was told that they did catch the suspect after a while, and police dog team was going through the trees when I left. (We did not have donuts on weekdays, sorry...)

There is also an exciting summer art project being talked about. We are working with another unnamed gallery and an unnamed local artist to bring a world premiere movie screening to Downtown Waukesha... The tentative idea is to set up a screen over one of the walls of WTC and project the movie for all to see. It might be loud and it might go later into the night so I do have to talk to my neighbors... Stay tuned...

About the WTC 3000, more local biz are stepping up to beef up the prize package... You better be watching our FB! :)

P.S. Another Danger Girls meeting at WTC, we have to charge them rent soon... ;)

5.24.12

Today will be a mini Jennifer " Kya " Espenscheid edition.

I missed this article the other day. It is more like I execute her designs for her celebrity patrons... She is being modest. Her works are all over Milwaukee, including Iron Horse Hotel.

This is just a building she did recently... She is the permanent artist in Swig (Alisha and Oprah are fans of their Black Bean Cake), she also designed beer labels for Sprecher... FYI, she will have a solo show with Galleria Edge in October... Songbird will look nice in WTC...

On top of that, she is also a very very kool free spirit, I am fortunate to call her a friend.

History Lesson 8 of 10

Flowers for downtown...

Re-do... (Only after accidents?)

Gregg covers YBQ.

Whoa, Carroll gets another THANK YOU for "investing in the community"...

Yum... Where do I go for a Chicago Style Dog in Waukesha? Rochester Deli of course...

Wiggy is in a different war these days...

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

SOUND OFF

POLICE BLOTTER

Erik's entry.

Sarah was in the same section as Ms. Kool and I but we did not see each other... Ms. Kool had a Walleye sandwich the other day from Chef's Table and I had been going for the BBQ parfait.

Pokie remembers...

Now you know...

The plan for this weekend...

Now we have 3000! Crystal will post some detail of the coming customer appreciation event soon... It will be a trivia contest with real prizes like WTC popcorn from Poppin' On Boardway, WTC gift poker chip, Moxie gift certificate, massage gift certificate from Chelsea, and they are all in one basic prize package for all 30 winners!!! There will be bonus prizes for harder trivia questions. Stay tuned on FB!!!

New show coming...

RSVP here!!!

5.23.12

Add that to the resume...

History lesson 7 of 10

Woodson in Waukesha...

WHO are on the ethics board???

Last of the Phase 1.

Keep your hands off the balls...

Letters to the Editor: Lots of stuff today...

SOUND OFF

POLICE BLOTTER

Rest in Peace.

Water story in JS.

I almost ran into one by Fox Run...

One of our own local artists was on TV...

Almost 3000.... A customer appreciation event is being set up right now... Stay tuned...

I was at Salvation Army PR committee meeting yesterday and Major Carol was telling me about a need with bicycle related stuff among the people they serve... I really should link up the Biker Gang with the Army...

5.22.12

Not approved for Downtown Waukesha... Free music is okay though...

Thank you for your service and my condolences to the family...

More mural!

Are the Huelsmans on the waiting list to the Naughty List?

Making room for Woodman's.

I did not know that. I thought Phil was a peaceful man, but he was the guy with a big stick...

Wiggy thinks it is all about him... I think it is just another shot by Mayor Scrima to check off the Naughty List like the attempts with Task Force to get at the Watchdogs. Others said it is about getting more money for FNL, but how big does it have to get until all the small players get squeezed out? One must be careful of what one wishes for... To me it is just more Scri-Drama, but JMO.

I might not be around then...

Another view...

History Lesson 6 of 10

Good stuff.

SOUND OFF

POLICE BLOTTER

Erik's report 1 and 2

Ronsta and Adam said it was a fantastic weekend, they even had people from Bay View Biker Gang came... Now we just need to get them some bike racks!

(Sis and niece at 1:40 mark.)

Check this site out!

Wow, I did not know that.

Interesting...

When nature calls...

Have a great week, everyone...

Sadness

5.19.12

WFFNL with a hint of Scri-Drama... Wiggy is knee deep in it... I can kinda guess who this D.B.A. might be, who approved the message and want it to be published... BUT new sponsorship and Wiggy censorship should be two separate issues, I think there is a subtle threat/bullying in there somewhere while Roger is trying to hold things together... JMO while sitting on the fence, looking from afar. ( Why was Mayor Scrima asked for comment in the first place??? ^^ HBR is on top of her game...)

Mayoral PR machine pretty much explains it in SOUND OFF to justify Scri-Drama... BTW the occupancy allowed is higher in Rotunda and it has a liquor license.

Here is the rumor mill, and here is some fact already reported in JS.

"...the Les Paul Trio will perform at a main stage at the Five Points with former Buffalo Springfield music legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Richie Furay...

Closing the street is a police decision; Chief Jack and Mayor Scrima are BFF these days anyway...

Wiggy also went after one of the rumors. The weak spot for Guitar Town will always be " TOO MANY SECRETS." (... But I am getting a free tee shirt! Yay! ) Becoming Non-Profit, less mayoral involvement, and has a detailed book/money trail will be the keys to avoid more questions and future legal/ethical scrutiny...

Brien does Miss Saigon... ( Wait, that sounds a little risque...)

It is AAA rated bond, right?

Town in court battle.

Art show at Carroll.

Art in the Park.

Reliable sources told me they are calorie free and taste wonderful...

POLICE BLOTTER

I don't want to talk about this, and the two right lanes closure for median strip painting on I-94 and the traffic back up of Hwy 83 due to accident last night... :(

Too bad they did not have my frat brother Chad and Toby Maguire.

Moxie's birthday bash is today, see you at Bosco's and maybe Nice Ash later...

5.18.12

Whichever community gets them will be super lucky! ( Once again, I hook some of my customers on the pecan bar, they would drive up from Kenosha just for it! )

Enough local politicians hang out at that corner Starbucks anyway, now they can eat.

HAWS and Margaritafest!

Here is the game plan. As far as I know, there will be a walking tour with all but three guitars ( being auctioned the night before at the Gala ) in display in Downtown Waukesha.

Rebuilt!

SOUND OFF

POLICE BLOTTER-Apparently I missed all the action on West End while I was busy tattooing late. I did not even see all the lights and stuff.

I also missed seeing them too... but Bikeasha is tonight! Also a Danger Girls meeting at WTC tonight as well... I will be at Miller Park however...

Moxie's 2 year old birthday bash is tomorrow night at Bosco's. No HBR and Mr. HBR, they will be here instead.

He got a lot of bananas...

Interesting...

Whoa, how did these happen???

Get ready for this!!! It is a big deal!

Make sure you go by M2 tonight to support the Waukesha Biker Gang!

5.17.12

Wiggy is coming back to Scri-Drama. People are minding their own business and keep their head down on Main these days with bullets flying all over the place. The businesses that cross promote will do so regardless, and it does not seem Common Council is going to do anything drastic to change the political climate with passes to BID appointment, Task Force and both city budget Scri-Drama. Not everyone wants to be on the Mayoral Naughty List...

The word on the street is that Angle Parking will go ahead (without any safety measures?). It will be merely painting the street with new lines...

It is the age of Empire, get used to it...

Here is some interesting writing:

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, the lower the level of government, the greater the abuse of government power. There's a lot of irony in the fact that here in Republican Waukesha County, people bitch endlessly about the current national administration trampling on the Constitution, while at the same time they're happily demanding that mob rule dictate the rights of citizens in downtown Waukesha.

AAA for the County.

More jobs...

Congrats!

Is HBR covering this? We demand more polka coverage!!!

FYI

That is a beautiful house...

SOUND OFF-Mayoral PR machine in full swing...

POLICE BLOTTER

People are betting on Oak Creek...

I tried the new Pork Fries Basket from Pat's Rib Place, it is DELICIOUS!!! It is Pulled Pork over Smoky Fries and topped with Coleslaw. You pour that Mad Dog BBQ sauce on top of it... Yum....

Enough for the day! We have some BIRD WATCHING to do!!!

FYI, "SONGBIRD" by Kya will be housed inside WTC due to all the nice sharp metal blades on it. We have to watch out for the safety of the townies...

5.16.12

So... Stay tuned?

Scri-Drama continues here... Now we will see who are on the Mayor appointed Ethics Board.

Giant guitars delivered.

Kya, I am keeping an eye on your Songbird guitar... (Through the ceiling, I see...)

Wow, just made it before the storm...

Gregg writes about the Army... I apologized to the board yesterday about Donut Day. As a downtown merchant, I am still embarrassed.

We have a Fanboy here, he will get along with WTC people just fine... HBR did not ask the baseball question though or is the answer not fit for print?

It closed just about the time I started on Main. No one goes to West End those days because of the Gazebo.

I think I am on that list too... I will teach them how to get on every list: A-List, Sponsor List, Mayoral Naughty List...

SOUND OFF

POLICE BLOTTER

Busy Sunday coming... YBQ at YMCA or Pig Roast at Gen 5???

Don't forget Moxie's big birthday bash at Bosco's on Saturday... I do hope to see Mr. and Mrs. HBR, Argyle Boy, Danger Girls and Mr. Nipple Gate. ( If he survives his Thursday appointment with me and that is a big MAYBE.)

Ride of Silence is today...

I missed quite a few entries... Sorry!!!

I will be marrying them soon!!! You know her as Alexa Grey!!!

Sis and niece in a show reviewed in London...

Does anyone know what happened to Angle Parking on Monday's B & G meeting? I did not find out about that meeting until Tuesday...