“Wisconsin. That's the cheese state, isn't it?”
- Gary Busey/D.C. Cab (Movie)
Kendra and I have had a few occasions to be in Wisconsin in mid-February. It's a hassle because everyone's clamoring to get to Wisconsin in the dead of winter. You know, they're big Packers fans up there. They love their football team. Season tickets are fiercely-guarded family heirlooms, passed down through the generations. There's a 99% renewal rate and a waiting list of 160,000. New borns are often placed on the list in hopes that they'll claim a cherished seat at some point in their lifetime.
For those who might not know, on December 31, 1967, the Packers played the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL's Championship game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The temperature was -25 degrees with a windchill of -48. Green bay won, 21-17 in what has gone down in Wisconsin and pro football lore as “The Ice Bowl.” 50,861 fans were at the game (Green Bay's population at the time, 83,000).
I got to know a man up there around Oshkosh who is, no surprise, a born and bred Packers fan and season ticket holder. He was in his 80s when we were talking on one occasion and the subject of The Ice Bowl came up. Yes, he was there, he said. One of his vivid memories was how cold the seats were. They were, back then anyway, just those aluminum bench seats like you'd find at the humblest of city park baseball fields. Of course, at that time, all the thermal, cold weather gear we now take for granted was unheard of. He said those seats through his thin slacks got mighty frosty. “There were fifty-thousand people at the game." he said, "But today, everybody claims they were at The Ice Bowl…even people who weren't born yet. You'd think the entire population of Wisconsin was in attendance." We all like to be part of a legend, don't we?
They like their sausages and beer up there. I got a t-shirt on one visit that reads “Drink Wisconsinably.” That's funny, right there. It appears that the Milwaukee Brewers will be taking a World Series victory back to their city. The first in their history. It was good to see a small market team drive a stake through the heart of the LA Dodgers. Even though the Brewers are in the NL Central Division with my Cardinals, I don't hate 'em. I reserve all that for the Cubs.
On to the music of Wisconsin:
First, the great musician, inventor and innovator, Les Paul must be acknowledged. He was born in Waukesha in 1915. Paul was the developer of many technologies commonly used today: multi-track recording, over-dubbing and tape delay. He was also the creator of the Gibson electric Les Paul model guitar. Without that muscular instrument, we would not have, at least in the way we know them, the solos on Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Sweet Child O' Mine, Jessica, Hotel California, Crazy Train, and All Right Now, just to name a handful. Also, when he was 13, Paul invented the the neck-worn harmonica holder. Think about it, without that handy device there might be no Bob Dylan.
Best Band: The Violent Femmes. Formed in 1980 in Milwaukee, the Femmes have been punk-folk mainstays mostly ever since. The three original members began by busking on city streets together. They were discovered by The Pretenders and invited to open for them at their upcoming shows. Not a bad start for a trio of minstrels.
Best Solo Artist: I guess you can call Steve Miller solo, sorta. He was born in Milwaukee in 1943. His dad, Sonny was a doctor and a jazz nut and his mother, Bertha was a big time jazz singer. Sonny and Bertha were longtime friends of Les Paul and his musical partner and future wife, Mary Ford. They were the best man and matron of honor of the Paul/Ford wedding in 1949, and Les Paul is Steve Miller's godfather. How about that? Steve started playing guitar when he was six. In 1950 the family relocated to Dallas where Steve went to school with Boz Skaggs and taught him to play guitar. Miller, his guitar chops honed, eventually ended up in Chicago where he jammed with blues greats Paul Butterfield, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Buddy Guy. He was 20 years old. In 1966, he formed the Steve Miller Band, initially a blues-heavy outfit. In 1973, his album The Joker was released which began a more pop-centric chapter in Miller's evolution. Through the 70s, Steve Miller had a string of massive hits. His simple, catchy, singable songs were everywhere, blasting out of car windows and frat houses across the land. Things quieted down in the 80s and beyond, but his legacy was sealed. He was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2016.
Wildcard: Bon Iver is an indie-folk band, for all intents, the work of musician, songwriter, Justin Vernon. He was born in 1981 in Eau Clair. Vernon formed the band in 2006 and they won the Grammy for best Alternative Album in 2012. Vernon is influenced by his relationship with the wild nature of upstate Wisconsin and his writing reflects that. Bon Iver's sound, how would I describe it? Ethereal? Transcendental? Mystical? Snow falling on pine tree? Ice fishing alone? Whatever, it's interesting stuff.
Kendra would tell you I have a crush on the Wisconsin standup comedian, Mary Mack. Cute as a bug, that girl. She gets to lead off.
Who am I missing from Wisconsin?