Though they’ve mostly made their name with a small handful of aesthetically aligned dance-pop releases from the likes of Rio Turbo, NO/NO and GGOOLLDD, Gloss Records has, in the space of just more than a year, proven themselves to be one of the city’s busiest and most diverse labels. Their young catalogue already contains over a dozen entries and, more impressive, each is usually in a radically different vein than the one that preceded it. For the adventurous listener, it’s a deep well, and if you need help figuring out where to start, the Gloss Weekend showcase (starting this Friday) serves as a nice primer.
“We have a pretty diverse roster,” says Joseph Peterson, who co-runs the label along with Harrison Colby, “so you’re not going to see these shows any other time really, it’s pretty genre-bending as far as the lineups.” Split between the Cactus Club on Friday and Mad Planet on Saturday, with an after party at High Dive on Sunday, the jam-packed double bill includes all the eclectic local talent Gloss has to offer, organized with little regard for any sort of stylistic continuity. “We kind of curated the whole thing so the weekend is almost like a mixtape,” says Colby, “just all over the board.”
It’s an approach tailor made to get people outside of their comfort zones and, hopefully, to get them to engage with the wider variety of artists who happen to also fall under the Gloss umbrella. “If someone goes there to see, say, Hello Death, and they stick around, there’s a great chance that the majority of the bands they are going to see are not bands that they have seen before,” says Peterson. “So I guess it’s an opportunity for anyone to stick around and get a sampling, a taste, of other music that’s happening in the city that maybe they’re not exposed to naturally.”
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While it may not initially seem as if fans of GGOOLLDD’s dramatic dancefloor balladry are likely to respond to Soup Moat’s noisily humorous sludge metal, or that followers of Lorde Fredd33’s dark, loopy brand of hip-hop are going to take to the jangly, upbeat indie-pop of Soul Low, but Gloss’ open-ended aesthetic and attitude has a way of blurring boundaries. “The lineup reflects a large chunk of the Milwaukee music scene right now, different bands from all different styles and genres,” observes Peterson. “Maybe the direct links won’t be there, but we have DJs in between to kind of help get that vibe going.”
With how many varied things Gloss has already accomplished, it’s tempting to imagine what another year might bring, and with more releases on the horizon (even a foray into non-music with comedian Sammy Arechar) Colby and Peterson seem similarly focused on the future. “I feel like we’ve just now hit our stride,” says Colby. “And we’re working on our 19th release.”
“We have a system in place now,” agrees Peterson, who gives the artists much of the credit, “A lot of the bands we’ve been able to work with, we’re extremely lucky, because the bands are the key component to any success this label has.”
Gloss Weekend runs Friday, May 27 through Sunday, May 29. The complete lineup is below:
May 27 @ Cactus Club
GGOOLLDD
Rio Turbo
(ORB)
Soup Moat
Hello Death
D’Amato
May 28 @ Mad Planet
Soul Low
Lorde Fredd33
NO/NO
Piles
Iron Pizza
Marielle Allschwang
May 29 @ High Dive
After party with special guest
