An outsider on campus and in the local music scene,Jest was driven by an outsider's ambition to knock down the door and sit at thetable. Jest was never subtle and poker wasn't his game. Football was more hissport, and more often than not he scored touchdowns, even if it meant bruisingsomeone's feelings on the way to the end zone. The forward pass from nowhere toone of Milwaukee's longest-running rock clubs was a long shot, and Jest did itwithout the benefit of deep pools of money. He made enemies, but also loyalfriends. Some of his employees have been with him for more than 15 years; someof the artists he booked from the beginning, including Arlo Guthrie and JohnPrine, continue to work with him in preference to promoters with deeper pocketsand a longer reach. He has made a living from music without growing rich in anindustry where the margins have shrunk. He could have made lots more moneyrunning a bar business with happy-hour drink specials. One can only believe himwhen he says he did it for love of music.
In high school Jest entered every concert ticketcontest and usually won; he collected attendance figures and box-office numbersthe way some kids collect baseball statistics. His knowledge caught the eye ofSteve Mandelman, a Milwaukeeconcert promoter who set him on the first gopher rung of the business, andJest, barely out of high school, scrambled up the ladder. Within a few years heworked as tour manager for the Violent Femmes, booked shows for Cellar DoorProductions (later absorbed by Live Nation), promoted concert tours around theMidwest and dominated live music at UWM as president of the Alternative ConcertGroup (full disclosure: I was vice president) before opening his own club.
“I was 25 and decided I needed a base instead ofalways renting other people's venues,” he explains. Named for the imaginary Milwaukee concert hall inThis Is Spinal Tap, Shank Hall was alocal nightclub pioneer for smoke-free concerts and early start times for musicfans who work for a living. Shank has excellent sightlines. There are no badseats. And unlike many bar owners turned promoters, Jest opens Shank only on shownights.
With its legal capacity of 300, Shank Hall filled aniche for bands too big for the city's smaller clubs but not popular enough forthe Pabst or the Rave. Shank was an early career stop for Liz Phair, AlanisMorissette and Smashing Pumpkins and a comfortable venue for legends like SunRa, Mick Fleetwood and Richard Thompson. Veteran Milwaukeeans Paul Cebar, PatMcCurdy and Sammy Llanas play Shank along with younger bands such as ChapmanParty of Five and the Stereo Addicts.
Despite the track record, one local music fan andclub DJ summed up the public attitude this way: “There are people who'll gladlygo to Shank Hall, people who'll go grudgingly to see their favorite bands andpeople who won't go no matter who's playing.” Some local musicians criticizeJest for charging for the use of his soundboard. He counters that it's not hissoundboard, but belongs to a contractor who needs to be paid, and that thequality of the PA at the club has seldom been questioned. Other fans complainof heavy-handedness in enforcing the 21-plus law, tightness in guest lists andwhat some see as ill-disguised sensitivity to criticism and outright hostilitytoward all competitors.
“It's no small thing to keep a live music club in business for 20years,” says Mike Benign of Blue in the Face, one of the '80s-era Milwaukee bands thatreunited for the club's 20th anniversary. “So as a musician and music fan, Iappreciate the commitment Peter and Shank Hall have made to live music. As afan, many of the best shows I've seen over the yearsBlack Francis, Redd Kross,Del Amitri, Trip Shakespeare, The Posies, Glenn Tilbrook, Jonathan Richman,John Doe, Marshall Crenshawwere Shank shows. It's a great place to seeand hear a show. Not a bad seat in the house, and a great-sounding room.”
“My accountant thinks I'm crazy to keep it open, butI think a club this size is important to the city,” Jest says. “Every time youbook a band you take a chance. Some things work, some things don't.”
