As a conscientious presence in Milwaukee’s ‘90s indie rock scene, Jeff Winkowski was both active participant and astute observer. His reflections on that Do It Yourself subculture are contained in his latest project, a book with a self-explanatory title, Time of Your Life: Hardcore Punk, Indie Rock and a Life Well Begun in Milwaukee.
The cover is intriguing—the Water Tower in the East Side park overlooking Lake Michigan composed like a Tarot card. Time of Your Life is structured a bit like a deck of cards with memories shuffled and laid on the table. Winkowski hasn’t written a history of the local ‘90s scene but some future historian will want to footnote his recollections. Time of Your Life is really about how one life in particular was shaped by a subculture whose straight-edge aspect posed a deliberate challenge to mainstream society, mainstream rock and even mainstream punk.
“Well, I really enjoyed the Milwaukee book, Brick Through the Window, that covered music up until 1984, around the time I began playing music with my father,” Winkowski says, explaining his inspiration. “By 1988 I had been devouring Milwaukee music like Die Kreuzen, Nuclear Overdose and The Clitboys. I was still going through puberty at that time, so everything I remember about growing up had a visceral connection to Milwaukee music. I wanted to write something about the 1990s that would bless the friends I made during that decade.
“A zinester friend of mine in NYC, Norman, encouraged me to publish the book because he had become increasingly interested in reading about regional scenes during the pandemic. Since the dawn of internet and social media there has been less regional autonomy in music scenes throughout the United States. I knew I could write exhaustively about Milwaukee music between 1990-2000. However, sounds have a funny ability to fuse with memory. Since our memories are naturally personal, I take music very personally.”
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Some of Winkowski’s memories are important signposts to consider. The scene he grew up in was multi-ethnic and in its widest unfolding—especially the manic shows by Milwaukee’s wildest band, Wild Kingdom—drew many subcultural “tribes” together for a party. Underlying Winkowski’s thinking is a spirituality, a search for meaning and purpose in a society that increasingly had no meaning and little purpose beyond buying things.
Winkowski will debut Time of Your Life at 8 p.m. Thursday, December 31 at Hi-Fi Café, 2640 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Seating will be “very limited and regulated to be safe,” he explains. “But for $25 you get a glass of champagne, my book, attend your first live reading since March.” Reservations with Hi-Fi are required. The event will also be carried on Zoom, which you can check out here.
