Poster by Trashy Dreams
All Messed Up 2024 poster
All Messed Up returns for its 12th edition this weekend, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 16-17, at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn for its annual celebration of community, spontaneity and amusement. For those not familiar, All Messed Up is where participants get put into bands with each other and have two months to come up with two original songs and a cover song. All bands then perform over a two-night showcase. This is event organizer Jessica Kroha-Anderson’s second year running All Messed Up and she is thrilled about what is in store.
The origins of All Messed Up trace back to 2010 when musician Anthony Schwader of Milwaukee punk band Holy Shit! came home from tour after seeing a similar concept being done in another city. He ran All Messed Up for a few years before handing it over to Charlie Shields, who organized it up until COVID times.
Jessica Kroha-Anderson then picked it up from Shields and has been determined to keep the local tradition alive.
“I’ve been doing All Messed Up since the fourth or fifth one,” Kroha-Anderson said. “I first found out about it from my friend Joe Kirschling, who got me to sign up when we were hanging out drinking one night at a bar (laughs). At first, All Messed Up started as a DIY punk situation in a basement space, but then it moved to Linneman’s and we’ve been doing it there ever since.”
Neighborhood Staples
She finds Linneman’s to be the ideal place for All Messed Up because the two are both neighborhood staples. “Because it’s such a big community event, it’s really important to have it at a place that’s equally as invested in the community,” Kroha-Anderson contends.
There are 16 bands total with four members each. Each edition of All Messed Up incorporates a different challenge; this year, the bands must use props or costumes (or both) that relate to their name or style of music.
|
|
“I really appreciate that the bands actually pick up after themselves too,” Kroha-Anderson mentions with a laugh. “Last year we had rubber snakes and glow sticks being thrown around, but they cleaned everything up at the end, so the place wasn’t trashed. The participants are fantastic, and the crowd is always so supportive.”
Bands in the past have played everything from bluegrass to punk to country to electronic music with real and toy instruments alike. Importantly, nothing is a competition. There is no winner or loser. “It’s all just about seeing what you come up with,” Kroha-Anderson remarks.
Friday’s bands in order are J3D, Brown Water Rations, The Lucky 13, Due Tomorrow, Slutty Shel Silverstein, Sweaty Mannequin, Sungazer and The Cheeseheads and Mary Jane.
Saturday’s bands in order are Kalopsia, Bathrobes ‘n’ Boxers, The Bag Lickers, Mystery Planet, FEMINOID, Schroedingers’ Pizza Place, ROCKODILE and Cryptids.
All Messed Up has a photographer this year to capture all the fun, plus everything will be video recorded and posted to the All Messed Up YouTube page. Doors open at 7 p.m. and music kicks off at 8 p.m. both nights, $5 cover each. Part of the proceeds are going toward Ladies Rock MKE.
“A lot of Ladies Rock alumni have started participating in All Messed Up which really helps us even out some diversity with the lineups,” Kroha-Anderson adds.
Fifty-five percent of performers this year are first-timers with All Messed Up. “We also have close to the most women we’ve ever had,” Kroha-Anderson notes. “There’s a lot of people who I don’t know this year so I honestly don’t know what to expect. We’re excited.”
Visit the All Messed Up Facebook event page here.
