Photo Credit: Ralph Drzewiecki
The Haskels
Taking the City By Storm might be the collection most Haskels fans have been waiting for. Building on the four-song EP the band released in 1980, this CD shines a light on the Haskels Mk II lineup. Long a collector’s item, that EP has been bootlegged and songs have shown up on pirate compilations. This officially-released CD is another chapter in Splunge Communication’s archival work documenting Milwaukee’s music history. The local label released Taking the City in conjunction with the Austrian garage punk label Bachelor Records.
The self-pressed EP has been joined by 10 tracks of demos and live material. A la The Ramones, the band members took the party line for stage names with Presely Haskel (Jerome Brish) on vocals and guitars, Bobby Haskel (Mitchell) on bass and Vodie Haskel (Rhinehart) on drums. A racially-integrated band in the New Wave era might have been a novelty, but Bobby and Vodie’s amped-up tempos and playing were a match for any band of the era. In the liner notes Bobby mentions The Buzzcocks were on their turntable and it shows. The studio tracks sound ready jump out of the speakers.
Molli Putz (aka Kari Lueneberg) recalls the recording sessions. “In the studio Jerome was very focused and all business. Our track only took a couple of takes I think,” she says, “there wasn’t much to it. Jerome said to sound like bratty little teenagers, which was easy for me because that’s what I was! Looking back though, I think it was very nice that Jerome invited me to be a part of the record—and very telling of his character. I believe he really did enjoy mentoring younger musicians and I think it made him feel good to offer up opportunities like that.”
The Haskels Mk II music could neatly be slotted as power pop with a punk edge, and a slight detour into the reggae-ized “In Between Girls.” The overall sound is a marked contrast to the music of the Oil Tasters, the band formed by original Haskels Richard LaValliere and Guy Hoffman. Original guitarist Gerard LaValliere appears on a handful of demos on this CD.
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In a perfect world “Body Language” and “Baby Let’s French” would have been jukebox hits. Mitchell, the only surviving member of the trio, first encountered punk rock/new wave music in Cleveland when he was playing with a David Bowie-inspired band called Rats From the Moon in 1976. By 1979 a job transfer brought him to Milwaukee, and he said he was drawn to The Haskels the first time he saw them perform. Mitchell said he was surprised when the original EP became so collectible over the years. “I’m flattered when I hear that bands are covering “Taking the City by Storm,” he says.
The live songs, from Mitchell’s last show with the band at Century Hall touch on Presley’s populism with “Right to Rock” and “Strictly for the Uncommercial.” Freddie Scott ala Ronnie Wood’s “Am I Grooving You?” aims for a soul-punk sound. More than a mere document, Taking the City by Storm offers a vivid glimpse of a Milwaukee band that went toe-to-toe with any of the era’s better known combos.
