Perhaps one of the biggest gauges of renewed interest in the Milwaukee music scene is the sheer number of people writing about it. Just five years ago there were only a handful of publications covering the local scene, and they weren't offering nearly as thorough coverage as they are now. They're now joined by a host of dedicated blogs.
Today, one of the best of those blogs relaunches after a three-month hiatus. In its first post of the year Fan-Belt.com redoubled its commitment to covering some of the city's most overlooked music. "We realize that, yes, the majority of music coverage in Milwaukee is spent on bands from the East Side/Riverwest/Bay View area, and that means punk and indie bands," wrote editor DJ Hostettler. "For whatever reason, most of the people with the passion and the outlets for writing in Milwaukee are people who are into that stuff. Meanwhile, hip-hop, goth/industrial, and local metal generally get the shaft. So we’re going to try to change that."
Also coincidentally launching this week is a blog dedicated solely to another overlooked branch of Milwaukee music: jazz. Jamie Briewick writes that he launched Milwaukee Jazz "to paint a more positive light on the very much undervalued/under appreciated jazz and creative music scene here in Milwaukee." Briewick says the blog arrives at a time of hardship in the local jazz scene, following the lose of the Hal Leonard Series and amid dwindling opportunities for local jazz players.
These blogs join JC Poppe's just-launched (and already richly populated) hip-hop blog Milwaukee UP in the cause to advance historically overlooked genres of local music.
A few more established (but still relatively recent) additions to the local music blogosphere deserve notice, too: Seizure Chicken, which is about to celebrate its first year, has developed into one of the rare regional music blogs with a distinct perspective and identity. WMSE's Sonic Diet quickly emerged as a fantastic resource for new music and concert recommendations. And though it's not a blog per se, Radio Milwaukee went above and beyond with its SXSW coverage this year, launching a sister domain called MKEtoSXSW.com, which is rife with content and audio.
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