Milwaukee’s interactive Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin is an ideal setting for displaying the work of a man who dedicated much of his life to progress through technology. “Les Paul’s House of Sound” is organized by a nonprofit organization called Partnership for the Arts and Creative Excellence (PACE), whose board of directors includes such familiar names from the Milwaukee entertainment industry as producer Mike Hoffmann, musician Rich Cook and promoter Gary Reynolds. Opening to the public at 9 a.m. on June 22 and running through Jan. 31, the exhibit will examine Paul’s influence on popular music through a host of artifacts from his personal collection, including guitars, recording machines, his record studio console, photographs, sheet music and drawings of his inventions.
A small exhibit dedicated to the guitarist/audio engineer has been on display at Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2004, but Discovery World can boast of the largest exhibition associated with Paul to date. PACE hopes to use the interest generated by “House of Sound” to establish a permanent Les Paul museum in the Milwaukee area.
