INTERVIEW WITH JJ KAISER

Conducted by Jennavieve Growel

How did you become involved in the local music scene?

It was 2010 and I was a freshman in high school. I was already listening to a lot of metal and adjacent stuff but wasn’t aware of local shows or anything like that. There was one day in between classes that a kid (who was a senior at the time) came up to me and was like “Hey, you play guitar right? Wanna fill in for my band?” So I learned their set in like 4 days and played my first local show that weekend at this place called the Logemann center in Mequon. This was the first time I was surrounded by a bunch of people that liked the same music that I did and I was just like “Where the hell has this been my entire life?” I ended up joining that band, and from that point forward I went to as many shows as I possibly could.

What inspired you to take on the role of hosting shows?

This whole thing was an accident. When I was starting my old band erase//evolve, we were trying to book our own first show with a bunch of our friends. At this point there were not a lot of DIY spaces that were accessible to us. The Cocoon Room had just closed, and The Borg Ward was back and forth on the idea of having heavy shows. My bandmates and I made a list of a bunch of VFW halls and community centers in the area and spent a day driving around to talk to the owners to see if there was anyone interested in hosting our show. Every single one told us (nicely) to fuck off. My basement was the last resort, but it was the only option that we had. I hosted my first show there in January 2016 and it (for the most part) went okay. About a month after that, the Borg Ward closed permanently and for a few years we were without a consistent spot to run all ages shows. Things kept getting moved to the basement, and as a result I started meeting and booking a lot of bands. Things just snowballed from there. I realized that I wasn’t half bad at doing this, and I accidentally became a promoter.

Can you tell us the story of how your band, Reality Check, came together?

I wrote most of the songs on the demo in 2017-2018, and went through 2 full lineups of people before getting the right group together. Once we had the right people, things started moving quickly. We started recording the demo and were gearing up to play our first show in March of 2020, and then the world ended. Talk about a buzzkill. We ended up putting that demo out in August 2020 and playing our first show a year later in September 2021. It sucks that we had to wait as long as we did, but I’m glad we had a first show with all of our friends. The lineup was us, Enervate (also their first show), World I Hate, Permanent Damage and Infamy.

Is there a music genre that lies outside your comfort zone but interests you enough to explore?

Yeah, I’ve been trying to branch out a little more with booking. I think I’m seen as a mainly Emo/Indie/Pop Punk promoter, which is the bulk of what I do, but I’d love to book death metal, metalcore and hardcore more consistently. I’d never booked a death metal show before this year, and the few I’ve had have all been awesome. There is a huge scene for it up here. I’m hoping in the next couple years we’ll see more of those bands make it a point to stop skipping WI on their tours.

In your experience, what sets apart Milwaukee’s DIY scene from other DIY scenes across America?

Milwaukee has been a hidden gem for years and people are finally starting to take notice. We have so many good bands right now that are getting different people interested in DIY music. We also have multiple awesome venues run by people who get it, which is incredibly important to the livelihood of a music scene, DIY or not. You’re starting to see more tours that have Milwaukee AND Chicago dates because our scene is strong enough to make that work. We are still growing, and I’m really excited for what’s to come.

What’s your favorite venue to play in Milwaukee and outside of Milwaukee, and why?

In Milwaukee it’s a tie between The Miramar Theater and my basement. I played a lot of really awesome shows at The Miramar growing up that will always hold a special place in my heart, and watching people mosh to my band in my basement always feels good. Haha. Outside of Milwaukee is definitely Dumb Records in Springfield, IL. The folks in Prevention are doing an awesome job booking shows and building a scene down there. Nothing but respect.

What artists or bands are currently on your playlist, either from the local scene or beyond?

To name a few: Slow Joy, Valleyheart, Have A Good Season, Sign Language, Downward, Saturdays At Your Place, Innerlove, Pool Kids, Arm’s Length.

Balancing your band, job, organizing shows, and maintaining a social life must be demanding. How do you manage it all?

It’s a little bit easier to balance now because organizing shows is my full time job. Before that, I was legit drowning. I would work from 7:304:00 at a warehouse, come home, work on my laptop for another 3 hours, maybe go to the gym and then go to bed. My life kept getting busier and it just wasn’t sustainable. In April, X-Ray offered me a full time position and I put in my 2 weeks notice at my job a couple days later. Now I have a lot more time to do work that I actually want to do, and time to actually take care of my mental and physical health. It’s still a balancing act, but I’m way better at it now.

As someone who started a DIY house venue, what advice would you offer to others starting on a similar path?

Make sure you have cool neighbors. Make sure your crowd is respectful, and don’t be afraid to yell at people who aren’t. Make sure the people that come to your shows pay to get in to your shows, and NEVER screw a touring band over. The whole point of booking house/DIY shows is that there is little overhead, so in theory: more money to pay bands. Even if a show does 5 paid (which has happened to me more than once) I will go out of pocket to make sure a band has enough gas money. I’ve been on the other end before, and have been handed $5 after playing a show I drove 6 hours to get to. It sucks ass. You don’t want to be that person to a band. They’ll think that’s what your scene is and they’ll never come back.

Are there any upcoming creative projects or shows you’d like to share?

I’ve been working on some new music for a couple projects that I’m really stoked to finally get out there. Hopefully next year you’ll be able to hear some of it! I’m really excited for the rest of summer and fall’s shows. There’s gonna be a ton of good shit. A lot that I can’t talk about yet, but I’m looking forward to booking Valleyheart, Orthodox, Anklebiter and Camping In Alaska. Those bands rock.