Milwaukee Record launched on April 7, 2014. That’s 11 years ago! In those 11 years, we’ve published more than 12,000 stories (all of them good) and reached millions upon millions upon millions of internet-weary eyeballs. To put it mildly, it’s been a blast.

We’ve done a ton of offline things, too: produced and sponsored countless shows and concert series; created dozens of original events like N/A Day, Casserole Call, and the upcoming Morgan Park Picnic; screened oodles of classic films at the Avalon; and donated tens of thousands of dollars to local organizations. To put it mildly, it’s been an honor.

But back to those 12,000 stories (again, all of them good). We wouldn’t be anywhere without these stories, so, in honor of our 11th anniversary, we’ve rounded up some doozies. Enjoy! And to all the readers, advertisers, backers, volunteers, friends, and colleagues who have supported us over the years: THANK YOU. Here’s to the next 11! (Fingers crossed for another celebrity vodka signing at Woodman’s…)

2014

Bar Rescue turned Y-Not III into a ’70s-themed bar called Nick’s House
From there, time passed slowly. The Packers kept kicking the shit out of the Vikings, and the School Yard kept blaring “Bang The Drum All Day.” Touchdown shots began to feel like work. Then, around 9:30 p.m., the announcement was made: everyone with pink wristbands needed to report to the sidewalk across the street from Nick’s House III. We were thrilled. Taffer was so close we could almost feel his spittle lightly spotting our face like so much morning dew. [Matt Wild]

2015

50 Cent vodka signing at Oak Creek Woodman’s: A minute-by-minute recap
7:40 p.m. – It all comes down to this. I’m next in line. Suddenly, I’m hustled in front of the backdrop. There he is. 50 Cent. At the Oak Creek Woodman’s. He looks tired and bored. He looks like 50 Cent. I stand next to him with my bottle. I struggle for something to say. “Thanks for coming to Oak Creek!” is all I can muster. He says something—well, “mutters something” might be more accurate. “Hey.” A woman takes a picture. A man leads me away. My encounter with 50 Cent—an encounter I’ve been waiting almost five hours for—is over in no more than three seconds. [MW]

2016

We went to every George Webb in the world on February 29
When we’d finished up in New Berlin, we weaved through back roads and wound up on North in Tosa. I was feeling a bit better, so I had a regular hamburger with nothing on it. Josh had a double cheeseburger. The smiling George Webb logo was beginning to taunt me with each unnecessary bite I took. As a thing people eat once every now and then (usually when lack of time, shortage of money, or after-bar desperation to sober up are involved), George Webb is passable as food. When eaten more than once a month, let alone SIXTEEN times in a day, it becomes abundantly clear that 1. Nothing on the menu is actually good, and 2. There’s probably no god. [Tyler Maas]

2017

I saw Corey Feldman play the show of his life, knock his tooth out, and then look for his tooth
But let’s not bury the lede: At last night’s show, Corey Feldman accidentally smashed himself in the mouth with a microphone and totally lost a tooth. And then he spent a good chunk of time looking for said tooth. The GG Allin-style #toothgate occurred roughly 30 minutes into the show, somewhere in the midst of a scorching take on the Dream A Little Dream track “Something In Your Eyes” (co-written by “Rock On” cover singer Michael Damian). I live-streamed the whole show, spending much data in the process. (Hey Mikey, gotta go to the bathroom?) [MW]

2018

Review: Nothing (formerly known as “Taped Music” and “Pre-Recorded Music”) at JoJo’s Martini Lounge
How pointless has it all become? As you’ll notice in the image above, I found out that Summerfest doesn’t even bother to list Pre-Recorded or Taped Music on its daily lineups anymore. Once symbolically reviewing an event that added nothing to the Big Gig, I was now actually reviewing something that didn’t exist. Anyway, here’s what I heard! [TM]

2019

I got married at Pizza Shuttle
So the time came to plan our wedding. We both only ever talked of having a courthouse wedding. Seemed fast, easy, and would get the job done. As I was putting more thought into it, however, it started to not feel it was the right fit for us. I’d rather have a wedding officiant meet us wherever we wanted. I was back at square one. Where the heck could we get married at on a Thursday only three months away? I was scrambling and scrambling in my mind and, like an epiphany, I thought Pizza Shuttle. Yeah, you heard that right. Pizza Shuttle. [MaryGrace Genova Borenstein]

2020

A West Allis pizzeria (inside a Jamaican restaurant) makes the biggest mozzarella sticks I’ve ever seen
If you’re somehow still doubting the sheer size of these cheese pipes, I decided to put some things we had sitting around our office beside the larger of the two Lightning Rods in order to help establish scale. As you can see, it’s bigger than NBA Jam AND NBA Jam T.E. Super Nintendo cartridges stacked end to end. [TM]

2021

Reflecting on the time Ron Johnson made me a mix CD
While scrolling through the listings of local folk gatherings, I came across a group calling itself The Oshkosh Friends of Folk Music. I had no idea what this group was, but it listed someone named Ron Johnson as the contact person. I sent an email explaining that I was a student who ran a folk show on the local college radio station, and that I might be interested in working together with the Oshkosh Friends of Folk Music if the stars aligned. Ron called me back pretty quickly. He seemed rather curious, if not suspicious. “So, what kind of music do you play on your show?” he asked. I explained that the show focused on a lot of traditional folk and blues recordings from the 1920s and 1930s. At first, silence. Then Ron declared, “Well, I happen to think that a lot of that old folk music is horseshit.” [Barry Robert Weber]

2022

I went to the last Ponderosa in Wisconsin (and one of the last locations in the world)
I honestly had no idea what I would see inside this stubborn Ponderosa holdout. To be honest, I expected desolation. I anticipated a strong likelihood of dreariness and disarray. I’m pleased to report that I was wrong. Instead, an extremely upbeat and friendly cashier greeted me and asked if I was a local. I responded with something like “No, I heard there was a Ponderosa here and I had to check it out!” I later learned there’s a discount for local diners, which is why she asked. So I guess I just gave some nice lady my life story for no reason. Whoops! Anyway, I stuck with just ordering the buffet and a Diet Mountain Dew, then I was led to my booth. [TM]

2023

You saw The Flaming Lips play Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots at Riverside Theater. You loved it.
Coyne talked about how the person next to you might be suffering. He talked about how the simple act of coming together and enjoying a show was a powerful tonic. He talked about the need to scream. You thought about this. You thought about a family member still reeling from the loss of a partner. You thought about a family friend hurt by the actions of her child. You thought about another friend, also at the show and somewhere down in the pit, who had had an exceedingly rough year. You thought about yourself, bruised and beaten from the pandemic and still in a glazed-over state of anger and confusion and grief. You wondered when, or if, any of you would feel normal again. You screamed. [MW]

2024

Enjoy Every Fish Fry: I had a Friday fish fry with U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin
The senator asked how I like my Old Fashioneds made, and then ordered a Brandy Old Fashioned Sour. She joked that this was going to be our only disagreement of the evening. We raised our glasses despite the sweet vs. sour split. Finding common ground and building bridges is what we Wisconsinites do. [Caleb Westphal]

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