Well, this wasn’t supposed to happen, but strange and uncertain times call for desperate measures. With Milwaukee (and much of the world) under quarantine and social isolation for the foreseeable future, we’re simply no longer able to record My First Band episodes in person at this point. Rather than shelve the show for a few months, we decided to give this whole “remote recording” thing a go.
Concerned about potentially wasting a guest’s time with a subpar recording, My First Band co-producer and audio engineer Jared Blohm had the idea to test the unfamiliar process by interviewing the podcast’s usual host, Tyler Maas, about his first/only band. With the aid of video chat and a few beers, the pair talked about their first few weeks in isolation before Blohm asked Maas about the rise and fall of his Menasha, Wisconsin-based pop-punk band called Infinity & One.
Along the way, Maas spoke about the importance that his stint playing music had in forming long-term friendships, boosting his confidence, and paving the way to his eventual career as an entertainment writer. Maas also reflected on the first six years of Milwaukee Record, revisited some forgotten Fox Cities bands and venues of the early 2000s, and reminisced about winning his high school’s battle of the bands even though Infinity & One wasn’t very good.
My First Band is sponsored by Mystery Room Mastering. The show is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and wherever else you get podcasts. Music used in this show comes courtesy of Devils Teeth (“The Junction Street Eight Tigers”) and Infinity & One (“Pieces Of You”).