Avant Garde Coffeehouse

08/15/2019

https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/08/15/milwaukee-mans-woodstock-photos-displayed-1st-time-50-years-later/1954729001/

Mark Goff was a 22-year-old photographer for the underground Milwaukee Kaleidoscope when he took hundreds of pictures at the historic rock festival.

06/01/2019

http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-blues-hero-tony-glover-an-influence-on-dylan-and-the-stones-dies-at-79/510605432/

After his '60s trio Koerner, Ray & Glover, the harmonica blower went on to become an esteemed music writer and radio host but was still often called on stage by Patti Smith, Beck and others.

02/03/2019

02/12/2018

It’s great to see recordings from the Avant Garde Coffeehouse released — acknowledging Milwaukee’s role in the folk/blues revival.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR0jW9G3mpA&feature=youtu.be

http://omnivorerecordings.com/shop/avant-garde-recordings/

01/20/2018

Kaleidoscope: Still in Your Face

Just as Middle Eastern and then European coffeehouses had for hundreds of years provided an environment for open and articulate discussion of current events, in the 1960s, the Avant Garde Coffeehouse was a locus for thoughts of cultural reconfiguration. It is said that seminal discussions on establishing an underground newspaper, Kaleidoscope, took place at the Avant Garde Coffeehouse. As we seek to understand these tumultuous years of cultural reconfiguration, a special class is being offered at UWM which will explore the history of Milwaukee’s counterculture through the lens of Kaleidoscope.

http://uwm.edu/our/programs/fyre/projects/

12/14/2017

The Baroques' self-titled album is being reissued! Dean Nimmer is working with Lion Productions to release a double vinyl and double CD stereo edition which will include unpublished photos and unreleased recordings. A release date has not been announced.

Additionally, Sundaze Music has reissued the album on vinyl in glorious mono. People in the Milwaukee area should still be able to find it at Acme Records, Bullseye Records, the Exclusive Company, and Rushmor Records. You can also order it directly through Sundaze Music's website: https://sundazed.com/the-baroques-the-baraoques-lp.aspx.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/11/22/fifty-years-after-break-up-milwaukee-band-baroques-ready-rediscovery/889709001/

03/16/2016

The Shadow of the Avant Garde: Pioneers
Friday, March 25, 2016, 7:30pm
UWM Kenilworth Square East 620, 1925 East Kenilworth Place

The Avant Garde Project is an adventure. We mean to include the legacy of the Avant Garde Coffeehouse and all the historic and contemporary forces that provide the content and context of finger-style guitar today, and we welcome this opportunity to bring together people from UWM and the community who are such an important part of the creative tapestry of Milwaukee.

Please join us on Friday, March 25, for an update on the transdisciplinary Avant Garde Project. This event is modeled after the style of programming featured at the famed Avant Garde Coffeehouse — a curious juxtaposition of music, poetry, and film. It's free and open to the public.

Featured in this program are Poet Laureate Susan Firer reading Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl,” Stefano Barone accompanying the animated short films of Harry Smith, and guitar compositions by Leo Kottke performed by Ben Kammin, Rachael Carlson, and Sam Balistreri. Preceding and following the event will be recorded music curated by Bob Reitman, reprising his late ‘60s pioneering underground radio program, “The Eleventh House.”

03/01/2016

The Shadow of the Avant Garde: Pioneers
Friday, March 25, 7:30pm
UWM Kenilworth Square East 620, 1925 East Kenilworth Place

Please join us for an update on the transdisciplinary Avant Garde Project — a preview of recordings from the Avant Garde Coffeehouse which feature early electric blues bands from Chicago and Milwaukee including Jim Liban and The New Blues; Susan Firer reading “Howl”; live performances by UWM finger-style guitar students and alums; art films by the father of The Anthology of American Folk Music, Harry Smith; and special guest from Rome, Stefano Barone. Bob Reitman will set the mood with a reprise of his late 60s pioneering underground radio programming,"The Eleventh House" (WZMF-FM).

06/26/2015

Beginning in late 1967, The Ox (Jon Paris, Bob Metzger, Scott Nelligan) played at the Avant Garde Coffeehouse every Thursday night. Since then, Jon Paris has played with virtually everybody — from Bo Diddley to Les Paul. On Saturday, June 27, Jon returns to Milwaukee to play the opening set for Buddy Guy on the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse stage at Summerfest.

http://summerfest.com/artist/jon-paris

11/11/2014

This Friday, Ed Sanders, of the legendary group The Fugs, will be performing with bandmate Steven Taylor at Kenilworth Studios in Milwaukee! Sanders was educated in the classical tradition at New York University in the early 60s, and became instrumental in the countercultural movement of that decade. With The Fugs, he created a brand of music that was politically charged and shockingly frank in its discussion of s*x and drugs, and in 1967, Sanders found himself on the cover of Life magazine representing that movement and much more. Sanders, who is often referred to as a bridge between the beat and hippie subcultures, has remained active as a musician, poet, and activist. The event is a gala marking the 34th anniversary of the Woodland Pattern Book Center. For more information go to http://www.woodlandpattern.org/34th_anniversary_celebration.shtml

10/26/2014

Happy Jim Liban day!

Sunday, October 26, is Jim Liban Day in the City of Milwaukee, complete with a proclamation from Mayor Tom Barrett.

Jim Liban started his career as a teenager in 1964 at the Avant Garde Coffeehouse, where he played with The Unit, Hawley-Geyer Blues Band, New Blues, and A.B. Skhy Band. It was there that he had the opportunity to jump up on stage and play with some of the great bluesmen coming up from Chicago, including Big Joe Williams, Sleepy John Estes, and Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup.

Today, at 2pm, Jim Liban’s friends and former bandmates will gather at Shank Hall in a celebration of Liban’s 50th year playing harmonica.

Last year we were honored to have Jim Liban join UWM students on-stage in a production of Meet Me at the Avant Garde.

Check out the video of that performance below and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

“Sweet Home Chicago” performed by Macyn Taylor, Raven Dockery, and special guest Jim Liban on May 3, 2013. The performance is from Meet Me at the Avant Garde...

10/04/2014

Kaleidoscope: Still in Your Face

In 1967, a meeting of John Kois, Bob Reitman, and John Sahli at the Avant Garde Coffeehouse led to the establishment of Kaleidoscope, Milwaukee's controversial and outrageous underground newspaper. We are happy to announce that, thanks to a contribution by Gordon Simons, the full run of Kaleidoscope is now available online as one of the digital collections of the UWM libraries.

Kaleidoscope, which was published from 1967 to 1971, is an important document of Milwaukee's counter-culture. It addressed issues of social justice, civil rights, and free speech. It also offered a forum for the discussion of contemporary art, music, and literature.

This project has been supported by the Polly and Stanley Stone fund, which is overseen by the Chipstone Foundation. Special thanks to John Kois, Bob Reitman, John Sahli, Jon Prown, Michael Doylen, Max Yela, Ann Hanlon, McKim Stropes, and Josh Lane.

Please be advised that this digital version of Kaleidoscope may contain images, language, and themes that may be offensive to some viewers. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries does not endorse the content of these items. However, they present an aspect of the cultural record which we dee…