I know few people as personally passionate about music as my friend Wayne Semmerling. He’s the sort of radio DJ, of which there are too few, who studies his playlists, trying to make certain that he’s crafting shows that are diverse, fresh and consistently entertaining. (He’s also been getting attention for his formidable culinary skills for years now, but that’s a different post.) He remains a fixture at the radio station I invoke so often in this space, and has tirelessly given of himself over the years to help keep the humble student-run outlet a vital part of the community. he’s also a Cubs fan, a sorrowful lot in like which he and I have commiserated forlornly over many, many times.

Civic pride. Pride in some place, city, town or state that really, you had no say in. I mean, let’s say you’re age 3 and you tell your Ma “we gotta move…’cause being anywhere is better than being in O-hi-o”? What will that get you? A quick snap of the belt that’s what, and the likely retort of “shut up junior…and put on yer Indians cap.”

I’m a transplant to Wisconsin from Illinois. While my fairly long and twisted path through college is not long by some standards, it did lead me to UW-SP. That’s when I took my first step into what is currently a 17+ year long stint 90FM-WWSP. It was the fall semester of 1993, and right around that time 90FM started an all Wisconsin music program: Club Wisconsin. That’s when I first encountered WisconsInsane. I was certainly late to the party, as this Sigmund Snopek III offering was released in 1987 and Snopek himself had been involved the national music scene since the late ’60s. Prog rock? Yaa…prog rock…not Fraggle Rock.

WisconsInsane is loaded with Wisconsin references including tracks “On the Way to Oconto” and “The Rose of Wisconsin”. The latter track drops the names of various Badger State cities and cities at ludicrous rates. On top of that, the album is bookended with “Wisconsin Waltz” tracks features a version of “On Wisconsin”. Not to be outdone, the album also features long time collaborators Victor DeLorenzo and Brian Ritchie of The Violent Femmes. But it’s the song with the mention of Cleveland that catches my ear during my first year in the air-chair at 90FM. “Thank God This Isn’t Cleveland” has that one obvious mark on the album: The Green Dot. The green dot is what new on-air jocks looked for…but good ones tried not to play too often. However, this was different…it was in the Wisconsin stacks…and it wasn’t the Femmes or these guys. So I got familiar with this track, playing it several times over the next few semesters.

Snopek’s Wisconsin pride is intertwined throughout the record, but it’s on this track where his true civic pride… Milwaukee…is on vivid display. Put simply, it’s a damn fun joyride. There’s a fine line between ‘civic pride’ and ‘your town sucks’; and Sigmund’s take falls in line with that of most Wisconsinites: actual civic pride. “I’ve been all over the whole world…but it’s always great to get back home to the land of a thousand bars”. There have been several occasions when I’m hit with the realization that Wisconsin is my home. One such occasion was with the usual proprietor of this blog and our FAR better halves in New Orleans. They LOVED us there…seriously. Especially at this end of the the French Quarter; we could talk smart and put down pints of the black stuff with the best of them at one of my favorite establishments located on Decatur Street. Across the street was Rock & Roll Records & Collectibles (see number 10), a place we spent hours digging through vinyl records in cramped quarters. I’m pretty certain it’s no longer there, but at the time it was stuffed with hundreds of thousands of vinyl records, tightly packed into bins on shelves, along with rows upon rows of vinyl stacked on the floor. The store proprietor was in his open air office near the back of the store spinning records, courting a young woman. He was playing some blues artists’ crazy spoken word Christmas album (it was right around Halloween mind you). He loved that record. All you had to do was listen, he’d tell you.

I brushed the dust off my clothes and hands, grabbed my stack of wax and headed to the counter to negotiate pricing for my dozen or so records…negotiation was flat out encouraged…and you missed out if you didn’t haggle with him a bit. He thumbed through my records and seemed rather unimpressed with my selections until he spotted Sigmund Snopek III’s “WisconsInsane” album. He pointed, with a fully lit cigarette lodged between his fingers, and declared: “Now, THAT’S a GOOD record”. I quickly responded: “Ya, we’ve been playing this record at 90FM in Wisconsin for YEARS.” Where’d this Wisconsin pride come from? On display all the way down in NOLA? Hell, I still cling to my hometown sports teams like a fool…those I can’t let go. But, there was no denying it…my Wisconsin pride was in full bloom…civic pride I had a choice in.

As for Cleveland, I’ve never been there. But if Chef Michael Symon comes calling, know this: I’ll be there…wearing my finest shirt. Sigmund may even find that he likes Cleveland, unless his affinity for pork chops has gone by the wayside.

Sigmund Snopek III, “Thank God This Isn’t Cleveland”

(Disclaimer: WisconsInsane is way out of print and probably entirely unavailable without raiding the mustiest, most tragically unloved corners of certain Wisconsin radio stations. The song is presented here with the understanding that it can’t be readily purchased in a way that nets Mr. Snopek some income. If he or anyone else feels that it shouldn’t be here regardless, merely contacting the guy whose name is all over this place will result in its prompt removal. Or Mr. Snopek can go over to Wayne’s house and tell him to knock it off. He’s playing shows in Sturgeon Bay these days. Getting to a certain front doorstep in central Wisconsin shouldn’t be too hard.)