Opened in 1908, Milwaukee’s Holler House is the oldest sanctioned bowling alley in the country, and the second oldest overall, after Woodstock, Connecticut’s Roseland Cottage, which dates to 1846.
Visiting Holler House, 2042 W. Lincoln Ave., is a unique experience. Not only does it have classic Milwaukee corner tavern atmosphere, it’s like bowling back in time.
This past Saturday, Holler House was transformed into a DIY music venue for one night as local surf garage band Cozy Danger did a takeover for the release party for its first full-length record, “Orange Feels,” which was recorded and mixed by Shane Hochstetler at Howl Street Recordings and mastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room Mastering.
"This record being our first full length, and first ever release on vinyl, I really wanted to make the night special," says Jake Brandt, who is the drummer in the band, which also includes bassist Phil Gieschen and guitarist Chris Vertovec. "Something outside the norm of the typical Milwaukee venues.
"I got to know Cathy – the third-generation owner - during– a good friend's birthday party at Holler House. She shared the rich history, noting famous musicians like Jack White and Joe Walsh who've frequented the place.
"The two of us got to talking about music, and when I mentioned we had been kicking around the idea of hosting our album release at a non-traditional venue, without hesitation, she said 'You should do it here!' She welcomed us like we were family, even though we'd just met. After that, I never looked back."
Brandt says they moved the bar stools and tables into the kitchen and the living space formerly occupied by Marcy Skowronski (who ran the place until her passing in 2019 at age 93) to make room for the band and its sold out crowd, before playing for two hours.
"It felt like we were setting up in someone's house, which made the experience so personal," Brandt says. "So many people were experiencing Holler House for the first time, even though it was primarily Milwaukeeans. That made the connection with Holler House even more special; feeling like I'd just become an ambassador for this Milwaukee institution."
The bowling lanes were open the whole night and the band even played a short acoustic set down there.
"Gunther, the pinsetter, was working hard all night behind the century-old gears, turning up the pins at the end of the alleys," Brandt says.
"We closed the show with one of the great Holler House traditions: hanging a bra, signed by everyone at the show, amongst the tapestry of brassieres strung up along the ceiling. It seemed a fitting way to honor Marcy's legacy and for a brief moment, leave our little our mark on its extraordinary history."
This video by Ryan Nels Pontillo will make you wish you were there – or is a great recap if you were there:
You can find "Orange Feels" is out now on Spotify, Bandcamp and other major streaming platforms. Limited edition orange vinyl copies are available on Bandcamp.
Your next chance to see the band is at MobCraft’s Weird Fest on Aug. 3.
Here are more photos from Saturday's show...
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
