Today I got an email from my old friend Jason Mohr, with whom I worked at Schwartz Bookshops and, briefly, at OnMilwaukee.com, announcing his departure from Milwaukee.
Mohr and his family are headed to Denver where Jason – who worked for a while at WMSE – took a position with Colorado Public Radio.
I asked Jason what the move means for the future of his band Juniper Tar, one of the best bands in Milwaukee. Consciously or not, he quoted George Harrison ...
"All things must pass."
And he added that it looks like Juniper Tar's Sept. 21 gig at Linneman's with Luray, will be the band's last, at least for a while.
"Good way to go out at Jimmy's house," Jason said.
We'll miss you, buddy.
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.