Photo by Kat Berger
He showed up with a sleeve of tangled tattoos on one forearm and a black
cast on the other. “I fell out of my truck,” he mumbles. His unkempt
curls fell over his thick-rimmed black glasses and his stature looms
over me. The most amusing part is that he (would kill me for writing
this) is kind of a teddy bear. Tom Crawford, station manager of WMSE, is a cult hero in Milwaukee and accidentally, a remarkable storyteller. “I love this city way too much,” he proudly declares.
It all started three years ago when Crawford was promoting WMSE at an event hosted by the live storytelling troupe Ex Fabula,
and at his friend’s insistence, he took the stage to tell a story. As
he was packing up to leave, organizers called him back to stage and
presented him with a crown, which he then handed over to the person he
thought should have really won. Crawford denies the fact that he is a
storyteller. “I come from a long line of professional bull shitters,” he
insists.
Fast forward to last year, three members of
Ex Fabula and David Ravel (of Alverno Presents) coerced him into the
idea of a storytelling series, because they knew he would have said no
if they asked properly. And now, for the culmination of the Terminal Milwaukee
project, Crawford will take center stage at Alverno’s Pitman Theatre on
Saturday to give the full account of his crazy and sometimes
unbelievable life in Milwaukee.
No one can tell Tom
Crawford’s story better than himself, but I am going to give you just a
little teaser. He is still sitting across from me, telling me about not
being a storyteller, with the perfect gestures, asides and vivid
descriptions. I am convinced he thinks in a narrative structure, but
Crawford counters, “That’s just the way my head is, though I do have a
very detailed memory.”
Between the ages of 15-22,
Crawford was the kid that you saw walking down the street and crossed
over to the other side to avoid. “I dropped out of high school, I was a
criminal. Everything that your dad says is going to go wrong does, times
ten,” he says. Crawford’s dad kicked him out of the house when he
couldn’t hold down a job. So he worked at the tannery, at the foundry
and on the docks. “There was lots of bad behavior and lots of regrets,
but it made me worldly and very street smart,” he says.
The
death of a friend made him realize it was time for a change. Thanks to
punk rock, he got back on his feet and never looked back. Crawford began
working at WMSE in 1983 and by1994, had worked his way up to station
manager. He convinced administrators to allow him to raise the money to
keep the place going. And that he did. Under his leadership, WMSE has
hit significant milestones, including the renovation of their studio
space on Milwaukee Street.
Why the title Terminal
Milwaukee? Crawford says it’s because he’s a hardcore lifer. “If
Milwaukee is something you die from, I got it!” Milwaukee is the nexus
of all his stories. On Saturday, he will talk about his life in
different parts of the city, music and his father.
If
you need any more reason to see this show…allow me. There will be a
gospel choir, bagpipes by The Billy Mitchell Scottish Ensemble, a
resurrected 70’s punk band called The Lubricants, and the revered
Milwaukee historian John Gurda to weave together the historical context
of the city.
Terminal Milwaukee will happen this Saturday, April 28th at 8 p.m. at Alverno College’s Pitman Theatre (Morgan and 39th St.). Purchase $15 tickets online here or call 414-382-6044.
