Peter Jest has always had a deep affinity for music and opened his own East Side club, the iconic Shank Hall, 35 years ago.
Jest’s days as a music promoter date back to his time as an undergrad at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he neglected his coursework to run a burgeoning student group that brough national acts like Warren Zevon and Iggy Pop to campus.
He ultimately made music his career. There was a short-lived gig as a tour manager for the hometown Violent Femmes before Jest began focusing on booking concerts in Milwaukee and across the state. He ultimately opened Shank Hall, named after a club in the cult film This Is Spinal Tap, whose walls are adorned with hundreds of signed photos of the wide-range of musicians who have performed in the 300-capacity venue.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
As with any business, there have been ups and downs but nothing like what Jest would be forced to deal with when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in early 2000, putting Shank Hall and other music venues temporarily out of business. It was at that time that a friend, Milwaukee-based writer, editor and librarian Amy Waldman, concocted an idea to create a virtual Shank Hall, where Jest could display old contracts and other memorabilia that he’d held onto over the years.
“The pandemic happened, and everything shut down, including Shank Hall. Peter then starts posting stuff on Facebook, like old contracts,” Waldman said. “I figured Peter could do a little piece on each show and do a YouTube video, maybe talk to some people about it and throw it behind a pay wall and then he sails through the pandemic with an income stream. I messaged him and told him he was sitting on a gold mine.”
Jest was intrigued and ran the concept by his lawyer, who had a different idea.
“When Peter got back to me, he said ‘My lawyer says I should write a book and since this was your idea, do you want to write it?’”
Jest and Waldman did indeed team up to document Jest’s journey in the new biography We Had Fun and Nobody Died. A near capacity crowd packed Shank Hall for a recent book launch party.
Jest and Waldman recently sat down with Milwaukee Magazine at Waldman’s West Side home to chat about the book and share stories about the music business.
Milwaukee Magazine: Why did you hang onto so much material related to the shows you’ve had at Shank Hall?
Peter Jest: You should see my mother’s house (laughs). For some reason, I just saved all the show files. Being this bachelor for most of my life, I just saved them all. From the time I opened Shank Hall in 1989 to the fire (in 1992), all those items were at the club. Everything since the fire I’ve stored at my house. One of the reasons I saved them, I guess, was because when I started it was before computers and if a band wanted to come back, I’d look back to see what I paid them the last time. That was the initial reason. And for taxes.
MM: What was the process like putting the book together?
Amy Waldman: I had a vision. I’d read some promoter books and read some music stuff and I knew that I wanted to write the kind of book I like reading. Peter doesn’t see himself maybe the way I see him. I knew it was just a great story. I didn’t know as much about him then as I do now. I didn’t know about his childhood, but it was really important that there was a plot and a narrative arc. I think he’s done something remarkable. He made something out of nothing. He did it in the face of all of those people who actively didn’t want him to succeed. He’s a bit polarizing and I think people who read this and who have an opinion maybe still might not like Peter, but they are certainly going to understand him a lot better. You are going to understand where he’s coming from. It was fun to learn more about him and follow the story. I also really credit his parents. He was loved and cherished, and you can tell that. His parents trusted him so much and he never blew that trust. He’s deeply honorable and that is a thread that goes throughout the whole book.
MM: How did you two meet?
AW: I was trying to make it as a writer in town and I would get assigned stories, music pieces, and of course that meant going to Shank Hall. I had no idea who this guy was and by the time I met him I was prepared for this creature under the stairs. But then I met him, and I was like this guy is just a straight shooter. He just says what’s on his mind. I liked him instantly. We got to be friendly over time. It just sort of organically evolved. I was really busy, and I had three kids. He was trying to run his club. But somehow, we connected enough. I tell people he’s like a cousin.
MM: What are some of the most popular shows, among the many, that you’ve put on at Shank Hall?
PJ: We had Del Amitri (which played its first Milwaukee show at Shank Hall in 1986) a couple years ago. We sold out right away and added an afternoon show. Alanis Morissette, after her first record came out, we announced her, and it was like $5 and sold out quick.
MM: Any wild stories from the business?
PJ: John Entwistle, bassist for The Who, came in sort of drunk and wanted his contract to specify that his band would get five bottles of booze. I said no, you guys can have one bottle. You’re only there eight hours and you have to play for a couple of those hours, one bottle of booze is plenty. If you look on the wall, he wrote on his photo ‘Thanks for the one drink.’
MM: Talk about your close relationship with (legendary folk singer-songwriter) Arlo Guthrie
PJ: I see him almost every year. I booked him all the time. He was the one act that I really knew musically from the time I was young. When you work with an act over time, you get to know each other pretty well. Arlo and (the late) John Prine (another Jest favorite) are just really quiet people. They can see through crap, and we just really got along. I was selfishly upset with Arlo when he retired from touring. I recently went out to New Hampshire for a graduation, and I asked Arlo if we could come by his house (in Massachusetts) and say hello. He said sure and suggested we spend the night. It was really sweet. We had dinner. It’s beautiful up there. I respect him as a musician and I’m also a fan and we always had a good time together. When he retired, I wanted to send him something. He’s not a gold watch guy and I don’t have gold watch money, so I sent him a rocking chair and he loves it. He sits on his porch drinking coffee in his rocking chair.
MM: What’s your relationship with other promoters in the city?
PJ: We get along well. Joe (Balistreri) and Leslie (West) (of The Rave and Eagles Club venue) are good friends of mine. Me and the Pabst people get along well. If I am booked at Shank Hall, I send bands to booking people at Cactuc Club and X-Ray Arcade and they do likewise.
MM: What keeps you going after decades in the music business?
PJ: I really enjoy what I’m doing and I don’t have any other skills. I also enjoy the people and the bands. Me and my staff all get along. They’ve been there forever. It’s really fun. We have bands that we like or respect. I work out of my home during the day. At night, I always joke with my wife that I had a hard day at work. I went down to the club, drank a beer and came home. I’ll keep doing it until people stop making real music. I don’t want to be a DJ club where people just come and listen to tracks and dance.
Any young musicians that have stood out to you who have recently played at Shank Hall?
PJ: Darren Kiely was really good. He’s an Irish folk guy. And Sawyer Hill was really good, too. Those two have a lot of potential.
A conversation and book signing with Jest and Waldman be held at the Rotary Community Room at the Milwaukee Public Library’s Central Branch, 814 W. Wisconsin Ave. at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The event is free and open to the public.
