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Art Of Our Culture

Karma and the Shed

March 2009

By Colleen Swartz

Karma and the Shed

All is right with the world, we have survived another Shed party and things are as they should be.

I hate to get all esoteric on you guys, but the more I think about what, who, why, and how the Shed exists, the more I believe that there is a higher power that balances all things in the universe.

Let me explain….

The Shed is one of Milwaukee’s least impressive architectural landmarks. It sits somewhere in the near Milwaukee suburb of Bayview which was incorporated in 1879. Filled with Polish immigrants who worked at the Milwaukee Iron Company, the only major industry in the area, the homes in the town were beautifully large to accommodate these Polish families and the extended families that continued to immigrate to the area.

The Shed is an approximately 8,000 sq. ft. building nestled in a valley where the railroads used to rumble through. It sat vacant for years until in 1998 it was rented by Big Phil for cheap since it sat so long without occupants. Without that Karma, it probably wouldn’t have been in the price range of a working man with a habitual bike habit.

Phil used it to wrench on his bikes and others in his tight-knit network of friends would stop by, bring their own projects and eventually the shed sub-divided itself into the approximately 6 stalls that are now occupied by tenants.

Over the years The Shed has changed and evolved as to its number and type of occupants, but all the while, it has been managed by karma. Lots of people have come and gone but it is the ones that stay that are the marker of character.

Back in 2002 Milwaukee Mike scored a spot at the Shed. By this time it had become a coveted space for those who moved through the bike and hot rod sub culture of Milwaukee. The people who are interested in working at the shed are a mixture of old and young, of experienced and new, but only those of strong character survive.

It is an interesting line that these guys walk. They are cool and wild, real bad-boys but the code of honor runs deep. There are tons of parts, tools and equipment and it is all owned by someone. It don’t matter what hours you keep at the shed, as long as you know where those invisible lines are drawn. There is always a stock of beer and booze and if you drink it you better replace it and what isn’t yours still isn’t yours when the real owner leaves.

Those that learned the hard way gave up much. There is a think brotherhood in the Shed community and if you steal from one of them, you have wronged them all. You might as well walk yourself into the closest jail and turn yourself in because you will never be allowed at the Shed again, you will not go to the local bar, you will not be seen at any of the bike or rod shows because anyone of these guys would sooner stomp your head than spit on you for their brother.

The beauty of the Shed is the camaraderie. The old guys are there to teach the young guys stuff they don’t know and the young guys are there to make the old guys feel young again. Karma flows both ways.

About 8 years ago the heating costs during the long Wisconsin winters became a lot for the tenants to manage, so they threw a party. It continues to this day. Every January, if you are a friend, a trusted brother, if you are cool enough or are considered a “patron of the arts” like I am, you score the knowledge of when this party is happening. It isn’t an invitation that you say, “yeah, I’ll get there if I can” to. It is like many things in this karmic world, if you know about it, it is an honor and you don’t miss it.

I have met people from all over the United States at the Shed party. People travel from miles away to be apart of this “underground” fund raiser. They come because they have been invited, they come to reunite with each other, they come to sleep on people’s floors and get shit-faced drunk 3 nights in a row and then they slog themselves back to their less than exciting lives. They come to hear some of the best music in the Midwest and they come to throw money at strippers and to watch the burlesque show (www.myspace.com/thealleycatrevuemilwaukee). They come to look at each other’s projects and to eat brats and kraut. Actually, they come to pay $20.00 at the door so that the shed will be somewhat warm in winter for those who work there.

Bayview started experiencing a revitalization of interest a few years ago and suddenly the land that the Shed was located on was worth more than the tenants who occupied it. Facing the possibility of being evicted to make way for more condos, the future of the Shed was in doubt. But karma has stayed that sentence. The real estate bubble burst and suddenly the seemingly unending surge of condo buyers dried up, and the Shed still stands.

So this year, again, I could be found among the ranks of supporters at the Shed party. I gladly paid my entry fee and picked up a shed tee shirt to boot. I showed up with lemons, limes and tonic and the energy to go all night (which I didn’t). I enjoyed the musical stylings of Mr. Deagun Jones (www.myspace.com/mrdeagunjones) and The Grinders (Blaine’s side project from “Shag” www.shagmilwaukee.com) and watched my crew completely destroy themselves with alcohol. (I, as usual, was designated driver as I can’t drink, smoke and take photos at the same time…. I’m not giving up smoking or shooting!)

So keep your ear to the ground, and maybe someday, if you are that cool or that lucky, you will get to know someone who is authorized to extend an invitation to you to the Shed party. It is a party that you will never forget. It’s the people that make it that way.

And that is how I see it, from behind the lens.

Colleen

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