The Cease Is Increase
The dedication in the front of "The Cease Is Increase" shocked me.
Until you no longer have something, you don't realize how special an era was. Or how special the people were. The three page list of the deceased from the Milwaukee music scene made me realize how important this book was even before I started to read it.
The 418 page transcription of audio interviews of musicians, club owners, reporters and DJ's easily could fall into my favorite books category.
For me, the book was more personal than most history is. Since I was a great fan of the Milwaukee punk and alternative music scene back in the early 1980's, much of it read like a stream of memories. The raw, uncut dialogue contains priceless tidbits of the mysteries and controversies behind the scenes.
The downside of this book is the enormous quantity of typos. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to transcribe audio. After self-publishing a book of my own, I also know that many sets of eyes and many reads can still produce errors. That said, Steve Nodine needs a really good editor for a second edition of this book.
If you are driven by the punk and alternative music scene, or if you want to know more about the late 1970's and 1980's in Milwaukee, you will like this book and should get it now.
However, if you get easily frustrated by typos, wait for the second edition to come out. It will be a worthwhile read in either case.
