Dylan, Posty, Jeff & Brian - The Milwaukees

"Today I Buried My Brother"

by Jeff Nordstedt

Nearly 200 people came to see us in Regina, Saskatchewan Canada. That may not sound like much compared to an Aerosmith show, but for an indie band on their first tour, headlining a show 2000 miles from home, it is equivalent to playing Madison Square Garden. We didn't have a headlining set ready. The audience was requesting album tracks that we had never played live as a 4-piece. I did not have anywhere near the confidence to play those songs, but my band mates did. I remember them telling me with their eyes that together we could do it. They were right. We killed.

Dylan wrote and sang the songs. Brian brought the fire on the drums and Posty – the lovable bear on bass – brought a creativity and joy that made the music interesting and the band charming. I still don't think I belonged on stage with those guys. They were so good that my anxiety receded and I road the fumes of their confidence and talent all over the world.

Dave "Posty" Post's contributions to the first four Milwaukees records are subtle but profound. I joined the band after they had recorded Missile Command and before it was released. At first listen, the songs on that album seemed straight-forward and easy to learn. But as I studied them I found a slew of unique note choices played on surprising beats. It is the kind of thing that casual listeners would never notice but they would miss them if they were gone. That was Posty. His unique point of view kept us away from being predictable and boring and pushed us toward greatness.

But it is hard having a unique point of view. I think that all musicians struggle with the feeling that the world moves with a singular rhythm while you hear things a bit differently. I think we make music to offer the world a different rhythm to consider. For musicians, a lot rides on the reaction to that offering.

Over the years we traveled a lot and found pockets of folks around the world who responded to our rhythm. To Posty's rhythm. It is very satisfying when that happens. But carrying a unique rhythm is hard. I think it was particularly hard for Posty. His rhythm was one of a kind and the rhythm of his circumstances were especially unforgiving and
unappreciative.

Posty was not a man who knew moderation. A joke among the band was that Posty loved everything with extra. Those Elixir strings have an extra coating on them? Yes please! Mountain Dew? Maybe. Code Red Mountain Dew? Definitely!

For guys in rock and roll bands addictions are a cliché. But Posty was taking and using just about anything that crossed his path from a pretty early age. Dylan has joked that it started with a love of soda as a kid. Or maybe it was when he started using chewing tobacco in the 7th grade. The mix of the forbidden with the little kick of stimulation was intoxicating to him. By the end he had a long history of doing lots of things he shouldn't have been doing. I imagine it helped relieve the tension between his rhythm and the rhythm of the world.

I don't want make excuses for him. He made choices. In the final year of his time in The Milwaukees we found ourselves renting vans to get to gigs because he had blown the insurance money on God knows what. He chose to prioritize his indulgences over the band – our family – and we sent him packing. It wasn't doing us any good to carry him and I don't think it was doing him any good to be carried. By protecting him from the consequences of his choices we were enabling him. So we stopped.

It has been 10 years since we replaced him. We are very fortunate to have found another bass player with a rhythm all his own. One who doesn't struggle with life the way Posty did. But the time we spent making music with Posty bonded us to him like a brother.

Writing and performing original music isn't hard. It is the most fun thing you can imagine
and I feel sorry for the majority of people who never get to experience it. However, making stuff and putting it out in the world requires some courage – a leap of faith. For me, that faith has always come from my band mates. And for giving me that faith, for enabling me to do something that is so important to me, I will always love them like brothers. Ours is a bond that most people will never understand.

Today I buried my brother Posty. It breaks my heart that he never knew that we didn't WANT to stop playing with him. It breaks my heart that what he had to offer the world went largely unappreciated and untapped. I loved him and will miss him for all of the joy he brought to my life and all he helped me accomplish as a musician and a person.