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Ahoy Milwaukee Mate! OnMilwaukee has declared May 24th to be the official “Talk Like A Milwaukee Pirate Day.” This faux Milwaukee holiday offers the perfect opportunity to dress up as a pirate while saying Brew City pirate phrases like “Yarrrr der hey!” “Walk in Plankington!” or “Winter trembles!” And remember: The Foam Cheese Head is the original tri-fold hat.
It was a few years ago when I was covering Deadman’s Carnival at Miramar Theater on the East Side. Funky, seemingly dissonant, yet somehow harmonious, the accordion-infused rap beat is the world’s first (and foremost) non-ironic polka his hip-hop band.
November Criminals took the stage that night in 2013 dressed as pirates, complete with eye patches, pistols and hooked hands to hold a microphone, and performed their catchiest and most famous song of the time, “Ahoy.” Through an impromptu sword fight on stage with eight other pirates in robes dancing behind them and the house band bursting into laughter, the three group members roared with the audience to the chorus of their songs. Response has started. “Ahoy! … Ah! … Ahoy! … Ah!”
Formed in 2011, The November Criminals is made up of Keith Gaustad, who calls himself Brumeister, the ponytailed poet and the group’s all-around founder. Tahrim Tatum, aka Spade He One, is an African-American rapper in his 40s who has been on his scene in Milwaukee hip-hop for over 20 years. And Evan Marushevski, better known as NTSC, is a 30-something newsboy hat-wearing hipster who raps and plays melodyons.
The band’s name pays tribute to their age (all over 30) and their common heritage (each with German ancestry), signing the armistice that ended World War I. It is a reference to the derogatory nickname given to surrendering Germans.
“Our name means a lot to us because our brand of crime can be shunned or vilified by the mainstream and culture at large. No matter how it is received, it is right.” At the time, he denied any ties to the Nazis. “November Criminals was a movement against tyranny and monarchy, which was notoriously corrupt and fat at the time. I am getting a ration.”
Unsurprisingly, given the weight and thoughtfulness of the name, many of The November Criminals’ songs are politically oriented and socially conscious, touching on themes of class struggle, segregation, and government. increase. That’s especially true of their latest album, ‘Great War,’ which is the band’s recently released second full-length album. A bit of a sonic departure from its predecessor, but nonetheless polka hip-hop, and while the title alludes to World War I, the lyrics are a contemporary of “nationalism, fascism, escapism, anti-socialism.” -humanism and all forms of poop” (or, as Marushevsky puts it, power over other people).
But it’s not all protest and defiance. The November Criminals catalog spans lighthearted topics like beer, sports, sausages, sex, other beers, and of course pirates.
“Ahoy” is one of November Criminals’ most popular songs. (Check out an audience shot video of their performance at Deadman’s Carnival here.) When the band performed this song at their recent show at Nomad, it was a ridiculously sincere, unconventional take on Skalwag of the Seven Seas. Not a genuine, undeniably fun tribute to the audience it always does: a smile that shakes its head.
Listen to The November Criminals’ new album and head to see them live at the Cactus Club on June 4th.
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