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Zak's. Zak's was Milwaukee's first punk club. It was small and a bit dangerous (the first time I went there I saw two guys in black leather jackets punching each other in what was then the back courtyard - the two fighters turned out to be a guy and a girl. The bartender leaped over the bar with a baseball bat and broke up the fight).

Things were taken more seriously at Zak's and there's a lot of stories out there, but essentially it was a great place to see a band. Zak's closed a long time ago and became a series of nothing clubs afterwards until there was a shooting in the bar in the early 1990s which cause the liquor license to be pulled. The building still exists today and it's rumored that the going price is $1 million.

When I was in Couch Flambeau, we played there and I pulled a stunt that wasn't well received and we were suspiciously called back to play the next evening, something we wisely avoided.

Zak's posters:

Zak's December 1979 Schedule Poster submitted by Steve Shantz of the Valiants.

Zak's Mailer 1979 Poster submitted by Steve Shantz of the Valiants.

Zak's January 1980 Schedule Poster submitted by Steve Shantz of the Valiants.

Zak's March 1980 Schedule Poster submitted by Steve Shantz of the Valiants.

Johnny Thunders, Tom Verlaine and the Professionals at Zak's (October/November 1981) Not a great poster considering the bands playing - two former Sex Pistols, a New York Doll and a former Television star.

Magazine at Zak's (August 20, [year unknown]) Post-Buzzcocks band on Virgin.

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