The (death) dream is over: Milwaukee’s Death Dream calls it quits
The noise-rock outfit plays its final show Saturday at the Cactus Club
CJ Foeckler
It’s a simple, sad fact of life: Bands break up, die, and fade away. But for Milwaukee’s Death Dream, that sadly inevitably fate seems somehow unjust. In just two short years, the band has become a hero of the local noise-rock set, and its roster of scene stalwarts has proved to be a lethal combination. But nothing lasts forever, and this Saturday, July 23, Death Dream will play its final show. Architects Of The Aftermath, Animal Lover, and Les Deux Magots will join the group at the Cactus Club.
So why the split? David Gregorski—formerly of The Mistreaters—chalks it up to “lingering personal differences,” while Justin Krol puts the blame squarely on the shoulders of another Milwaukee institution: The BoDeans.
“The BoDeans thought we were stealing too much of their thunder, and politely asked us to pass the torch back to them,” Krol jokes.
Personal differences and the gentle wrath of Sammy Llanas aside, the main culprit behind the dissolution is singer Brian Rogers’ decision to relocate to California in September. But the soon-to-be ex-members of Death Dream don’t plan on resting on their laurels: Chris Van Gompel will continue with teeth-rattling fixtures IfIHadAHiFi; Krol has already started a band with former members of Decibully and Pigs On Ice; and Gregorski has struck up a new project that will eventually include Luke Chappelle of Drugs Dragons.
What can Milwaukee expect from Death Dream’s final throes? Krol has a few surprises in store—for crowd and fellow band members alike. “I haven’t told the other guys this yet, but my dad recently found my 15-year-old fog machine while cleaning his basement,” he says. “Maybe it’s fate, but I can’t think of a better time to use it. We’re also going to play a marathon set, the longest one in Death Dream history: 35 minutes.”
Gregorski has something more modest in mind. “I might turn and face the crowd while playing,” he says. “That would be sort of special.”
See it all for yourself Saturday night. It’ll be your last chance.
