I came across this unique sound by pure luck. As I walked up North Water Street I though this street was filled with sounds all too similar to what I'd already heard on other streets. Ina moment of frustration I pointed my mic down and away from where I was looking and was surprised to hear something new. I could hear a faint dripping sound so I held my arm still and looked where it was pointing. Water was dripping down into the sewer from a street grate.
While walking past Mo's Irish Pub on West Wisconsin Avenue I could see they were having a Karaoke night on stage. The muffled sound of singing was somewhat eerie, due to the rather off-key attempt of a song.
Initially this clip was to be focused solely on the buzz of a transformer that sat next to the sidewalk outside the Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery. However, after I began recording a number of distinct and clear car noises sprang up. First came the honk of a car that pulled into the parking lot next to me, then a different car door slammed as the ignition was turned.
Waiting at the stop light on East Wells Street and North Plankinton Avenue I hoped to get some idling cars at the light. I wasn't expecting the teeth-nashing inducing screech of axles from one of the cars that pulled up. Coupling with the sounds of cars was a boy waiting at the bus stop who chimed in with a song from time to time from the music player he was listening to.
I could hear a faint version of this sound when I began recording at the Fonzie statue. The sound of cars driving on bridges that cross over the Milwaukee River. The pattern of the bridge's grate, along with wheels traveling over it, causes a special echoey vibration. This has always been one of my favorite sounds whenever I walk through Milwaukee and I still believe this sound to be the best of the bunch from what I recorded.