The Shepherd Express and Milwaukee Magazine were the publications that made me think I might be a real writer, even with zero “J School” credits to my name.

After returning to my first hometown, Milwaukee — Portland, OR is my adopted home — after college, I wrote a monthly music column for the city magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, including one about Riverwest, where I lived for a decade:

I wrote numerous cover stories for Milwaukee’s alternative weekly, Shepherd Express, including these:

This was my first cover story for a major media outlet: