Longtime Crystal Corner booker Joe Lambert retires

Bobby Hussy steps in to continue the tradition

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In some ways it was a typical Sunday at the east-side neighborhood institution the Crystal Corner Bar. A couple chess games were underway at the high-top tables lining the wall on the bar side of the room; some kids were running circles around the bar. Not typical was that the Hometown Sweethearts were on stage in the middle of the afternoon on Oct. 29, just hours after playing at the Crystal the night before.

The Sweethearts were playing to mark a milestone in the bar's long life as a music venue: the retirement of Joe Lambert, who has coordinated music bookings at the bar since 2000. But, bands and music fans, do not fear — the music will continue, with Bobby Hussy (of the bands Whippets and Wristwatch, and No Coast Recordings) taking over booking the historic bar.

The Hometown Sweethearts, who held down a weekly show at the Crystal for many years, were joined by two other bands also featured in long-running Crystal residencies: The Whiskey Lash All Stars, an offshoot of The Kissers, and Pupy Costello & the New Hiram Kings (formerly Pupy Costello & His Big City Honky Tonk). The evening closed with a set by Sean Michael Dargan, also a longtime regular player at the Crystal, with his trio mates. The concert was a fundraiser (still active) for Yahara House, a nonprofit providing community and resources for those living with mental illness.

Lambert has worked full time in the mental health field for the last decade, initially at Oceanhawk Counseling in Stoughton and since 2016 as a mental health psychotherapist and clinical substance abuse counselor at Insight Counseling and Wellness. He was recruited for Insight by owner Jeanne Kolker, who was a classmate of Lambert's in the master's program at Lakeland College.

"20 plus years in the bar/service industry came with the occupational hazard of substance abuse,” says Lambert. That, in addition to other personal issues, prompted him to go back to school for his master of arts degree in counseling, “wanting to help people with similar tough upbringings."

One day last fall, Lambert was having a particularly hard day at work. "I got a call from a band on my drive home, that they had to cancel a show. After this day, and that phone call, and that compassion fatigue…of hearing people's very real issues all day," he says, "I realized I don't need this job any more. I needed to clear out some head space for other things that have replaced my passion for booking music.

"I'm not that guy who's 26 anymore,” he adds,“that's staying out until one, going to shows, or even drinking real beer — I quit drinking five years ago. That's kinda when I started thinking about passing the baton. I'm not living down on Morrison and up all night, I'm not going out four nights a week, and I'm not going to nearly as many shows — I have two kids. You know that Descendents song, 'Suburban Home'...eventually you get it."

But it was a tough decision. David Day, the Crystal Corner owner, was unsure about continuing to host music if Lambert bowed out. "That scared me. So, I started thinking about who I wanted to replace me. 90 percent of the shows Bobby's booked here have been great, for turnout, for the fans and for the bartenders, so he was my first pick." Lambert talked to Hussy, and then they both met with Day and agreed to move forward. 

"I don't wanna change things up too much, but I do want to bring some new blood into the venue," says Hussy. "A lot of great bands come through here and are long-running Madison bands who have a history of playing here. I'd like to keep it that way.

"I'm well aware of the history of the venue and the types of bands who typically play here. But I am definitely gonna try and expand things a bit, and get some representation from metal bands. That historically hasn't been seen here too often,” says Hussy. “I'm not going to just be doing the type of punk and garage bands that people maybe know me for."

Hussy says keeping music going at the Crystal is important for the ecosystem of local music partly due to the size of the bar, with a capacity of 170. "This venue is more important now than ever. There's always a place for an independent venue of this size in this town…it's not a large room but it's not small either. If you're a new band and you've established yourself at Mickey's or the Wisco or the Rigby…other than the Crystal the only place to go up would be to jump to High Noon, which I'd argue is too big for most local bands."

The High Noon also presents a challenge for local bands as the venue tends to be booked up far in advance, with weekend spots hard to come by. "In a way it's set up for failure for a local band because if you can only get a Wednesday, how are you supposed to fill the High Noon?” Hussy says. “There have been bands in the past like Phox who can do it, but those bands are few and far between." 

Lambert moved to Madison in 1998 after graduating from UW-Eau Claire. He started working at the Crystal as a weekend bartender when the music schedule was mostly made up of touring blues and roots rock artists. (If you've ever stopped to study the many 8x10 photos of music legends on the walls, those aren't just decoration…it's all folks who played at the Crystal.) Then a couple things happened to shake up the status quo. The person who had been booking shows was let go, and Lambert asked the owners for a shot at taking over the job. Perhaps a bigger impact was Luther's Blues opening near the UW-Madison campus in 2000.

"When I took over, the Crystal was primarily known for being a blues bar. When Luther's happened…I don't know if it was written or unwritten, but if you were routing from Chicago to Minneapolis, and you were playing Madison, you were playing at Luther's and not the Crystal," says Lambert. Many of the performers were working a regional touring circuit, circling back through every few months. "I realized that I needed to not do blues; let's try and rebrand." 

At the time, Lambert was also working as a part-time DJ on WMMM-FM, eventually moving into a full-time overnight shift. "I remember going to different bars and trying to meet local bands. I didn't know anybody in town, I'd just go out to shows and see if they wanted a gig." After catching The Junkers play at the Dry Bean, Lambert booked them at the Crystal, and word spread from there. The bar also added a marquee space on the signage on Williamson Street to announce the bands.

The Crystal also maintained a policy of paying bands that in modern times is somewhat unusual, at least in the rock scene where bands often split a small door fee or a tip jar. "The owner let me do what I thought was a very generous offer to bands, to pay a guarantee for their efforts," Lambert says.

Lambert has one more show on the books, with the rest of the schedule booked by Hussy. Performers who would like to find out more about playing at the Crystal can email crystalcornerbarbooking@gmail.com.

As far as favorite memories, Lambert notes a show by The Spits, when the drummer covered his kit in milk and cupcake sprinkles for an explosive effect. And, "It was amazing to watch Hometown [Sweethearts] blow up." Prior to their Crystal residency, the trio had been playing just up Williamson Street at the Weary Traveler, and Lambert offered them a weekly gig in the bigger space to lure them to the Crystal.

As Lambert said while introducing one of the bands at the retirement concert, "It gave me a lot of joy watching people dance on this dance floor."