Milwaukee musician juggles touring with TV and ad projects

Milwaukee's Joe Wong has helped score two feature-length films, written music for dozens of recognizable commercials, landed a job scoring a show on Cartoon Network and somehow found the time to tour the world and record with his critically lauded noise-rock band, Parts & Labor.
While any one of those accomplishments would make a reformed punk rocker's mother proud, his ability to juggle so many ambitious projects without having to abandon his hometown is a testament to how the Internet and increasingly affordable recording equipment have empowered musicians across the world.
He and his writing partner, Didier Laplae, of nfl jerseys local kaleidoscopic rock band the Chain, have received critical praise for their film scores.
Wong's New York bandmates recently decamped to Brew City to record a new album while he and Laplae have been busy hammering out music in their Riverwest studio for "Robotomy," a show for the Cartoon Network about two teenage droids.
Wong took a break to talk about his ever-expanding musical exploration, writing music to sell hamburgers, and why he's glad his parents lied to him about Michael Jackson making a house call.
Q.What's your first memory of music in your life?
A. I can vividly remember my Philadelphia Eagles jersey fifth birthday. I was totally obsessed with Michael Jackson. I woke up from a nap, and my mom told me that Michael and dropped off a tape of "Thriller" for me . . . Jackson had stopped by because it was my birthday.
And I was really, really upset because I was mad that they didn't wake me up. And she was, like, "Well, we tried."
Q. What can you say about the show you're working on?
A. I'm working on a show for the Cartoon Network called "Robotomy." It's being produced by a company called World Leaders out of New York, and they also do a show called "Venture Brothers." It's being directed by Kristy Karakas, who does a show called "Super Jail," which is a crazy nighttime show for Adult Swim.
Q. What are some of the commercials you've done?
A. We do a lot of the Geico commercials with the gecko on it. And the one with the Pips, the Pips of Gladys Knight and the Pips. We did all the Wendy's commercials for a year. We've done a bunch of stuff that people would recognize.
Q. How does coming from the punk world affect the success you're having now?
A. First of all, it opened me up to a new scene I wasn't previously aware of and introduced me to new ideas. And then I got kind of tired of it after a few years, because I started exploring again and wanted to find something else.
So I got really into jazz, which I think actually predates punk as a protest With films, it's like a whole different crowd altogether. . . . music.
I think basically what I'm saying (is), the thing with playing music in the first place is exploring something that, aside from being an art form unto itself, is an avenue to meet new people and explore new ideas.
Q. What keeps you in Milwaukee?
A. I think the main thing that Pittsburgh Steelers jersey keeps me coming back here is that I have a really great family.
But also, 10 years ago we would have to have lived in New York to do what we're doing, and now we don't have to anymore. We have a rehearsal studio there that's more expensive than this place by far, and it's the size of a closet. To me, it makes more sense, and we can do better work by living here.