Guitarist and longtime Minnesota resident Tim Sparks has made a name for himself for many years by taking on ambitious concepts on the guitar.

Whether it be taking the music of avant-garde composer and saxophonist John Zorn’s band Masada Quartet and condensing it to solo acoustic guitar, or when, in 2009, Sparks released “Little Princess” rearranging and deconstructing the music of Naftule Brandwein—a klezmer clarinetist from the ‘20s dubbed “The King of the Klezmer Clarinet.” Most notably, he adapted for solo guitar Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Suite” in which he won the National Finger Style Guitar Championship at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas (one of the oldest and most respected guitar competitions in the country).

On his latest outing, “Chasin’ the Boogie,” Sparks takes on something completely different: his past. Sparks will host a Fargo CD release party on Thursday, July 24 at Studio 222.

In the album’s liner notes, Sparks writes in great detail about the making of the record, the history behind the songs and even some guitar approaches he used along the way. It opens, though, with a personal story about returning to his southern roots and gives insight as to where he drew his inspiration.

“Most of the tunes in this collection were crafted over the past couple of years during a time when I made several trips to Winston-Salem, N.C. to visit my mother Evelyn Sparks, who was in the last stages of Parkinson’s,” Sparks said. “Returning to the old haunts where I grew up brought back memories, which are invested in the music on this recording.”

The guitarist, now a Minneapolis resident, describes “Chasin’ the Boogie” as a musical memoir consisting of 12 solo instrumental guitar songs. Four are originals and the other eight are Sparks’ interpretations of classic songs from many different areas of music, from The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” to Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mr. Bojangles” to Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.” He also takes on old, traditional American tunes like “I’ll Fly Away,” “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and “Wayfaring Stranger.”

The name of the album – and the title track – has multiple meanings, as do most of the titles of guitar works he writes (see liner notes for substantial detail). Like Sparks explained to people around the world about his old hometown, Frazee, “When people ask me, ‘Where is Frazee?’ I like to say it’s halfway between Fargo and Lake Wobegon.”

On the surface, the record and title song is an homage to a young boogie-woogie pianist, Chase Garret, whom Sparks did a tour with a few years ago. But in the tune, he is trying to emulate a boogie-woogie piano player, who would have the use of both their hands and all 10 fingers. It is easier for a pianist to keep a bass line going with his left hand while simultaneously playing chords and melody in his right hand. As a guitarist, Sparks is fretting with one hand only using only four fingers, because most the time guitar players don’t play with their thumbs. So translating that to guitar is a very tough task, hence he felt like he was “Chasin’” that sound.

The non-original compositions on the album are better described as masterful “re-imaginings” rather than covers. He takes songs that every guitar player knows, like The Beatles’ classic “Blackbird,” and arranges them to sound like a big band orchestra for a single six-stringed instrument. He’ll even throw in melodic scales that are more associated with Middle Eastern music than Western or American music, like in his arrangement of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.”

“When I arrange a song I try to make it my own, but also contribute meaningfully to the totality of how that song is understood,” Sparks said.

The selection of reimagined songs was a very personal decision for Sparks, inspired by his mother.

“A few years ago there was a YouTube video of an old man in a Parkinson’s unit and somebody played music for him and his memory came back,” Sparks said. “My mom would have that same experience when I played music for her. So I started playing some of these old hymns like ‘What A Friend We Have in Jesus’ for her. So then I just started to think of songs that she would know and recognize. Which that was kind of the original settings for some of these songs.”

Sparks has recorded almost every genre of music and is admired by some of the most respected living guitarists. Fingerstyle legend Leo Kottke said, “(Sparks’) stuff is very difficult to play, but it doesn’t sound difficult. I think that’s real musicianship. He’s really one of the best musicians I know.”

Jazz guitar legend Bill Frisell said, “(He makes) totally beautiful and inspiring music. Tim Sparks is incredible, a complete original.”

But Sparks doesn’t let it go to his head – or stop working.

“Right now I have really big projects that I am trying to finish.” He continued, “I have a giant collection of Russian Music that I want to record, John Zorn wants me to cut another record for his label Tzadik, and I was just down in St. Pete, Florida and recorded a new course for TrueFire.”

Despite his busy schedule of touring around the world and recording new projects, Sparks always finds time to play in Fargo and surrounding communities. Like Frazee, which he called home for many years, this area has a special place in his heart.

“I think living in Frazee might have been the best years of my life,” he said. “I love the high plains, I like the climate, the air is fresher. There is a vibe and an energy that is different up there that I really like.”

IF YOU GO:
Tim Sparks CD release w/ Diane Miller & Tom Johnson
Thurs, July 24, 8 p.m.
Studio 222, 222 Broadway N, Fargo
$10

The Aquarium is a world away from Black Flag’s initial run across the USA in the ‘70s and ‘80s, when the band blazed from town to town like punk rock Johnny Appleseeds and left too many fledgeling, middle-American punk scenes to count in its wake.

Today, punk rock is (almost) mainstream. You can see punk bands in a Hard Rock Cafe, for better or worse. Police don’t seem as interested in disrupting 21-plus shows. And punk rock is a language understood across generations. Its fangs haven’t been removed, but they’re maybe not as sharp. Parents (and even some police officers) listen to Black Flag.

Still, you can’t help but be excited that Black Flag is coming to Fargo. This won’t be like the Elks show in 1982 where all hell broke loose, but it’s a chance, at least, to experience a force that once threatened the very fabric of society.

Black Flag, led by its guitarist and only constant member, Greg Ginn, established the model for ‘80s hardcore punk and pushed it to its limit. Sure, they’re not as dangerous today (you can, after all, buy Black Flag onesies from SST records). But they are the standard bearers. They are canon; a point of entry, with a surprisingly broad and challenging catalogue. Rise Above, TV Party, No Values, Jealous Again and Rise Above are to punk rock what Tutti Frutti, Johnny B Goode and Foxy Lady are to rock ‘n’ roll. Thirteen-year-old misfits will forever discover it, rediscover it and learn to play it, ad infinitum.

Black Flag earned its revered status by challenging fans again and again, upsetting expectations and constantly changing as Ginn’s vision became progressively more avant garde. Audiences either love or hate Black Flag’s twists and turns. Don’t like it? You’re welcome to wallow in the past, but Ginn is pushing forward whether you like it or not. Case in point, Black Flag released a 1985 EP called “The Process of Weeding Out,” an instrumental, experimental record that practically dared listeners to jump ship.

Black Flag has always progressed and evolved. Throughout the ‘80s, you can hear the slow but major shift as Ginn cycled through members and evolved from aggressive hardcore punk to a darker, more complex and cerebral sound with rampant improvisation and introspective lyrical themes. (Not surprisingly, its last album of the ‘80s was called “In My Head.”)

Today the changes continue, with a new rhythm section that includes Tyler Smith on bass and Brandon Pertzborn on drums. Plus, there’s a new vocalist, Mike Vallely. That name should sound familiar to anyone familiar with pro skateboarding. Vallely is a legendary pro athlete and a veteran musician who fronted Mike V And The Rats, Revolution Mother and another project, co-fronted with Ginn, called Good For You. Vallely originally saw Black Flag in 1984, loved it, and decades later, took the mantle with the goal of helping the band reach its potential in the new millenium. Today, he’s an aggressive yin to Ginn’s also-aggressive yin, ushering in the next era in the influential band’s history.

For the media at least, the music seems to be more of a footnote. Unfortunately, Black Flag is known for generating bad blood between former members as much as it is for amazing punk songs. This go-around is no different. Though the band has been reformed in earnest for less than two years, its had enough controversy to last a decade at least.

It started with the band’s first reformation in 2013, with a different lineup that included 1979-80 vocalist Ron “Chavo” Reyes, drummer Gregory Moore and bassist Dave Klein (also of Screeching Weasel). They toured heavily and released an album that, while reasonable, didn’t exactly meet fans’ high expectations. The cover art (designed by Reyes) was particularly maligned. The whole affair culminated with Reyes’ quitting/firing onstage in Australia (read about it online if you’d like).

The band recently emerged from a courtroom trademark dispute as well. The headaches revolved mostly around the other Black Flag-related band that (re)formed at virtually the same time. “Flag,” a group of former members (Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Dez Cadena, Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton) is touring with a more historic (re: backward-looking) version of the band that focuses on the more accessible hits of the band’s early days. It’s more of a party for the fans; a class reunion, if you will. It has a huge appeal, but it’s a universe away from the provocative turns for which the original band was known. Long story short, the two bands went to court, they came to some sort of settlement and they both continue to tour.

But that’s the past. The “official” Black Flag doesn’t revel in the past, and their ever-forward march brings them to Fargo on Monday, July 21. Though they’re always looking ahead, this tour indeed focuses on the classic Black Flag material. You’ll probably always hear the hits, like “Wasted” and “Nervous Breakdown” on through to “My War” or “Annihilate This Week.” However, the latest lineup is preparing to release more new material that pushes the catalog forward. That’s an approach that is more in-tune with the Black Flag that lifelong fans know: always a step ahead, asking you to keep up instead of look back. It also hints at a band that will stick around, even if volatility is an ever-present part of the equation.

Despite the backstory, or maybe because of it, Black Flag is a must-see this Monday night. What good is a storied band without a few dramatic stories? There’s no telling what the future holds, but Fargo will get a chance to see why this band remains such a huge influence on culture today. Ginn’s long-time experimental project HOR and crazed Brooklyn post-punkers Cinema Cinema will kick things off.

IF YOU GO:

Black Flag w/ HOR and Cinema Cinema
Mon, July 21, 9 p.m.
The Aquarium, 226 Broadway
$18 advance, 21+

Guitarist and longtime Minnesota resident Tim Sparks has made a name for himself for many years by taking on ambitious concepts on the guitar.

Whether it be taking the music of avant-garde composer and saxophonist John Zorn’s band Masada Quartet and condensing it to solo acoustic guitar, or when, in 2009, Sparks released “Little Princess” rearranging and deconstructing the music of Naftule Brandwein—a klezmer clarinetist from the ‘20s dubbed “The King of the Klezmer Clarinet.” Most notably, he adapted for solo guitar Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Suite” in which he won the National Finger Style Guitar Championship at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas (one of the oldest and most respected guitar competitions in the country).

On his latest outing, “Chasin’ the Boogie,” Sparks takes on something completely different: his past. Sparks will host a Fargo CD release party on Thursday, July 24 at Studio 222.

In the album’s liner notes, Sparks writes in great detail about the making of the record, the history behind the songs and even some guitar approaches he used along the way. It opens, though, with a personal story about returning to his southern roots and gives insight as to where he drew his inspiration.

“Most of the tunes in this collection were crafted over the past couple of years during a time when I made several trips to Winston-Salem, N.C. to visit my mother Evelyn Sparks, who was in the last stages of Parkinson’s,” Sparks said. “Returning to the old haunts where I grew up brought back memories, which are invested in the music on this recording.”

The guitarist, now a Minneapolis resident, describes “Chasin’ the Boogie” as a musical memoir consisting of 12 solo instrumental guitar songs. Four are originals and the other eight are Sparks’ interpretations of classic songs from many different areas of music, from The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” to Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mr. Bojangles” to Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.” He also takes on old, traditional American tunes like “I’ll Fly Away,” “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and “Wayfaring Stranger.”

The name of the album – and the title track – has multiple meanings, as do most of the titles of guitar works he writes (see liner notes for substantial detail). Like Sparks explained to people around the world about his old hometown, Frazee, “When people ask me, ‘Where is Frazee?’ I like to say it’s halfway between Fargo and Lake Wobegon.”

On the surface, the record and title song is an homage to a young boogie-woogie pianist, Chase Garret, whom Sparks did a tour with a few years ago. But in the tune, he is trying to emulate a boogie-woogie piano player, who would have the use of both their hands and all 10 fingers. It is easier for a pianist to keep a bass line going with his left hand while simultaneously playing chords and melody in his right hand. As a guitarist, Sparks is fretting with one hand only using only four fingers, because most the time guitar players don’t play with their thumbs. So translating that to guitar is a very tough task, hence he felt like he was “Chasin’” that sound.

The non-original compositions on the album are better described as masterful “re-imaginings” rather than covers. He takes songs that every guitar player knows, like The Beatles’ classic “Blackbird,” and arranges them to sound like a big band orchestra for a single six-stringed instrument. He’ll even throw in melodic scales that are more associated with Middle Eastern music than Western or American music, like in his arrangement of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.”

“When I arrange a song I try to make it my own, but also contribute meaningfully to the totality of how that song is understood,” Sparks said.

The selection of reimagined songs was a very personal decision for Sparks, inspired by his mother.

“A few years ago there was a YouTube video of an old man in a Parkinson’s unit and somebody played music for him and his memory came back,” Sparks said. “My mom would have that same experience when I played music for her. So I started playing some of these old hymns like ‘What A Friend We Have in Jesus’ for her. So then I just started to think of songs that she would know and recognize. Which that was kind of the original settings for some of these songs.”

Sparks has recorded almost every genre of music and is admired by some of the most respected living guitarists. Fingerstyle legend Leo Kottke said, “(Sparks’) stuff is very difficult to play, but it doesn’t sound difficult. I think that’s real musicianship. He’s really one of the best musicians I know.”

Jazz guitar legend Bill Frisell said, “(He makes) totally beautiful and inspiring music. Tim Sparks is incredible, a complete original.”

But Sparks doesn’t let it go to his head – or stop working.

“Right now I have really big projects that I am trying to finish.” He continued, “I have a giant collection of Russian Music that I want to record, John Zorn wants me to cut another record for his label Tzadik, and I was just down in St. Pete, Florida and recorded a new course for TrueFire.”

Despite his busy schedule of touring around the world and recording new projects, Sparks always finds time to play in Fargo and surrounding communities. Like Frazee, which he called home for many years, this area has a special place in his heart.

“I think living in Frazee might have been the best years of my life,” he said. “I love the high plains, I like the climate, the air is fresher. There is a vibe and an energy that is different up there that I really like.”

IF YOU GO

Tim Sparks CD release w/ Diane Miller & Tom Johnson
Thurs, July 24, 8 p.m.
Studio 222, 222 Broadway N, Fargo
$10

“I am a vampire, I don’t know if you knew that,” Sharon Van Etten semi joked and revealed to the High Plains Reader this past week.

Truly, the Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter makes it sound like she is a vampire in her crazy infectious tune “Every Time The Sun Comes Up (I’m in trouble).”

Knowing that she’s continually and gradually getting more popular, perhaps we should be more worried about just how much trouble she’s going to get in. How can someone so dark and so lowly attract so much sun?

Well, that’s sort of indirectly stated in her song: the sun is going to come up eventually and there’s nothing we, “vampires” included, can do about it. Or, when one thing goes well, another thing will eventually go to hell.

Van Etten’s entire new album, “Are We There,” is filled with this lyrical and musical poeticism. It’s not always literal, per se, but it’s always very personally revealing.

Listen carefully to tunes like “Taking Chances” and “Your Love is Killing Me.” See how she powers through relationship difficulties and personal insecurities as if she were alone in a dimly lit room with no one else listening.

“I am always going to write pretty stream of conscious and it’s always going to be a form of therapy,” Van Etten said. “The thing that’s hard is actually deciding to share the songs with people … being too personal maybe. Sometimes I wonder if it’s too much.”

Whether her personal honestly is too much or not, through music, it certainly has a beautiful quality to it. Van Etten’s boisterous, canny and weary singing voice, her building-and-releasing-tension melodies and the band’s cultivated, atmosphere-heavy sound make for a marvelous, sulky indie rock product.

“I kind of know what I am getting myself into – knowing that I am not poppy and knowing that I am not really accessible and knowing that stuff that I do is kind of weird and kind of dark and kind of schizophrenic; and I have to acknowledge it’s who I am,” Van Etten said.

Not to say she isn’t delightful and charming too. Throughout “Are We There,” listeners may chuckle at her sense of humor or smile at her sweet, caressed vocal melodies. Best yet, it’s all genuinely produced, which is perhaps the greatest reason, aside from her raw musical talent, that she is so intensely satisfying to listen to.

“I feel really supported by the people around me and in a way I don’t feel like I have to overcome anything,” Van Etten said. “I just have to come to terms with my brutal honesty—if it’s necessary or not.”

IF YOU GO:

Sharon Van Etten with Jana Hunter (Lower Dens)
Mon, July 14, 9 p.m.
The Aquarium, 226 Broadway
$12 advance, $14 doors
ticketweb.com

By Jack Dura

Sunday, July 6 had everything in place for a perfect concert night. Gorgeous weather and just a breath of wind set the stage for blues woman Bonnie Raitt to rock the Bluestem Amphitheater in Moorhead.

Taking the stage following a folksy performance by fellow guitarist and dear friend “Spider” John Koerner and his Rag Tag Trio, Raitt hit all the corners of her career with a set list that jumped genres and generations and instruments. From acoustic guitar to keyboard to her signature bottleneck slide, Raitt bounced around with songs and stage patter that endeared her to everyone.

“This is an absolutely beautiful place to play,” she commented about the amphitheater early on, after playing a heartfelt “Not ‘Cause I Wanted To.” Following a 98-degree tour stop in Sioux City, Iowa, the night before, Raitt was grateful for the glorious weather and so were all those in attendance.

A turnout of over 1,900 people made it out for the show, and Raitt dedicated several of her songs to those in the crowd—“I Will Not Be Broken” to environmental activist Winona LaDuke, “Angel From Montgomery” to all mothers in attendance and for Sarah and Dave’s 10th anniversary, a rousing “Something to Talk About” that got many people out of their seats to show off their dancing skills.

With plenty of stage patter amongst her and her band, which included legendary blues sideman Mike Finnigan, and the audience, Raitt nestled right up with everyone at her show. Technical difficulties did hamper the performance at least three times throughout the night, particularly when an electric guitar’s tone didn’t sound right to Raitt. However, she powered through it all with her deprecating sense of humor, especially when a mystery Velcro strap on her person appeared unconnected to anything.

Music, though, was the main course on the night’s menu, and Raitt offered plenty of it, but her humor and banter were infectious. If her 13-song set list wasn’t enough, her encore including “I Can’t Make You Love Me” was a cherry on top of the night. The surefire fun of “Something to Talk About,” “Love Letter” and “I Believe I’m in Love With You” against weepers like “Not Cause I Wanted To” and “I Can’t Make You Love Me” made for a well-rounded set list that represented Raitt well.

While there was nothing to complain of about Raitt, many of those on the general admission lawns probably had one thing on their minds the whole night: the obstruction of the stage. Many large black trunks piled up on both sides of the stage fully blocked the lawns’ view of Bonnie Raitt and her band, and though just being able to hear the show was enough, seeing it would have been nice to hundreds of folks in general admission.

Parking was also a small snafu, especially when exiting the Bluestem site. All vehicles at both the paved lot and the overflow grass were at a standstill following the show, despite the best efforts of those coordinating traffic. However, a little creative off-roading across the lots helped some attendees escape into the fading sunset.

Wherever they sat and however they left, fans got a great rundown of Bonnie Raitt’s career from the legend herself. It was apparently fun for both sides as the singer admitted herself in the show that though touring five cities a week may get old for some, “it’s never lost its charm for me.”

Set list

Used to Rule the World
Right Down the Line
Nick of Time
Hear Me Lord
Not ‘Cause I Wanted To
I Ain’t Blue
No Gettin’ Over You
Something to Talk About
I Believe I’m in Love With You
Angel From Montgomery
I Will Not Be Broken
I’ve Got News For You
I Feel So Damn Good (I’ll Be Glad When I Get the Blues)
Encore
I Can’t Make You Love Me
Too Long at the Fair
Love Letter

Jack Dura

Fans of blues and folk rock have a perfect outing all lined up for them on Sunday, July 6, as blues-woman Bonnie Raitt steps onstage at the amphitheater of the Bluestem Center for the Arts in Moorhead.

A pinnacle of blues for the last 25 years, Raitt has seen acclaim from all corners of her career. From her Grammy-sweeping “Nick of Time” album to 2012’s highly lauded “Slipstream,” her music has landed platinum records, 10 Grammys and plenty of applause. Packing her hits into one concert repertoire at this point in her career may be a hard thing to do, but by mixing old with new and playing the favorites, Raitt has a special show in store for fans.
Several tracks off of “Slipstream” have riddled the show on past dates in the 2012 and 2013 legs of her Slipstream Tour—“Marriage Made in Hollywood,” “Right Down the Line,” “Not ‘Cause I Wanted To.” Accompanied by some of the highest praise of her career, “Slipstream” was awarded a Grammy for Best Americana Album.

It’s no doubt the Bluestem will hear some “Slipstream” tracks, along with Raitt’s heavy hitters like “Something to Talk About” (the song that “put the tires on the tour bus”), “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and tracks from “Nick of Time.” And with a character like Raitt who cozies right up with her audience, it’ll be more of a show than a concert, for sure.

Folk and blues guitarist “Spider” John Koerner will open for Raitt with his Rag Tag Trio, a group that has done everything from coffeehouse collaborations to music festivals. Songs like “Acres of Clams” and “Careless Love” are sewed together with fiddle, double bass, harmonica and Koerner’s 12-string guitar.

Keep an eye on Raitt’s guitar, a Stratocaster she bought “for $120 at 3 o’clock in the morning in 1969.” It’s been her go-to guitar that she’s made dance with a bottleneck slide for the last 40-odd years. In this respect, you could say Raitt’s guitar is like Willie Nelson’s guitar “Trigger.”

Raitt’s last stop around this region was Minneapolis in October 2013, and her tour history suggests July 6 as her first Moorhead appearance. The singer has toured extensively since “Nick of Time,” racking up over 170 dates on her 2012-2013 Slipstream Tour. She’s ranged far and wide as well, from the United States to Singapore to Australia to the Isle of Wight. Moorhead is not the most exotic stop for a star like Bonnie Raitt, but she’s sure to rock it just the same.

Bonnie Raitt will also be a performing at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, taking place July 9-13.

IF YOU GO:
Bonnie Raitt with “Spider” John Koerner & The Rag Tag Trio
Bluestem Amphitheater, 801 50th Ave SW, Moorhead
Sun. July 6, rain or shine, gates open at 5 p.m., show at 7 p.m.
$39.50-$85.00, (701) 298-0071, jadepresents.com/bonnie-raitt-moorhead/, 218 Broadway N, Fargo

Chevelle, the hard rocking trio from Chicago, has established itself as one of the few bands that has not only survived the “post-grunge rock” phase of the early 2000s, but has also separated itself from the era entirely. Once upon a time the group would have been lumped into a genre of music that was quickly becoming a desolate, unoriginal wasteland. Rock was dying, and maybe it did die in some sense, but Chevelle has refused to get swept under by the current.
Over the last five years or so the band has made it a point to not let themselves suffer the same fate as so many of their peers; and by doing so Chevelle has developed its own philosophy or ideology per se for maintaining success. Chevelle never makes the same song twice and every album has its own flavor, which tastes awfully good on its latest release “La Gargola.”  In advance of the band’s stop in Fargo next week, drummer Sam Loeffler took some time to speak with the High Plains Reader about the album and the band’s continued success.

High Plains Reader: First of all I just wanted to congratulate you guys on another great album with “La Gargola.”

Sam Loeffler: Thank you.

HPR: It has to be hard to believe that this is your seventh studio album and, as far as I’m concerned, Chevelle is still getting better as a band. How do you do it?

SL: Thank you, man. Well, certainly we try not to write the same song twice. That’s probably one of our most important things … and really, a long time ago, probably “Sci-Fi Crimes” era, it became apparent to us that we didn’t really want to … we didn’t really care if a song was heavy enough or not heavy enough or whatever, we really just were more concerned with whether the melody was good. So, that’s probably where the music sort of changed and maybe it even got a little better.

HPR: I really enjoyed the “Hats off to the Bull” album and I thought that it was one of your better albums. The toned-down sound of it worked really well. So what was the inspiration to go back to a heavier sound on “La Gargola”?

SL: I think we just wanted to do something different again and you also don’t know necessarily which way the songs are going to go, you don’t know which way they are going to be taken so it was really just sort of a natural thing the way it went. I’d like to chalk that up to something but you know, Pete jokes that he watches a lot of horror movies and things like that. Those are all true things and gives him stuff to write about, but at the end of the day you pick the 10 songs that are kinda together that work best as an album … and that’s basically what we did.

HPR: How many songs do you typically write for an album?

SL: We only write 10 or 11 songs. So what happens is we’ll write a bunch of parts and then we kinda take those parts out and make songs out of them so at the end of it we might still have 20-30 parts of songs but they’re not complete songs but it’ll just be a verse or a chorus or something like that.

HPR: “La Gargola” debuted at no. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 45,000 copies sold in the first week, the band’s highest charting album. Are you guys surprised at all with that kind of success after all these years?

SL: As a rock band I would definitely say I was surprised that we connected as a rock band that … well, because rock is just not in that place right now you know? So I was definitely surprised by that. I wouldn’t say I’m surprised when people purchase the music, I’m always happy when they do. We have a very committed fan base for sure.

HPR: Lyrically and instrumentally the music is still as sharp and inspired as it has always been, does the writing ever get easier with experience or is that one of the more difficult aspects of working on your seventh record?

SL: I think it would be more difficult, especially when it comes to lyrics. Although, you know, for Pete it’s his passion and he loves to sing and he loves to write but I don’t think there’s ever been an easy song. The easy ones, say “Face to the Floor” or something like that, we’re like, “wow man, that verse and that chorus totally worked together,” and then it’ll take you like two months to come up with a bridge for it because it works and how do you add something into that element?

HPR: It’s been 15 years since the release of Point #1, how much longer do you feel like you guys can keep putting out music that you are personally happy with and living the musician lifestyle?

SL: Well, I mean that’s a good question, how long can we go?  I mean I’m not sure but I know that we enjoy it and it would be hard to not have this part in our lives. I think it’s good for everybody to have a release and especially an artistic one … and keeping that in mind I don’t know what my life would be like to not have that so it could easily go forever until I literally couldn’t do it anymore.

HPR: I was able to see a show once before back in 2010 when you played in Duluth, Minn. and you put on an awesome show. What are some of your favorite songs to play live? And are there any songs that you are just sick of playing?

SL: Oh yea, playing the singles are … we don’t really want to play them but because you know songs like “The Red” and “Send the Pain Below” we’ve done so many times, but when you play them live it’s different because people sing along and everything and that’s great. We certainly don’t want to play them in rehearsal, although we do. It’s definitely fun to play them live, for sure.

HPR: I find it extremely fascinating that somehow two brothers and a brother in law can live in a bus and spend so much time together on the road. What’s the key to maintaining those relationships without allowing them to deteriorate like so many other bands deal with?

SL: Yea I don’t know what the key is. We just try to treat each other like professionals, I mean you just treat people like ... we need to be in a bus together (laughs) you know, and that’s about all we can really do.  You never know what’s gonna work that’s for sure and we’re just gonna have to struggle through it.

IF YOU GO:

Chevelle with Highly Suspect
The Venue at The Hub, 2525 9th Ave. SW, Fargo
June 25, 8 p.m.
http://jadepresents.com/chevelle-fargo

By Jack Dura

In its fourth season since its inaugural production in 2011, the Rural Cass Community Theatre is offering opportunities for all community members with its production of “Les Misérables.” Telling the story of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his numerous friends and foes in 19th century revolutionary France, “Les Misérables (affectionately abbreviated to “Les Miz”) is proving to be a perfect production for this blossoming local theater troupe.

“(RCCT) has grown immensely,” co-director Lauren Brandenburg said. “The number of people involved has grown, the audience base has grown … the quality of productions has grown.”

“And also just the love of theater arts,” co-director Darcy Brandenburg added. “I know our cast in particular has even more interest than (previously) in going to shows in the Fargo-Moorhead area … so just the development of the love of the arts has grown because of community.”

Based out of Casselton, RCCT allows those living rurally a chance to perform in or attend its shows. There are few options for theater outside of Fargo-Moorhead for adults or students to be part of, and laying out the opportunity of an annual musical for everyone seemed to answer the issue.

“We always try to pick a show that can involve everyone because we have a rule with this musical that no one can be cut,” Darcy said. “We really encourage the education aspect of providing arts to the whole community.”

Sixty people are cast in this year’s production, along with about 30 in the pit orchestra and technical crew. By no means is “Les Miz” a small show, but this year sees a small change as there are fewer children in this show and no children’s chorus due to the mature subject matter. However, the Missoula Children’s Theatre steps in to offer acting opportunities for any youngsters.

For audience members, it can be enthralling to see the efforts of dozens of community members from across Cass County sew together “the ultimate story of redemption,” as the husband-and-wife directing duo Darcy and Lauren like to call “Le Miz.”

“When Lauren and I ever direct a show, we have a philosophy and that’s to put on the best show we can as a group using the talents and resources that are provided and have a lot of fun doing it,” Darcy said.

“A lot of times when cast members and audiences have come, they’re usually surprised at how good the show is. A lot of times, the comment is, ‘Oh, we thought this was going to just be a little play,’ and it’s usually surprise at how well-put together it is.”

The Brandenburgs admit that the R for Rural in RCCT can be a bit of a throw-off or misleading for viewers, but talent exists in all places and RCCT hones it here. As a sung-through musical, “Les Miz” heavily relies on the talent of singers and musicians to support story line.

“The music in this show is amazing and there are some really, really outstanding musicians in the cast and singers — very, very, very high quality,” Lauren said.

Darcy added, “What’s really cool is that this is a community theater that really has a high level of excellence in our own right but at the same time we don’t even necessarily focus on the excellence as the most important thing. We really balance that with enjoyment of creating this art.”

IF YOU GO

“Les Misérables”
Central Cass High School, 802 5th St N, Casselton
June 20-21, 26-27 at 7:00 p.m., June 22 & 28 at 2:00 p.m.
rccct.org
701-491-8096

By Konner Johnson

Photo by AJ Ragasa

Seattle-based indie-pop outfit Barcelona is currently two weeks into tour with rock luminaries The Fray and will perform in the Fargo-Moorhead area for the first time this Saturday, June 21.
Barcelona got its start in college, where all members attended Seattle Pacific University. While still in school, the group wrote and worked up material for its first release, “Absolutes,” in 2009. Soon after its release, the band embarked on tour and received a positive reception through exposure on radio and TV. 

“We ended up touring on that record the longest, about four years,” says Brian Fennell, lead singer and guitarist. 

After some years touring in support of “Absolutes,” the group released its sophomore album “Not Quite Yours,” developing a bit more of an electro-pop sound and less of a subdued singer/songwriter sound.

Barcelona’s latest is a series of EPs. Originally planned as a full-length LP, the EPs “Love Me,” “Love You” and “Know Love” turned into an a triple threat of hotly romantic, subtly groovy, sweetly poppy music.
Fennell says it was an all natural approach: “We like to keep it as DIY as possible.”

Since touring with The Fray in the last few weeks, the band has played to larger crowds abroad including Colorado’s famous Red Rocks Amphitheater.

“It is the beginning of what already is a cool experience. We are super thankful and honored to be a part of it,” Fennell says. 

Playing to a larger audience is always an achievement bands have some getting used to, but for Barcelona, they are quite excited and humble to be doing so.

“Large shows are great; everyone is really attentive and respectful. We like to connect and interact with the crowd. It helps us perform on a different level,” Fennell says.
Catch Barcelona with the mega popular headliner The Fray and the increasingly popular boy-girl duo Oh Honey at the beautiful Bluestem Amphitheater in Moorhead while it’s still gorgeous outside.

IF YOU GO
Barcelona with The Fray and Oh Honey
Sat, June 21, 7 p.m.
Bluestem, 801 50th Ave SW, Moorhead, MN
jadepresents.com

By Jack Dura

It’s a summer of celebration at the Fair Hills Resort on Pelican Lake in Minnesota lakes country. The resort’s long-running musical variety show Hootenanny (“The Hoot”) enters its 50th season this month, marking half a century of fun for all.

Family-owned since 1926, the Fair Hills Resort has had singalongs and “community sings” since the 1930s. What started as simple beach bonfires and marshmallow roasts blossomed into an original onstage musical variety show by 1965, with resort owners, staff and guests making music and performing as one.

Larry Swenson, the resort’s director of fun, has been involved with the Hoot for over 40 years with 28 of those years as director under his belt. He has contributed numerous songs of his own styling to the program and even choreographed a few routines (including the renowned “Pelican Lake” number).

With a new repertoire for the Hoot every year, keeping the program fresh is paramount. While a few audience favorites have stuck with the show through the years, new numbers are added annually, and Swenson’s imagination is inspired year-round.

“All year long, I listen to public radio or listen to stations,” he said. “When I hear something, I write it down, even if I’m driving, I go ‘Oh, there’s a song!’ so I have a whole pile of ideas.”

Numbers in the Hoot have included everything from barbershop quartets to the resort’s singable telephone number to Handel’s four-part “Hallelujah Chorus” to a lake jump finale. Every instrument from kazoo to ukulele, mandolin to guitar, flute to French horn has been utilized in this show and audiences are enthralled every time. The people performing this merriment are mostly comprised of the resort’s staff, and an enormous array of Earth’s citizens has appeared onstage in the Hoots across the years.

“Every year we have new staff and we have a few old ones that come back but we’ve had about between 2,800 and 2,900 staff from all over the world have been on the show,” Swenson said.

Around 50 or 60 resort staff members make up the show, and this year, 13 countries are represented in the ranks. The biggest challenge is that many of the staff have never performed onstage before, so getting them acquainted and acclimated to the stage is crucial.

“Most of the internationals have never performed onstage before so we sort of turn them into performers by the end of the summer,” Swenson explained. “They also perform and it’s quite impressive.”

For this summer, Swenson is inviting back some of the many alumni that have appeared in the Hoots. Those with memorable acts or who helped get the show off to a start in the ‘60s have been asked to return for this special season.

“There’s one lady … who does this ‘Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay’ that has people laughing so much that they’re on the floor,” Swenson said. “[I]n all our summer shows we won’t necessarily have somebody every week but we’re calling back a few of the alumni to come and do a special, special number with us.”

It’s remarkable to note that along with this 50-year milestone, the Fair Hills Hootenanny is (to the best of the staff’s research) the longest running musical show in the Midwest and quite possibly the country. Swenson says their biggest competition is the Oberammergau Passion Play, performed annually in Oberammergau, Bavaria since 1634. For half a century on the same lake, however, the Fair Hills Hootenannies aren’t doing too bad.

Two-thousand people see the shows each summer, and from here on out, new skits, songs and seasons are on the horizon for the next 50 years in this show’s history. For this summer, the Hoot has some specialties planned but it all comes down to what the show does best: having fun.

IF YOU GO

Fair Hills Hootenanny
Fair Hills Resort, 24270 County Highway 20, Detroit Lakes
Every Tuesday from June 17 to August 19 at 8 p.m.
218-847-7638