Like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, Har Mar Superstar returned in fall 2009 with Dark Touches, his first album since 2004’s critically acclaimed The Handler. The new Har Mar retains his defiant sexiness and uncanny knack for irresistible R&B hooks, but fans his colorful wings in the spirit of inclusion. “Har Mar has always represented the most out-there and outrageous and in your face aspects of me,” says Sean Tillmann, the Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter and producer behind the Har Mar Superstar moniker. “I’ve gone through phases where there’s been angry Har Mar and different versions of this guy, but lately it’s all been this vibe that everyone’s included and everyone’s part of this thing, and you feel like you added something to it just by being there. It’s about me going out and getting as sweaty as possible, moving around as much as I can, and in a sense glamour-ing everybody for the night and making them feel better about themselves.”

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Tillmann spent the previous several years playing music with his other projects – Sean Na Na and Neon Neon, whose album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Music Prize. But he also found time to launch a new career as an actor and screenwriter, earning roles in the feature films Whip It (directed by Drew Barrymore, and starring Juno’s Ellen Page and Arrested Development’s Alia Shawkat) and Lovely, Still. “I kind of got sick of the Har Mar persona for a little while,” says Tillmann. “I thought it was time to go away for a little bit, so hung up the Har Mar jacket and went back in my shell and made a new Sean Na Na album and had fun doing that and toured a lot with Neon Neon, and started these film projects with my friends out here.” But Tillmann kept writing tunes throughout those years, and after awhile he found himself feeling much the same way he had when he started Har Mar Superstar. “I just got sick of playing guitar music again,” he says. “I realized that I really missed Har Mar.”

Har Mar Superstar was born more than ten years ago, when Tillmann was living in Minneapolis, playing guitar-based indie rock. The Har Mar idea, he says, was “a reaction to boring indie rock and how people were taking themselves way too seriously, and any aspect of playing and touring was no fun after a while, and I realized if I go to a dance party and sing an R. Kelly song on a couch, the girls are going to go fucking crazy. So I started transferring that to the stage and doing more R&B-oriented songs, and it really was a no-brainer after I’d done it a few times. Like, ‘why don’t I just make this gross, why don’t I just start writing songs like that?” And as soon as I did, it was obvious, it was like a light bulb went off and I went on my way and got more and more aggressive, and the shows became this weird exercise in sexual tension, and I really learned how to play with that fire and make it work for me.”

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Minneapolis based band, the Mofos have been rocking since 1984.

Billy Batson, vocals

Ernie Batson, guitar

Randy Weiss, bass

Tommy Rey, drums

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Heiruspecs is a live rap/hip hop band based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, specifically the Midway neighborhood. 

Their most recent album, 10 Years Strong, was released in December of 2007. It is a compilation of new and old songs, many taken from Live from the Studio and Antidisestablishmetabolism, both of which are now out-of-print. The band is mostly known for their live performances. In contrast to many contemporary hip hop groups that use sampling and turntables, Heiruspecs emphasize a raw, live sound, their roots and local scene. They have also been known to do shows with Minnesota-local hip hop label Rhymesayers Entertainment. They have a very upbeat sound and are typically on tour for at least half of the year. The group style has been compared to the live hip hop band The Roots.

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SPIDER JOHN KOERNER was born August 31, 1938, in Rochester, N.Y. At the age of 15, he was one of the youngest to ever get a student glider pilot license. He enrolled in 1956 at the University of Minnesota as an engineering student, but in early 1958, he became a student of the burgeoning folk scene. With a borrowed guitar and a Burl Ives song book, he began a journey which helped shape the course of American country blues and folk music.

 For 50 years, John Koerner has explored the ranges of traditional American song, as a solo artist and with a variety of partners. All of his 1960’s recordings are reissued on CD: Blues, Rags and Hollers; Lots More Blues Rags and Hollers; and The Return of Koerner, Ray & Glover, (cornerstones of the blues revivalist era, recorded with Dave Ray and Tony Glover), and Running, Jumping, Standing Still, (a blend of jug band, psychedelic R&B and folk-blues, with Willie Murphy). Two 1970s albums recorded on Dave Ray's Sweet Jane label, Music Is Just A Bunch Of Notes and Some American Folk Songs Like They Used To are now collector's items. His 1986 recording Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Been and the 1992 raised by humans, both with Boston's "Mr. Bones" John Burrill, and others, reflect Koerner’s deep appreciation of the traditional song. StarGeezer, recorded in New Orleans, adds the Louisiana sounds of Reggie Houston, Amasa Miller and Johnny Vidacovich with 'Chip' Taylor Smith (NKTTIB & rbh) and Willie Murphy (Producer) (R,J,SS). In a moving rendition, Koerner also covers Hoagy Carmichael's Stardust on StarGeezer. Koerner reunited with Ray and Glover in 1996 for One Foot in The Groove, the legendary trio's first recording together in 30 years. John Koerner is featured in Part 1(of 4) in the PBS Educational Series RIVER OF SONG which premiered Jan.6, 1999. This production includes a seven part series on Public Radio International; a companion book by St. Martin’s Press, a 2 CD set from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and a home video series from Acorn Media. In the fall of 1999, he recorded two tracks with the jug band sound of the Liquor Pigs, with Tim Bradach (FYTAD), and one track in 2000 with Norwegian artist Ole Ask. In a salute to the traditional roots of Bob Dylan, John Koerner and Dave Ray contributed the track Delia to the Redhouse tribute recording A Nod to Bob released in April 2001 for Dylan's 60th birthday.

SPIDER JOHN KOERNER’S musical career has taken him to stages throughout North America and Europe. He has entertained MANY and influenced several generations of musicians.  His songs are recorded and performed by others, including Bonnie Rait-- I Ain’t Blue.

John Koerner appears often as guest on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion, most recently appearing on November 15, 2008. He has also been guest artist on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and Weekend Edition.

In the '70s, John Koerner also ventured into film making, and a commentary on how some folks were feeling in the '60s called The Secret Of Sleep was produced. He also discovered a passion for astronomy, which continues to this day. He has built and reconstructed telescopes in New England, Minnesota, Mexico, Arizona, and Zimbabwe, lectured at colleges, and presented "Spider John's Space Shows". He is also interested in wooden boat building and sail design and has completed construction of an 18 ft. cat boat, which he sails on the Minnesota lakes.

Spider John lives in Minneapolis. He has two sons and a daughter, and grandkids.

Martin Devaney has always embraced his local identity, literally dubbed the Mayor of St. Paul by friends and compatriots in the music scene. A classically trained musician with a jazz sax background, the accomplished singer-songwriter got his start playing with revered hip-hop ensemble Heiruspecs before embarking on a solo career. After self-releasing an EP in 2001, Martin followed with four full-length albums, each garnering more praise and attention from press and fans. Described as “a charming, bushy haired, sweet voiced tunesmith” by No Depression, Martin became quickly known for his poetic, yet unpretentious songs and inspired live performances.

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Now, over four years after his last release, Martin Devaney unveils his best work yet. The West End, another project with Mark Stockert and Underwood Studios, features an all-star cast of musicians Dave Boquist (Son Volt), Steve Murray (Molly Maher and Her Disbelievers) and Mick Wirtz (Bellwether). It also highlights the long-time collaboration with Jake Hyer (vocals, violin, mandolins). Harmonies with Hyer provide the bread and butter to Devaney’s artful, sincere songs, and obviously guided much of The West End’s creative energy. In addition to his own band, Devaney plays sax with Twin Cities’ indie-folk darlings Roma Di Luna, recently mentioned in Rolling Stone, and heads the local rock band Crossing Guards. In the past decade, Martin Devaney has shared the state with and impressive list of national acts, including Andrew Bird, Mason Jennings, The Jayhawks, Semisonic, Soul Asylum, Billy Bragg, Evan Dando, Mary Lou Lord, Robbie Fulks, Dan Bern, Ike Reilly, Damien Jurado, Rhett Miller, Mike Doughty, Mary Lou Lord, The Roots, Southern Culture on the Skids, and Richard Buckner.

"I think he might be the tallest DJ in town."  City Pages 12/07

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