89.3 The Current and The Onion presents A Tribute To The Replacements
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Let It Be and the paperback release of "The Replacements: All Over But The Shouting" A Benefit for the Twin Cities Music Community Trust In The Mainroom featuring The Let It Be House Band featuring Ryan Smith (The Melismatics), Terry Eason, Pony-Hixon Smith (The Melismatics), Peter Leggett (Heiruspecs, Big Trouble), dVRG (Heiruspecs) and Jake Hyer With vocals by Kraig Jarret Johnson, Ed Ackerson, Adam Levy (The Honeydogs), Josh Grier (Tapes 'n Tapes), Curtiss A, Jason Miller (The Evening Rig), Dale T. Nelson (Otto's Chemical Lounge), Sarah Nienaber (Gospel Gossip), Arzu (Staraoke), Caroline Smith (Caroline Smith & The Good Night Sleeps), Jim Walsh, David Campbell and special guests. Lookbook with Brutal Becomings Story of The Sea with David Campbell The Idle Hands Gospel Gossip High On Stress and more... In The Entry featuring Jeremy Messersmith Jennifer Markey Martin Devaney Ashleigh Still Stook! The Bottom Forty The Tisdales Patches and Gretchen The Hard Left Erik Koskinen & Molly Maher & Her Disbelievers Brianna Lane Sons of Gloria Eliza Blue St Dominic's Trio John Swardson and more...
The Replacements' last album for Twin/Tone before signing with Sire, 1984's LET IT BE is widely hailed as not just one of the group's career best, but also as an across the boards alt-rock masterpiece. It is anchored by the all-time 'Mats' classics “I Will Dare,” “Androgynous,” “Sixteen Blue,” “Unsatisfied” and “Answering Machine,” and definitive performances throughout by the band's legendary founding line-up: lead singer/songwriter and guitarist Paul Westerberg, Chris Mars (drums) and brothers Bob and Tommy Stinson (guitar and bass, respectively).
“...the wonderfully open-souled LET IT BE is their masterpiece.” - Spin Magazine
“This is a brilliant rock & roll album: as loose as it is deliberate, as pretty as it is hard rocking and as pissed off at all the right things...as it is hilarious...” - Rolling Stone
LOOKBOOK
Lookbook was formed in mid-2008 by Maggie Morrison (Digitata) and Grant Cutler (Passions, Tomhanks) in Minneapolis. Combining Cutler’s sparkling, synth-laden sounds and sparse guitar with Morrison’s Pat Benatar-meets-Chrissie Hynde vocals, the band garnered rave reviews and an energetic following for a sound that’s at once familiar and unique.
STORY OF THE SEA
Bandmates since childhood, Singer/Guitarist/Frontman Adam Prince and kid brother/drummer Ian Prince grew up in a musical family in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A grown-up move to the Twin Cities and various stints in well-known local bands (Manplanet and Houston) eventually led them back to what they know best: each other. They began Story of the Sea as a guitar and drums two-piece, initially noted for Ian’s famous airtight skills on the kit. The brothers then added stand-out bass talent John McEwen from Align to record their first LP.
DAVID CAMPBELL
David Campbell is host of "Radio Free Current," Saturdays 7-11 p.m. and "The Local Show," Sundays 6-8 p.m. Campbell is a long-time veteran of the Twin Cities scene. A fan, musician, record store clerk, record label staffer, and a 10-year staffer of KQRS and Drive 105's "Homegrown," Campbell's love for Minnesota music makes him a perfect fit for The Current.
GOSPEL GOSSIP
“Gospel Gossip finds the common thread you never knew existed running through the emotional and aesthetic core of groups like Orange Juice, the Talking Heads, the Go Betweens and Black Tambourine. They distill the aching naiveté and expert songcraft of those artists, wrap it in dreamy reverb and bonecrushing distortion, and present the listener with one of the most emotionally resonant, unique, and infinitely-repeatable listening experiences in recent memory.
HIGH ON STRESS
High on Stress is a 4-piece band that has received excellent notices and airplay in not only their hometown of Minneapolis MN, but across the nation and from as far away as the UK, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The band has weathered enough personnel changes, geographic obstacles and wardrobe malfunctions to have killed a less recalcitrant band. Reviewers have favorably compared the band’s “almost alt.country” sound to REM, the Replacements, Wilco, and Josh Rouse among others. Their third and latest album, Living is a Dying Art, is due out in fall 2011.
THE IDLE HANDS
Hailing from the Midwest by way of Ireland, brothers Ciaran and Criostoir came to Minneapolis, a city they describe as "Dr. Zhivago with bands," to make glam/Brit-pop-influenced indie rock that takes a tongue-in-cheek look at Williamsburg hipster excess and the melancholy of the brokenhearted. With influences like Pulp and the Dandy Warhols, the Idle Hands have a sound that combines the stylish weariness of Brit-pop with the yearning of Midwestern heartland rock.
JEREMY MESSERSMITH
To call Jeremy Messersmith a musician is half-truth: He’s also a storyteller, who has carefully crafted a trilogy of songs that narrate life. His first full-length release The Alcatraz Kid is a moving collection of acoustic-driven lullabies with titles like “Novocain” and “Beautiful Children” that innocently question the purpose of things to come. The integrity of these delicate songs immediately struck a cord with critics and fans alike, and captured the attention of Semisonic’s Dan Wilson, who offered to produce Messersmith’s follow-up album, The Silver City.
ASHLEIGH STILL
I’ve taken to introducing Ashleigh Still as “the Eva Cassidy of Woodbury,” because her soul – even more so than her stunning voice – recalls the late great D.C.-area thrush’s depth of feeling. Which is to say that Ashleigh sings from a deep place informed by her hardscrabble experience as a gospel-trained, church-raised single mother of two whose fashion photos could grace the cover of either “Bust” or “Glamour.” (When asked how she knows so much about men, she recently said, “I don’t! It’s all imagination…”)
MARTIN DEVANEY
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.
PATCHES AND GRETCHEN
Part train wreck, part artistic genius, Patches & Gretchen is a performative force that must be seen to be believed. Whether she's haphazardly digging through a suitcase of outrageous hats, swaggering her way through a line of forgotten lyrics, or singing deeply and passionately with a throaty moan, singer Gretchen Seichrist seems—almost accidentally—to channel the spirit and irreverence of so many late '60s and early '70s rock icons.
THE HARD LEFT
"The Hard Left hail from Minneapolis, and they have the garage power-pop sound the area is known for (i.e., The Mats). This release is an 8-track mini-CD thats all killer, no filler with the top tracks being "Lover Girl", "Who Shes Gonna Turn To" and "Take It Out On Me"....If Steven Van Zandt isnt featuring these guys on his Underground Garage, its probably because he hasnt heard them yet." Absolute Powerpop
BRIANNA LANE
Brianna Lane is a gifted singer/songwriter in true Americana form. She writes and performs on an acoustic guitar as well as a banjo, crafting songs that are clear-eyed and pure—with an integrity derived from her gritty, unflinching emotional honesty. Long time music-writer/author/rock-journalist Jim Walsh recently wrote that Brianna Lane is “…a star in the making. She’s poised, ambitious, a great writer, a soul singer of the first order, and an accomplished guitarist.” (Star Tribune)
ST DOMINIC'S TRIO
Since forming in 2002, St Dominic’s Trio has performed hundreds of shows, telling nearly half a dozen jokes in the process. The band has a weekly gig at Nye's in Minneapolis on Tuesday nights, and several people have noticed that drummer Dave Haugen looks a bit like Gary Busey, and they confess that it's a big reason why they keep coming back. An offshoot of the Minneapolis Van Morrison cover band The Belfast Cowboys , St Dominic's Trio's CD Switch features the full horn section of Belfast Cowboys, and was produced by Rich Mattson.
BRIANNA LANE
Brianna Lane is a gifted singer/songwriter in true Americana form. She writes and performs on an acoustic guitar as well as a banjo, crafting songs that are clear-eyed and pure—with an integrity derived from her gritty, unflinching emotional honesty. Long time music-writer/author/rock-journalist Jim Walsh recently wrote that Brianna Lane is “…a star in the making. She’s poised, ambitious, a great writer, a soul singer of the first order, and an accomplished guitarist.” (Star Tribune)
JENNIFER MARKEY
Jennifer has been singing all her life, but when the hardship of a failed marriage drove her to the Hexagon Bar every week for the Country Jam, she really found her niche. Learning a hundred classic country covers by Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Hank Williams, among others, Jennifer learned guitar and started sitting in with The Dieselfitters (Clay Williams, Richard Gunderson and Steve Everett), becoming comfortable on stage and eventually joining the band.
JOHN SWARDSON
The guy and his guitar (and sometimes his backing band) has been done to death, but every so often something new comes along and demands that people take notice. John Swardson and Get Gone are the latest band in this vein to rear their bearded, denim-jacketed selves, and have quietly started garnering accolades. Swardson and company have played only a handful of live shows in the past couple of years due to multiple lineup changes, but this stellar dream of a triple bill should finally start the ball rolling the right direction.
LET IT BE House Band
Featuring Ryan Smith (The Melismatics), Terry Eason, Pony-Hixon Smith (The Melismatics), Peter Leggett (Heiruspecs, Big Trouble), dVRG (Heiruspecs) and Jake Hyer with vocals by Adam Levy (The Honeydogs), Curtiss A, Jason Miller (The Evening Rig), Sarah Nienaber (Gospel Gossip) and special guests.
