PAUL FONFARA (Painted Saints)

Paul Fonfara is a man awash in image and sound as the writer, guitarist and clarinetist behind Painted Saints. A transplant to Minneapolis from Denver, where Fonfara cut his teeth playing in the original lineup of DeVotchKa, then moved on to record and tour internationally with bands like 16 Horsepower/Woven Hand, and with Jim White on David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label.

When Fonfara settled in Minneapolis, his well-honed and exploratory talents were immediately recognized as he became a member of local favorites Spaghetti Western String Co., balancing the precision and delicacy of that band with the raucous playfulness of the Brass Messengers, and the odd cinematic twists of Dreamland Faces.