Bruce Springsteen & Jane Fonda join "No Kings" rally in St. Paul

Bruce Springsteen led the chants of "ICE out now!" during his performance of  "Streets of Minneapolis" in St. Paul, MN. 

Surfin' The Great Lakes comp of 60s Kay Bank Studio gems out on CD

Sundazed's CD version of their Surfin' The Great Lakes comp adds six rare bonus tracks from the Kay Bank Studio tape vault. 

 

Here's the scoop...

Surfin' The Great Lakes is a compilation of unreleased & rare tracks from the Twin Cities’ Kay Bank Studios featuring 22 rip snortin’ cuts – only 16 tracks on the out-of-print vinyl version – of the best surf and garage rock Kay Bank had to offer. Features The Trashmen, The Vaqueros, and more! Includes liner notes by John Blair who put together the Illustrated Discography Of Surf Music. 

Kay Bank Recordings in Minneapolis was certainly one of these historic studios. It was named after the wife of owner Vernon Bank. Although he had been involved in the recording business since the late 1940s, Bank’s recording studio operation got underway in 1957 when he moved into a building that was large enough to also establish a pressing plant. The studio provided a 3-track Ampex recorder, a 12-input recording console, and a live echo chamber.

According to a 1958 article in the Minneapolis Star newspaper, Kay Bank was pressing 60,000 records each week, and Vernon Bank claimed that his studio provided the most complete facility of any other studio “between Pennsylvania and California.” The sign above the building’s entrance stated, “A Complete Recording Service From Master Tape to Pressed Record.”

Sundazed Music recently acquired a large archive of the existing Kay Bank master tapes. Some of the surf, and related, recordings in that archive are included in this compilation, all recorded between June 1964 and August 1966- at a time when the British Invasion was ravaging the sales charts.

Get a CD copy of Surfin' The Great Lakes directly from Sundazed Records right here. 

Various Artists – Surfin' The Great Lakes

Jonah - The Vaqueros • Heaven’s Devil - The Boss Tweads • Caliente - The Marauders • Island In The Sun - The Vaqueros • Shot In The Dark - The Mustangs • Disintegration - The Readymen • Comin’ Home Baby - The Vaqueros • Girl Don’t Tell Me - The Satisfactions • 80 Foot Wave - The Vaqueros • Za Boo - The Valients • Bird Gasp ‘65 - The Trashmen • Surfin’ Blues - The Readymen • The Furys - Little Queenie (instrumental version) • Space Journey Ranger 7 - The Vaqueros • Surf Beat - The Chancellors • Greensleeves - The Trashmen • Wine Wine Wine (instrumental version) - The Bleach Boys* • Baba Yaga (instrumental version) - The Pagans* • Beach Girl - The Valients* • Hey Little One (instrumental version) - The Shandells* • Shortnin’ Bread (instrumental version) - The Readymen* • Lizzy Lost Her Beach Ball - T Lawrence Sherwood Greens*

*CD ONLY

Ex-Replacements manager Peter Jesperson pens memoir Euphoric Recall

Twin/Tone label co-founder Peter Jesperson recounts 50 years worth of music biz tales in his new book Euphoric Recall out today.    

Here's the scoop...

Record executive, producer, band manager, club DJ, booking advisor, record store manager--few people had as deep an impact on the Twin Cities alternative and indie rock scene as Peter Jesperson.

A passionate music fan since his early childhood, Jesperson found his way into Minneapolis's burgeoning music world of the 1970s and followed a path that put him at the center of the scene as it grew and blossomed. Beginning with his time working at the legendary Oar Folkjokeopus record store, Jesperson helped shape the tastes of local music fans and foster the Twin Cities as a destination for touring acts from around the globe. His tastemaker role continued while he worked as a DJ and booking assistant at Jay's Longhorn bar, the landmark venue that elevated the Twin Cities' reputation as a mecca for left-of-centre artists. 

In 1977, Jesperson, along with two partners, founded Twin/Tone Records, which over the next 20 years released more than 300 records, including by such groundbreaking artists as the Replacements, the Suburbs, Soul Asylum, Babes in Toyland, the Jayhawks, and many more. With Twin/Tone, Jesperson further solidified Minnesota's place on the map as a hotbed of musical creativity and a leader in the indie music world. Just three years after starting Twin/Tone, Jesperson made the discovery that changed his life, and the Minneapolis music world, forever: the Replacements. As A&R man and then full manager, he guided the development of this talented and out-of-control foursome, while taking a break to road-manage an upcoming sensation out of Athens, Georgia: R.E.M. But as his career was on the rise in the wild '80s, Jesperson began his own descent into substance abuse, until he overcame his demons and launched a second act in the industry.

In Euphoric Recall (published by Minnesota Historical Society Press), Jesperson speaks frankly about his struggle with drugs and alcohol, and how it nearly derailed his career and his life. Motivated by his love of music, Jesperson rallied to pick up where he left off with Twin/Tone and the Replacements before heading west to begin the next phase of his career in Los Angeles. While working alongside such noteworthy artists as Dwight Yoakam, Kris Kristofferson and Vic Chesnutt, Jesperson experienced firsthand the dramatic changes in the music industry of the 1990s. Through it all, he has retained his passion for the industry and the art, and now, after a half-century in the music business, Jesperson shares his insights, anecdotes, and lessons from his unique vantage point.

If you can't find a copy of Peter Jesperson's Euphoric Recall at your local book store, you can get it from  Amazon right here. 

Watch WCCO-TV's A.J. Hilton chat with Peter Jesperson at Minneapolis record store Electric Fetus (which, he discovers on camera, has no Replacements records in stock) followed by a zoom chat involving Tommy Stinson. 

Vaqueros' Twin-City surf rock rippers compiled on 80 Foot Wave

Led by guitarist Terry Schmidt, The Vaqueros recorded a few surf gems at the legendary Kay Bank Studios in Minneapolis.   

Here's the scoop from Sundazed HQ:

A tidal wave of Minny-beat garage from all incarnations of the carnivorous Vaqueros! Like Twin City neapolitan ice cream, surf instros, Linda Anderson vocal surf-rock cuts, and John Grizzard's grizzly garage cuts add three splendid flavors all in one sonic carton! On turquoise vinyl!

Whether it was the blistering surf guitar licks of Terry Schmidt on “80 Foot Wave” & “Jonah,” Linda Anderson doing her over-caffeinated Wanda Jackson on “Baby Baby,” or John Grizzard’s gritty, Sonics-esque sound, this band was something special! We’re just glad they never changed their name so we could group the vast variety of gems the Vaqueros cranked out all onto one fantastic, largely unissued album!

Along with Minneapolis greats Gypsy, the Litter, Jokers Wild and many more, the Vaqueros recorded at Kay Bank Studios, a relatively short-lived studio that produced some of the best hits of the 60s. “Liar, Liar” by the Castaways was recorded there, along with the Trashmen’s famed “Surfin’ Bird.” The Vaqueros, though landlocked, produced some of the best surf music during that era, and along with a smattering of upbeat garage rock, it’s surely a record you won’t want to miss. 

INCLUDES: 80 Foot Wave • Birds and The Bees • Space Journey Ranger 7 • Baby, Baby • Moonlight • Island In Paradise • Soft Summer Rain • Jonah • Comin’ Home, Baby • Growing Pains • 69 • Don’t You Dare • Mustang Sally

Check out clips for "Space Journey Ranger 7," "Baby, Baby" and "80 Foot Wave" below. Get a copy of The Vaqueros collection right here. 

90s Nostalgia: Cows @ Lee's Palace, 1995

Shannon Selberg and his Minneapolis noise-rock crew Cows brought the AmRep sound to Lee's Palace on April 18, 1995. 

The Jayhawks, Harrow Fair @ The Horseshoe, Wednesday & Thursday

Here are a few clips of Gary Louris and his iconic Minneapolis alt-country crew The Jayhawks in action over the years... and a little Golden Smog.  

The Jayhawks on the road
NOV 21 - Horseshoe Tavern - Toronto, Canada w/ Harrow Fair
NOV 22 - Town Ballroom - Buffalo, NY w/ Harrow Fair
NOV 23 - Music Box Supper Club - Cleveland, OH w/ Harrow Fair
NOV 24 - The Magic Bag - Ferndale, MI w/ Harrow Fair
DEC 21 - Palace Theatre - Saint Paul, MN
MAR 5 -  Center for the Arts of Homer - Homer, NY
MAR 6 & 7 - Brooklyn Bowl - New York, NY
MAR 8 - Academy Of Music Theatre - Northampton, MA
APR 16 - Englert Theatre - Iowa City, IA
APR 17 - Turner Hall Ballroom - Milwaukee, WI
MAY 6 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX
MAY 7 - Sam's Burger Joint - San Antonio, TX
MAY 8 & 9 - 3TEN ACL Live - Austin, TX
JUNE 18 - Neptune Theatre - Seattle, WA
JUNE 20 & 21 - The Chapel - San Francisco, CA

The Pines @ The Garrison, October 25

Bo Ramsey's sons Benson & Alex play a rare T.O. show to preview songs from the new Pines album.