Harmony in Cosmology
FM-based jam band WBPN has won 10KLF’s regional Cosmic Break contest every year since 2006, with this year being the only exception. Did they try to fail this year? Did they slack off and drop the ball, losing the interest of their fan-base? On the contrary, they opted not to compete in this year’s competition, for their spot at 10KLF was already ensured.
The group has gained so much momentum that they were asked to perform at the festival without having to prove their worth. This came as a relief to the WBPN boys (Aaron Peterson, guitar; Brant Niemi, bass; Steve Wallevand, keys/trombone; Chris Bala, drums) for a number of reasons.
They discussed in a previous HPR article their distaste for competition, explaining that it detracts from the music’s meaning and raises tension within the musical community. Guitarist Aaron Peterson said, “You kind of feel like a bully or something,” having to compete against friends.
“10K pretty much makes the whole year for us,” he said. “I mean, it’s what we wait for. We’d be there regardless, playing or not. So, to be able to go there and have that experience of just being in the festival environment, and then getting to play on top of that…The only thing that could possibly make it better is if they gave us a golf cart.”
“After we had been invited to a couple festivals and things like that, the novelty never wears off. It’s always special,” he said. “But I realized once you get there, if you have a golf cart, then you’re somebody. So, to anyone who reads this quote, I need a golf cart.”
When they’re not at 10KLF or dreaming of battery-powered vehicles, WBPN are perpetually practicing and performing throughout the the Midwest. Just this weekend they opened for God Johnson at the Cabooze in Minneapolis, one of the city’s premiere venues for jam bands. HPR got to tag along, joining in on the rock ‘n roll adventure.
We began by loading up equipment from their practice space at an undisclosed location. In this building there is a questionable stairway leading to a doorless wall. This architectural anomaly carried with it tones of a Poe short story. Whether or not there were dark secrets behind that wall didn’t matter. The building nurtured their creativity, and was therefore a utopia.
Once the gear was loaded up, we hit the road in WBPN’s quintessential band van. Suspicious sounds emanated from the van like the crinkling hull of a WWI submarine that had descended too deep, and it seemed to be a miracle every time the ignition flared. But perhaps the notion of a band van miracle is not that farfetched.
Keyboardist/trombonist Steve Wallevand explained that they often refer to the van as a gift from God. “Brant [Niemi (bass)] saw this ad in the paper for this church van, and they just gave it to Brant for free,” he said. “I guess they probably just wanted to get rid of it, but I’m thinking maybe they just wanted to help us. We always say God gave the van to Brant…” They even call the van JP; short for Pope John Paul II, for of the circumstances under which it was acquired.
“One of the best parts of it [being in WBPN] are the van rides,” Steve continued. “The van’s kind of like a place of solitude where the best and the worst comes alive… mostly the best, but some of the worst.”
Now well acquainted with JP and all that it offers, we reached the Cabooze. The sound check went swimmingly, and WBPN began the show with the unwavering intensity they are known for. That is, until the head of Chris Bala’s bass drum broke.
As we sat in the van waiting for reinforcements to bring a replacement piece for the drum, an a cappella gibberish jam broke out from the belly of JP. These vocal shenanigans turned out to be one of the highlights of the evening, even meriting the title “Mouthjam 2008.”
WBPN then finished their set with fervor, fury, and the strength of ten bears. The entire audience was pregnant after that; man and woman alike.
Driving back home the next day, the conversation turned philosophical. Steve explained that music and existence were one and the same. When you looked at atoms and subatomic particles, nothing actually made any physical contact. There was nothing but energy and vibration, particles communicating with one another. “Music is no different,” he said. “The entire universe is just a symphony.”
If the universe is a symphony, then WBPN is in the midst of creating their own galaxy. They are now in the final stages of completing their first album. Kevin Sinclair, the saxophonist from Minneapolis-based God Johnson, is producing it. The release date has yet to be announced.
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