The Cass County Uglies

An English major (Dan Nygard), a warehouse worker (Ryan Haugland) a merry fellow (Leif Nygard), and a Lou Ferrigno lookalike (Ben Arends) decided to settle down in Fargo and…a new group was born.

The baby, called The Cass County Uglies, is now almost one year old, and anyone who wants to wish the newborn a “happy birthday” can do so at their first CD release party at The Aquarium this Saturday night.

Dan, Leif and Ben have been hanging out together since high school, where their differences from other kids united them together. The things that interested their classmates seemed boring and meaningless to the young musicians.

“We were not into snowmobiles or bikes. We felt different,” Ben explained.

They all regarded that as a positive thing. Together, they composed music, sang, played guitars, and made records, calling themselves The Krebscouts. “We always felt a little isolated,” Dan added, “but we liked it.”

Even though they were very tight as a band, they had to say goodbye to each other, goodbye to their fellow Krebscouts. None of them knew whether they would meet again or not, but everyone was sure
that they would continue making music. Dan went to the army in Germany. Ben jumped around to different places, settling for some time in Minneapolis, later exploring life in Chicago, and finally realizing that his hometown, Fargo, fit him best.

During that time after high school, the three friends changed a lot. Their interests were not as similar as before, and everyone in the group was occupied with something apart from music.

Dan graduated from college with a degree in English. In addition to writing music, he came to enjoy writing poems and essays. Now, he attends graduate school at MSUM, working on a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing. His passion for poetry has helped him create original lyrics for their debut album. As a writer, he tells a story in every song that he writes, which makes his songs sound like narratives.

His brother Leif is temporarily out of work, but he tries to make every moment of his life count and does a lot to make it fun. He especially enjoys spending time sipping beer in bars and restaurants. He played in several bands before The Cass County Uglies.

“I’ve been in a lot of bands after The Krebscouts split. I can’t keep track of it,” Leif explained. His freelance lifestyle did not prevent him from becoming a bass player who also does “some shouting” in the new band. One of Leif’s old bands, Pretty Boy Thornson, is coming from Minneapolis on Saturday to play with The Cass County Uglies, bringing with them a crowd of fans.

Ben, the most moderate member of this crazy band, is a warehouse worker. He wanted to major in biology at MSUM but lost interest after some time. Similar to the other group members, he never quit practicing music, mastering his skills as a guitarist.

Ryan is a new member in the group. “It was really hard for us to find a good drummer,” Dan said. However, they eventually met Ryan, who turned out to be “pretty good.”
Ryan was born in Grand Forks and he had been in many different bands before he moved to Fargo four years ago. That is when he met Dan. Together they played in a band called Sub Rosa. In addition to his main job in a warehouse, Ryan does graphic design work on the side, including creating flyers for other bands’ shows.

Now, Ryan is an irreplaceable part of The Cass County Uglies. He also designed the CD artwork for their album. “I think he is one of the best drummers in town,” Dan said with admiration.
When Ben, Ryan, Leif and Dan met again after many years of separation, they thought: “Why not give it a shot?” That’s how The Cass County Uglies were formed. “It was very natural,” Ben said.
Being so different does not prevent them from getting along. “I thought it would be much worse,” Dan said.

Fortunately, they grew up past the age when group members constantly fight with each other. In their thirties they know how to solve conflicts and remain a tight band. “As we became older, we learned to take care of each other, to get over things together,” Leif explained.

With each member so different from the others, they chose a name that united all of them. Before moving away, they lived in Clay County. Dan is from Sabin, a city in Minnesota with a population of only 420 people. Leif came from Georgetown where he was one of the 100 inhabitants at that time. They wanted to reflect their origin in the name of their new band. Dan and Leif recognized the fact that Fargo has always had many excellent local bands. “It is a way of respecting that,” Dan said.

But the band decided that Clay County doesn’t sound as good as Cass County; thus, their name jumped across the Red River. The “uglies” part of the name comes from reminiscences of high school when kids smoke, drink and do all kinds of other ugly things. Undoubtedly, they wanted to denote that they have been together throughout their school years. And they found a way to express that in the word “uglies.”

Reuniting does not mean that their music and way of playing hasn’t changed. “I want to think that we became better,” Dan said. These days they play bar music, which basically means fast-paced rock ‘n’ roll. “It turned out to sound pretty good,” Leif said. Mostly, they play about once a month at two local bars: The Aquarium and Rascals,

The idea to record an album was a logical extension of their work and a desire for the band’s development. “The record we made is pretty honest,” Dan said, “It sounds the way we sound.” The self-titled debut album is 30 minutes long and includes ten songs. It is available for purchase online or during the upcoming concert at The Aquarium.

Surprisingly, none of the band members considered majoring in music. They all had some prejudices against music majors. “It takes away from creativity,” suggested Ben.
“Music majors play a certain type of music,” Dan clarified. “We did not want to sound like them.” Earlier in his maturation as a musician, he was certain that music majors are all perfectionists, and he definitely did not want to become a perfectionist because he felt this could have eliminated the originality of his music.

However, as time passed, Dan changed his mind. “If I had a chance to do it over again, I might have [majored in music],” Dan said with a smile.
There is one thing that is never too late to do: give an advice to a younger generation. “Keep playing. Do not quit,” Dan encouraged. “And don’t have kids,” Ben added, laughing. Dan disagrees. He is excited to become a father in March.

There are many local bands in Fargo, and like any collaborative offspring, each is different and unique. The Cass County Uglies have their own special DNA, which Dan managed to pinpoint in this one sentence: “Ryan’s drumming combined with Leif’s bass is what people should watch when they come to our shows.”

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