Fargo Improving, Zombies Take Over

Downtown Fargo is about to be taken over by zombies. Luckily, Lucha Libre Recordings has musicians on hand to help ring in the apocalypse.

The festivities start in Island Park at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 10. Zombie enthusiasts and pub crawlers will meet at the gazebo to prepare for the downtown scare. Those undead 21 and older will then roam the earth in search of brains, bands and booze.

The crawl, which is based on the Minneapolis Zombie Pub Crawl, features nine downtown bars (offering zombie drink specials.) The last stop, the Aquarium, hosts Lucha Libre’s label release show starting at 10 p.m. ["Lucha libre” is the Spanish for “wrestling,” or “no-holds-barred struggle."]

Seven bands are scheduled to play including Manchester Buldge, OKFox and GhostHandPunch. These artists represent a cross-section of the 20 groups on the label.

Luche Libre co-founder, Andrew Johnson, said that the label represents mostly experimental, noise and electronic musicians. A few groups on the label, such as The Blue Fairy Godmothers and GhostHandPunch, are more pop-based, but still outside of the norm for the Fargo-Moorhead music scene.

The label, which was founded in 1999 by Johnson and friend Brady Daley, was started to promote noise music in East Grand Forks. Daley eventually moved to Seattle. After several years on hiatus, Johnson picked up the project, more seriously, in 2005 when he started performing with Manchester Buldge in Fargo.

“It didn’t seem possible to release ‘noisy stuff’ anywhere,” Johnson said. “I didn’t have big ambitions for it at first. It didn’t really start until me and Castle [Danz, formerly of Manchester Buldge] played a Painting Guild Benefit at the Moose Lodge. People thought it was cool and we started giving out [recordings.]”

Noise bands, like Manchester Buldge, use atypical instuments to create various sounds. Johnson plays scrap metal and electronics in the band and on his various solo projects.

“The type of stuff we put out on Lucha Libre is stuff that might not get put out otherwise,” he said.

Johnson tries to keep the focus of Lucha Libre local. Although they do feature one Duluth-based group, The Plum and the Messenger, the majority of the label’s artists are from Fargo-Moorhead. They are currently accepting submissions from interested artists for a 2008 compilation.

“Independent labels give music scenes a sense of community and help encourage musicians to get out and make music,” said Johnson.

The label release event celebrates new recordings from The Blue Fairy Godmothers, GhostHandPunch, 2 Player Guess What and Lava-Proof Boots. Doors open at 9:30. Zombies get in free; there’s a $3 cover for everyone else.

For a complete listing of Zombie Crawl stops, costume ideas and zombie links check out ZombieFargo.com.

If You Go

WHAT: Fargo Zombie Pub Crawl and Lucha Libre Label Release Show
WHERE: Kickoff @ Island Park Gazebo, stops @ various downtown bars, show @ The Aquarium
WHEN: Sat. May 10, Crawl, 2pm; Label Release Show, 10pm
HOW MUCH: Crawl: free; Show: zombies get in free, $3 for everyone else
WHO: 21+ID
INFO: (701) 235-5913