All about that Twinkie Jiggles

It’s OK, you can call him Twinkie Jiggles, Sean McPherson says. The bassist for Minneapolis hip-hop acts Dessa and Heiruspecs says he got the nickname while handing out Twinkies at baseball games in high school, and he wore a shirt that said jiggles on the back. He was the game’s DJ/emcee.

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He likes the name. So much so that he titled his own project after it: Twinkie Jiggles Broken Orchestra. A four-piece arrangement of the band, which will include vocalist Linnea Mohn of Rogue Valley, will perform at the HoDo Lounge this Thursday, Dec. 11.

We call it an “arrangement” because the Twinkie Jiggles Broken Orchestra’s debut record, “Too Big To Fail,” features a number of musicians, including talents like singer/songwriter Chastity Brown, keyboardist Devon Russell and drummer Joey Van Phillips.

While McPherson has been a creative force in the music of Heiruspecs and Dessa, Twinkie Jiggles Broken Orchestra is his first project where he is the sole lead composer and director.

“As a writer, it’s really different because I’m sort of controlling close to the whole of the project,” McPherson said. “Obviously when you are working with other musicians, you don’t want to take over from what they are contributing, but in this gig, it’s very much like, ‘Hey, here’s the music, here’s what is sort of expected.’”

This project is especially different for McPherson because the lyrics are not sung by a rapper, like in his other two projects. Instrumentally, the music has elements of hip-hop mixed with ‘70s-soul-inspired, Laurel Canyon-esque pop tunes.

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“So in my mind, I’m sort of like, if you like Dawes and you like Sharon Jones, and you don’t mind J-Dilla, or something more super rap, I hope this will work for you,” McPherson said.

Marketing his music has proved to be interesting, because McPherson typically uses Dessa or Heiruspecs shows as a place to handout flyers. “A lot of times people are just like, ‘Whaa – what are you doing? … Are you Dessa?’” he said, laughing.

“You have to really make that leap of faith here. Man, I really like Drive-By Truckers, but if Drive-By Truckers’ bassists came, would I be like, ‘Oh, the bassist for Drive-By Truckers!’? I get that.”

In any case, McPherson, as a well-tuned, well-versed and well-weathered musician, certainly had something in him to write an entire record – a record with appealing hooks, hip instrumental schemes and relatable lyrics – outside of the music he already helps write for his other groups.

“Because for so long I’ve been sort of an armchair critic, where I’ve been like, ‘Oh if I put out some solo shit, it would be better. If I put out some solo shit, that would be really good,’” he said. “But’s it’s just kind of like, to join the conversation, you have to put out releases and get them critiqued, and get better and get stronger. So in my mind I’m just like, now I’m in the conversation. I have a record.”

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Those interested can listen to the entire “Too Big To Fail” LP by visiting Twinkiejiggles.bandcamp.com. Also a new Twinkie Jiggles demo is available here: https://soundcloud.com/twinkiejiggles/achilles-demo.

Sidenote: Sean McPherson also co-owns and writes trivia questions for Trivia Mafia, the most popular bar trivia company in Minnesota. Our own Fargo Brewing Company hosts Trivia Mafia every Wednesday at 7 p.m.

IF YOU GO:

Twinkie Jiggles Broken Orchestra

Thurs, Dec. 11, 8 p.m.

HoDo Lounge, 101 Broadway

No cover, 21+