October 24th, 2018
by Jacques Harvieux
jacquesthejock@gmail.com
A few steps above Dempsey’s downtown Fargo is the place where locals go to pack themselves in like fish in a bowl. To swim about in an atmosphere, at least for as long as the show lasts, seems hedonistic in nature. Pleasured often by sounds that are a mix of new and old, exotic and local. You get your ticket to the left and get your drink to the right. The Aquarium floats above most, often including acts that are a mix of older prominent…
October 17th, 2018
We started our interview with JBOT, Captured! By Robots front man, captive and creator by playing a small bout of phone tag. You see, his internet went out and that sent his mind racing. Once we touched base, he said, “For a second I thought the whole world went out. Wouldn’t that be something? People would lose their damn minds.” Our conversation started out with thoughts of our own destruction which wound up being the perfect segue to our interview.
“That’s what my whole…
October 3rd, 2018
When asked what attracted Brandon Wald, noise musician and force behind the independent Fargo based record label Black Ring Rituals, to noise music, he said, “That it’s different. When I first heard noise music it was the sound I had been trying to find my whole life but couldn’t find.” He went on to say, “ I like the sonic extremism that it brings, the harshness, the inaccessibility...it makes me like it more. The more uncomfortable it makes me the more I like it.”
Why…
October 1st, 2018
It wasn’t until about three questions into this interview that I realized I was talking to the wrong person. Swingin’ Utters singer Johnny “Peebucks” Bonnel was kindly answering a question about New Jersey or something when I realized he wasn’t one of the dudes from the Bouncing Souls. I quickly checked the email from the Fat Wreck Chords publicist and sure enough. I didn’t just misread the band’s name in the email, I’ve been conflating the Bouncing Souls and the…
September 26th, 2018
Fall has come around again, which of course means the beginning of a new season of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra’s ‘Masterworks’ series sponsored by Sanford Health. These concerts bring in a large number of listeners both old and new and never cease to amaze, and this season is gearing up to be no different in that sense. However, this year’s concert season does not have a particular theme, according to executive director Linda Boyd, “Other than emphasizing that…
September 19th, 2018
After a long hiatus members of Teenage Lobotomy reunited for the first time in 22 years at Center Fest in Robinson North Dakota this summer. With influences such as Husker Du and the Circle Jerks their high energy immediately had the crowd’s attention. Now they’re bringing that sound and energy to the Sidestreet this Friday. We had a chance to catch up with guitarist Jim Kennedy on the history and the future of the band.
High Plains Reader: How Long since Teenage Lobotomy last…
September 5th, 2018
It’s only been a little more than a month since former Jamestown/Fargo/Minneapolis musician Jon Wayne uprooted his wife and life and boarded a plane to move to Thailand. At what some might call the pinnacle of his career, touring over 200 dates a year throughout the United States and sharing stages with some of his scene’s most established artists, he made the unexpected decision to take a bit of a break from the madness that is the road and focus a bit more on family, relaxation,…
August 21st, 2018
Last time we chatted with Trampled by Turtles frontman Dave Simonett, he was on a hiatus from the band and working on a different more personal project with Old Man Winter. Now, a year later, Trampled is back together and they’ve released their first studio album in four years. We had the opportunity to catch up with him and chat about the band reuniting and a fresh perspective on touring.
High Plains Reader: So what got everybody back together?
Dave Simonett: Oh I don’t know, it was…
August 15th, 2018
Woodstock: even people who were born years after the original three-day music festival recognize the name. The event, which took place between August 15th and 18th at Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in southern New York and attracted over 400,000 attendees, featured the most famous musical talents of the day and was a pivotal event not just in the history of popular music but the American counterculture as well.
The summer of 2019 will mark the 50th anniversary of the legendary music…
August 15th, 2018
By Travis Hopkins
trav.hopkins@yahoo.com
Every musician remembers the bands and artists that lit their fire, igniting the spark for their love of music. It’s a love like no other, one that molds a lifestyle, fuels a dream and takes you on a journey. No matter who you are or what kind of music it was, it changed your life. To many Warrant is one of those bands. They came from an era of music that exuded fun, flash and excitement with loud guitars and catchy hooks. Their music videos…