October 25th, 2017
HPR interview: Omni bassist/vocalist/songwriter Philip Frobos
A city’s music scene is a mother of invention. With lots of bands working, recombinant bands form and sometimes great songwriting is the result. The best example I can think of right now is Omni of Atlanta. They’ve been described as “post-punk jitters, but cool,” but really they are indescribable.
HPR: Do you have any pre-tour rituals that you tend to stick to before you hit the road? I imagine there’s a lot to think…
October 18th, 2017
“Experiences like these are a reminder why I have chosen the right career path; it is my hope that the things I do on stage as a speaker or a singer are able to lift someone’s spirits, help them through a tough time, or serve as inspiration to move forward to the next level in their life,” said Mark J Lindquist.
“We were entertaining in a USO-style show at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan on Christmas Eve. There were a couple hundred off-duty troops in the crowd who had come…
October 4th, 2017
Carnage the Executioner on beatboxing, sampling and looping
HPR: How long have you been beatboxing?
Carnage: I studied boxing when I was somewhere between eight and ten years old. There was this one group back in the days called the Fatboys. There were three guys in the group and they were all big guys. They were produced by Kurtis Blow and they had a few hits around that time. There was a guy in the group that was bigger than the others. His name was Darren Robinson, rest in peace…
October 4th, 2017
In 1989 David Fricke subtitled a Rolling Stone article “Boston thrash band The Pixies debuts in the U.S. with 'Doolittle'.” It was kind of a joke, alluding to The Pixies having more success overseas -- but that’s not the interesting part.
Fricke used the word “thrash,” which had already been reserved for aggressive, fast-tempo metal bands like Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax five years earlier. “Thrash” can be defined as “to beat (a person or animal) repeatedly and…
October 4th, 2017
Husband and wife duo Whitehorse at the Aquarium
“The one thing you can control in this industry is how hard you work,” says two-time Juno award-nominated Canadian singer songwriter Luke Doucet.
At the age of 14 he set himself on an arduous schedule of guitar practice. He played in bands with his friends and then eventually playing in a band with his father, an accomplished jazz guitarist.
“Not everyone has to approach it as if they’re training to be in the Marines. That was the…
September 27th, 2017
During my time writing for the High Plains Reader I have had the opportunity to discover (and hopefully draw attention to) the fact that we have no shortage of musical talent in the area.
No matter the genre, there are some talented representatives of it somewhere in town. And of course, there’s bound to be some creative overlap between musicians as well as friends.
So perhaps it was something akin to fate, or at least happy coincidence, that led me to interview the Wicked Bees several…
September 27th, 2017
“You’re from Fargo so you must know Kipp G”
This was the first thing that rapper Benjamin Laub -- better known as Grieves -- said to me when we started this interview.
He has been to Fargo a handful of times over the last 10 years, a place that he says is very sentimental to him. “It was one of the first places I started going on tour,” he said.
He will make his next stop this Monday, October 2nd at The Aquarium supporting his awesome new record, “Running Wild.”
The first…
September 27th, 2017
In 2010, local hero Andrea Anderson and I went to the House of Blues in L.A. with a couple of friends. We were told we were seeing a “joke metal band.”
My most vivid memory of that night was being enraged at PBR being $10 per can; second to that was laughing my ass off in between bursts of this “joke” band nailing Van Halen, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest songs like they’d written the songs themselves.
My memory gets fuzzy after that. But I sort of remember two shirtless women…
September 20th, 2017
Fall is arriving, and that of course means that the new season of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra’s “Masterworks” series sponsored by Sanford Health is right around the corner.
In the last couple concert seasons they have performed some truly gala events, with many universally recognized and occasionally bombastic pieces, such as Orff’s “Carmina Burana” or Rossini’s “William Tell Overture,” that were bound to delight both newcomers and regular concertgoers.
This…
September 20th, 2017
When you disembark from the plane in Vegas, the first thing you encounter is slot machines.
The airport is a strange combination of a sh*tty casino and an overpriced mall. As you stand and wait for your $13 whopper you begin to notice the stream of outsiders filtering in -- every 15 minutes, a consistent flow of tourists from all around the globe, with dollars in their pockets, looking to make their fortune.
The next thing you notice is the oppressive, crushing weight of the heat. Being…
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By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.com The business of Indian Hating is a lucrative one. It’s historically been designed to dehumanize Native people so that it’s easier to take their land. ‘Kill the Indian, save the man,”…
By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.comThere’s not really a word for reconciliation, it's said in our language. There’s a word for making it right. To talk about reconciliation in terms of the relationship between Indigenous…
Thursday, December 5, 7-11:30 p.m.The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, 226 Broadway N., FargoLegendary post hardcore band Quicksand plays Fargo, with fellow New Yorkers Pilot to Gunner and local heroes Baltic to Boardwalk and Hevvy…
By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com Okay, so last month I promised you a woman President of the United States. So much for my predictability quotient. Lesson 1: Never promise something you can’t control. And nobody, not even…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWith What is Happening in the World, Why not Artificial Intelligence? Since Lucy fell out of a tree and walked about four million years ago, she has been evolving to humans we call Homo sapiens. We…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…
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By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Local band Zero Place has been making quite a name for itself locally and regionally in the last few years. Despite getting its start during a time it seemed the whole world was coming to…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Writer-director Nicole Riegel’s sophomore feature “Dandelion” is now playing in theaters following a world premiere at South by Southwest in March. The movie stars KiKi Layne as the…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIn 1974, the Jamestown Arts Center started as a small space above a downtown drugstore. It has grown to host multiple classrooms, a gallery, performance studio, ceramic studio and outdoor art park.…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…
Rynn WillgohsJanuary 25, 1972-October 8, 2024 Rynn Azerial Willgohs, age 52, of Vantaa, Finland, died by suicide on October 8, 2024. Rynn became her true-self March 31, 2020. She immediately became a vocal and involved activist…
By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com My name is Faye Seidler and I’m a suicide prevention advocate and a champion of hope. I think it is fair to say that we’ve been living through difficult times and it may be especially…
