June 21st, 2017
Pursuing a hobby, much less a career in music is more difficult than just picking up an instrument. Though the passion may be there, the cost of equipment and lessons can be prohibitive.
Of course this is something that Fargo-Moorhead rock star Nathan ‘Natanic’ Pehler, of Brutalur among other projects, realized and has decided to do something about with his Make a Riff Foundation.
Pehler, who currently resides in Moorhead, obviously took some inspiration for the name of his new…
June 21st, 2017
Every so often in rock and roll history, a new act comes to sonically and aesthetically shock and stimulate us. Ghost is one of those acts. The band consists of five “anonymous ghouls” wearing well-tailored black costumes and expressionless gargoyle-like silver masks. Last Saturday the Swedish metal band Ghost made their Fargo debut at the Fargo Civic Center with Egypt--Fargo’s favorite rock n’ rollers.
Though their masks were expressionless, their energy was electric as they…
June 14th, 2017
Michael Beatrez is no stranger to the Fargo music scene. For the past few years, his bands Bear North and Sound made a name for themselves with the local college audience. Now, Beatrez has something new to offer. This is The Weeping Covenant.
I had a chance to ask Beatrez some questions about the new project in anticipation of their debut album You’re All I Need being released this weekend.
High Plains Reader: You have been in other bands in town before. How did The Weeping Covenant…
June 14th, 2017
Everclear anniversary tour: from Portland to Moorhead to Honolulu
By Sabrina Hornung and Tom Bixby
It’s been 20 years since Everclear released their greatest album, the classic So Much for the Afterglow. It had a huge impact and has influenced many bands and more than one generation of musicians. We recently had a relaxed conversation with Everclear’s frontman Art Alexakis.
High Plains Reader: Have you started your tour yet?
Art Alexakis: The 11th is the first show, in Portland, Oregon.…
June 14th, 2017
An anonymous ghoul on metal anonymity and Satan
The band Ghost gained notoriety for their highly visual theatrical nature, satanic lyrics and imagery, as well as a mysterious presence in which the band members remain masked and anonymous. All but Papa Emeritus, the lead ghoul on vocals leading his congregation as a skeletal “anti-pope” adorned with mitre-inverted crosses and all.
The High Plains Reader recently had the opportunity to chat with an anonymous ghoul from the Swedish metal…
June 7th, 2017
Surfer Blood’s 4th album, now with backup vocals
“I was making fun of Tyler our drummer for having a really goofy surfer backpack with a little pouch for his surf wax and stuff like that. He told me I wouldn’t understand because I didn’t have surfer blood.” says Surfer Blood frontman John Paul Pitts, on how the band got its name.
Pitts surfs occasionally but insists that his passion for surfing isn’t as deep as that of half of his band.
Though Surfer Blood may have their hands…
June 7th, 2017
BJ Barham on Rockingham and the decline of the American dream
Photo by Jillian Clark
BJ Barham is a busy guy. He plays around 250 shows a year with his band American Aquarium, but he says this solo tour is his most ambitious venture yet.
“53 shows in 59 days. At least one show in all 48 states plus DC so it’s a crash course on America. It’s pretty much a stay a day.” he said. His native North Carolina, Texas, and California are the only states with multiple shows, the latter two…
June 1st, 2017
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Wild Hands, is a Minot-based bluegrass-Americana band with strong North Dakota roots. Their sound is rootsy with compellingly honest lyrics, that praises and hails the plains of North Dakota. The lyrics and instrumentation are as breezy and whimsical as the album artwork created by lead singer/guitarist Max Patzner.
Currently the three-piece is in the midst of a crowdfunding campaign designed to fund their most ambitious project yet. They plan on releasing three 10-inch records on three…
May 31st, 2017
Tigers Jaw can do no wrong. Guitarist/vocalist Ben Walsh and keyboardist/vocalist Brianna Collins have been making a huge impact in the underground music scene since 2006.
In 2008 they released a self-titled album that became the soundtrack for indie and punk kids everywhere. I thought there was no way they could ever top an album that good. In 2010 they released Two Worlds, that failed to recapture the magic of their previous album, but it was still a better record than most bands can…
May 31st, 2017
HPR chats with a legend
With a jazz career spanning nearly 70 years and a 91st birthday coming up in August, Tony Bennett is a true renaissance man. In that time he’s made a name for himself in the art world and has also gained notoriety for his humanitarian efforts.
The man himself took a moment to chat with the High Plains Reader about his early life and career, the MTV generation, and how he became friends with Frank Sinatra and Lady Gaga.
High Plains Reader: According to…
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Press release Celebrate Dinosaur Day on Thursday, Oct. 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum (612 E Boulevard Ave. in Bismarck). This free, family-friendly program is open to all ages. A…
By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu The Northwest Blade, from Eureka, South Dakota, published a wonderful story in August 2020. It’s called “Granddaughter keeps Grandmother’s precious chamomile seeds,” by Cindy…
Sunday, October 19, 10 a.m.Buffalo River State Park, 565 155th St. S., Glyndon, MNHosted by the Red River Valley Chapter of Herbalists Without Borders at Buffalo River State Park for a fun fall day full of flora. (Say that three…
By John Strandjas@hpr1.com Yes, we know, everywhere you look, the world situation is mental. It’s almost inescapable just how tenuous life’s circumstances are. And how they are mostly — pretty much entirely — out of our…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWill we be banging or whimpering at the end of the American empire?T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Hollow Men” accurately portrays the end of most empires in his first lines: “We are the hollow men/…
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 Gion and Nichole Hensenrickgion@gmail.com The wait is finally over. Those who have visited Nichole’s Fine Pastry & Cafe lately know about the recent major additions and renovations that have taken place over the past…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Dakotah Faye is a hip-hop artist from Minot, North Dakota, and he’s had a busy year. He’s released two albums. This summer he opened for Tech N9ne in Sturgis and will be opening for Bone…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com The multiple meanings of the title location in Mercedes Bryce Morgan’s “Bone Lake” cover the sex and death spectrum that will flummox Diego (Marco Pigossi) and Sage (Maddie Hasson) as…
By HPR staffsubmit@hpr1.com Mark the first weekend of October on your calendar. It’s the weekend of the Studio Crawl, which takes us all on a wonderful, metro-wide tour of our talented (and often wacky) arts community. On October…
Press release“Shakespeare with a sharpened edge.” To launch its 2025 – 2026 season, Theatre NDSU is thrilled to team up with Moorhead-based organization Theatre B to perform a co-production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and…
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…
Press Release As Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins, Essentia Health is highlighting an innovative — and recently expanded — program that brings early breast cancer detection services to rural communities. Essentia’s mobile…
By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…
By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.comMoral accountability and the crisis of leadership As a recovering person living one day at a time for the last 35 years, I have learned not to judge others because I have not walked in…
