The Bands
The Beatless
The Beatless
was an acoustic duo was active in the 1992-1993. Their tracks "Peasants of Guatemala Dietary Supplement Shake"
and "Travellin' Around" were recorded in 1992. The extra 'S' is for 'sex.'
Doc's Kids
Formed in 1995 at St Mary's College in Winona, they soon added drums and bass.
After departure of the Brian Zirngible, the rest of the band reformed as
Urban Rust, only to regroup later with a new drummer and no bassist.
*original line-up +current line-up
Lee Elmer & Friends
This was a loose jam group that included many different people over the years. Active appoximately 2002-2007,
although the core group palyed very informally long before.
They met on Thursdays at Gramma Bonnie's coffee house in Amery, WI. On occasion they would appear
at the Wild Card Steakhouse, the Amery Gospel Festival and other venues. This is
not an exhaustive list.
Great Uncle Helmer
Formed in 1992, Great Uncle Helmer was originally a piano-based group.
Memphis played, they both sang; Karl soon brought the harmonica. Mostly for practical
reasons (hard to trasport a piano), they evolved into a guitar based group. As Karl's
instrumental proficiency grew, and as whimsy struck, they added a number of other
instruments.
Great Uncle Helmer +
Scot, Dave and Karl combined to form this Supergroup back in the mid 90's. Thier first performance was an
ompromptu gig at the now defunct Paulina's in Northfield, MN, in the fall of 1994. Since then thay have reunited several times
for various events, most notably the 2004 New Year's gig at Dunn Bros. Coffee in Eden Prairie. They play a mix of
originals by all members peppered with carefully chosen covers. They are noted for their idosyncratic
recreations of
studio-centered recordings.
Innocents Abroad
This husband-wife collaboration was originally a one-off project to produce a
Garbage recording. However, the project turned into something much much more. They have put out one
self-titled recording under the name Kittenface.
Milk & Honey
Acoustic duo, active 1999-2003.
The Marksmen
A barberhsop quartet,active 1986-1989. Reunited for one song, 2004.
MKII
This duo takes its name from the 4-track they used to record their several
original songs.
New Roots of Suffering (a.k.a. Cobranana)
This duo was
active in 1993-1994. Toward the end of their time performing, they rechristianed themselves
"Cobranana," in an attempt to lift their otherwise unrelentingly sad aura.
No Parking Any Time
Originally got together for 4-H music contests. All band members were members of the Purple Circle
4-H club centered in and around the Wood River/Wood Lake/Alpha metro area. Two, maybe three performances.
- Greg Jorgensen - Lead Guitar/vocals
- Tim McKinley - drums/vocals
- John Pacyga - trumpetvocals
- Pete Sandberg - bass guitar/vocals
- Karl Wicklund - trombone/vocals
Room Service
This group, known by various other names was active in the late 80s through the mid 90s.
The recorded one album as The Teacozies, another as Eclipse.
The core line-up is listed below, but several other musicians sat in.
Scot Ninnemann/Kaptain Karl (unnamed collaboration)
Scot and Karl's big project was the rock opera
Dundas!. They have collaborated
on several smaller projects over the years, including a few
Garbages.
Shotgun Johnson and the Mississippi Seven
Formed in 2006, the Mississippi Seven play an engaging mix of old-time country, rock-a-billy
and originals. Frontman Shotgun Johnson has of late been plagued with bad luck, and in fact
missed numerous gigs in the past several years. The members are listed by their primary
instrument in the group, though there is a fair amount of trading off.