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Riot of Spring was a ton of fun! This weekend we saw some of the best up and coming live electronic acts in the Midwest. All the performances were off the hook! Friends of Friends, Deep Sea Summit, and Sovereign Sect started things off on Thursday night with a kick ass dance party - not to mention the skiing before hand which was incredible. I love warm weather skiing, and there's nothing better then sharing a beautiful day on the slopes with good friends, and ending the day rocking out to live music at a kick ass venue. Thanks to Jerry and his son for making everything sound good all weekend. Saturday was also a good day - minus a head injury and a trip to the hospital - but perseverance once again paid off and the show went on. Estate rocked our world with sound and video - Mike Moilanen through down the best DJ set of the weekend, and the Histronic followed it up with a classic Minneapolis dance party. Saturday was a great day too - skiing conditions were better than Friday, and the music kicked ass too. One of my favorite new local band - Apollo Cobra got everyone moving with their original sound - combining synth arp s, Wurlitzer electric piano, electric bass, drums, and of course tasty vocals. I got to take the stage next - DJ West Fox in the house!!! - Played some of my favorite tunes, meanwhile Steez was setting there stuff up. Once Steez took the stage the dance party really started. Our friends from Madison really know how to jam, and we always look forward to sharing the stage with them. Thanks to Papa Charlie's and Lutsen Mountains for putting us up, and treating us right. We are hoping to make this a yearly tradition, so stay tuned... We are going to add more diversity this coming year, so let us know what you want to see at Riot of Spring 2.
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NYE was an absolute blast. Histronic opened the night for DJ Freddy Fresh, Heatbox, and Solid Gold. According to City Pages, The Histronic are "alternative rockers." I love that! I never thought we'd be referred to as alternative rockers, buy what the heck... why not.
We'd like to thank Vega Productions and 89.3 the current for an awesome night. There were a ton of people there, and all of the proceeds went to rebuild a local music program. Music education is incredibly important in our schools, and it's events like this that bring it to the forefront. Nice work Vega, and NYE partiers!
Thanks to you late night dancers - I had a great time spinning a set for you in the VIP room - warmed things up for Freddy Fresh.
Catch you at the next show!
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Halloween at the Cabooze was crazy fun. The costumes were totally incredible - amazing creativity was out if full force! Way to go Minneapolis... lookin' sharp on old Hallows eve... or whatever it's called. We were really pumped to play this show, there's nothing better then Halloween being on a Saturday, and having Day Light Savings time the same night. That means one extra hour to party! We started off the night right with an hour and a half dance party... the best part was, both bands were set up at the same time, so segues between the bands were seamless. Histronic > Wookiefoot > Histronic w/ Wookiefoot > Wookiefoot! It was a fun time indeed, especially when Gill played guitar, and Larry from Wookiefoot stayed on bass (for those of you following the band closely, Larry filled on bass for Histronic for a few shows... thus it was nice to have that chemistry there.)
One of the best parts of the night was when Mark announced that Histronic was invited back for Snowball 2010. Snowball is an amazing festival!!! The only one around here where you can ski all day and rock all night. Can't wait to see everyone's wind burnt faces and turtle necks up at Papa Charlie's.
-WF
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October has been off the hook in Minneapolis! The live music scene is always awesome here, but this month has been especially amazing for live electronic music. STS9, Big Gigantic, EOTO, Pretty Lights, Ghostland Observatory, Lotus, the Egg, the Disco Biscuits, and many more stopped through the twin cities this past month, what a pleasure it can be to be a "Minnesotan"
When I moved back to Minneapolis in the Spring of 2006 the local electronic scene seemed lacking. Perhaps I had yet to meet the right people. The national touring acts would make stops at the Cabooze (i.e. Particle, Pnuma Trio, Lotus), but the local scene wasn't impressing me. Flash forward to 2009, it's obvious the local scene has grown. We still have a long way to go, but we're on our way! And there's no shortage in awesome music going on around town. I want to take this opportunity to reflect on how awesome October has been, and to thank all the show go-ers!!! Lots of bands act like they're the most important part of the show, but in all reality the crowd is just as important.
-WF
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We had an amazing time at Harvest Fest. Thanks to everyone for their help! Todd ran sound on the tent stage which was very cool. It's always nice to show up and the sound guy knows what he's doing! We woke up early on Saturday morning to get ready for our show later that night. Todd and I got the lights in place, threw about 250 empty beer cans in a pile, and then proceeded to program the lights.
It was a fun day of music at Harmony Park, and a beautiful day to be outside listening to music. At 8:15 Mike Moilanen took the stage threw down on the turn tables. It was such a good set that Bill and I just watched as Mike and Matt took the crowd for a ride. We decided to take the stage just as Todd came to bust our balls about for waiting so long. The tent looked awesome! And the crowd was ready to dance! The tent looked awesome, full of fog (amazing what one fog machine can do); the lights provided some impressive effects!
The last few shows have felt really good, and Harvest was no exception. We've begun to make sounds, and create compositions on the fly unlike anything we've done before. It's more creative, and more dance friendly then ever before. It's due mostly in part to everyone constantly pushing each other, and I personally thank Mike and Todd for always giving me new music, which is incredibly inspiring. A couple groups worth checking out: "Simian Mobile Disco" and "Spirit Catcher"
Thanks to everyone for dancing with us! What a summer it's been! See you on the dance floor.
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Our luck with weather has never been the greatest. Although, we have had some great outdoor shows, mother nature always finds a way to rare her head. It rained the whole way to Chicago last Thursday. When we arrived we found some of the gear had gotten wet in the trailer. Oh well, we pulled some things out to dry and Todd and I waited for Bill and Matt to arrive. Cameron was the sound guy at the Kinetic Playground. It said so in the green room in BIG BOLD LETTERS: "The Sound Guy's name is CAMERON!" He definitely was a character... thanks to him for making us laugh!
After the show Bill and Matt crashed at Matt's brother's place in Chicago. Todd and I fearing the trailer would get broken into made an attempt to continue on to Nelson Ledges (6 hours away in Ohio). We drove for about 45 mins, and the rain continued. We were both fatigued and needed sleep (me especially). I pulled off the freeway and into a gas station. This was not any gas station, however, this gas station was bumping at 4 am!
A Mexican man stood under the second set of pumps and stared directly at us. Several cars were lined up under the pumps, but no one was pumping any gas. The "highway 55 rental" trailer and silver Chrysler town and country did us no help blending in. Not to mention the two white boys behind the dash. We couldn't drive any further, but in this situation, one that could be pulled directly out of the TV show "the wire," we had to press on. Todd took the wheel, the Mexican guy under the pump continued to stare us down till the moment we left.
On the road again, the van crossed the river into Indiana, and we started to look for another place to crash and get some gas. Unfortunately, this side of Indiana is not any better then where we were in Chicago. In fact, we were headed directly at Gary Indiana, "the arm pit of America." We pulled off once again in flash flood conditions, road work made us question if we were still on the road. Several times Todd and I looked at each other thinking, are we on the road? The van told us "10 miles till empty," and we could not find a gas station. We weighed our odds, and got back on the freeway. Getting back on the freeway was very scary. It looked as if the city of Gary had thrown all of their trash on this on ramp, including an old couch... Again, we couldn't even tell where the road was, or if we were in a construction project, or if we were just going to drive right off the edge. At one point Todd stopped completely, and questioned if this on ramp was in fact open. "Is this for real," Todd asked me. Nervously I told him to push on. Narrowly avoiding traffic cones, debris, and the fore mentioned couch, we got back on the freeway.
"5 Miles Till Empty," the van read. Then, a sign from above! 3 Miles to the toll road "oasis." After a brief celebration we pulled up to the rest stop and crashed.... what a night.... PS: The show in Chicago was fun, but we need help with our street team! Let me know if you want to sign up! - Kevin
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The Memorial Union Terrace at the University of Wisconsin Madison is one of the coolest places ever to play a show. If you haven't been there, I highly suggest it. It's right in on the waterfront, and an incredible place to grab a beer and see some music. If you're wondering how we booked this particular gig: Steve Neary from Steez is on the student committee. That's right, a bunch of students get together and vote, election style. Steve proposed one of his favorite Midwest live electro bands, yours truly, and luckily.....we passed.....by one vote! Well, according to Steve there's a bunch of hipsters on the committee, and a Thursday night show was are only option, because we fit under the "alternative" music category. Alternative? Hmmmm. For me, this word conjures up images of the mid to late 90's alt rock bands.... not a live electro band with no vocals. Alternative huh? If the hipsters call us alternative, we better listen, cause fuck... there hip!?! That's there job...
I texted DJ Mike Moilanen the day before the show: "You rocking the terrace with us?" He said "no," which is not typical of Mike. But after some slight coaxnig, on both our parts, he made the trip and threw down a sick set. The segues from the DJ to the band were seamless, and the Madtown crow was well versed in electroinc music (of course). Thanks for dancing all night!!!! Madtown what!
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Only 35 tickets left!!! Get them now, before they run out. The Histronic has teamed up with Vega Productions for Rock the Boat II, w/ special guest Bernie Worrell, the Jimi Hendrix of keyboards. It's going to be a great honor indeed to share the stage with a man who is in the rock and roll hall of fame....twice!
Bernie Worrell first came to prominence as a founding member and musical director of Parliament/ Funkadelic.While this massively influential supergroup was radically altering the course of music, he was radically charting the course of emerging keyboard technology during the golden age of analog synthesis. Among the key ingredients in his sonic stew were perfect pitch and a well-honed facility with the classical canon.
A child prodigy who began studying piano at the tender age of three, performed his first classical concert at the age of 4, wrote his first Concerto at the age of eight and performed with the Washington Symphony Orchestra at ten. His classical studies would continue throughout his adolescence, including private lessons at the Julliard School of Music, before Majoring in Classical Piano at the New England Conservatory of Music.
Upon leaving the Conservatory, Worrell served for several years as Musical Director for Maxine Brown before joining George Clinton's Parliament/Funkadelic crew. Worrell then proceeded to provide this freewheeling collective with a structural foundation which, while occasionally implied, was ever present. At the same time, he explored and expanded his own musical ideas in every conceivable direction with a brazenness which was both revolutionary and evolutionary. From fanciful forays on clavinet which leapt without warming from guttural gulps to squiggly squeals to liquid Minimoogª bass-lines which herded listeners to the dance floor, it all represented new musical language. All the while, his rapid advancements of the synthesizer's potential were actually traceable to his classical foundation. "When the synthesizers came about, my having been brought up classically - knowing a full range of orchestra, tympanis and everything, I knew how it sounded and what it felt like. So, if I'm playing a horn arrangement on the keyboard or strings, it really sounds like real strings or horns, because I know how to phrase it - how a string phrases, different attacks from the aperture for horns, for the trumpets, sax, or trombones." The hits were many: Flashlight, Atomic Dog, Aqua Boogie, Cosmic Slop, and Red Hot Mama are only a few of the Parliament/Funkadelic classics which Worrell co-wrote, played, and co-produced on literally dozens of albums - not to mention his years of wild P-Funk performances, which quickly became the stuff of lore.
After departing Parliament/Funkadelic, he resurfaced with the revamped Talking Heads lineup for several albums, including the Name of This Band is Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues, and Jonathan Demme's dazzling concert film, Stop Making Sense. Worrell's ominous colorings, this time delivered via new digital keyboards such as the Prophet 5, were central to the recasting of group leader David Bryne's musical ideas through African rhythms.
In the years since he left Talking Heads, Worrell has been a phenomenally prolific studio musician, serving as a primary change-agent in the many experimental works of producer bill Laswell while contributing his singular flair to projects the likes of Keith Richards, The Pretenders, Jack Bruce, Deee-Lite and Bootsy's New Rubber Band.
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the Histronic just added a new show in Chicago on 8/27. The next few weeks have really shaped up. Can't wait to see everyone on the dance floor!
8/14 Rock The Boat II w/ Bernie Worrell, Heatbox, Big WU, Pert Near, White Iron Band
8/21 Fat Fest - Late Night Set - Histronic debuts "Histronivision" - 5 projectors, full light show
8/27 Kinetic Playground Chicago, IL
8/29 Summer Dance II w/ Lotus, EOTO, Motet Trio, Digital Frontier, Papadosio, and more
9/4 Cabooze w/ Steez, Sovereign Sect, and DJ Mike Moilanen (Steez CD release party)
9/5 Waterfront Menomonie, WI w/ guests TBA
9/12 Harvest Fest - 8:30 - 10:00 PM - Saturday - Tent Stage
9/18 Memory Lanes w/ DJ Mike Moilanen
9/19 Downtime w/ TBA
-Midwest represent!!!
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Bluegrass and dead covers were abundant at the BWFR 2009... artist after artist took to the stage, performing very well, but playing similar sounding music. There's nothing wrong with dead covers and bluegrass, we love all types of music, but after 5 hours of listening to bluegrass, the air at Harmony Park needed to be changed. That's where the Histronic comes in. As Vince Herman and Great American Taxi finished up, the Histronic took to the stage at 10 PM for a high energy live electronic free for all. DJ Mike Moilanen opened with a killer original track, and the rest of the band filled in for over an hours worth of dance music. The crowd was just as happy about the change as we were. It was awesome! People were at the front of the stage raging with us the whole time, and some dirty shit was dropped fo sho! Jake Staron of deep soul deities filled in on bass, plus guest sit ins by Kevin Sinclair, formerly of God Johnson, and Steve Neary of Steez. Thanks to everyone for rocking with us, and thanks to J-Flad for letting us throw down at the perfect time. We'll see you on the dance floor!
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Are you kidding me? Saturday at the High Noon Saloon was off the hook. Packed shoulder to shoulder the high energy crowd erupted into a dance party that will never be forgotten. Steve Neary from Steez locked in tightly with some classic histronic melodies; this was one of those nights where everyone was on point; from the lowest sub octave bass note to the highest synth squelch. What an amazing show! Thanks so much to everyone from Madison, Chicago, Wisco, and Minnesota for rocking Mad town with us. Props to Steve Neary and Jimmy Blake for filling in, and doing a great job! Here's some pictures from that memorable night. Till next time... keep the Midwest dance scene raging! We'll see you soon.
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Wow!!!! Thanks so much to everyone for making last Friday possible. The live electronic scene in Minneapolis has never been better, thanks in large part to you, the fans! The Cabooze was packed, and the energy level was high. We raged a solid first set, and the crowd continued to grow. Heatbox took the stage at 11 and really brought the house down! Thanks to Mike Moilanen for the phat beats....Histronic segued in around 12:40, and we really started to lock in with some pretty dark and devastating dance grooves. The audience was full of energy, and there's no question that the band feeds off of it.
The best part of the night may have been when Heatbox sat in with the Histronic at the end of the night. We'll try to post a recording of this show on archive some time soon. - WF
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| Last Friday was one of the greatest Histronic shows of all time... There was something in the air for sure. Thing is, we didn't set up any lights, or the projector, in fact most of what we played was completely unrehearsed. Somehow everything just clicked. The first set was a little "balls to the wall," as we have the tendencies to do, but after DJ Mike Moilanen broke it down on the turn tables for a set, we were buttered up and ready to get crunchy. The second set is when things really started to click, and some utterly dark grooves were produced! Thanks to Jake Staron for rocking it on the bass, he did a phenomenal job, thanks also goes out to Wheezy (spelling?), Jason, Matt, and all the crazy cats and at the Waterfront. Thanks for dancing your assses off! - WF
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Bowling:
The Histronic played memory lanes, a bowling alley in Minneapolis on Friday, and it was an absolute blast. One of my favorite parts of playing memory lanes is the fact that it's free. Cash is a little tight in this economy, thus I can appreciate the importance of free. Thanks to everyone for coming out. Ifdakar made their Minneapolis debut and got the night started in style. Shortly their after (round midnight) the Histronic took the stage and played a fun set of re vamped classics as well as some newer tunes. It was great to see the dancers busting a move, and of course plenty of spares and strikes to go around.
Popcorn:
Saturday was our first show in LaCrosse since the 100th show. It was the night before Easter so foot traffic was a little slow, but all of the hardcore fans were still there, and the dance party went down. Larry Kawasaki played his first full show on bass, and showed off the fact that not only has been practicing hard, but learning the stron tunes quickly. We are all pumped for the future of this band!
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That's right boys and girls!!! the Histronic is heading back to NLQP (one of the most beautiful venues around) for SummerDance II featuring two nights of Lotus, plus EOTO, MO2, Digital Frontier, and many more TBA!!! Can't wait to bring the dance party to Ohio! Check out some pics here:
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Wow! What a show!!! Thanks to everyone who came and danced. Housed of Zed started the night off right with some sick breakbeat techno that kept me dancing for his whole set. Zed is a great guy, and a hell of a DJ... thanks to him for coming out on short notice. The Histronic segued in around 11 PM in the key of g minor, once Zed faded out we kicked it in with a much needed and rockin' version of "Rhino Racer," this version was coined last August at SummerDance one. Something special was in the air on Wednesday, the jams seemed extra tight and the segues were smooth, and not too dragged out... Zed came back up at the end of memorable set, and through down another signature "break party." The crowd was off the hook, there's nothing better then being able to feed off of the kick ass dancers, and the overall energy of the crowd. Histronic finished off the night in style rocking several classics. Thanks to Larry from Wookiefoot for sitting in on bass! We'll see the Minneapolis crew again on Friday April 10th at Memory Lanes as well as Friday May 15th at the Cabooze for the Heatbox CD release party.
Peace out, see you at the next dance party!
Kevin a.k.a. West Fox
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This weekend was a ton of fun. Friday night was a highbred group... featuring members of Steez, Ship of Fools, and the Histronic. It was kind of a weird vibe cause the party/show/event was at the Holiday inn, which mad us feel like we were playing at a wedding.... which wasn't a bad thing per say. Thanks to everyone for dancing it up, and all the band members for raging.
Saturday night we finally played Kathy's pub in down town Rochester (long over due). There's no question the Rochester crew is the shit. Ship of Fools opened the night off right. It was my first time seeing them, and they are sweet for sure....also a keyboard trio. There's my a good smell in the air that night, and when the drunk bus arrived the party really began. Congrats to the groom to be, and thanks to everyone in Rochester (you know who you are).... Keep livin' the dream. - WF
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It was great to be back at the Cabooze with our favorite DJ, Mike Moilanen. We had some great segues with him and we always enjoy when he sits in on guitar with us. This was a unique show for us because we got to set up a projector and kick some dance beats to Die Hard 3. Thank you to everyone that came out to the show and thanks to the Cabooze and all of their staff. A very enjoyable experience was had by all. -Stereo Adik
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It all seemed to happen so fast.... and what better place to celebrate than the Popcorn Tavern!!! Yes indeeedly our home away from home, it seems... A record turn out it was for the, well I would say the most comfortable show of the Wisco run. It was a trip to see all the folks that came out from Minneapolis, and the others who traveled from Appleton, Menomonie, and Winona!... the vibe was warm, the dancers were grooven, and all walked away satisfied, relishing in the fact that this movement has made it this far. Thanks for making it a most special event!! Peace and lima beans till next time. - GF
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Minneapolis:
Playing live dance music at a bowling alley is always interesting. When we arrived at Memory Lanes the leagues were still going at it. We began to set up our gear when a roar came over the crowd... a man collapsed to the floor. What had happened we all wondered? A moment later an announcement came over the loud speaker declaring he had bowled a perfect 300! DJ Mike Moilanen was the highlight of this show! He had some choice cuts for the bowling atmosphere, and kept the energy high during our set break. The segues were a ton of fun, perhaps our tightest with a DJ to date. Thanks to the bowlers and dancers. - WF
Madison:
Hittin' the road for another HIstronic adventure... and what an interesting night it turned out to be! After arriving a few hours early and checking out the seen at the Alchemy, we circled around in search for a restaurant we enjoyed our last visit, but found it crowded with valentines day couples.... bla! Chinese it is!
After killing some time at the hotel, we were all set and ready by about 1130, perfect timing for the Umpreys show had just let out... before we knew it the small room was packed with dancers eager to move their feet... and so it ensued. No talk back mike... only minutes of lull... we had a lot to say to each other this night, entering in and out of ideas that were new to us all... Thanks again to Mike, a co-owner of the Alchemy for having us out. We hope to be back again soon... and all the dancers who came in support. Look forward to seeing some of you out this weekend for the next adventure... Gill
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