Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their 1993 hit "Runaway Train" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.
Shellac is an American noise rock band from Chicago, Illinois, composed of Steve Albini, Bob Weston and Todd Trainer and formed in 1992. Their music genre has been classified as post-hardcore and math rock, but they describe themselves as a "minimalist rock trio."
The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and country rock band that emerged from the Twin Cities music scene in the mid-1980s. Led by vocalists/guitarists/songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson, their country rock sound was influential on many bands who played the Twin Cities circuit during the 1980s and 1990s, such as Uncle Tupelo, the Gear Daddies and the Honeydogs. They have released eleven studio albums, with and without Olson, including five on the American Recordings label. After going on hiatus from 2005 to 2009, the 1995 lineup of the band reunited and released the album Mockingbird Time in September 2011; Olson left the band for the second time after the tour to promote the album. After another hiatus in 2013, the 1997 lineup led by Louris reunited to play shows in 2014 to support the reissue of three albums originally released between 1997 and 2003. Since then, the band has continued to tour and record, releasing the albums Live at The Belly Up in 2015; Paging Mr. Proust, co-produced by Peter Buck, in 2016; Back Roads and Abandoned Motels in 2018; and XOXO in 2020.
Semisonic is an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1995, consisting of Dan Wilson, John Munson, and Jacob Slichter. They are best known in the U.S. for their 1998 single "Closing Time". They also had international success with the singles "Singing in My Sleep", "Secret Smile" and "Chemistry".
Cows were a noise rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota who formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1998. The band’s music mixed punk rock with surreal humour and copious amounts of noise played through distorted amplifiers and trumpet bleats, codifying them as a noise rock band. Throughout their career Cows released nine studio albums, all but one on the Minneapolis-based label Amphetamine Reptile Records. A star in honor of the Cows is on the outside mural of First Avenue.
The Suburbs are an alternative punk rock/funk/new wave band from Minneapolis, Minnesota that was popular in the late 1970s and 1980s. The band frequently headlined at Minneapolis's most influential music clubs, including Jay's Longhorn Bar and First Avenue.
Golden Smog is an alternative country-rock supergroup of loosely connected musicians mostly from the Minneapolis area. At various times, members of Soul Asylum, The Replacements, Wilco, The Jayhawks, Run Westy Run, The Honeydogs and Big Star have worked with Golden Smog. Given the fluid collaborative nature of Golden Smog the lineup has often changed, but relative constants who appear on all the recordings are guitarists Kraig Johnson, Dan Murphy and Gary Louris, along with bassist Marc Perlman.
Martin Zellar is a Minnesota-based musician and songwriter. Martin Zellar is the brother of writer Brad Zellar.
Let's Go Scare Al was the first album recorded by the Austin, Minnesota band the Gear Daddies. The album was released in 1988 on the Gark record label, and re-released in 1990 on Polygram Records.
Billy's Live Bait is the second album by Austin, Minnesota band the Gear Daddies, released in 1990. It was their first release for a major label.
"Zamboni", also known as "I Wanna Drive the Zamboni", is a song written by Martin Zellar and recorded by his band Gear Daddies. The song tells the story of a man's desire to drive an ice resurfacer, popularly known by the brand name "Zamboni", and his request to drive the Zamboni for his local ice hockey team. Since its release, it has sometimes been played between periods at hockey games while the Zamboni cleans the ice.
Lifter Puller, or LFTR PLLR, was an American indie rock band from the Twin Cities and the Boston area between 1994 and 2000. Their music is considered innovative, with its angular riffs and a synth-infused sound that predated the '80s revival fads of the early 2000s. Arguably, however, the band is most known for frontman Craig Finn's elaborate lyrics, which often relied upon an established universe of drug-addled coeds, cash-strapped nightclub proprietors, murdered ravers and other nostalgic excursions in Minneapolis and Boston.
James "Billy" Dankert is an American musician from Austin, Minnesota, United States, best known as the drummer, singer and songwriter for Minnesota-based band the Gear Daddies. Dankert's songs include "Time Heals", "Blues Mary", and "One Voice". After the break-up of the band in 1992, he returned to school to study language and literature. He has released three solo albums: Bowling Shoes Blues on the Crackpot Records label in 1993; The Vanishing Head on the Veto Records label in 2001; and In Spite on the Veto Records label in 2003. A fourth solo album, The Past Is Not Complete, was recorded in 2005 but never released. His fifth solo album, Sleep Late, is scheduled for self-release in April 2016, after a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund its pressing.
Tapes 'n Tapes is an indie rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Matt Patrick is an American record producer, studio owner, engineer, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He grew up in the small community of North Branch, Minnesota, about an hour north of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Early on Patrick learned how to play piano, electric, acoustic and bass guitars and sing. After high school he began learning other instruments such as mandolin, accordion, dobro, pedal steel, Hammond organ, and various electronic synthesizers.
Trampled by Turtles is an American bluegrass-influenced folk band from Duluth, Minnesota. They have released ten full albums, three of which reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard bluegrass chart. Their fifth release, Palomino, stayed in the chart's Top 10 for 52 straight weeks. Their latest album, Alpenglow, was released on October 28, 2022.
The Honeydogs is a band from Saint Paul, Minnesota that opened at First Avenue in 1994.
Impaler is a Minnesota horror rock band from the Twin Cities. Impaler formed in the spring of 1983 with founding members Bill Lindsey (vocals), Michael James Torok (guitar), "Commander" Court Hawley (bass), Robert "Meaty Bob" Johnson (drums), and Mike Senn (guitar). The band played original songs sprinkled with a few covers by favorite influential bands such as Kiss, Alice Cooper, and Motörhead. Bill Lindsey is the sole continuing member of Impaler, keeping the band alive for over 30 years.
Brad Zellar is an American author and journalist. Zellar's writing often is accompanied by photographs; he has collaborated several times with photographer Alec Soth. The Coen brothers film A Serious Man, nominated for the 2009 Academy Award for Best Picture, took some inspiration for the visuals based on Zellar's book the Suburban World: The Norling Photos. His book Conductors of the Moving World was named in Time's "Best of 2011: The Photobooks We Loved", and was the recipient of the 2012 Photography for Design Professional Award from D&AD.
Steve's Piece was an early Alt Country/Power Pop band in Minneapolis from circa 1992–1995.
