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 in 1995, consisting of Dan Wilson, John Munson, and Jacob Slichter. They are best known in the U.S. for their 1998 top-20 single "Closing Time". They also had international success with the singles "Singing in My Sleep", "Secret Smile" and "Chemistry".
The Suicide Commandos are an American punk rock trio from Minneapolis. They formed in 1975 and released two 7-inch EPs on an indie label in 1976 and 1977 before signing with Blank Records in 1977 and releasing one album, Make a Record. Despite their short original 4-year stint together, the Suicide Commandos are considered the pioneers for jump-starting a punk rock music scene in the Twin Cities, which eventually produced bands like The Suburbs, Hüsker Dü, The Replacements and Soul Asylum.
Mark Mallman is a Minnesota musician, film composer, and memoirist. Since 1998, he has released nine full-length studio albums, Happiness (2021) being his most recent.
The Hold Steady is an American rock band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, now based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn, Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), Franz Nicolay (keyboards) and Steve Selvidge (guitar). Noted for their "lyrically dense storytelling," and classic rock influences, the band's narrative-based songs frequently address themes such as drug addiction, religion and redemption, and often feature recurring characters based within the city of Minneapolis.
Trip Shakespeare was an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota and active from the mid 1980s to early 1990s. The band included Dan Wilson and John Munson, who would later go on to be founding members of Semisonic.
Separation Sunday is the second studio album by the American indie rock band the Hold Steady, released on May 3, 2005, through Frenchkiss Records. A concept album, Separation Sunday follows the interconnected stories of several fictional characters: Craig, Holly, a sometimes addict, sometimes prostitute, sometimes born again Christian or Catholic ; Charlemagne, a pimp; and Gideon, a skinhead, as they travel from city to city and party to party.
Half Dead and Dynamite is an album by the Minnesota indie rock band Lifter Puller, released in 1997. The album was reissued in 2009.
Fiestas and Fiascos is the final Lifter Puller LP composed of new material and the only album of theirs not included on Soft Rock. The record is much tighter than previous songs, as where the band plays hook-centrically and vocalist Craig Finn sings with more vocal force than melodicism. The almost exclusively mythological focus of "Fiestas and Fiascos" in many ways foreshadows the approach Finn would take with The Hold Steady, as does the less melodic vocal approach. In addition, the record ends with the burning of the "Nice Nice", bringing the Lifter Puller folklore back to its start.
Almost Killed Me is the debut studio album by Brooklyn-based rock band the Hold Steady, released on March 16, 2004, on Frenchkiss Records. It is considered by many to be a concept album, with several recurring themes such as near-death experiences, parties, and the fictional characters Hallelujah and Charlemagne. Its concept album roots are further explored with the recurring characters in Separation Sunday, the Hold Steady's second album, which uses the same characters introduced in Almost Killed Me. Almost Killed Me was ranked number 99 on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of the Decade.
Boys and Girls in America is the third studio album by the Hold Steady, released on October 3, 2006, by Vagrant Records.
Craig A. Finn is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the frontman of the American indie rock band The Hold Steady, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums. Prior to forming The Hold Steady, Finn was the frontman of Lifter Puller.
Polara is an American alternative rock band formed in 1994 by Ed Ackerson, a musician and producer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band was considered one of the most prominent and creative groups to emerge from Minneapolis in the 1990s. Billboard writer Deborah Russell called Ackerson and Polara the front of "the emergence of a new local scene" more interested in pop music and postpunk than the punk rock of bands like Hüsker Dü and The Replacements.
Stay Positive is the fourth studio album by the Hold Steady, released on July 15, 2008, through Vagrant Records. Vocalist/guitarist Craig Finn notes that the album is about "the idea of ageing gracefully [...] keeping going, perseverance [and] how to stay true to the ideals and ideas you had when you were younger." Keyboard player Franz Nicolay notes that the album is his favorite, stating that it features an "integrated, nuanced, less hectic distillation of [their earlier] sound." Stay Positive was the last studio album to feature Nicolay until 2019's Thrashing Thru the Passion, who departed from the band in early 2010 but returned in 2016.
Tad Jason Kubler is an American guitarist, known for his work with Lifter Puller, Song of Zarathustra, and, most-notably, The Hold Steady. He previously worked with Brett Johnson, bass player for Atmosphere, in the band Ten-fold Hate, in Minneapolis. He grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
A Positive Rage is a live album and documentary double-disc set by the Brooklyn-based rock band The Hold Steady, released on April 7, 2009 by Vagrant Records. The documentary DVD features backstage interviews, fan commentary and live footage, while the CD features a live set performed on Halloween 2007 at the Metro Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, made up of songs from the band's albums Almost Killed Me (2004), Separation Sunday (2005), Boys and Girls in America (2006), and the then-forthcoming Stay Positive (2008), as well as three tracks previously only released as bonus tracks on these albums. The enhanced CD also includes a link to download five bonus tracks.
Heaven Is Whenever is the fifth studio album by the Hold Steady. It was released May 4, 2010, on Vagrant Records in the U.S. and May 3, 2010, on Rough Trade in Europe. The album's first single, "Hurricane J", premiered on Pitchfork Media on March 22, 2010. Regarding the album's lyrical content, vocalist and guitarist Craig Finn states that: "I kept saying Stay Positive was a record about trying to age gracefully. This record, I think actually was us aging gracefully. Some of the lyrics come from a place of a little more wisdom, being 38 and at this point having a lifetime in rock'n'roll."
Teeth Dreams is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band the Hold Steady, released March 25, 2014, on Washington Square/Razor & Tie. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz, the album is the first to feature guitarist Steve Selvidge, who joined the band in 2010 to tour in support of the band's previous album, Heaven Is Whenever (2010).
Josh Kaufman is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, composer, arranger and engineer based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a member of the collaborative ensembles Muzz and Bonny Light Horseman. He was previously a member of the band Down Home Souls.
"Heavy Covenant" is a song by American indie rock band the Hold Steady. It was released on January 8, 2021, as the second single from their upcoming eighth studio album, Open Door Policy by Positive Jams and Thirty Tigers. The song was written by Craig Finn and Franz Nicolay, with Josh Kaufman handling production.
