And so, the event that you weren’t rich enough, cool enough, smart enough, or even invited enough to attend happened last weekend at the Apple River Hideaway in legendary Somerset, Wisconsin. The Apple River Rampage, a local music festival featuring 12 bands, one fight, and two rounds of bible trivia went off with a BANG and some thunder August 7th, 2010 just over the border and through the woods…
You see, Somerset is nestled in the county of St. Croix, which recently has become Wisconsin’s leading proponent of prohibition and sobriety. Even so, we managed to make the best of the wet heat and dry tones and ROCKED THE SHITHAMMER OUT OF WISCONSIN.
I mentioned it was hotter than flaming balls under the skirt of a whore in church, did I not? So it was, and the crowd chose to present itself rather to the river, than to the wonderful music on stage for much of the day. This is somewhat sad for the fact that I saw some of the best sets I’ve ever seen from the Devil Blues Band, Mommy S&Z No, and Shovelhead, who, like all of the first seven bands played to minimal crowds as the one pictured above. While hot it was, there were other phantoms at work which kept the river waders at bay…but I’m not here to bitch, make excuses, or anything else…I’m here to tell you about the MUSIC and the good times.
When you have a festival presented by Dead Sound Music Company, hosted by The Devil’s Basement, and featuring bands such as Rape Door, Big Fuckin Skull, Mercykill, Outside the Murder, etc…you have to expect that it will get canceled at least once. Which it did…but never the failure in the eyes of the music scene, myself, the Dead Sound Crew, and Nats of European descent put ‘plan three’ into action. With the help of the Apple River Hideaway and a Sheriff with balls of steel, we were able to coerce a city known for its wary disposition towards anything remotely out-of-the-ordinary, into allowing the devil to host an event which would end up drawing the City Council out for a gander, and some crazy ass bizzle that wanted Johnny Hardcore to sing about 12 year old girls.
All this would happen while 12 bands of Minneapolis descent DESTROYED the stage over the course of 9 SOLID hours of music.
Despite all the assholes that decided it was more fun NOT to watch the bands from the safety of the river than it was to stand in the stifling heat in the direct sunlight with nothing to drink, I must applaud EVERY SINGLE BAND THAT TOOK THE STAGE for giving it absolutely everything they had no matter if there were 15 or 150 people watching.
The legendary sun-devils, in order of appearance were:
The Devil Blues Band
Alation
Mommy S@$#%@$#%Z No
Rape Door
Shovelhead
Pair of Sevens
Lusurfer
Dying Euforia
Outside the Murder
Big Fuckin Skull
The Rock’n'Roll Whores
Mercykill
As you can see it was a weekend that any bible-retreat, church-camp, or youth-group would be envious of…and as such, we decided to put the icing on the cake with a little game of ‘test the general knowledge of the populace to make them look dumb,’ A.K.A. ‘BIBLE TRIVIA.’
We started with a simple question to the crowd, ‘Name the seven deadly sins.’ A few people rattled off four or five, but no one could give me the complete list…which isn’t actually in the bible verbatim, and as such, had anyone pointed out this little-known technicality, they would have won not only the contest, but also the super secret bonus prize. For those of you who don’t know shit but probably want to, those pesky sins we all know and love are, in order of importance for daily happiness: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Envy, and Wrath.
After this simple exercise in shame, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, these people aren’t very smart. I better ask something easier…something that has only one word in the answer.’ So I decided to ask a question that I thought most people would know…WHO IN THE HOLY SHITHOUSE WAS JESUS’ BROTHER?!?!
This man, a self-proclaimed pastor’s son, was the winner of the angelic white Dean guitar donated by St. Paul’s own Capitol Guitars. His answer was simple in both form and delivery as he jumped around in front of the stage like a school-girl at cheerleading try-outs:
“James.”
Haha…actually it was more like, “OMFG!! I KNOW I KNOW JAMES!! BBQ!! LOL! JAMES!!!”
Irregardless, he won a fucking guitar and it was a pleasure giving it away.
Speaking of school-girls…
These two young starlets were pointing at me while laughing, so I approached and asked why…which was when they muttered something about, “Glitter. Tits. OMG picture!! Boob! glitter now. HAHA.” So I obliged as much as I understood what they were asking of me, and it was at this very moment that I realized that I was truly at the Apple River.
A word to the wise, ladies…nobody gives two shits or even a half of a fuck about your ta-ta’s ability to reflect visible light unless you plan on getting that shit all over my…wait a minute…I might need to see some ID…you kind of look a little bit like 12.
Just remember this…what passes out in Somerset, is going to stay in Somerset at least until it wakes up late in the afternoon.
But before you get to go to bed, you must rock. You must sing along with a band, shouting at the top of your lungs, screaming to the sky about skulls that kill people. This band I speak of is Big Fuckin Skull. They were ushered in by a MONSTER set from Outside the Murder, primed and ready to kill, and as the sun slowly descended beyond the horizon, the energy in the Western half of Wisconsin began to rise. It washed over the campground and induced fits of rage such as this:
Watch out in the name of all that is holy, we get crazy like a mother up in this bitch…and in the words of the people of Somerset, “Hide your children, this evil will soon be over.”
…and soon it was, with the police just DROOLING for the chance to give us a noise ordinance ticket at 11:01PM, we successfully pulled off an event that many were working against, many didn’t believe we could pull off, and one that a few of us believed in from beginning. The people that TRULY made this happen in addition to ALL the bands on the bill are in no particular order:
Nats Babel, Nicole Fallon, Dan Fink, James Gross, Sheriff Mike Kappers, Jim O’Neil, Jessica Rehberger, and Adam Schmid. I had a hand in it, too…but I didn’t want to be first in the list since it actually IS in alphabetical order by last name…idiot.
Have a nice day…we’ll see you all soon.
Tags: Alation, apple river rampage, big fuckin skull, Devil Blues Band, Dying Euforia, lusurfer, mercykill, mommy sez no, Outside the Murder, Pair of Sevens, Rape Door, rock'n'roll whores, Shovelhead
Hey there my pretty little vultures of desire! Devil here, bringing you a legendary tale of a life of music, a dedicated band, and five minutes that taught me all I ever need to know about integrity.
Last Saturday I lay witness to the greatest tribute to a Minneapolis musician that I have ever seen. Lee’s Liquor Lounge and Biscuit Cafe’ hosted the ‘Wind Cries Mary’ benefit to honor the memory of the recently departed Mary Michaels (The Harpies, Pistol Whipped, You and Whose Army?, Chaka Khan). Mary was 52 when she passed, after losing a battle with breast cancer.
Luckily for me, and so many other people, I was privileged enough to have had the opportunity to meet Mary late in 2008 at Memory Lanes when the Harpies played a show with The No No’s and Strut and Shock. After I heard them perform I immediately pestered the entire band for CDs, t-shirts and anything else they’d let me buy from them…unfortunately at the time all they had was a kick-ass long sleeve Harpies T, which I rocked at the show last Saturday. Anyway, I had a chance to say thanks to Mary for putting on such a great show…in the middle of a bowling alley…in a cat suit…and showing up everyone on the bill. We had a chat for a few minutes about new music, recording their album, and a work-related trip that would put the band on hiatus for a couple of months.
I have remembered that night, the songs they played, and her no-bullshit outlook on life that was evident from the first words out of her mouth ever since. I have heard the same from many others who were lucky enough to have met Mary during her swing through planet earth.
When I heard the news about Mary I was sad for the world that would probably never have a chance to hear her songs again…but that all changed last Saturday with the love of a scene that she touched with some great intensity based on the reaction of all of us.
With the help of four guest singers and some kitty cat dancers, we were able to remember what Mary left behind.
Without further ado, I give you the ‘Wind Cries Mary’ Benefit Super Show Extravaganza Party:
The show itself included the bands You and Whose Army? (Mary formerly sang with them), Red Flags, The Harpies, Al Grande Trio, and Middle States. I arrived a tad fashionable precisely at 10pm CST with my Harpies shirt on and camera in hand. I had the pleasure of seeing ‘You and Whose Army?’ perform, and while doing so met Tracy, guitarist for the Harpies. Once introduced I was immediately invited to the afterparty at the Harpies rehearsal studio for an interview…which we’ll get to in a moment…
You’ve gotta have some PATIENCE!! We haven’t even seen THE BAND YET!!
…
So you see those two pictures, yeah? I bet you’re thinking to yourself, “Wow, that singer really looks different depending on the flash setting of your camera, devil!” If indeed that is what you were thinking, then you are pretty fucking stupid.
The band invited four guest singers to help them perform, the first of which you can see directly above singing sweetly the songs of Mary. That’s Felicia Mitchell from Sirens of Titan, another ‘basement favorite from Minneapolis. She did such a fabulous job…it was like a closure to hear her sing to all of us.
Second to tear up the stage was MadKat Morgan of MercyKill/Apocalypse Theatre fame. If you’re a long-time reader, yeah, you KNOW Kat throws it down for the scene. If you’re new to the basement, then you are now informed. Kat captured perfectly the ethos and integrity of character that everyone talks so wildly about when asked about Miss Mary.
Third and last of the girls was Brooke Aldridge, frontwoman for the international collective, Pop, Inc. Singing with a smile and dancing like she wrote the music, she was one more of many grand performances in the show. She is also the only artist that performed with the Harpies that I hadn’t ever seen before (and this is my favorite part about seeing new things…) so I have done a little research and made a grand discovery. I like Brooke. I like Pop, Inc. The network never ends, and I always look for that silver lining…
Ok, moving on…so, we’ve had three girls guest for the Harpies, and just so you know, I could have used the word ‘trifecta’ to describe what I saw, but everybody knows that word sucks.
Bill Lindsey of Impaler knows it well.
He also knows how to do a pretty solid Johnny Rotten in what was now not a Harpies tribute, but a Pistol Whipped reunion of sorts. Pistol Whipped was a Sex Pistols tribute band which included members of the Harpies. Tonight Mr. Bill Lindsey made us all sing along with their screaming rendition of ‘Anarchy in the UK’ along with all the other Sex Pistols songs you might expect to hear…
…
And so we rocked and we rolled, danced and were merry, even the daughter of the star of the night was there singing along and having a great time remembering the good times. When it was all said and done, the night was a raging success, raising $1350 for the following two charities with the at-the-door donations alone:
Pet Haven
Virginia Piper Breast Center
The money was distributed evenly between the two, with the Piper Center’s share matched by a private donor. To find out more information or donate please use the links above.
NOW…on to the big EXCLUSIVE afterhours backstage all access INTERVIEW!!
The above pictured shoes, worn (or at least he made a nice attempt at wearing them) by Tracy Petterson, and later cursed, were the talk of the afterparty for reasons that have something to do with falling, twisting, hurting, breaking, spraining, and then not giving a fuck and putting on a show. While we weren’t talking about Tracy’s shoes, or his mostly broken foot, I was able to squeeze in a few questions for both him and Bassist Ed, the nicest guy I met in December of 2008:
1. Devil: Minneapolis music scene…better before or after the birth of Christ?
Harpies: We were born after…so…after.
2. Devil: Harpy means “that which snatches,” and in knowing this, it immediately begs the question, How many harpies does it take to snatch a light bulb?
Ed: All of ‘em.
Followed up by Tracy: How many do you got? And how many do you need?
3. Devil: All jokes aside…you’ve lost a beautiful icon who was a long standing part of many facets of our music scene. What’s next for the band?
Harpies: The disc will definitely be released. Right now it’s somewhat up to Matt for various reasons that may or may not have to do with cash, checks and credit cards. Replacing Mary is a difficult task. It’s certainly pending. Right now, the Harpies future is up for grabs, but we do have some wicked ‘possibilities’ already.
4. Devil: If you wanted new fans to know anything about Mary…what might they be?
Ed: She was a pain in the ass.
Tracy: She liked to turn on you like an attack dog…if she liked you, which is how I know she liked me, because she turned on me all the time.
Kenneth (innocent bystander and organizer of the benefit): Mary equals heart and soul.
5. Devil: Since you’re all harpies…what’s your favorite thing to snatch?
Ed: Isn’t the question not also the answer?
And Tracy…: If you can snatch a snatch it will open up a vortex and snatch you.
6. Devil: For my final question I will simply ask…does this website make me look fat?
Ed: No. It makes you look very…curvaceous.
###
Wow! Thanks Ed! They always say that black will lose you a quick 10 lbs…
Well that about sums it up, friends. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thank you for your support if you were at the show, or have donated to either of the charities that Mary adored. If you want to help the band, they ask that you simply request the Harpies on www.radiok.org (612-626-4770), KFAI (612-341-3144), and on Dave Campbell’s local show on the Current (651-989-4893).
Please share this blog with your friends, family, and anyone you know that can be inspired to live by that which makes you truly happy. In Mary’s case it seemed to be music, and that being so, I think she’d like it if you paid a listen to some of the artists that were involved in making her memory so great:
The Harpies
Pistol Whipped (no link, if you have one, please provide it in the comments)
Sirens of Titan
MercyKill
Apocalypse Theatre
Pop, Inc.
Impaler
You and Whose Army? (no link, again, please help in the comments if you can)
Red Flags
Al Grande Trio
Middle States
Chaka Khan
Thank you Mary.
-devil.
Mary Michaels
R.I.P.
June 17, 1957 – June 13, 2009
Tags: Al Grande, apocalypse theatre, Chaka Khan, impaler, Lolly Pop, MAry Michaels, mercykill, Middle States, Pet Haven, Piper Breast Center, Pop Inc., Red Flags, sirens of titan, The Harpies, You and Whose Army?
I’m going to kill every last fucking one of you!!
Ooops…wrong movie…
So sorry to startle you. What I meant to say was, one of these days I’m going to finally have time to update y’all on some of the new music and events that have transpired over the last couple of months! We’ve been so busy with the Apple River Event and the Dead Sound studio at Arctic we’ve unfortunately had to take a step back from the basement’s promise to deliver you the BEST of the fucking BEST of the Twin Cities local scene. Expect a flood…I’ve got photos…new bands to share…new bands to destroy…and best of all, more posts from the archives, sure to impress those of you with small IQ’s and inadequate vocabularies.
Stay TUNED.
-devil.
…Or was Ozzfest the really cool one? Hard to remember through the haze, the trees, the fleas and the breeze…
Whatever the case may be, Merry Ozz-Mas and happy Halloween to those of you who remember the good-ol’ days. I sure do. Well, some of them…the REALLY good ones are kinda blurry, if not complete legend. Speaking of legends…the festivals of yester-decade spawned some of the greatest stories of my life, shit, I started a religion at the last Ozzfest, ran into a campsite full of Fred Dursts (yes plural), went down the river in a suit and tie, lost my mind completely, and returned to tell the tale. I even had a deer damn near jump in my car on the way home one time…like right in the passenger window.
So you may be saying to yourself, WTF? Are you trying to re-live your childhood or something? Uh…NO, IDIOT. I’m STILL LIVING MY CHILDHOOD!!!
As such, I am stating now that the Apple River Rampage! is my un-official, official, belated birthday bash for 2010. Come join me, the devil, and all my beautiful friends as we rock, sway, and stagger through a weekend of blasphemously good times.
Make it as fun as you want to make it…I do, every single day.
One last thing…I know that camping isn’t really for everyone, and if you’re one of those people that loathes the thought of leaving the city…just bring the city with you. Graffiti up your domicile and pretend you’re just hangin out in the alleyway behind your favorite hooker’s house:
Yes, that’s really my tent. No, it’s not really for sale. Ok, yes it is. It’s $10,000.00. Buy it now.
-devil. <3<3<3
