Enemy Planes and other local music shows this week

As I have said before, this winter in Minnesota was tiresome.  The local musicians I love here are the traction that keeps my feet firmly planted in this harsh climate.  Since I have not been writing regularly about the music scene  this winter, I should start by pointing out one of the most impressive local bands I've encountered in recent months.  The band Enemy Planes has only been performing for a short time, but they have already released an incredible CD that became my anthem for the late winter months.  Their dreamy pulsating songs have been the soundtrack to my life since I first saw them at a house party in February.

The haunting melodies of Enemy Planes remind me occasionally of the affinity I have toward M83's album Hurry Up we're still dreaming.  

Definitely check them out.  They are very fun to see live.  In fact, they are playing at Cause Spirits and Sound Bar in uptown Minneapolis later today Saturday, April 12th, 2014.  They also will be playing at the Midwest Music Festival in Winona, MN, Saturday April, 26th.  Find out more about them and their music at enemyplanes.com

Enemy Planes was one of the bands who I've learned about through the Monastery House parties.  These parties have grown in scale and scope into impressive showcases of local musicians with a long list of bands eager to play.  These gatherings have even produced some music videos which have garnered attention from some mainstream music media.  Twice The City Pages has included videos shot in the basement of this house for their top 10 must see Minnesota music videos for the week.

Top 10 Must See Minnesota Music Videos featuring Moving Parts at The Monastery by Erik Thompson Thursday April 10th, 2014

Top 10 Must See Minnesota Music Videos featuring Phantom Tales at the monastery  by Erik Thompson Thursday March 27th, 2014

If your looking for some more local music to go to this weekend there are also a couple more shows besides Enemy Planes going on this weekend.

La Madness and Hot Damn! are playing tonight Saturday April 12th 2014 at Mayslacks in northeast Minneapolis, MN.

Also tonight, The Jelly project will be joining the  Nationally Touring Texas Hippie Coalition and The GooDBarS at POV's Sportsbar in Spring Lake Park, MN.

Since I'm pointing out local shows to go to, I should give you a few more for the upcoming week.  Next Thursday April 17th, 2014 Dream Crusher, Simon Calder band, Glow Mechanics, and DJ DT will be performing at the Kitty Cat Klub in the Dinkytown area by the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN.

On Friday April 18th 2014 MeMeMe will be having their CD release party with Circle of Heat at Midtown Tavern in Mankato, MN.

I will conclude with the events scheduled for next Saturday, April 19th, 2014.  Next Saturday will be National Record Store Day, so Hymies Vintage Records will be having their annual block party.

The Electric Fetus in Minneapolis will also be having a Record Store Day celebration with live music.

In Saint Paul the newly opened Barely Brothers Records store will also be having music from The High Crimes.

Then later in the night there are a few Shows as well.  Three Nuns and  Gun and my friend Nathan Reeder will be playing for the Westbank Hullabaloo at Acadia with a litany of other musicians.

Two entertaining local indie rock bands Via and La Madness will be playing at The Parkway Theater in Minneapolis, MN along with The Mayberry Riot and Dragich and the Trainwreck.

And, since the next day will be 4-20 Aitas, Perigrin Perspective, and  Vibes for the Tribes will be looking for positive vibes at the Driftwood Char Bar in South Minneapolis.

A Night Full of Musical Energy at the Triple Rock Social Club In Minneapolis, MN

Last night was the show I have been waiting for weeks to see.  It was a fantastic lineup of high energy local bands.

The opening band for the night was La Madness a local band who've found a decent following in California and have plans to dive from the springboard of our strong supportive local music community into the tank of sharks and big fish that is the west coast music scene.  They currently modestly hold the #2 spot on the website ReverbNation.com in Minneapolis, MN for the Indie / Rock / Blues category. http://www.reverbnation.com/lamadness  Their clear and clean riffs, vocals, and drums set the bar for the night's musical standard, and that bar was held high by both the bands who followed. 

The second act was a local band who are about to release their remastered debut album in Europe this next week thanks to the German record label that picked up this rising star and is intent to place it on the old growth tree of European musical competition.  The crowd also showed that Europe is not the only place these young talented musicians are gaining ground.  http://thelonecrows.bandcamp.com/

The night was finally crowned by the high energy rocking power of The Jelly Project, who were fresh and bursting with energy after having several weeks off since performing in Austin, TX last month at the South By South West music festival.  http://www.rockthejellyproject.com/

Although this wasn't the only show going on yesterday in Minneapolis even on the west bank alone, none the less I spent my whole night at the Triple Rock Social Club intermittently dancing, taking pictures, socializing, and enjoying the music.  A common theme of discussion in between sets was how saturated our scene is with incredible local music.  Almost every night of every week at multiple venues throughout town there are talented bands playing different types of music.  We are actually quite spoiled here in Minneapolis because there are so many great musicians, yet the scene is mostly intimate and filled with other musicians who enjoy the vibrancy and diversity of music we have in the Twin Cities.  Also, the vast majority of musicians in the scene are so appreciative and supportive toward one another that the camaraderie is palpable in the air.  As I walked through the crowd I saw dozens of local musicians who came out to support their friends' success, which is truly the most dynamic and enthusiastic support starving artists could hope for.  Thanks for an awesome show guys. 

As The Snow Slowly Melts

Despite the fact that winter seems unwilling to depart this chilly climate even a week after the official start of spring, the local Minnesota Music scene is starting to heat up for the upcoming warm season.  Here in Minnesota musicians have a tendency to hunker down for the winter to work on new material.  This makes logical sense too since your average music patron tends to be less interested in going out to a show when they have to travel through frigid temperatures and brave treacherous road conditions.  There have been some very entertaining shows over the last few months for those stalwart supporters of local music, but the months ahead promise great new songs and albums as the hibernating Minnesotans slowly thaw out of their winter stupor.  

For a few local bands the music festival season started early with appearances in early March at this year's South By Southwest festival in Austin, TX.  However, most of those bands have already received enough press in my eyes and do not need redundant exposure.  Likewise, the point of this blog isn't to fluff the nationally acclaimed bands who grace the likes of The Current, because they already have press teams following their every move.  I want to bring exposure to the bands anyone in the Twin Cities can go to see for less than ten dollars at a local venue and meet personally.  Our local music scene has many more musicians than are observed on the national radio channels, and they are all starved for and deserving of attention. 

With that in mind I would like to dedicate this post to a band that probably flew under the radar of most people at the South By Southwest Music Festival.  The Jelly Project are a local band who played on their label Funk-It Records' stage March 14th at SXSW.  They have been making heads bang and bodies rock in the local music scene for the last couple years as they slowly gain regional, national, and international acclaim.  Their music is gritty rock infused with the vocal styling of their charismatic lead singer Jelly, who's powerfully emotive voice evokes the style of Janice Joplin.  Check out their music and find upcoming shows at http://www.rockthejellyproject.com/  Additionally, they will be playing a show this upcoming Friday April, 5 2013 at The Triple Rock Social Club along with two other awesome local bands: The Lone Crows and La Madness.  This should definitely be a night to remember!  If your so inclined this is a link to the Facebook event for the show.  https://www.facebook.com/events/139827836188783/?ref=2

The Jelly Project at The Cabooze November 29th 2012

Another important event to take note of happened this last week.  Last Thursday was the Website launch party for a new music site based here in Minnesota which is designed as a tool for bands to gain exposure and interact with musicians across the globe.  The site is called itmusic.us  and their goal is to offer a meritocratic community for musicians to post their work, give feed back, and collaborate with other musicians.  The meritocratic elements allow bands to gain influence and credibility by interacting with other musicians in a social environment rather than paying directly to be promoted.  The idea is that the more a band or artist gets involved with the site the more credibility and attention they will receive.  The site is still in closed beta testing to work out the dynamism of such a complex matrix of interactions, so if you want to get involved in the ground level of such an innovative new site go to itmusic.us and add your e-mail to receive an invite into the burgeoning community.

The website launch party was an epic gathering of local musicians who spanned all genres and illustrated how interactive and inclusive the the Twin Cities music scene is.  There were performances ranging from an acoustic guitar duet called Hog Nosed Bastards to the video-game-music sampling rap of Style Biters and included a presentation by the CEO and founder of itmusic.us Noah Itman about the trajectory and intent of the new website.  Look forward to more news as the website progresses from it's primordial state into a new and innovative music institution.

Hog Nosed Bastards performing for the itmusic.us Bananza at The Sound Gallery

https://www.facebook.com/HogNosedBasterds?__user=1101231776

The Flamin' Oh's performing for the itmusic.us Bananza at The Sound Gallery

https://www.facebook.com/FlaminOhs?fref=ts

Mississippi Rising performing for the itmusic.us Bananza at The Sound Gallery

https://www.facebook.com/MississippiRisingMusic

CEO and Founder of itmusic.us Noah Itman giving a presentation about the new website

Style Biters performing for the itmusic.us Bananza at The Sound Gallery

https://www.facebook.com/thestylebiters

If anyone who attended has some awesome pictures from the other performers Sherbetty https://www.facebook.com/sherbetty?fref=ts , Burnet https://www.facebook.com/seans.page.5?fref=ts, or the DJ's please let me know so I can add them to this post.