Bring the ring, or a drink token, and they will come …
It’s now old news that Viking quarterback Christian Ponder came to Hudson with his squeeze, ESPN reporter Samantha Steele, to quickly get married at the government center and then hightail it back into the Twin Cities for practice. What you may not know is that it isn’t the first time a pro athlete has come to Hudson to have some fun, while at the same time be under the radar. Who do they think we are, rubes who don’t recognize the faces of journeyman second-string athletes with less than stellar ratings? Granted, it did require some of the workers to take a look at the signature before they realized who he was.
With that said, the ceremony was held just a few doors down from the offices of a couple of county government workers who I see downtown on occasion when they’re out dancing. But unlike other celebrities before him, Ponder apparently didn’t stay around to enjoy the amenities of our fine community and mingle with such people.
All this ballyhoo meant that the sign outside of Kozy Korner in North Hudson had well wishes for “Samantha and Christian Steele.” Read into that whatever you want. That’s apparently what was behind a Twin Cities news station coming over and doing a brief interview with Kozy’s owner.
A patron at Guv’s Place noted that last-name switcheroo, and said that the bartender, Jaime, looks a lot like Samantha and even compares favorably, with her flowing blonde locks and darker highlights.
A former regular downtown said that when he lived in Madison, he saw then-Badger offensive coordinator and future Viking coach Brad Childress getting cozy (that’s with a ‘c’ not ‘k’ at the start) with a woman who wasn’t his wife in the parking lot of a Madison golf course. I’m sorry, but even with alleged antics like that, the guy still looks a little too mousy to pull off his tough-guy persona.
Vikings aren’t new to Hudson establishments. Pro-Bowl caliber offensive lineman Chad Hutchinson, one of those people who protects quarterbacks like Ponder, was once seen at Hudson’s Green Mill with some of his (line?) mates. A worker at Green Mill who is a source of mine couldn’t confirm, or deny, the report.
A pair of former Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders have at one time called Hudson their own. One worked at Pier 500 back when it was known as Sunsets, and frequented Dick’s Bar. I met another when she was up here at Dick’s, and taking some time to re-evaluate the relationship she had back home. At the same time, she took in a Packer-Cowboy playoff game.
Speaking back again of wedded bliss, my friend and bartender at Dick’s named Michelle Brown sometimes jokes (I’m assuming) that she’d love to marry her big time sports crush, Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers. That would make her married name Brown-Braun. And I just had to pop the question of where, Brownie, would the two of you tie the knot and go on a honeymoon? Anywhere far, far away, she said. (Presumably a lot farther than driving from the Twin Cities to Hudson). And also, it would have to be very warm. (OK, that’s a choice very unlike that of Ponder-Steele).
Other pro baseball players could at one time be seen in Hudson. Owner Michael at Pudge’s Bar says that Twins pitcher Jack Morris used to come in quite frequently and have a drink. That’s possibly because he had built a mansion just south of here along the St. Croix River bluffs.
And don’t forget another star pitcher who’s lived in Hudson after retirement. That’s the record-breaking Jerry Koosman, of New York Mets’ fame.
Lastly, we go to hockey. Famous skater Neil Broten, who has friends in town, was known to tip a few at Pudge’s shortly after retirement, and a youngster named Cory who later starred for the Hudson Raiders was treated, if that’s the right word, to a stitch-up-quick technique by Broten. The youngster had gotten a bad cut and Broten aided him in the Gornick Arena locker room so he could get back out on the ice.
Working out of the same facility, the original owners of Total Hockey at least once brought clients — former NHL stars who were considering the start-up of such training centers across the country — to Dibbo’s to listen to a band while they talked business.

The terms that describe the musical acts at the Bayport BBQ, another area establishment that spins quality tunes, are as varied as its sound.
This club in an unlikely locale is self-proclaimed as a deep blues juke joint, although the City Pages out of Minneapolis-St. Paul also has done some proclaiming, dubbing it the area’s best blues venue in 2012.
That the kind of high praise you may see around the area for themed establishments, and in Hudson they include San Pedro with their trademark Caribbean food, and just down the block the Winzer Stube with its more-authentic-than-usual German cuisine.
But back at the Bayport BBQ, they feature national acts that play live when they come through the area, and are on stage various nights of the week, depending on their travel schedule, although usually its on a Friday or Saturday night. There usually is music twice a week, featuring blues played as an outsider, with alternative twists that might be considered obscure by those who don’t know the bands, owner Chris Johnson said. They are influenced by the northern Mississippi sound, and roots music. If you also like Americana, folk, bluegrass and rock, this might be your club.
“The bands are influenced by this raw kind of music,” Johnson said.
The club held their second anniversary in mid-October, with a 1980s rockabilly artist, Tav Falco’s Panther Burns. “Among those who know him he’s legendary, although with others he’s rather obscure,” Johnson said. The band, which has been led by vocalist and multi-media artist Falco since 1979, also features a psychedelic twist.
Other noteworthy players who have performed at Bayport BBQ include Alwin Youngblood Hart, who is a Grammy Award winner, and Kenny Brown, a slide guitarist who has played with well-known bands.
Then there’s the Rev. John Wilkins, a Gospel musician, whose father — also a reverend — originally did “Prodigal son,” which was covered by the Rolling Stones on their classic album “Beggar’s Banquet.”
The establishment was a fancy French restaurant, the Bayport Cookery, but then sat empty for about a year at its location just east of the main drag on Fifth Avenue North in Bayport. Now reinvented as the Bayport BBQ, the building has a multi-faceted storefront and interior, with more than one patio amongst its several distinct rooms, complete with large fireplace for ambiance. It is an intimate setting, with 60 seats available indoors, and more outside. A wall along the hall leading back toward the kitchen is adorned with dozens of photographs of artists who have performed at Bayport BBQ.
Johnson said the bands that play here are all the music that interests him, and he knows hundreds of artists, adding that each year he hosts a deep blues festival.
This may also be a case of come for the food, then stay for the band. The establishment has BBQ Texas style, made in the manner of dry rub with sauce on the side. It’s their own specially made sauce, placed on oak log smoked meat.
They also make their own bread fresh each day, stemming from the fact that Johnson was a baker as a young man, and the quality of the sandwiches is well-known, he said.
Meals are served Wednesday through Saturday, and this is not a late-night place, as they serve until 8 p.m. and music usually is on from 8-10 p.m.
For information, call (715) 410-1116, or (651) 955-6337.

The other day I stopped at a local watering hole and talked to the bartender, a friend I’ve known for several years named Josie Batchelor, only to find that without knowing it we’d actually crossed paths much earlier, the common denominator being music and a local drummer/singer who died way too soon.
I told Batchelor that night that she may not know it, but I’ve developed a reputation for singing with hard rock bands, that even has led to people paying me to go on-stage at open-mic nights and sing their favorite screamer.
Really, Batchelor replied, adding that in a lower key way she’d done the same thing, going years back. It started with her hanging out regularly on Thursday nights at Dibbo’s when the house band was an eclectic and very talented quartet called Captain i.
It turns out that we many times had sat just tables away from each other, then independent of one another engaged in conversation with the drummer, Jason “Ozzie” Oswald, who we both found out these years later was a mutual friend. It wasn’t long before I’d be taking a few turns singing heavy metal standards with Ozzie — whose band got me started doing these impromptu gigs — and whose calling card was that he not only pounds the skins, but sings at the same time.
So, I asked, how is Ozzie these days?
Haven’t you heard, came the response. He was killed in a local car crash. Late this November was the one-year anniversary.
In honor of Ozzie’s passion for music, initial plans were made to set up a band program where disadvantaged kids could obtain instruments was set up at New Richmond High School, where he attended not too many years ago.
When reached by phone, the band director, Matt Mealy, said he couldn’t confirm if such a thing had ever come to fruition, but he could confirm Ozzie’s passion for music. In fact, they were friends while growing up.
Captain i soon gained notoriety for its mix of songs and its antics onstage. To have a drummer sing lead vocals was unusual in itself, but there also was guitarist Nate, a stocky man who played barefoot while wearing shorts, even in winter, and careened nearly out of control back and forth during solos — at one point doing a sponatenous half-stage-dive. But shortly after they had recorded a CD — before that was something you could do yourself in unspectacular fashion — the band broke up just when they seemed headed for big things and were getting media attention that included tons of airplay on numerous college radio stations.
But when they were in their heyday of local performances, Batchelor and I ended up at the sessions because of mutual friends, who also knew the band. One of my best buds, Shawna, knew all those guys and the Thursdays on which we got together — and for a good year it was each week — became something to look forward to.
Shawna had heard me sing karaoke, but nothing more. So one night when it was slow, and Ozzie asked the crowd if there were any special requests, I just had to respond, “do you known any Black Sabbath?” You know, songs by that other Ozzy?
“We know Paranoid,” he responded.
“Can I sing it?” I dangled the idea.
It took a bit of persuation, but Ozzie let me come on stage.
One of his band members wasn’t too certain. “If it turns out that you suck, we’re gonna kick your butt,” he upped the ante.
Moments later, the band’s guitarists were laying down the song’s trademark, fuzzy introductory grooves, and my mind went blank.
I turned back toward the drum kit and asked Ozzie: “How do the words start?”
He frowned, and you could tell he thought I was just another wannabe. Then he spelled out the song’s first line for me.
To make the story short, I got my act together, and the newly energized crowd ended up spontaneously dancing, and a friendship was forged.
After Captain i disbanded, I ran into Ozzie periodically and always asked the same question — when are you getting the band back together? I told him that when he did, I wanted to blog about it.
Ozzie frequently said that he eventually had grown weary of the rigors of both playing the drums, vigorously and with a lot of extra fills, and singing as well. He wanted to be in a group where he could just be the drummer.
About a year ago, I kept running into him at County Market in Hudson, where he worked in the deli but people kept asking him about music. At first, the talks were lighthearted, such as when Ozzie asked rhetorically they were going to get some better canned music to play over the loudspeaker. And who would be the next Guns ‘N Roses-type big thing.
However, he soon started telling me that he indeed was going to be playing in a new band, and he seemed to be gaining a new energy over the prospect. He assured me he would let me know when it came to fruition.
Because of last November’s crash, we never got a chance to have that conversation.

The stylings of the duo Saving Starz, made up of guitarist Geno Zezza and vocalist Anthony Banks, are so diverse and hard to come by that they have taken the St. Croix Valley and beyond by storm in the past few years — really getting going when Zezza played a whole bunch of same-day shows in a row in Stillwater as a last second fill-in.
Banks has a deep, rich haunting voice that works perfectly for even tough-to-do songs such as those by Pearl Jam. Don’t watch him for very long, and it’s hard to miss that he moves his mouth near to the microphone and then away, which gives a rough edge to his vocals that only adds to their appeal.
He provides the only percussion by beating on a large conga-type instrument balanced between his legs, steadily producing sounds of differing pitches by pounding alternately on the middle of the skin, then on the edge, and in-between. (The duo adds a drummer, Cory Wavinak, at some of their shows).
Zezza, who has Hudson roots, is known for his hard-picking on the acoustic guitar, producing a lot of sound and enabling the duo to perform some songs that are more rock than pop. They even take on a more rockish song by Days of the New at many of their performances. “I used to break strings, all the time,” he said, adding that he then learned to tone it down a bit, and that the rate of occurrence differs in acoustic vs. electric guitars. “If it happens when you’re solo, ouch!”
Zezza is perhaps the most energetic and outgoing person you’ll meet, and he invariably greets members of the audience with a tight hug. When he sees me, Zezza comes over quickly and says, with an exaggerated Italian accent, “Mr. Vinta,” then gives me a noogie on the neck.
Zezza also takes a turn at comedy when hitting the right scene. “50 cent isn’t a tip, it’s a band,” he jokes when playing certain bars. He just laughed at a recent show when a drummer in another band kept shouting a request to hear a cover of hard rockers Soundgarden — although Zezza just might try it.
The duo recently was asked to play a prominent benefit concert in the Twin Cities at which Bret Michaels of hair-band Poison fame was the headliner. (The difference was that Saving Starz did the gig for free, and Michaels got $15,000, although to earn the money he did sit through a meet and greet). Another performer with strong local ties, Nikki Peppar, also played.
This isn’t the only high-profile concert Saving Starz has played. Their star really rose, and they took a prominent place on the local nightlife map, a couple of years ago when being handpicked as the musical act for an appearance by several Green Bay Packers. This day-long event in Hudson’s Lakefront Park and its bandshell was arranged by civic and Chamber of Commerce officials.
Most recently, Saving Starz was asked to perform in North Dakota in the area where lots of oil drilling is being done, and construction workers are being called in to work around the clock and make big bucks, Zezza said. Entertainers also are being shipped in from places as far as Vegas, as these mostly single guys have lots of disposable income and not much to do with their free time, in what is becoming essentially a new frontier town, he said.
That kind of lawlessness isn’t a real big draw for Zezza, as he is a traditional Christian who often looks for ways to insert some of that content into his songs.
Zezza says his favorite song to perform, in part for its spiritual value, is Wonderwall by Oasis, and they have a lot of tunes with that kind of tone. In concert, he and Anthony sit quite far apart from each other, although they get on the same page with eye contact. They sit crosslegged on a stool with legs tucked under in an almost yoga-type pose. The duo wears a lot of plaid and slightly torn jeans, especially Zezza, but the Saving Starz play list is much more than revamped grunge. It includes dozens and dozens of diversely styled songs.
Saving Starz plays largely in the Hudson area, but hits venues all around the St. Croix Valley and to the northeast, and also the Twin Cities. Their website is Reverbnation.com/SavingStarz, and they also are on Facebook, Myspace and YouTube.

You can often catch them at Dick’s Bar, Uncle Mike’s and the Willow River Inn.

The New Skinny is a band of Hudson musicians with a broad and eclectic playlist that will present songs you may have heard only a time or two, or not at all, and still have you tapping your toes by the second verse. They also really know how to play to the standing-room-only-crowds they attract.
The members pride themselves on steering away from classic rock standards and having a song list heavy on good tunes that are not overplayed. Even if you don’t recognize them, they are catchy with great grooves and the audience starts liking them right away.
Once into their second or third set, you even get to hear drummer Brandon Clark switch places with main guitarist Josh
Davitch and do some rapping that you might not find on this side on the Minneapolis warehouse district. It’s probably been a long time since you’ve heard a vocalist in the St. Croix Valley rip through “Busta Move.” Lead singer Josh Lassi gets into this part of the act by playing along vocally with Clark, as they face each other and make eye contact across the stage. The foursome’s bassist is Rick Smith.
Among the highlights of their performances are Lassi’s rendition of newly popular Cage the Elephant’s first single, a song where the vocals move along so fast few will attempt it. Lassi also provides the perfect vocal texture, which is supplemented by similarly toned guitar, on Pearl Jam’s “Yellow Ledbetter,” sounding very much like his rich-voiced and renowned counterpart, Eddie Vedder, from the Seattle grunge scene (who word has it likes to hang out in the east metro and beyond). Typical of New Skinny, they soon segue into “Only God Knows Why” by Kid Rock (who’s ex James King, a woman who is an actress and model, has been spotted in River Falls).
When doing the song about “99 Red Balloons,” the guys from New Skinny rock out much more then done in the atmospheric original, and ratchet up the tempo with their gender-bending and really get animated.
An exception to steering away from often-played songs, at a recent show, was “Summer of ’69” by Bryan Adams. This was done so people could dance, and many of them did get out on the floor.
Davitch at that gig showed versatility on his craftsmanlike guitar when a string broke and without missing a note during a rhythm part of the song, flicked the dangling end away so it wouldn’t interfere with his upcoming solo.
When Brando and Lassi co-sang “If I had a Million Dollars,” the note was held at length at the end while staring skyward, as Davitch likewise pointed his guitar straight up. The song’s lyrics had been tweaked to become a tribute to Jagermeister, incorporating Border Battle sports references for comedic value. The band was wearing two New Skinny-themed winter hats, and a pair of regular caps, one of which was thrown into the crowd — and then tossed back on stage several songs later. The thrower also tossed a drumstick, just to the right of the guitarist-now-drummer who was barely missed, and just smiled at the incident.
New Skinny has been known for their creative posters, put up around the valley, which incorporate things like “The World’s Most Interesting Man” and liquor company spokesperson, who says in them that he doesn’t listen to rock very often, “but when I do it’s New Skinny.” The posters also poke fun at the band’s name and the fact that some of its members show up on stage being just portly enough to “be real.”
New Skinny also plays shows under different names with slight variations in its lineup, most noteworthy Mount Josh More, the flyers for which display the presidents of the actual Mount Rushmore — plus Lassi’s face superimposed over one of them.
New Skinny plays in many venues around the valley, especially Dick’s Bar and Grill, Dibbo’s and Uncle Mike’s Em Pour E Yum. For their latest gigs, check them out on Facebook.

The timing of Halloween meant there were costume parties on both Saturday and Wednesday, with deejays and bands packing the various houses quite full of creatures dancing, which tended to be more along the lines of silly-quirky than the hot-sexy that has been the norm for the past few years.

Gel got the crowd going at Dibbo’s, although the biggest numbers of the costumed minions were at Dick’s, which had The New Skinny playing on Saturday and Brian Naughton on Wednesday. No matter where you chose to party, it was hard to go wrongwith finding lots of the undead.
The scene at Dick’s on Saturday, and again on Wednesday, was dominated by the stuff on people’s heads. One woman wore a headdress almost a foot high that was chock full of vegies, fruit and straw, and four days later there was a carbon copy sported that had mostly bananas and other big fruit.
On Saturday, a very tall man was one of two sporting a sombrero, and that was a good thing since the brim was so wide it could conceivably have sliced someone — although you must admit that would be fitting for Halloween. This biggie was tried on by several patrons, some of whom were just as tall. That same big guy changed it up a bit by having a baseball hat underneath the Mexican hat.
On Saturday, there was another sombrero, this one with colorful flairs along the brim. It is fitting that the Megatouch video game played at various bars had a trivia question about the Golden Sombrero, which is when a baseball player strikes out four times in a game. These costumes definitely didn’t strike out, although some did sport that other baseball cliche, The Collar.
At the Halloween party at Guv’s Place in Houlton, in this case held on a Friday, scare-fest Jess had the costume of the holiday. She put on tons of foundation makeup to essentially push her face forward, which allowed her the facial room to create an empty eye-socket look with no eyeballs. A finely made mesh at the forefront of the eye sockets enabled her to “see” who she was dancing with, although she said she had no peripheral vision.
Jess spent a lot of time dancing to the tunes of the band Off The Record with fellow bartender Cheri, who was dressed as what was described by various people as a duchess, countess or other royal figure. Her headgear, again, was tried on by many others, including a “priest” who had a hat of his own.
A last oversize head-enhancer was at the Dibbo’s party, a more than two-foot-wide, fittingly black hat that was studded with metal clips and other embellishments. Perhaps this witchy woman should have met up with the leather-and-metal-clad Edward Scissorhands, who was looking quite creepy at a place a few doors down. Another woman went that costume route with just the extended fingers — although hers were made of cloth.
Back at Dick’s, a man and a woman who were walking past one another noticed that they had the exact same oversize glasses, so they swapped these as well. Coming in the door was a woman dressed up as a bride, and although that’s not so noteworthyin itself, what got attention is that she was with a whole group of “bridesmaids.”
On Halloween night, a man put on the face of a bull, complete with big widespread horns and the biggest nose ring you’ve ever seen. Again, don’t poke anyone with those!
At Green Mill, a heavy metal rocker wore a guitar slung across his back, like the famous album cover by The Boss, but it was smaller than a regular instrument in order to fit the length of his torso. Think the size of a mandolin. Then on Wednesday at Ellie’s, Batman walked in with Batgirl, presumably to do battle with the already there Hannibal the Cannibal. But wait, that’s when The Joker was called up to do some karaoke, but not quite in time to elude the timely-entranced Caped Crusaders.

Meanwhile, at Woody’s in Bayport, the deejay wore a huge box on his head, looking like the “I’m Sexy and I know It” band member, but that wasn’t noticed by the “blind ref” who was getting the most out of his costume by agitating — poking around at people’s feet with his walking stick.
There were two super sexy costumes of note, which bucked the trend of the night. One, at Ellie’s, was a police woman with only a little leather here and there, which meant lots of bare midriff and even more skin showing on the back of her cutout chaps. The other, at Dick’s, was a Catwoman whose costume was dead-on for that worn by Halle Berry. Good thing she wasn’t at Ellie’s to meet up with The Bat Couple.
Combining sexy and quirky, but still mostly the latter, was a guy whose shirt was on a hanger that was draped across the back of his neck and head. The tag said “well hung” and the hanger was fittingly heavy-duty, made up of small pieces of pipe attached together.

Go into Guv’s Place in Houlton these days, and you will see lots of creatures with skeletal hands, many of them entangled in — or hanging from — spider-like webbing and holding outdated, creepy weapons.
Some heads also dangle from the ceiling, hung up by things such as their tounges or lips.
This is the seasonal contribution of bartender Jess Thompson.
Her love of putting up Halloween characters began when the kids came along — they’re now about 18 years old.
So that makes her a veteran, credentials that are enhanced by the five-year-anniversary of the startup of Guv’s, and its fourth Halloween party. This also has served as an anniversary party, and most every year the haunted offerings grow more extreme.
“This year I didn’t go as all out, with the bridge being closed,” she said of the span across the St. Croix River at Stillwater. “Still, people keep on bringing me things to put up.”
In the past, a lot to them have gone to also fill a big tent in parking lot, but this year the goblins have taken a break from that extra source of fright, since the patron level had temporarily dropped off. Thompson had purchased “trees” with creeping branches, and they were put inside the tent, prompting many people to take pictures with them as a backdrop.
Still this year, that doesn’t mean that characters such as “Uncle Charlie,” who is almost six feet tall, don’t hang out inside the bar.
What is Thompson’s scary style of choice? (Aside from dangling body parts).
“My favorite are creepy clowns. I find them amusing,” she said. They reside mostly in the corners of the bar, and are joined on the northwest end by a poor soul on a gurney who is being electrocuted.
Some of her co-workers have said they’re a little freaked by the clowns — as well as Death looming over an entryway to a back room — when closing up under dim lighting at night. “People tell me that they’re creeped out. They’ve said they have glowing eyes. I find that all a little funny,” she said about the fear inspired by those blinking windows to the soul.
Do Thompson’s co-workers tease her? “Oh yeah. Oh yeah. All the time,” she said.
And does she feel a bit guilty? “Nope,” she said without remorse. “But every year they give me crap.”
So she continues to add more things each Halloween.
No such pretense is needed at Season’s Tavern in North Hudson, or at some entertainment haunts along the main drag in downtown Hudson, such as the new tenants of the basement of the old Opera House, or various places high and low in the Dibbo Hotel.
Maybe it’s the history of this being a more rough-and-tumble area when a 1800s outpost town, but workers insist they have seen ghosts, or at least things such as plates or silverware moving about because of them.
At Season’s, the ghost is known to most longtime workers. It hangs out in one of the northern, back corners of the lower-level and is said to have a plaid lumberjack shirt, and be accompanied by a just as dead dog. Part of the theory about why this soul is so restless is that there’s a cave-like maze off the south end that led to his death in pioneer days.
To get there, you have to go through the kitchen, which is where he plays an occasional practical joke on staff members and makes things tip of shelves.
There should be a proviso here to diners. It’s very unlikely that you’ll have your meal disrupted by the ghost since he only comes out right before closing.
I guess last call even applies to the undead.

Loven’s Guitar Wizardry is Only The Start

Jeff Loven shows off his guitar expertise in front of a crowd at Dick’s Bar  and Grill on a Sunday night

The one-man-band performances of Jeff Loven in the St. Croix Valley are a combination of virtuoso guitar work, versatile singing of many styles and pitches, comedy and showmanship.
In his guitar work, Loven inserts a few extra fills and squeals into even the most difficult solos. “I always try to capture the solo’s main riff and melodies,” Loven said. “If you’re gonna play a song by Hendrix, Van Halen, AC/DC or Guns and Roses, stuff like that, people want to hear the solos played correctly but it still is always fun to break it up a bit and throw some of your own stuff on top.”
Loven not long ago was picked by rock guitarist Steve Vai as winner of Kahler’s International Bridge to Stardom guitar solo contest in Guitar Player magazine. Around that time, he got photographed with Eddie Van Halen, and there was a bid locally that called for Loven to open for that other guitar wizard when his band came to town.
Most of Loven’s songs are rock that’s not too hard or too soft, blues and a few original tunes that are funny because of both the words and the use of a quirky lead instrument, often an accordion.  A drum and bass track is used, and beyond that the show is truly a one-man band — although he plays a lot in western Wisconsin, he’s dubbed the best such performer in “Minnesota.” Loven often strolls through the crowd with his guitar, strumming and singing while not missing a beat. In one case, while in the next room over at Dick’s Bar, Loven threw the guitar strap back over his shoulder and handed the ax to an up-and-coming former local, blues guitarist Brandon Scott Sellner — all while in the middle of a solo. Sellner then picked up the tune made famous by someone who’s no slouch, Stevie Ray Vaughn.
Right before Christmas, Loven shot a video in Hudson that included pyrotechnics for his original song Heavy Metal Polka. “My friend Brynn Arens came up with the idea of shooting the live video of me playing with a polka band in a VFW setting and also with a metal band with a full-on rock show and mixing the two,” he said. “The crowd interaction on this song is outstanding when I play it nightly and I’m looking to tap into the energy of a great crowd. We’ll also be doing some bits with the people that show up as inserts.”
Take after take was done for hours at Uncle Mike’s, with some handpicked people really whooping it up in the polka part of the video at a front table. Loven, wearing an elf costume for a good part of the shoot, almost had the video blow up in his face, literally, as he once strummed a little too close to an explosive pot and ended up falling backwards. Uncle Mike’s had to get clearance from local fire officials to do the shoot, and it helped that they have a very high ceiling.
Loven often brings up a number of different people in bands and other prominent individuals for cameo performances of what has become their signature song. Prominent among them is Geno from the band Saving Starz, who once showed up with the same green-colored, canvas tennis shoes as Jeff. (Is that as much of a social blunder as when two women show up at a party in the same dress?)
I even am occasionally asked to sing some Jimi Hendrix or Clash – as long as I don’t get carried away and hold a note way too long over his guitar solo.
Loven plays all over the Twin Cities metro area, and across the St. Croix Valley. Regular gigs have included those like that at Dick’s, where Loven had played every Sunday night for more than 10 years. He got his start with bands such as the Kilowatts and in the ‘80s a speed metal outfit called Obsession, which held a reunion show at the Cabooze in the Twin Cities a few months ago. The now family man readily notes in teasing fashion that “he was great in the ‘80s, was hot with the ladies, played in a band with Tom Davies and is now just making babies.” The banter had a more serious nature a couple of years ago when his wife was battling cancer and scores of those people who have done cameos over the years turned out at a benefit at Throwbacks in Maplewood, Minn.
One-man-band contests are held nightly to name a tune based on his playing the first couple of notes. (People like yours truly who play the game like ringers are teasingly “put on a 30 second hold)”. Audience members get to cheer to choose the decade of the song being guessed, and it usually seems to come out – you guessed it — the ‘80s. If people have celebrated too much, they sometimes forget and “vote” more than once, so Loven has to jokingly chastise them. Prizes always include “a brand new car,” in reality a vintage Matchbox, and a free drink.
“I like breaking up the night a bit with a ‘Name That Tune’ car giveaway or sometimes I’ll have someone come up and take the Cowbell Challenge, (or tambourine playing),” Loven said of the silly bits where someone gets “Lucy Goosey” and does their best Will Ferrell impersonation as accompaniment. “The cowbell thing is lots of fun because I usually pick someone who has never seen me before but the audience is in on the gag. I guess we use it as an initiation of sorts.” He gleefully tells his cohort that the best way to ring the cowbell is to hold it upside-down and clank on the very edge of the rim.
Besides the Dick’s Bar shows, Loven also plays on a regular basis at Pub Monique in Stillwater and Meister’s Bar in Boardman, as well as having shows at other local venues. People can check the schedule at www.jeffloven.com.