Hudson Wisconsin Nightlife

Hear ye goes the harkening. As there are other sounds this weekend at Hammond Heartland Days, namely the music of Hailey James and Side Hustle. Hailing from this area, not to mention by covers Nashville and the Mean Streets. So Van Halen too hits Hammond.

August 8th, 2023

This happening is the heart of the heartland, considered the heart of the county. Not cowardly, via Kenny, with their musical covers, but roaring lyrics like a lion?

The music includes, yes, Heartbreaker. As in bringing Benatar. Pat patently comes to the pavilion. And more tunes said to be heartfelt, and hearty.
But take heart, no more puns, just substance, as Hammond Heartland Days has heaps of hot licks, too, with its lyrics.
They’ve happened onto Hailey James on Friday night, Aug. 11, who has performed a lot around the region, and now has taken it to the central heart of St. Croix, via the hub of Nashville.
Alongside Hailey, on Saturday night, is the “sideshow” and more of Side Hustle.
And befitting the themes, a good old fashioned truck and tractor pull, between shows, thusly, on Saturday late afternoon and early evening. Its gotta be 5 O’Clock somewhere, and that is this spectacle and its many machines, A Vulgar Display of Power beyond John Deere with its rumbling. Like an ol’ threshing hoedown, with hundreds and more of horses in power, before the night’s speakered amps even take hold. The tractor classes sound impressive, with about a dozen-and-half different four and five digit numbers as style IDs, and they throw around terms like not only Farm, but Turbo, Improved and Pro. So this isn’t just your daddy’s old basic green gizmo or red ride. There is a toned down, garden tractor pull the day before.
I do have to ask about some of these local festivals and their music. Where do they get these guys (and gals)? In a very good way.

 

— So what else is there on the Eleventh? Back to the Willow River Inn in Burkhardt, is the unveiling in the area, for the most part, of new band Herdes End, (kinda spelled like Hermes, but we can assume they’re country not, say, classical). Preps up the sheep dog trials at Badlands recreation center over Labor Day weekend, as spelled out by a sign in the ditch — is that not country? — near to the saloon. Makes me harken back to days of yore when such doggy tricks were first getting going, and included state-of-the-art obstacle courses much like horses in steeplechase and beyond and the Hudson area was Ground Zero, led by one local lady who moonlighted at Dick’s bar and grill selling shots. Are you viewing Rhonda?

Also on the Eleventh, we revisit again another W word, the Wild Badger in New Richmond, where they will host Samantha Grimes, on the patio, and display her take, as I announce it, on the auburn hair of a younger and — dare I say it? — hotter Peg Bundy. But not from Chicago. Closer to Milwaukee. —

 

Back to Hammond, starting with Hailey James, though not of the James Gang, who is a talented, obviously, singer/songwriter/performer/recording artist from neighboring Cottage Grove, Minn. She has garnered recognition as a four-time AWARD WINNER from the Midwest Country Music Organization, receiving thus-called prestigious titles such as 2022 Female Vocalist and Songwriter of the Year, as well as the 2021 Midwest CMO New Artist and Song of the Year for her track “Wide Awake.”
Having started her musical journey by playing local shows near her hometown, Hailey’s entertaining, as is said, performances have allowed her to captivate audiences throughout the Twin Cities, western Wisconsin, and even in the renowned music hub of Nashville. At just 14, Hailey found her place on stage as a weekly featured artist at Country Nites Saloon in Hastings, also just over the border in Minnesota, where she honed her skills/passion for performing in front of a live audience.
As an active member of, trifecta, the Midwest Country Music Organization, Songtown, and the Minnesota Music Coalition, Hailey continues to expand her musical horizons. She draws inspiration from esteemed artists such as Carrie Underwood, who you have No Doubt heard of, and Kelsea Ballerini and Lauren Alaina, channeling their influence into her own authentic sound.
When we talk about Heartland Days and heart, this is what we’re talking about.
Hailey’s dedication to her craft is shown in collaboration with up-and-coming Nashville artists and accomplished, chart-topping hit songwriters, shaping her unique musical style. Her dream is to, through her original songs and not just covers, become an integral part of the singer/songwriter scene in Nashville. Her original compositions have gained significant traction and can be heard on radio stations across the Midwest, making her a rising star in the abundant country music scene.
My new two-track album focuses on the things learned over the course of growing up and also reflecting on her younger self. “They’re an inside look at who I was and who I’ve become. I hope that when you listen to these songs that you reflect on who you were and what you’ve become, and that these songs inspire you to keep growing into the person that you’ve always wanted to be,” she expounds.
After the truck and tractors stop pulling, more music hits a couple of hours later on Saturday night.
Come that stated Saturday, just what is that Side Hustle from The Cities, aside from the obvious? We’ll let them tell it …
“We are Side Hustle. A collective of musical talent with an unconventional sense of style and taste.” Broadly hard rockin’ via funk, too, and also rock.
“When you’re on your ninth (but keep it in single digits) Coors Banquet at Applebee’s and some millennial jerkoff (not that there’s anything wrong with that) says that Van Halen is ‘dad rock’ …” They are there to defend Roth and rock, as a rollin’ band, via tunes and tonic.
Aside from that, take this into account. A single on YouTube shows them ripping through an amped-up covering of Separate Ways by Journey and Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar. So even more guitar for you, as the outro pumping solo really rocks!
Music starts at 8 p.m. both nights.

Rain, rain go away. Though I’ll take the thunder, as it rolls and rocks, you keep the lightning. But no sleet. Follow those Four (now winded) Horsemen. But the fair’s crew was more than just fair in size. Other such concert crowds were also seen. (And right after UFO Days, the rainy sky was filled with craft piloted not by Bruce, but by all those dozens that popped out of the pod with brother-resident alien Ofu?) —– And care of your own siblings and cousins too, and take heed my Michigan crew. See Notes From The Beat.

August 4th, 2023

The Four Horsemen, By the last breathe of the four winds blow.

And Kashmir, but not nearly the four winds to fill your sails.

Even if those four winds are only half, they can have a punch. Like Hudson versus North Hudson. And disrupt your ability to go out and see, say, Metallica or Zeppelin. And yes, Lars did show up here once — and I swear a lookalike with bigger jowls was out at Ziggy’s last night, though that may be cheeky — to scout a non-drummer for his record label. But that’s another story.
Or create more Muddy Waters, flowing up to the top of a storm sewer during the latest storm, and well over Second Street intersection curbsides and not at Kern’s, from about that time frame in Elmwood concerts.
That show went on. And I’ve heard various twists on that theme about in particular New Richmond’s Fun Fest. The paper said that when all was said and down and rained upon, customer traffic was hot. But at a northernly pub, a different story, as it was noted the numbers of the hoards was basically OK, but not like in many past years. Some have blamed that, said from early in the weekend, on a new rule limiting the access methods between the bars and tents — and predicting the veil would be lifted by say, Saturday night.
But it is fair to say that although the rain song was no less fair to the fair, at the county’s other end, but attendance still was high through the droplets. They did not have the run on ripping up shrubs that was seen in North Hudson. Then lined up along the sidewalks of their main street.
But there will be none of this at The Gaslite show this weekend for their first annual — that’s a prediction according to them — Trimbelle Days, although this is in nearly right-by Ellsworth. The bands remain the same, the tried and true multi-members Coconut Tiger (Friday night) and Hitchville (Saturday night), and their potent posses, but there’s more here. There’s Sunday.
And a ride that could be a full phone number, or maybe a social, as that would be fitting: PCAA UTV/ATV. At an 11 a.m. start, there is a ride to and through the trifecta of Spring Valley/Elmwood/Plum City, across towns and villages, and over hill and dale and byways. Breakfast is available starting a 7 a.m. The main event, so to speak, gets going at 9 a.m. They note that out of state riders need a trail pass, anticipating the breadth of the event and that people would come from the Twin Cities, so if you are from there, consider joining them.
There’s Elmwood popping up again. The principles of their UFO Days have announced that there may need a bit more time to gauge their overall attendance, measured by brat and hot dog sales, based on allegations that resident alien Ofu had rigged the results of the Tofu eating contest. In related news, it was revealed that one of his 76 siblings to come out of the pod together, Nofu, has been denied a permit to do further medical experiments as an “alien in residence.” And he’s not Dr. Who.
My sister-in-law, now from Milwaukee and growing up in Elmwood, was back there on Saturday night, and teased about it by many people the other 364 days. To quote her, she was “actually” at the fest, (rather than virtually, as the aliens had also been denied that permit, by local, global and intergalactic officials.)
She didn’t see Will Smith? Or Tommy Lee Jones? The fest goes back as far as the acting origins of the Men in Black, who have given their view on resident aliens — so long ago that those Suits now could be grandfather and great-grandfather, wearing matching and natty wool sweaters — and not to make the aliens explode, oh TLJ. Resident Evil? Many more a movie to cite.

(For more world-and-beyond news of the weird, and how to partake, see the Picks of the Week department).

(And for more on Joe’s Wholesome Holistics — becoming Mr. T — see that Health Department also, pretty please protect your thus stated health).

WildLoveGoods offers customized clothing for all ages (hoodies and t-shirts and more), engraving (cutting boards) and woodwork (blanket ladders). Just for starters. —– The boutique brings here a bit of the wild side, in a good and yet diverse way that suits all tastes. WildLoveGoods allows you to take in all that flair without having to travel almost an hour one-way into The Cities. You could spend that time shopping!

July 31st, 2023

IMG_6714IMG_6710IMG_6709IMG_6712IMG_6713IMG_6708IMG_6707This new offering as a boutique is bustling with bountiful things, and at the same time spacious, as it brings much love and just a bit of the wild side — in a differently good and diverse way that suits all tastes and ages — to breathe new life into the downtown Hudson south side. They’re right there on the right, if you are coming into our (sometimes a bit too quaint and quiet so go let your hair down) town from the likes of St. Paul/Minneapolis and even farther beyond. And you will come here.

WildLoveGoods allows you, shoe on the other foot, oh Hudson-area resident, to take in that flair without having to travel almost an hour one-way into The Cities. You could spend that time shopping for so much! For stuff like you see pictured alongside this written post.

WildLoveGoods is a new, three-becomes-one-word named, boutique in Hudson by the St. Croix River, and there is plenty to love. Your gas tank will like it too. As will people taking traditional and pushing it toward new trends, in an again good way, with flair that includes flared skirts and now-stylish leggings. Thus is our (wildly loved) land of the free and home of the quite brave in style.
Though they are fairly small, they are mighty among shops, as they carry an abundance of different items ranging from girls and women’s clothing and decked out accessories to home decorating and lifestyle themes. A lot here in a still rather intimate setting. Their main idea in opening this boutique was to help bring more new and upcoming styles to the local area. A lot of people tend to travel outside of Hudson and into the Twin Cities to go shopping due to the lack of options they have closer to home. So try them out rather then trekking almost an hour. (The east metro just won’t cut it for cutting boards). WildLoveGoods is a great place to not only shop for yourself, but to find gifts for loved ones as well. They offer customized options for clothing (hoodies and t-shirts and more and see above how well they work with stretchy and now wildly stylish popular pants), engraving (cutting boards), and woodwork (blanket ladders). They are always getting new items, thus expanding their range, and each time you stop in you will most likely see something new!

 

— Who goes around, with music, comes around. And in a retro way, I added by mistake, then edited, the work “coke.” To an actual point, that Jolly Johnnie Roger guy with the history of rock n roll tribute show, who was prominently at Elmwood UFO Days, does indeed look like Buddy Holly, horn-rimmed glasses and hair. (I will not invoke Johnnie Rotten, as that would be too diverse). But in a much more obscure website photo, with a trace of beard, Johnnie also looks facially quite like Clint and Lemmy, or a combo thereof. Roger that. But that said, I also recently noticed that as far as look and drumming style, Fleetwood looks much like Lars. (Can you guess last names?) Strange bedfellows all-around. —

An example of the (far) above …
For about a year now, very tight and stretchy leggings, usually black, have been a staple of many a woman’s wardrobe as they look great on virtually everyone and their many hip forms, in their own way, and you can see these at WildLoveGoods. These pants and shorter delicately flared shorts, complete with just a few pleats, work for women in much the same way, and are among those shown in the photos, supplied by WildLoveGoods, and accompanying this piece. Another shows the polar opposite for seasonal wear, comfy yet stylish white fleece with black stripes. And a designer-type flask laid on a bed on cottony cloth.
Some of the three-(again)-component earrings to which I attest have similar striping, both with wings that are also flared. And we can’t forget dad, because we know he loves to grill if not just cook, so give him some homage with a cutting board so he can bring the heat. Or your pooch with his and your favorite pet-sloganed funny and funky glass. So for them light one candle, as they sell those housed in cool ceramic containers too, or two or three lights to shine.
The front window has beauty and nature, as one, in art that’s drawn on with various white flowers and such, beckoning you to come in and see more. (And a lot of colorful potted plants also, propped up in front). Once inside the door, there is more fern-like flora and an open space that allows people to take in all that and more. And between the aisles there is plenty of room also, so you can breathe.
You can follow them on Facebook at WildLoveGoods boutique Hudson, Wis. or on Instagram @ _wildlovegoods.  More ideas await at https://wildlovegoods.square.site/

They are open virtually everyday, rare for a boutique, and also feature expanded hours. And the fact that they have a rewards card means you can delve deep into their offerings.

Still to come on the stages of Elmwood UFO Days are a tribute to Buddy Holly and Beyond and starting the decades early, and groups that fitting for this region, strum all kinds of country and beyond, Patsy and Pink, lots of leads and even include a really cool bass keys player! —– But the party over in Hudson might not get started if the power goes out, and I’ve gotta go now because the thunder is again rumbling, but check out the most recent tale in the Notes From The Beat department.

July 28th, 2023

These are the days, as in Elmwood UFO Days, and this four day and night summer fest continues to boast a quality and diverse lineup of sounds and musicians, featuring four bands, going through Sunday.
The show of impersonator Johnny Rogers, A History of Rock and Roll, is framed as Buddy (Holly) and Beyond. Songs are from the 1950s through 1980s, and the list is longer than a held note, of prominent venues and testimonials from those who knew and played with Holly.
His father was a radio personality in the late ’40s and early ’50s, who crossed paths with some of music’s biggest legends: Elvis, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr., George Jones, Lefty Frizzell, Marty Robbins, Conway Twitty and more. His young son had no interest in playing, until he heard Holly for the first time.
The song was Rave On. He said it was like someone or something turned a switch on inside of him.
While Johnny was in high school, finding kids his own age with the same taste in music seemed impossible, so he began to look for older guys that grew up on the tunes, sneaking into the honky tonks with his father’s help and a fake ID, but being there only to learn the job of being an entertainer.
Johnny’s father was good friends with a Chicago honky tonk legend named Jimmy Nichols, and had given Nichols his start in the late ’50s. Now the favor was given back. Johnny started playing lead guitar for Nichols at the age of 15. He was self-taught and learned all musical styles, which he now brings to his show, making a debut on stage at the Off Broadway Lounge as an immediate big draw. People would come from miles around to see the kid with horn-rim glasses and lightning guitar licks, who continued playing guitar for the Chicago legend until age 21, fittingly, and it was time to start his own band and show.​
Marshall Star Band offers three strong vocalists, steel/fiddle, piano and lead guitar, self-contained with sound/lighting and a sound engineer for most occasions, and they play a variety of them. The set lists range from classic to top forty country, classic rock favorites and originals.
They are known for singing and dancing with members of the audience, especially those with challenges and making the heart melt, as one fan said, and giving a feeling of family.
Voted as one of the Chippewa Valley’s top three bands for six consecutive years and a five-time WAMI nominee, The Bear Creek Band hails as an “extreme variety” entertainment group performing a huge variety of musical styles, from Hank Williams to ZZ Top, from Patsy Cline to Pink, in a fast-paced show for all musical tastes and full lighting and sound production teams available. The BCB are: Paige Lee, lead and harmony vocals; Emmalia Kay “Emm K,” lead and harmony vocals and acoustic guitar; Owen Smith, lead and acoustic guitars and lead and harmony vocals all the way from Phoenix, AZ; Dan Callan, keyboards and bass keys and lead and harmony vocals, and also really cool older long hair; Randy Bartlett, drums and percussion and lead and harmony vocals; and Glenn Tollefson to boot, also on drums and percussion.
These are concert details: Johnny Roger’s History of Rock and Roll in a Friday street dance at 7 p.m., Marshall Star in a street dance on Saturday at 8 p.m., and the Bear Creek Band at Kern’s Kurbside on Sunday from 3-7 p.m.

This might be the sub-Sublime, and second acts. Band bassist Eric Wilson of that sorta supergroup will at the Wild Badger on Thursday. And afterward there will be a Sublime afterparty. Happy?

July 25th, 2023

This is much more than just being Sublime. Alternatively? One of their music makers, as in a featured (and surviving should I point out?) member, subtle bassist Eric Wilson, will have a new show at The Wild Badger in New Richmond on July 27, and on the bill specifically are bands Space Allen and The Happys. With a promised Sublime afterparty. Shot specials being served (by such girls?) at 9 p.m.
I’m guessing the recent national fried chicken day idea came out of a deep fryer in the deep south. So wing it with your lunch plans. Half price for a half-chicken? Then go see the sub-Sublime, (you won’t still be able to get the, fuller, fried chicken special come Thursday).
I came across the band name HEBEGEBES for the first time in a while recently, all five consonants and four Es of them spelled out, and just for good measure there is another group with history playing Ziggy’s in Hudson, the Justin Barts Band on July 29.
Murdered to Death, a spoof in the best tradition of — as in the best of? — Agatha Christie continues its run at the Phipps Center for the Arts through the end of the month. And also, register for Summer Arts Camp. There was this time at Band Camp? Or would that be a cheesy encore by Motorhead, playing Killed By Death, Overkill and of course, Ace of Spades.
Across the street, at the band shell, it was a (lack of) River Fest residue after dark. Around 11 p.m. No signs of singing at the band shell, and not even the obligatory rock show litter up by the stage.
This was a travesty to begin with, in the land of Milwaukee beers. Bud Light had been the best seller, but in May lost that rank. But through the summer you could see many a promotion in bordertown liquor stores to regain that status. Help out. Be a Bud. Also by going to Kwik Trip and buying soda enter the contest to win a (Chester remembered?) Bennington pontoon boat the size of a living room on the water. On trusses the size of sofas.

Is so much metal truly about God and religion? If so, would you love to learn how to write lyrics like Black Sabbath? By rhyming words like aristocracy, animosity and atrocity? Blatant plug for myself, I’ll be hawking a DIY handbook soon that will show you how to do just that! Citing all sorts of backup background. Drop me a line, via About, if you’d be interested.

July 24th, 2023

Something new, or maybe not, referenced before in cursory form on posts on this channel, or just call it a blog, is how to write lyrics in a heavy metal style that simply transcend. Even spiritually. Epically.
Below is an example of my own composing of such, a bit Iron-Maidenesque. Not everyone rhymes words in a single verse like aristocracy, animosity and atrocity. Or understand the reams of background that got these brilliant lyricists where they are today.
I’d love to show you how to make this your own, and write such lyrics yourself. (With all sorts of variations that I’ll explain at length, and numerous in-depth and specific mental exercises to bring you there, coming from sources used creatively that are unlikely for such applications, until you stop to think about it.) All through a DIY handbook and its followups that I soon will make available on this website. I will likely update this, as there is so much to say, with monthly installments of new tips in the inside departments, such as Killer Metal Lyrics. (You may have seen some of them listed alongside the homepage, and right now they are (unintentional) duplications of other posts but over time will delve into all kinds of new topical stuff).
For this deep stuff, most people need it explained — so here we go. My metalhead friends say I’m taking it to another level. A lot of this style goes deep into theology.
Some easy interpretations
I chose some of the easier-to-understand messiah references down toward the end as examples, only because the thought can be condensed. As some of this stuff is so deep it is almost beyond human comprehension on just one time around. I hope to provide a framework for the numerous references that are even more complex and open to different interpretations. Am I sometimes barking up the wrong tree when I see all these different layers that only a few others have ascertained — but likely the writers themselves? A very learned and successful man I talked to — he got off on U2’s The Joshua Tree — said this about even the basic messiah-mongering stuff that is described down below: “This is way over my head.”

Filth meaning
(But first an aside: Bands like Cradle of Filth, although edgy, are worthy of example because they are in another universe with their songwriting, and many others have copied it in lighter tone. The band title? The frontman is named Dani Filth.
And besides, for a variety of other metaphor reasons, do you think that the Bible’s manger was just all clean straw? Artsy.
I maybe, or may anyway, break from the rest, in how I write lyrics about such things, because I’ll not go to that degree with my symbolism; is there really a need to mention it just because it’s probably true? Or is that why this is truly art.
I’ll just get more poetic instead. A new friend says: By their fruits you will know them. Their points of emphasis are shown by the songs they choose to cover. It might seem odd, but Cradle of Filth is one of many bands to cover Hallowed Be Thy Name, the Iron Maiden prayful classic of a man going to the gallows that got the whole music reaction thing started in the first place.)
Word choice
Like not many others, to re-emphasize, I will rhyme in a single verse words like aristocracy, animosity and atrocity. That will set people apart.
And at times it is not really profound — a very overused word — just artistic word play. They write scapegracing rather than scapegoating, I say analog to make a point versus analogy.
Grand ideas
Some writers just tweak the concept — their combining words to make one is said to be like Paul in the New Testament, and that’s all fine and good but do they bring forth original thought? I think a better route is forming grand ideas, as opposed to simply word play that may just involve a very high vocabulary and use of phrases. Without further ado, see my example below, and I’ll share scores of these types of lyrics over time.

(The backstory of the lyrics that follow, I wrote them in five minutes, is that what if, all those macho men who bed hundreds of women, leave a spiritual piece of themselves behind with each one, and could not just sever the ties clean and go blithely forward. Imagine the cost).

Thoughts and prayers for me
and my betrothed, more than one?
And for most all of us, it will be
as we reach the deepest bowels of our souls
and into them dwell

What if you give away,
so many pieces of yourself
that there are no pieces left
many pieces, big and small,
but in the end, they all … they all

Those who you have actually known
The connection stronger will be shown
and what if that perfect one
was made more perfect, how?
that is the way it is done

Woe to you
who’ve bedded a hundred women
on all of you the wrath
of isolation and eventually ..
scorn will be given

Not a thousand needed
but merely a hundred
it will do, as well, to
a tinged soul plunder

Such seeds are sown in a holy place
But in that space, fell from grace

A thousand warriors I have known
not Perfect, wounded veterans all
and it’s not just in battle that they fall
for the very soul of your Queen awaits
and its absolute longing pervades and spreads
since what is fruitful will multiply

For the need to be complete
in a truly spiritual form
will never go away
once you’ve lorned
regardless of your loins

Though some baggage with women will remain
it’s not too late to change your wonton, wanting ways
But to backtrack, religion intentional?
Is all the theological imagery in metal especially, although overt, actually done on purpose? “The smoke of her burning,” again Dani Filth-written, a song with dozens of very-specific analyzed references — starting with the 70 A.D. Jerusalem siege — to all sorts of views of Revelation, Matthew, Daniel and such, answers the question flat-out, or is that just how I see it? One online explanation to the song goes on close to an hour. Too long for here.
These writers often just play off each others songs, in what early-on was like a closed club, with just a few bands that often mixed and matched members, so there is a body of work to reference and patterns to be seen, using song references few people understand, but love to find out about. This depth is like comparing Michael Jordan to a high school player.

Only Jesus can do
Also, in both metal and I’m sure many forms of literature, there is a metaphor where Jesus is the one who can do what no other can. And because he was part human, he’s also said to be the world’s best lover, and has even brought speculation about being its most well-endowed.
(Will I go into that territory?)
But how about this, by a group with a religion-themed name, Deep Purple, so that gives you a hint: “Sweet Lucy was a dancer, but none of us would chance her, because she was a samurai. She made electric shadows beyond our fingertips, but none of us could reach that high.” There can be many interpretations of “reach that high,” such as the height of a stage, or a lunge heavenward, or a superior spiritual state. But get this last line, a one-word changeup: “ONE of us could reach that high.” Guess who that could be?
Are these things important, or just mental gymnastics? But if they make people more comfortable with God and yes, bring about their understanding of theology and faith …
For grace of God go I
But another topic. There is a frequent metal metaphor, misunderstood, that can be summed up as “but for the Grace of God go I.” So how about this line, in a song about a hit man with a conscience. “Shot in the dark, one step away you. Shot in the dark, nothing you can do.” Meaning? If not for fate and God’s providence, you or I could be that person having to shoot, and then live with the consequences of our actions.
These lyrics writers often play with numbers, mostly three and seven. There’s even a style where one person in the Holy Trinity is being addressed in some songs, more than the other two, since they are in the best position to address the human need being presented.
Two Minutes to it
Some would say all this is a reach. But Iron Maiden has been asked to explain this satirical ending lyric in an antiwar anthem, about the atomic doomsday clock: “The killer’s breed are the demon seed, the clamor the fortune the pain. Go to war again, blood is freedom’s stain, don’t you pray for my soul anymore. Two minutes to midnight, the hands that threaten doom. Two minutes to midnight, to kill the unborn in the womb.” First, there is the Bible verse that says God will visit the father’s sins on the sons. But this is what they said about that last line: In what’s apparently a rather obscure reference, the Bible makes the comparison between the destruction in the final stages of war, and the pain a woman goes through in childbirth.
Dio and whose words
And this from Ronnie James Dio: Once the words of a song leave my lips, I no longer own them. They become yours to interpret however you see fit. So over and over, they give the listener free will to make such choices in meaning. And if there is one takeaway I have about metal lyrics, hundreds of times over as those in the last paragraphs, if you get stumped, think Biblical. Thus, the lyrics have almost exclusively been said, if such singers are pressed in an interview, to be of a “Christ figure.”
I think my handbook would be a perfect way to introde this school of thought, as its just this kind of empathy and intuition and similar subject matter that’s driven so many heavy metal songwriters since their beginnings, (once you really get behind the thick symbolism). They have been just as tormented as I with things like crazy strong emotional connections, shown in the “Easter Eggs” in dozens of songs.
(In the following “theory,” which could also be spun off of into song lyrics, I present what I now see — based in part on a song I just heard — as parallels to the warlike effectiveness shown during the sieges of Jerusalem as described in the Bible, which some of those people brought on themselves by being ungodlike. Do you think the analysis has merit? Or is it overstated? Would you offer another layer or line of reasoning?)
Jesus as uncaring?
As I have gone through excessive ruminations about theology, and the role of God in Three Persons in it, I began thinking about the lack of a Messiah at times, apparently, to protect the very weak, even though that is what He was all about.
Christ on the Cross died the most horrific death a person, even a (half) deity, could imagine. That is a matter of record, to a degree I’ve checked out from theological concern, that only gets worse as you explore further. But what of the hundreds of rotting corpses that the Romans left hanging from crosses as people ventured into Jerusalem, as a method to control the populace through fear the same thing could happen to them.
So why did Jesus not put His money where His mouth is, call all those legions of angels to come and as part of the picture free the Israelites from the tyranny of the Romans? Did Jesus not care so much about all those who befell the same fate as He, although maybe not as torturous? Or was He simply working within the constraints of the culture in which he lived.
But there’s got to be more to this, and I have prayed for answers — something I always default to — that are not angry and aggressive. And now maybe these answers are now here.
If all those angels (check out the metal band Armored Saint) did take down the Romans, there would have been the horrible deaths faced by tens of thousands of their soldiers, and maybe a few innocent angels in the process. Not as bad as being crucified, but the sheer difference in numbers affected has to speak to you. And once a dictator is overthrown in this manner in a given province, other peoples are emboldened to also act, with a domino effect.
And further, and more importantly, such a coup by Jesus would have put the entire ancient world and its long-established-and-still-evolving systems into turmoil. Consider the positioning of these countries in the overall region. Caravans of food and other marketable and very valuable goods across Asia and much of Europe and even Africa, which dealt with more then just newfangled spices of ther Orient, though that’s what you hear about most, would have been disrupted, and with that the meager food sources of the general populace would go asunder. And thus, the barter system so many replied on for an again, meager, sort of income, would be compromised. Or that’s my take on it, Coming From A Land Of Plenty.
Invoke Alexander
So what’s the end run here? I check out not only the Bible but also my Biblical metal music. The logical source of such commentary? An Iron Maiden song I’d long been wanting to check out, Alexander The Great, would be a source of insight.
The rub: Alexander started as a regional leader wanting to overthrow (tyrannical) governments, but he was so skilled he eventually conquered almost all of the known world. And Maiden pointed out what you might not normally hear, all this spread of culture and ideas along a fast track allowed the later establishment of an (enhanced) version of Christianity throughout the land. Certainly, this new religion would not have spread as broadly and as fast.
The politics of Jesus
So when considering that many Jewish leaders viewed Christ as a political failure, I need to revisit the words of rock groups like (very aptly named) Nazareth and Oasis on the politics of being the Christ, and all-in-all they are very much apologists, and I’m thinking more and more that’s OK. My friend who is a (lowkey) metalhead, concurred with my interpretation. Here are the two intros:
— “Heartbreaker, soul shaker, I’ve been told about you … what they are saying must be true … times come to pay your dues. Now you’re messing with …” That’s Nazareth, but later Oasis really got into it:
— “Today is gonna be the day when they throw it all back to you. Somehow you got to realize what you’ve got to do … Nobody feels the way I do about you now … Backbeat the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out. I know you’ve heard it all before, but we never really had a doubt … Today was gonna be the day, but they’ll never throw it back to you … Maybe you’re the one that saves me. So after all, you’re my wonderwall.”
The singer says it’s about a hidden inner and possibly divine voice that guides him. A truism in metal.
Only a messiah, lyrically.
So tell me if I’m wrong, but who else in human history could the following phrases have referred to except Jesus, (the Ozzy lyrics come from Iron Man and what could be seen as its sequel Bark At The Moon). However, the critics, unchurched, have called the main character a killer robot or a vengeful werewolf. The lyrics are not to be taken as literal, and artistic license is taken with numbers, and Jesus can be shown even in the Old Testament to be a vengeful messiah, to prove a point about what we as sinners could be seen as deserving. (I do have this concern, what would Jesus think about such a presentation, after what he is said to have done for humankind. But I do like the idea that the pharisees and other hypocrites are skewered). A sampling of these lyrics:
“He was turned to steel, in the great magnetic field, when he traveled time, for the future of mankind.”
“Vengeance from the grave, kills the people he once saved.”
“They killed and buried him alone in shame, and thought his timeless soul had gone … But he’s returned to prove them wrong, so wrong.”
“Years spent in torment, buried in a nameless grave, now he has risen … Iron Man lives again!”

You can call it five different music acts — six if you count the musical comedy, a theme here, of Ole and Elmer — in seven or thus eight different performances. Then add muttin busting and a diaper dash, simultaneously, and much more, and you’ve got the St. Croix County Fair!

July 21st, 2023

The St. Croix County Fair is several music acts and more, and various variety of every type you can imagine that’s hard to beat, and here are selected activities over in Glenwood City. (For a thorough breakdown, see the two posts below).
First of course, lets start with the music:
— The Whitesidewalls rock N roll review, 7 p.m. on Friday at Croix Court.
— The Weekenders classic rock, 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Tiffany Creek Pavilion north of the horse arena, (yes there are two bands playing at one time!).
— String Showdown challenge, with three shows for your buck, (no wait as all music is free), at 1 and 3 and 5 p.m. on Saturday.
— Blue Moon Drive, honky tonk classic country, 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Tiffany Creek Pavilion. (See more on them below).
— The Memories musical variety show, 8 p.m. on Saturday at Croix Court, and they will also help lead a non-denominational church service at 8 a.m. on Sunday.
These are some of those other, as stated, selected activities of the many during the weekend:
— Muttin Busting and Boot Scramble, and also the diaper dash, both of them, at noon on Saturday.
— George of the Jungle with comedy, music and juggling, at 2 and 4 p.m.
— Ole and Elmer, (yes more musical comedy with Swede theme), 1 p.m. on Sunday, and also the Fairest of the Fair at 2 p.m. Sunday, both of them, at Croix Court.
Lastly, a Blue Moon Drive breakdown, as they hail from Roberts, which is pretty darn close to Glenwood City.
Blue Moon Drive is heavy on the cowboy hats, honky tonk style, at least half of the men sporting those that are black. Johnny Cash vibes?
There will no doubt be killer sightings of their trademark koozies. Not just cross-county and a bit more, as in Prescott, and Little Yellow River, but at times cross-country and cross-continent, transported all the way from Juneau, Alaska.
There is much more to meet the eye, and for the rest of the story see the fair’s website.

These two mainstays, and a relative newcomer although no stranger to the weekend, via their name as explained below, bring golden oldies, doo-wop and rockabilly, and country and light rock to the St. Croix County Fair come Friday night, on a pair of pavilions. So see country nights. And carnival lights. With The Memories created along with The Whitesidewalls.

July 20th, 2023

We will again be groovin’ to and with the golden era of Really Old School rock N roll. In triplicate. Yes, its St. Croix County Fair time. So, don’t say no, make the trek to Glenwood City, maybe on multiple occasions, this weekend.

The fair does like few others, the golden oldies as “standards” time, in a truly classic way. Hey, even so many rockers got their start in doo-wop.
So turn your ears, in a pair of turns, fore and aft — to encompass both stages, as there are both a Croix Court and a separate pavilion — to listen to tunes of The Beatles and Elvis, and so much more from that era to present day.
The Weekenders — headline(r) question answered — as a band excel at doing “nothing anybody can’t do but you’re dumb enough to do it in front of everyone.” More wit like that hails from a first gig with eight songs, and they now have four hour’s worth and much more than those early 50 — and ’50s? — numbers on their set list. And growing. Their many shirts proclaim everything from Cheap Trick (most likely) to Volbeat. And they have a mouth organ player that’s said to rock the whole show! That comes from a post by tommy gunn. Dare I invoke Metallica? And what is a “weekender?” Said to be someone who lives to party for four hours on a Friday night come what may … and then do it again on Saturday?
And what is a Whitesidewall, as in the band? More than The Cars. And more than just a bit of doo-wop and rockabilly, from the golden age of rock and roll, and times when there could be a roller girl cruising by with “platters” and spinning (mostly FM?) radio. They in their bio reference taking it one step or digit farther, with Love Potion No. 10.
Celebrating their 50th year back in 2022, if you’re counting, The Memories have entertained across the country. With telltale harmonies and subtle but still classic songs, this Wisconsin-based duo is made up of Warren Petryk and Tim Stevens, spinning tunes at fairs such as this one — going back for much of its history — and festivals, community concerts and the often-prized corporate events well before U.S. culture truly went corporate. The Memories continue, therefore, to deliver “music, laughter and wonderful times,” from a musician or two who have the great coifed hair of not aging rock stars but The World’s Most Interesting Man, as their bio info and photo will attest.
So, to recap, the Sidewalls are also bright white and not off-color, and the wheels just keep on rolling. These Whitesidewalls have been around cranking oldies rock about as long as both it and those type of tires have been around.

To go back even further, The Memories have been dishing out distinctive ditties for decades as a duo. Catch them crooning before they are just … a memory. Timeless music.

Then to bring it a bit closer to the current, and wrap up the weekend … Its the Weekenders.
(Most of these acts, on Friday and Saturday, start at 7 p.m. or a bit after. Admission to the fair is always free).

They reach to the stars with their string combinations, always interactive of course. And the String Showcase does duels and beyond. Going far past basic music theory and string theory. As a St. Croix County Fair patron, and Saturday visitor, you can ask them to do what you like! (And more and other strings to the west on Tuesday and Thursday; see Picks of the Week).

July 13th, 2023

More interactive than a band, more exciting than a DJ, more unique than dueling pianos, or so the duelers say. The String Showdown even as a duo is also faster than a speeding bullet and the playing of a rock group, and is intergalactic and cooler than that house band at the outpost bar in Star Wars where young Luke Skywalker got in a spot, (OK we’re kidding about that last part, except the cool component).

They are about to be your new favorite act for corporate events, fundraisers, festivals, and more, the pickers and grinners and more say. So check them out at next weekend’s St. Croix County Fair in Glenwood City to get the journey and party started. (And more on fests, Fun days could have been a bit more fun. See the Uncategorized department).

Multi-instrumentalists – and there are so many strings to choose from — Mike Lauer, affiliated with and having played with George Maurer and Bobby Vee, and Greg Byers, linked to Kat Perkins and even the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, collide like comets in The String Showdown! (There is a tenuous Hudson tie-in, as a man who frequents the Green Mill there recalls the days seeing Vee in their native Fargo, although not necessarily playing a V-neck guitar although that would be fitting, and when he spoke of the connection referred his wife as one of his faves, as if she knew him. And a man who frequents Dick’s Bar in Hudson and takes in music by guitar virtuoso Jeff Loven on a weekly basis, also is tight with Kat going back to the time she first reached fame beyond just the region, to the point that at places as far afield as Bogart’s in Apple Valley she’d pick him out in the crowd, even though mom, and hey she has sway, was uncertain about her right off the bat as when opening act, too many tattoos). So you can see the reach we are talking about in reference to the String Showcase.

More now to let them say it: “Get ready for a fun & fast-paced performance full of sweet licks and hilarious riffs! As a dueling string duo, they rock you with a mishmash of your favorite hits from radio, TV, and movies compelling your audience to clap, dance and sing along. You’ll be amazed at their instrumental prowess while you crack up at their irreverent, family-friendly humor.
“Each show is crafted to entertain; with the perfect blend of crowd engagement, comedy, and musical magic. Find out why The String Showdown is the Midwest’s hottest blend of musicianship and entertainment; book them today!” So you can see how in a crowd with the diverse tastes of a county fair, they are a perfect fit. The St. Croix County gang has done it again, bringing in a relatively new act to the region right when they are gaining prominence. They can look the part of either alt/rockers or a classical combo.
Here is some of their fast becoming a vast resume, again showing reach:

•Corporate events for Target (with Hudson and Twin Cities and beyond vibes), Boston Scientific (Out East vibes), Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis vibes), and The Dayton’s Project (Ohio and beyond).
•Paisley Park
•Dakota Jazz Club
•MGM Grand
•BBC2 (Later… with Jools Holland)

The colors of an arch, even if afoot as on clogs, would step out and lead them. Shown not only on their shoes, but on their hats and leggings in Red, White and Blue, too. Such are the tones and tints, and tunes, to atone for those throngs from Fridley and beyond on The Fourth of July. Won’t see them again until then??

July 9th, 2023

They were coming here, dressed in often amped-up-as-if-orange Patriotic arch footwear, to maybe even bald spots being hued blue and red with sunburn and white … But don’t be blue.

(And if you want something with a little less hue, and more straightforward and not so trippy — maybe? — check out the Notes From The Beat department)

For everywhere, including virtually every nightclub, you can still see such half arches — and not just the one beckoning you to go beyond onto the dike road — draped over railings and decks and featuring half circles and balls of color.
One tall man on his way to Booster Days a block away wore really high socks in the national colors, and baggy low-rider shorts to the point you couldn’t see much knee. Another also had the proverbial summer floppy hat and every inch of him was in red and white with a bit of blue.
At the band shell, with the music played by the (red)Fire Water Gospel Choir, one could see many red-hearted-shaped glasses and earrings, not golden, and talking between that person and the stage was a woman with antenna that could have passed for the US flag. The next night, and on those further on, red stars sprouted from her forehead. I knew two people in the band, and some in the food booths, but only about seven from Hudson in the hard crowd, made so by Minnesotans. The east metro represented all around, but not so much western Wisconsin.
Four pieces of watercraft were stacked high at WalMart, as high as a basketball hoop, for hitting the water in the Land of 10,000 Lakes — Minnesota — and of about 12,000 — a little known fact about their even better archrival for such, Wisconsin. This would trump the gift my father got a few weeks earlier, of a scale so as his ailing body fluctuated in such numbers, he could make med adjustments. Ranking this dad’s day gift on a scale of one to ten, with 8.5 being the watercraft … And a flyer for the Dollar Store made it official with a front-page-of-ad special placed in a lower corner, as I mused a while earlier, that is fit for either the deck or the beach, a folding chair, made wooden because dad likes that touch.

 

— And the sprinkled about sparklers also would lead them, if they are looking for a barometer on who is shooting off what. As in all that remains, as in their shells, of various pieces of fireworks in the alley behind the big box Flooring Solutions store, that says  it will be opening soon. So you have to wait for your solutions for a bit longer. Watch your toes!

To be fair, there were only three pieces to be seen — or wait, also a fourth on this day just a few past The Fourth. What’s on their labels is telling, and makes for great satire, which I always thought is an overused term, as it often is an excuse for simply spinning things in a humorous but not necessarily insightful way. Well, so I go myself.

Take this, Mr. Obvious: Do not touch glowing wire. (Sounds like good advice). Hold in hand with arm extended, away from body. (This becomes a sport?) Keep burning end of sparks away from wearing apparel (that’s the main kind) … Hold and light only one sparkler at a time. (Not ambidextrous?) … Contains no magnesium, chlorates or perchlorates, and are not regulated as a hazardous material for surface transportation under the provisions of APA Standard 87-1. (Well thank goodness, I feel better now. Some have said this is mainly a heavy metal website.) The package can only be sold as a package (That’s why they call it a package).

And does anyone see a double entendre here? Place on hard, open surface. Do not hold in hand. Light fuse and get away. This side up.

All of the four said they were made in China, and one adds for a company in Florence, AL. But it is “Safe and Sane,” suchly registered in the state of California by the state fire marshal.

And how do they get here, to good ol’ Hudson? With more trucks seen, with flags not only off the end of the payload, but painted on the sides, in one case with all kinds of accompanying imagery that smacked of special forces soldiers in action, carrying as in Imo Jima, and in the other case only took up an estimated 10 percent of the side of the small semi. Could be a movie trailer here … —
In the main concourse right in front of other deals, WalMart workers led the charge with a stand to raise funds for a children’s hospital. It asked $2 for a hot dog, more than the price back in my day, and quite a bit over what you could buy at possibly WalMart, or for sure Aldi, and get a whole pack. I lingered then smiled and then joked about the requesite presence of The Colors, and the worker agreed, “oh yeah!” and gave a thumbs up. The Bring to the Fourth gift that was purchased was a combo of white and food-colored frosting, and gingerbread man. The Bubbly soda, silk milk, Tylenol and even Cresting toothpaste sported similar tones on their boxes.
The lead photo in a metro daily — on beating the heat and is it really that bad yet? — ran across three columns but there was not a Patriotic image or color to be seen. And I’m pretty sure this came from the conservative one of two.
It should be God Bless Us All, not just US. But loving America was the direct focus in chalk on a downtown sidewalk, halfway down its length. lots of big and colorful stars decked it out. It took-up all of a pair of concrete squares. (A nearby lobby showed a couple of world globes with the Big Three Colors all through as if a flag, that implied America is the only land in the land, all-in with no Allah and no borders. Hey, Russia and even China are much bigger!) More such renderings could be seen in the back lot of a downtown coffee shop, with two different little kids writing, hey I was here! And bright stars aplenty chalked up on the walkway on the other side of the block, with similar sentiments.
I was then falling three times, then gone away. I hit with my foot a seam in the sidewalk nearby, and it was an inch deep, running lengthwise. So down I went like a shot. Various people asked if I was OK, and it was just a little ouch on my knee, so I brushed off myself and my now gritty knee and continued on. A day or so earlier I saw a (somewhat younger I think) woman do that same thing, but she caught her balance rather quickly. I’d had a combo of the same result happen to me on a walkabout in North Hudson, but this time what hit home the most, in a reverse season, was the slick ice before and after the sidewalk seam. Like one I hit in the freezing rain many moons ago while changing lanes in the east end of St. Paul, causing my car to go into a literal tailspin.
Colorful word “baseball,” RW and B — and not rhythm and blues, as spun, where the brim of the cap should be, and a flag with odd decal, or is it a logo, in its corner.
And where there is a chance there is commerce. Even so, some venues decided to later-on be no-shows, as in close early, to avoid the show to come …
Over at Maurice’s, I’ll reference The Hill District for a change, they had this twist, calling last weekend “Red, White and Boom.” Another downtown business also went beyond the usual basic, and used the phrase “Let Freedom Ring.”
More of the typical was still seen THIS weekend, as the ghost of The Fourth Past, as a sign said simply and now too late “Happy Independence Day.” At least that middle word was a bit of a change-up. And a block away, also dated, was a cash company store that pitched, “Need some green this spring?”
That big truck redoing a bigger lot also told the tale. With a big trailer behind toting heavy equipment. But what stood out was the oversize Stars and Stripes painted across the entire long side of that truck, that thusly gave stretch limo vibes. A slightly lesser but largely similar approach was on a smaller truck, still adorned with those colors in such a way, to tout Matt’s Moving, as its flagship. If your pole is too large, to transport YOUR Old Glory.
But back to The Booster Barrage. Cause and effect. But first what I saw in the fest straight off, and straight up, set ’em up, after bar time. Or no.
It was 2:40 a.m. and there was no life at all to be shown on the main drag. And had not been, obviously, for some time, even as it was the hour for people to still be, if they’d been pushing last call, walking to their cars.
Fast forward to the weekend. There was many a young couple outside the doors of the places, vigorously discussing things. On the sidewalk’s edge, at Hudson Tap, a small group gave re-entry their best shot. They were no bad vibes here, just a lot of joking around. For a few minutes as others waited behind for their chance to get carded, but took in the show in front of them first. Inside, there was a guy who was beyond tipsy and still going, even later at other places, and was by himself. He wore a T-shirt that announced he was on a high school coaching staff at a nearby town. How would he get back to there? That thought could be a bit disturbing.
At Dick’s, there was some non-jovial rowdiness. In particular, a bouncer had taking the show outside to talk to someone who was upset about another guy, over an overture about a woman. The bouncer corrected him and said, “I heard you say, you’re f—— her.”
All in a summer day’s work.

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