The Junebug Curse of Bassists

I don't know what it is. But we just can't seem to keep a steady bassist. For one reason or another, we have gone through a lot of them. A lot. Some left of their own free will, whether for brighter pastures or other endeavors. One was asked to leave. But the fact remains that even though Junebug has existed in one form or another for the better part of two decades, we haven't had a steady bassist for even two years straight. It's a curse. I don't know what it is. But here's a run-down of our fallen Junebug heroes. Some full-blown members, some just playing for one show. But all of them bassists.

1. Kelly Lange - Junebug's first bassist and Anthony's cousin. Kelly and Anthony were very close growing up and they wrote songs together from a very young age. So when Anthony and I started talking all those years ago about putting a band together, Kelly was the first one to join us (followed, of course, by this guy in my gym class who can play guitar named Dustin). Once it was evident that we weren't doing anything really, Kelly took the bass position in a more established band, Outpatient 13. We wished him well.

2. Nathan "Stu" Stuart - Stu wasn't an "official" member of the band, per se. He jammed with us from time to time in high school, in the band room. This was when he was just learning to play bass. He also used our services to make a recording to audition for a touring ministry group back in the day. There were two songs: a noisy feedback jam, and a prehistoric version of "Cake." He got the gig, by the way. And after that gig was over, he became a founding member of the Christian rock band, Kutless. He currently lives with his wife in Colorado.

3. James Torbert - James also was not an official band member, though that status was offered to him. He was a friend of ours in high school and jammed with us in the early NSU days. He participated in a few practices of ours, co-writing a song that is long lost to the ages. It was called "We Can Dance Around." Anthony used the lyrics from the song on one of his solo offerings, but not the original bass line. We have all forgotten how it went. James politely declined the position of full-time bassist and went to do his own thing. He currently lives in South Dakota with his wife and kids.

4. Dan Cleberg - Co-owner of the Red Rooster Coffee House, Dan gave Junebug our first real gig. Of course that gig did not involve a bassist. But Dan is an excellent bassist, whom I had experience playing with in another local band, Fed By Doris. Junebug played a lot of shows at the Red Rooster back in the day, and Dan would often hop in and play bass with us. He was a very welcome addition. We didn't actually offer him an official full-time position, however. We knew he was a busy guy and would not have been able to commit the time to another group. We played with him when we could and had fun with it. He still lives in South Dakota, operating both the Red Rooster and his non-profit art outreach organization, The Fallout.

5. Josh Trumbo - Josh is a good friend of the band. He's originally from Aberdeen and I worked with him one summer at Parks & Rec's Storybook Land Children's Theater. He is a talented musician and songwriter, and a funny dude. His longtime project, The Kamikaze Snowmen, was a favorite of mine in the Aberdeen days. There were a few instances in which Josh jumped up and played shows with us in 2001, both at the Rooster and one time in Anthony's parents' back yard in Jamestown. He ended up moving the Fargo/Moorhead area to attend university, therefore not becoming an official member of the band. In later years, he and Anthony both played in a different band called Cosmic Kibosh. He currently lives in North Dakota with his wife and kids. The Kamikaze Snowmen are still going strong and putting out their regular "Kamikaze Snowcast." Check 'em out.

6. Alex "Forehead" Forred - Forehead joined us in late 2002. He had been playing bass for a few years already and we all liked him as a person. He wasn't in any bands at the time and we wanted a bassist, so we figured "what the heck?" We were coming off a six-month hiatus, due to Anthony living in Fargo and a really horrible previous show. Forehead rehearsed with us for our New Years Eve party at the Rooster, and what was supposed to be our comeback. We played that one show with him and sadly didn't come back until 2005. Forehead was good. But it apparently wasn't meant to be. Alex Forred currently lives in Minneapolis and continues his project, Ogre Smash Death Boom.

7. Josh Rieck - Junebug made a comeback in the fall of 2005, as stated above. And in late 2005 we decided we wanted a bassist full-time. We started trying to think of people who would be willing to make the commitment of being a full-fledged member of the group. The answer came in Josh Rieck. He and Dustin knew each other through Pauer Sound & Music in Aberdeen. Josh was invited to try us out, and we immediately knew he was the right fit. He was an official member of band, with full member privileges. Josh's first show with Junebug was in February 2006, at the Red Rooster. He remained in the band until Junebug's last show as Aberdonians in August 2007. Anthony, Dustin and I were all making the move to Minneapolis to attempt breaking into the music scene there. Josh, however, was on a different path. He went instead to the University of South Dakota for graduate school. Though, he did play one additional show with us at a festival in 2008. After nearly a year of no rehearsals or anything, he was flawless. Josh currently lives in South Dakota with his wife and runs his luthiery business, String Theory Music.

8. Kai Catudio - We were presented with the opportunity in late 2007 to record an album with some students at the Institute of Production and Recording (IPR) in Minneapolis. We jumped at the chance. We started tracking the album, just the three of us, getting basic drum tracks and such. The time came to find a bassist. Anthony knew this guy from the Fargo days named Kai who was living in Minneapolis now, playing music. Anthony asked if he'd help us out. Kai is a ridiculously good bassist. He came in to each session with very little rehearsal and knocked it out of the park every time. All but two songs on Share were played by Kai. Beyond the album, Kai played a few shows with us in early to mid-2008. We began to think of him as a member of the band, and I listed him as a band member on our online presence. He had other responsibilities, however, and couldn't commit to joining another band full time. We were sad about that, but fully understood his decision.

9. Brian Hoesing - Brian is a dude we know from Aberdeen. He's into filmmaking and in later times placed some Junebug tunes in a movie of his called The Randy Syversen Experience. He played one show with us, and it happened to be the day after the show in which Josh joined us after a year, as mentioned above. It was a show in Dan Cleberg's back yard following a Fallout event. Brian hopped up with us with no rehearsal and did his best to keep up. With the exception of the previous day, we hadn't had a bassist in awhile and it was nice to have the low end filled out. Brian currently lives in South Dakota and continues to make films.

10. Nick Wosika - Nick did perhaps more than anybody else to move the band forward. Not just bassists, but anyone in the band. We auditioned a few guys, putting out a call on Craigslist. There were some interesting auditions, to say the least. Some people were good, but just not our vibe, and some people were just plain strange. Nick didn't respond through Craigslist. He responded through MySpace (which was all the rage back in the day). But somehow I missed it. He later got ahold of us again. I don't remember how, but I actually answered this time. We set up an audition and as soon as he came in, we felt his vibe was right. We played with him, he fell into the groove and he was our guy. Nick became really dedicated to the project and he worked really hard. He became our own personal booking agent. He worked on it daily and got us a lot of shows. Some duds, some awesome. It was because of Nick that we got the Basilica Block Party, our appearance on KARE 11, and our sets at the Pride fest among others. He also shot photographs, designed posters, got us write-ups in local magazines, distributed us to radio stations and podcasts, and talked us up to anyone who would listen. He played the Share CD release party, though he did not perform on the album. Nick was also a member of the band when Modern Day Fairy Tales was recorded and released. All the behind-the-scenes work wasn't enough, however, to outweigh the extreme personal and artistic differences some of the band members had with him. After nearly two years of membership in Junebug, Nick was asked to leave the group, which he did with honor, grace and integrity. Nick and I (tony) remain good friends and we hang out on occasion with our families in tow. Nick currently lives in Minnesota with his wife and son.

11. Brandon Johnson - Brandon was a fellow Aberdeen transplant to the Cities. Anthony knew him from the days managing the Donkey skate shop. Dustin and I knew him from his bass work with Groove Reflex. Brandon was the guy the others had in mind when letting the previous bassist go. He came into his own, was a quick learner and he really did prove himself musically. We had a lot of fun with Brandon. He had the right attitude and he was a really friendly fellow. We played a lot shows with him, and we began working out the Beards material with him. He appeared in both of the teaser promos for Beards, but will not be on the album itself. Brandon did, however, record bass on two yet-to-be-released non-album Junebug songs, which will be released online, hopefully in the coming months. Brandon abruptly left the band when he decided to move back to South Dakota, where he currently resides.

12. Josh Carlson - Josh was a very special fill-in champ. You see, when Brandon left the band, Junebug had a show booked at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis. He had assured us that he would be there for the show. We got word pretty much at the last minute that he wouldn't make it to town after all. We already had selected our next bassist (more on him, next) but he had a commitment this night already. Anthony contacted his friend Josh Carlson, who did us a really big solid. Josh and Anthony went over the setlist for a couple hours and then came to the venue to play the show. Dustin and I had never played with him, not even practice. The first time we ever played music with him was in a performance. But Josh was a pro and completely held his own. He sounded fine. He sounded great. He did a great favor to us. And we appreciate him for that.

13. Dillon Marchus - Dillon is Junebug's current bassist. Lucky number 13. He's an amazing musician and a really nice guy. Originally from one of our necks of the woods, North Dakota, he is currently a classmate of Tony's at IPR in Minneapolis. Not only does he know Tony, but he also knows Anthony from the Fargo days. He used to go to Cosmic Kibosh shows, and he even attended a Junebug show at the Aquarium in '09. Dillon played in Gyspyfoot, if you remember them. He also currently plays in Sticky Byte, a band made up of IPR students. And he seems to be the go-to guy around the school for studio bass services. He's an excellent musician, a fast learner, and he's got a very strong ear. He has tracked with us on the Beards material we've recorded so far and he's expected to finish out the album with us. He's perfectly welcome as a member of band going forward. Wouldn't it be great if the curse was broken?

--TLK