Re-entry after three weeks on King Gizz tour has been a little rough.
I did feel like I had entered “Another dimension” on the ride home from MSP last Thursday afternoon, to borrow from Ambrose Kenny-Smith and his Beasties quotations on “The Grim Reaper.”
Thankfully the dimension I normally live in here in Minneapolis includes an amazing live music scene from bands near and far.
One of my favorite somewhat-local improvisational bands, the up-and-coming New Salty Dog out of Duluth, happens to be heading south for three shows starting at Day Block Brewing Co. in Minneapolis on Thursday. Get advance tickets here.
That’s just the dose of reality I need right now.
Their run of shows continues on to No Name Bar in Winona, Minn., on Friday and Popcorn Tavern in La Crosse, Wis., on Saturday. If I lived in either of those towns, that’s where I’d want to be those nights, and I’m tempted to make the short trek, I tells ya.
Earlier today, I had a phone conversation with Jacob and Owen Mahon, the two brothers, ages 24 and 22 respectively, that started this band back in 2020. I’ll also note I’m thankful their five-piece band will be playing the festival that Jon Miller of Feed The Dog and I are putting on, Twin Ports Music Festival at Earth Rider Brewery in Superior, Wis., Aug. 18-19. They play inside the Cedar Lounge on Aug. 18.
But for this three-night run of shows, they are sharing the bill with Wurk, out of Madison, Wis. Check out Wurk’s bandcamp page here.
“We are really stoked about them,” said Jacob. “We are not playing in any of our home towns. We have some stuff going on over there, and they have some stuff going on here.”
I did a little poking around on Wurk, a band I don’t know, and I did find some gems from them on Spotify. They bring the funk. Check out the organs and horns on “All Aboard.”
Also check out “Ambulance,” which also features some sick horns and guitar play.
But back to New Salty Dog, a young band that jams and improvises like a band with seemingly more experience than their ages suggest. I think that’s because they’ve surrounded themselves with some very skilled, experienced musicians in the Duluth area and, despite their youth, the two brothers have been around the musical block more than a few times. The band is also filled out with other guys that have some chops in Calvin Lund, 21, on bass, Sam Deters, 27, on guitar, and Bryan “Lefty” Johnson, 50, on percussion.
“He adds the wisdom to the jams,” Owen said of Lefty. “Sometimes the only place you can get that is experience.”
These guys draw inspiration from a lot of different places, from jazz, jam, funk, folk and noted guitar virtuosos. They also put some focus on song writing.
One reason I find New Salty Dog to be one of the most exciting bands out there is they seem to have an overflowing well of improvisational ideas that always seems to strike lightning in their sets. The energy, excitement and joy they play with is contagious.
New Salty Dog has been playing a Monday night residency at Bend Paddle Brewing Co., for more than a year. Photo by Aaron Reichow
I was blown away by the shows these guys have been putting on at Bent Paddle Brewing Co. in Duluth on Mondays this past winter, aka “High-Key Mondays,” where they have packed the performance stage room on frigid winter nights on a weekly basis. That residency started up last summer and has showed no signs of fading. I know where I’d be most Mondays if I lived in Duluth. During the warmer part of the year, they get to play outside.
“It’s festive,” Owen said. “People have more space to dance around. There is glass blowing and food trucks. We are able to expand a little bit on what happens in the winter.”
Every time I’ve seen this band play – which has included recent gigs at Hook & Ladder Theater and 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis – they’ve struck improvisational gold several times per set. An idea will spark from somewhere, and I’ve noticed Jacob light up, whether he originated the idea or not, and the jam quickly spreads to the rest of the band and then audience. That’s the magic of improv.
New Salty Dog out in front of First Avenue back in January. Photo by Aaron Reichow
And that’s just my perspective speaking, as a fan, so I asked them how they keep coming up with fresh ideas.
“Ideas can come from anywhere,” Jacob said. “Sometimes they are purposeful, sometimes they are accidental. It’s keeping an open mind and paying attention to what everyone else is doing.”
Added Owen, “As long as we are listening to each other, there’s usually so many ideas flying around. … Just listening to each other, the ideas are so abundant. So that’s the main thing.”
New Salty Dog put out a CD at Pizza Lucé in Duluth back in May. It’s from their January show at No Name Bar in Winona, where they will be playing Friday.
They have one LP out, Pecan, Pecon, which they put out in 2020. Their next LP, recorded at Sparta Sound up on the Iron Range, is due out later this year, but they have a little work left to do on it, Jacob said.
The band does not have any more plans to come down to Minneapolis soon, so I do recommend catching Thursday’s show, or any of these three shows, if you can.