Rybak declares Nov. 7 "Suicide Commandos Day" in Minneapolis
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We re-elected him and, in return, he gave us an official day to rock out. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak announced today that Saturday, Nov. 7, will be Suicide Commandos Day. The language from the official proclamation is too good to paraphrase, grammatical errors and all:
"Whereas, in the words of 'indie' music industry shaker and mover, Peter Jesperson at New West Records in L.A., 'The Suicide Commandos are THE Granddaddy’s of the Minneapolis/St. Paul music scene that later bred The Suburbs, Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Soul Asylum and The Jayhawks.'
Whereas The Suicide Commandos put the Minneapolis Music scene on the map; and
Whereas The Suicide Commandos carved a path where there was none before. Many of the Minneapolis bands that went onto big success may not have done so without the Commandos having done so."
But this isn't just a quiet, ceremonial, key-to-the-city sort of deal. The band is reuniting to play three shows that day. The first two, taking place at the Walker Art Center at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., will be family-friendly sets designed to educate the little ones about punk rock, while the third will be an acoustic set at the Dakota that night. Offstage, the trio is also active in music education and production: Guitarist Chris Osgood is on the staff of McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul; drummer Dave Ahl builds recording studios; and bassist Steve Almaas is a music teacher in New York.
