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| In early May of 1999, The University of Minnesota, Morris campus radio
station, KUMM, announced the date of the annual "Battle of the Bands."
The contest was set for May 15, and promised to gather bands from North
Dakota, Wisconsin, and the Twin Cities, as well as local groups.
It was to be held on "The Mall" in the center of the University's campus.
As posters went up and the show was starting to gather publicity, two students
took great interest.
Noah Keitel and John Svingen, both residents of Pine Hall on campus, were excited to be involved in the Battle of the Bands. The pair of young men, along with their friend and neighbor Ryan Anderson, had recently disbanded from the group known as Astrolobe. Keitel, a student of the strings for several years, and Svingen, with his newly acquired bass guitar, were in search of a lead vocalist and an extra instrumentalist in addition to Anderson and his drums. Enter: Joel Vanderheyden, his voice, his saxomaphone, and his pair of guitars. Enter: John Oman, his keys, his brass, and his unprecedented frisbee ability. The group entered the contest, rehearsed for a week, and walked away with third place. Soon after, MTI recorded its first demo album with the help of sound technician Josh Langlie. MTI parted for the summer, but rejoined to play several events back at the University of Minnesota during the fall of 1999. The first event was a dance party for the UMM orientation weekend. It involved mostly screaming freshmen, as well as some devoted, slightly inebriated upperclassmen fans. This show was followed up by a campus-activities-council sponsored MTI show on the mall, with The Prairie Dogs and Eight Foot Bunch opening. Pinestock '99 came soon after and was a big success, as MTI revealed a big wad of new original material. MTI wrapped up 1999 with a winter show at The Oracle. MTI kicked off the new Willenium with road trip to Stevens Point, WI for an exstensive recording session at Springstone Studio. The band layed down 12 original tracks, consumed mass quantities of frozen pizza and Mountain Dew, and played a lot of chess. After mixing and engineering are completed at Springstone, the new album, Carbon Copy, will be released in early fall of 2000. It is rumored to contain a bonus live recording of Lucky Joe, from the 1999 UMM Jazz Ensemble Concert. The 2000 live performances were headed up by another show at The Oracle, this time a Valentine's Dance. The show was received well, and included a rendition of My Funny Valentine, as well as an unforgettable banjo performance by percussionist Ryan Anderson. The next MTI show was on February 26 at Karl's Coffee in downtown Morris, MN. Openers Transients Camp and Twigs Tricycle started off the show with some heavy sounds. MTI put on its best show to date, showcasing several new originals and a cover of The Guitar by They Might Be Giants, featuring guest performances by Ryan "Crowdog" Maloney and Jennifer "Jenndog" Rogers. MTI kept busy throughout the rest of the spring, working on some jazz music, new original rock music, and appearing in the music video for Carbon Copy, directed by Sean Anderson. Once again, MTI entered the annual KUMM Battle of the Bands, this time with very high goals. Marking the one-year anniversary of MTI (sniff-sniff), the 2000 Battle carried some stiff competition. Skywalker, Eight Foot Bunch, Inertia, Derbus and others left their mark on the stage. MTI walked away with the title, however, thanks to some new material, including Clockwork, and some amazing harp action from guest artist Noah Hoehn of The Blues Exchange. Eight Foot Bunch left with the runner-up spot and Inertia took home third-place. A few performance dates are set for the summer, including a show at the Worthington Windsrufing Regatta at Worthington, MN on June 10. Rumors of a team-up with the Booty Police in the fall of 2000 are reliable, but not confirmed. Check back soon for more information on various MTI activities. |
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the members of MTI: John Oman John Svingen Joel Vanderheyden Ryan Anderson Noah Keitel |
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