Heavy J and the Fantastics
The Fantastics, along with Heavy J, are a twistin' groove quintet based out of the hipster centrum of
northern Minnesota, a quaint and humble city known as Duluth. Their mix of disasterous onstage painting, greasy yet finger lickin' guitar work, and sweet and spicy vocals along with one of the funkiest rhythm sections north of Esko have all helped to set themselves apart from the folk dominated northland scene.
The group got it's start in September of 2006, after Bass said to the Guitars, "We need a Drumset." It turns out the bass knew a girl, Emily Brian, who just so happened to have two first names, as well as a phone number for a Drumset she had been friends with since high school. So the Bass calls up the Drumset and asks him if he would like to join him and his buddies the Guitars for a dirty basement jam session. Needless to say, the Drumset agreed to take the gig in return for a 6 pack of Lienenkugel's Red Lager.
Now the Bass, Guitars, and Drumset had a few songs under their belt and they were ready for a name to write on their concert poster debut, it was time to play their first gig opening for Wet Dog at Pizza Luce. They decided rather quickly that the names Box of Something and Red Light Run were for the birds, they needed something that matched their image as a band, cheesy, yet memorable. That's when one Guitar remembered a band name idea of his illegitimate brother, Denim Dan, from years ago
Heavy J and the Fantastics.
The first gig went well, and it prompted the personnel organizer, Emily Brian, to once again step in and suggest one of her friends for a spot at center stage. This time she recommended to them a true American Idol, known as Pipes. Upon the first jam Pipes had with the Fantastics, Heavy J and the crew had a pretty good time, but Pipes wasn't really familiar enough with the music. It wasn't until the first show that she did with them, at the Moustrap when Pipes really rocked out to the audience, that Bass, Guitars, Drumset and Pipes all knew the band was now complete. It at this point that the band called on one Guitar's other illigitimate brother, Dodgey Dan, to color the stage with his disgustingly pastel paintings.
HJ&TF have plyaed all around Duluth and Superior, including, Beaners, the old Tap Room, the new Tap Room, Pizza Luce, Norms Beer and Brats, UMD Campus, Leif Erickson Park, Ryan Huggett's Basement, The Encounter, The Lakeview Castle, and most importantly, The Twins Bar.
They have also had a few great runs through Wisconsin claiming the View in Chippewa Falls and the Mousetrap in Eau Claire as their homes away from home. They were 2nd place champions at the Cabooze in early April 2008 and just missed a spot at 10klf but have done a few festivals including Log Jam, Ramblin at the Ranch, UMD Earth Day, New Earth Festival, and AquaFest
These days you can catch the Fantastics rocking out with Heavy J on nights when the wind comes in from the west, the moon is full, and the wolves are howling. Eventhough the amount of time these kids spend and play together is not nearly enough, the show will continue to go on, and the curtain will never close on Heavy J and his band of loyal Fantastics.
Bass - Jordan "Heavy J" Taylor
Pipes - Sarah "Krugges" Krueger
Drumset - Kyle "Sketchy Charlie" Keegan
Guitar - Zach "Mole-Skin" Mullan
Guitar - Nate "Nateocaster" Case
Dodgey Dan - Tyler Biehler
* Honorary Band Member
Denim Dan - Matt Reed
