Alan Sparhawk, singer and guitarist of the legendary Duluth rock band Low, is performing danceable funk sets of original material and cover songs under the name Derecho.

Other band members include percussionist Izzy Cruz, drummer Al Church and Sparhawk’s son Cyrus on bass.

Sparhawk’s wife and Low bandmate Mimi Parker died of ovarian cancer at age 55 in November. Parker’s passing came after the group canceled a series of North American and European tour dates due to her cancer treatment.

So far this year, Sparhawk has done several shows with Derecho, including an appearance at Jack White’s Third Man Records in Nashville in February. The band has played at Icehouse in Minneapolis semi-regularly since 2021 and will return for a performance there on Thursday.

The Minnesota Daily spoke with Sparhawk ahead of Derecho’s Minneapolis performance.

How long has Derecho been around?

“It’s been about a year and some change. It started with my son kind of coming to me about two years ago and asking how to play the bass part on a song. It was actually a Beck song. And then the next thing was a Curtis Mayfield song, and I was like, ‘ooh, what’s going on here?’ And then he was bringing Funkadelic and Roy Ayers, a lot of ‘70s funk.

So I was quickly doing my homework at night, learning these songs on guitar so I could play along with him. And by the time we were on our second or third song, he was hearing it and picking it up faster than I could hear it. He has a really good ear and you know, I try not to be too ‘proud-fatherly’ cliche but I do feel like he has a really good ear and he’s really talented.”

How did you guys come up with the name of the band?

“My wife, Mim, came up with it. We had hit that phase where we played a couple times and had a potential show and had to decide on a name. Mim was looking up different weather phenomena, you know, obscure words from weather phenomena and she had a bunch of names, but the one she thought was best was Derecho, which is a ‘large wind storm.’”

You play at the Icehouse a lot, you must have a close relationship with them. What appeals to you and the band about the Icehouse?

“Actually, Al Church was the one who kind of made that connection. He plays there semi-often and maybe just had the ear for whoever was booking there, asked about us filling a night. So we’ve done that a couple of times now and it’s pretty fun. It was definitely kind of the next step for a band that played a couple times up here in Duluth.”

You do a lot of funk covers, I saw a great video of a Childish Gambino cover you did last December. What other covers have been making their way into the setlist recently?

“Roy Ayers is definitely a more obscure artist that, at least, I hadn’t heard of until my son was bringing me his tunes. So we do a couple of those, a couple Curtis Mayfield songs, Funkadelic, Gambino.

There’s an Isley Brothers tune that we did, which was kind of funny because I think it came about because somebody my kids were more familiar with, it was either Ice Cube or Biggie, used a sample from this song called “Footsteps” by The Isley Brothers. My kids knew the song because of the rap tune, and then they went back and listened to the original and they were like ‘oh, we’ve got to learn this song,’ so that’s a pretty great reference there. I remember that was a challenging song to learn, it was interesting to see that even at my old age, trying to learn something that’s still hard. But it works. It works. It was a big lesson.

In the past, I think I would have been discouraged more quickly. I think the motivation to keep up with Cyrus kind of pushed me through and sort of taught me that you can teach yourself things, and it’s hard, and sometimes you’ll work on it all day, but the next day you’ll come back and suddenly it’s there.”

We’ve talked about covers you do, do you do any original material as Derecho?

“I’d say almost two-thirds of the stuff we do is original. Stuff that Cyrus and I have written.”

Are there any plans to record that in the studio at all?

“Yeah, we’ve been working on that. It takes a while, it seems like every two or three shows we’re finding new versions and new twists and new parts to add to songs. We’ll try and record and then a month later, we’ll have realized we’ve moved forward on a song. Sometimes you just need to set a deadline and just do it. But yeah, we’re working on recording.”

You mentioned setting a deadline for yourself when it comes to recording. Have you set a deadline for yourself yet, or are you just taking it step by step?

“I’m pretty determined to — by the end of April — have a pretty solid pile of things to stack up for something to release. We may do little bits, maybe put two or three songs out at a time online. Small bites.

Sometimes when you give someone a whole record they go ‘ok, well I’ll put this in the files and get to it later’ or something like that. Whereas, if you give them a couple of things, they’re like ‘alright, I’m gonna listen to this while I’m taking this drive’ or whatever.

So right now, I want to turn out some music. It’d be nice to have something people could hold on to. I think by summer we’ll have something we’re either finishing or mixing or already sending out to folks.”

You guys have been doing a bunch of shows lately. I heard you guys recently played at the Blue Room at Third Man Records in Nashville. How did that show come about?

“That was some friends of mine from Austin, a band called Lord Friday the 13th, got onto a bill and asked if I would play with them. So, yeah, that worked out great. We play up in Duluth, it seems like the last few months, every other week. We’ve been getting down to the Icehouse. Just trying to keep it on our tabletop and every week it changes and every show is different. It’s a good experience.”

Did you bump into Jack White while you were there?

“No, I think Jack was, did he not play ‘Saturday Night Live?’

He sent a note to the bands that were playing and said that he was sorry he couldn’t be there but he was going to be in New York. So that was nice, but yeah everyone that works there is really nice. I run into institutions like that from time to time, you know, bigger acts, and you can really tell the people they have around them, the people that run the stuff they love is definitely a reflection of the artist and how they care about other people and what they’re doing. It was nice, really nice people there, took care of us, and made us feel like special guests.”

One thing that has appealed to me a lot about the later Low material is how forward-thinking it was. I don’t know if you had any ideas about that with Derecho, like being innovative, or is it just drawing on those funk inspirations and just doing what you know?

“In Low, we were given this rare luxury and opportunity to develop and grow as we want, do what we wanted on stage and in the studio.

It seemed like on stage we kind of gravitated toward a very raw and tactile way of performing. Keeping it real and in the moment was important to that part of what we did. Then in the studio, we were always given leeway and there was never any obligation to go one way or the other. Each record we could push as far as we wanted or hold on as much as we wanted, we could work on what we already had been developing, we could shoot for something unknown, we could bring in things we didn’t necessarily know how to use and what we were gonna do with it and we were able to work through that and come up with things that would always surprise us. I’m open to all things.

Our approach so far with the studio is finding a variety of ways we capture it and not being precious about the sound and whether it sounds like something real or not. I’m excited about the recording process because to me those two things have always been wildly open. I like the idea of pushing the aesthetic, we push the aesthetic live. Here’s guitar, bass and drums, but how slow can this be, how minimal can it be, how delicate can this be and yet still deep and heavy. It’s always how do we find it, how do we do what seems impossible and how do we create something that maybe hasn’t been created with these tools.”

What does the rest of 2023 look like for you? Any other projects or anything else going on that you’d like to talk about?

“I’m still left in a difficult situation here with what I can do creatively. It’s probably gonna be awhile before I can feel like I can be on stage and be like ‘well, here’s what I have to say next.’ I want to, and I know that there will be a time when I’m ready. I feel pretty lucky that I’m making music that challenges me in a different way. I did actually get a call from, I don’t know when they’re gonna announce it, somebody from [Minneapolis jazz band] The Bad Plus just contacted me about doing something solo with them. So that’s a good goal, we’ll see how I feel after that.”

What would you say people can expect from Derecho at the Icehouse on Thursday?

“Well it all depends on if they dance. We try to make it a comfortable place for either chatting with your friends, dancing if you’re feeling it — obviously nothing helps a band like people dancing. Something entertaining for people who want to sit back and watch musicians figure out what they kind of do.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

On weekend nights, friend group chats around the University of Minnesota light up with pregame plans and bar suggestions.

I went bar-hopping to eight of the most popular haunts near campus on a Saturday night and asked customers what they like and don’t like about each place. From law students at Blue Door to beer-drinking Gopher sports fans at Stubs, here’s what I learned:

The Blue Door Pub:

Near the intersection of 15th and Como Avenue is Blue Door Pub, one of five locations of the regional chain. Well known in the area for their “blucy” burgers, The Blue Door Pub is one of the main bars Como residents flock to.

“What I like about it is you can get a grilled cheese with a ton of toppings, and it’s very delicious,” said Alexa, a 2L (second year) law student.

When asked if anything could be improved at Blue Door Pub, Alexa said, “It is perfect; there is nothing you could possibly do to improve Blue Door Pub.”

However, not everyone in Alexa’s group of friends felt the same.

Roshanna, also a law student, expressed some criticisms.

“This is my first time at Blue Door, and I don’t think I like anything. The Pilsner is tasteless and is very tall. And the Hot Mother Clucker is very not spicy,” Roshanna said..

Blue Door is open until 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and until 9 p.m. on Sundays.

Como Tap:

Further east on Como Avenue lies Como Tap. The bar’s decor is themed around ‘90s pop culture with dozens of framed photos of the era-defining stars: Beck, Pamela Anderson, the Spice Girls, Bill Clinton, 2Pac, etc.

Aidan, a second-year architecture student, said he’s a Como Tap regular because of the creative crowd.

“I like that there’s a lot of energy here, there’s a lot of people that are relatable like artists and musicians. There’s a lot of musicians that I know that I meet here,” Aidan said.

However, there is one way Aidan thinks Como Tap could improve.

“I think they should have live music,” he said.

Como Tap is open until 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday and 1 a.m. every other night of the week.

Manning’s Restaurant & Bar:

Right across the street from Como Tap is Manning’s. Laid out much more like a restaurant than a bar, Manning’s tends to attract an older clientele than Como Tap or Blue Door, despite its location on the same street as both.

For some, Manning’s Restaurant has been a staple in their life for years, such as Jason, who has been eating there since the ‘80s.

“It’s tradition for me, I’ve been coming here since I was a kid,” he said. “I worked down the road, my dad worked down the road, so it’s that old for us. They had a little bit of a slump in food quality, but a lot of restaurants did over the pandemic. But the new ownership brought it back, so it’s back to the same quality it used to be.”

Jason said “not a thing” could be improved upon Manning’s.

Manning’s is open until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. on weekends.

Blarney Pub & Grill:

One of Dinkytown’s biggest bars is Blarney. The bar is one of the most spacious on campus, with a huge open area featuring lots of seating, including a second floor overlooking the main floor with even more seating. At night, the staff moves some of the seating to turn the bar into more of a standing-room-only venue.

Bo, who goes to a different school but visited the University for the Feb. 25 hockey game, had nothing but great things to say about the bar.

“Honestly, I love the hospitality and all the workers,” Bo said. “It’s a perfect bar.”

Bo credits Minnesota Nice and a welcoming campus culture for some of Blarney’s best aspects.

“I don’t go to Minnesota, so there’s some very nice people here. I go to a campus that they’re all rude and kind of standoff-ish. So, I like how everyone’s outgoing and talkative here,” Bo said.

His only complaint? Having a little too much fun.

“I don’t like that at the end of the night I don’t really remember what happened at Blarney’s,” Bo said.

Blarney is open until 2 a.m. every day other than Monday.

Burrito Loco:

Dinkytown’s Burrito Loco, aka BLoco, is obviously known for their burritos, but it turns into a lively bar at night packed with University students.

The restaurant and bar attracts those who want a lively night with their friends, but also those who might visit earlier in the day when it’s less crowded, like business and marketing education student Emily.

“I’m kind of a grandma when I go out, so I don’t like there being that many people. So I like to come here early and leave early,” Emily said.

When asked what she likes about BLoco, Emily complimented the tacos, the atmosphere and the country music-heavy playlist.

Sully, an agriculture and food business management student, described the difference between daytime and nighttime at BLoco.

“I would say it changes a lot from daytime to later at night. It’s pretty calm during the day, but it gets kind of wild here at night,” Sully said. “I don’t love the DJ here; it makes it kind of loud at night when there’s not a lot of room.”

For drinks, Sully goes big.

“I would have to say the fishbowls probably would be my favorite part,” Sully said.

BLoco is open until 1 a.m. Monday through Wednesday, until 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday and until 10 p.m. on Sundays. However, the kitchen closes at 11:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Kollege Klub:

On the same street as BLoco, 13th Avenue in Dinkytown, sits the Kollege Klub (KK), which also has a location near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

Over the years, several bars have occupied the location, including The Library Bar & Grill and The Pourhouse. KK has occupied the property since 2019.

However, the name change has not stopped University alumni from returning to the Dinkytown establishment such as Sam, a class of 2019 graduate.

“Great barroom set up, great party room set up, honestly I’d say that’s what I like about it. A lot of good beers on tap. You know, hot bartenders, you can’t really complain about that,” Sam said.

When asked about what could be better about the KK, Sam said, “a dance floor would be great. You know, sometimes the boys like getting greasy on the dance floor and it’s a good time. You can only do so much talking, sometimes you gotta get griddy with it.”

The KK is open until 2 a.m. six nights a week, every day other than Monday.

Sally’s Saloon:

Sally’s, the sports bar known for its proximity to Superblock, is a perennially packed bar on Saturday evenings.

Tim, a biomedical engineering student and Sal’s regular, said that crowd both attracts and repels students.

“I like that I know a lot of people here every time I go here. There’s never an empty night,” Tim said.

The one downside to Sally’s, Tim said, is that it is “too crowded with too many freshmen.”

Sal’s is open until midnight on Sunday through Wednesday, until 1 a.m on Thursday and until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Stub & Herbs:

Stadium Village’s Stub & Herbs (aka Stubs or Sterbs), located on Oak Street and Washington Avenue, is an 84-year-old institution with an extensive rotating tap list.

Max, a class of 2018 alum, said the bar’s location is one of the main appeals for him.

“I love its proximity to all the different venues around campus. I love its old school vibe because it’s been around for so long,” Max said.

However, space fills up fast.

“There’s not a lot of space to stand around here, if you don’t have a table you’re kind of out of luck,” Max said.

Stubs is open until 2 a.m. Monday through Friday and until 1 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Maggie Rogers returned to the Armory in spectacular fashion on Saturday showcasing her 2022 record, “Surrender.”

The Feral Joy tour, in which she performs the entirety of her new album, marks her first U.S. tour since 2019. Rogers, known for her distinct mixture of folk and dance music, drew an intergenerational crowd to downtown Minneapolis’ famously tall and open-floored venue.

The opening track of “Surrender,” “Overdrive,” served as an overture for Saturday night’s show. However, it wasn’t until the second song of the show, the anthem “Want Want,” that Rogers truly brought the room to life with a hyped-up crowd singing along.

“Honey,” a song from her latest record, was met with an enthusiastic crowd response. Rogers coordinated the crowd to wave their hands along to the music as she performed the catchy vocal run at the song’s climax. This kind of crowd engagement showed that Rogers’ audience had spent a lot of time with her latest record. This is her first U.S. tour since the onset of COVID-19, and the passion was evident.

The show ran into a bit of a snag with the track “Love You For a Long Time” when Rogers had to restart the song twice due to onstage difficulties. The crowd supported her throughout the difficulties, cheering her on as she showed her commitment to giving her fans the best performance possible.

Rogers emphasized the personal nature of her music. Before she played the acoustic track “I’ve Got a Friend,” she shared the story behind the track.

“I wrote this song for one of my best friends as a birthday present. And she was nice enough to let me put it on the record,” Rogers said onstage.

Rogers brought Samuel Holden Jaffe of Del Water Gap, Saturday night’s opening act, onstage for their 2014 collaborative effort, “New Song.” The two musicians worked together at New York University, and Rogers was even a member of Del Water Gap early in the group’s career.

Later in the show, Rogers performed her most well-known song, “Alaska.” The song kick-started her career in 2016, after a video showing Pharrell Williams’ reaction to it went viral.

Even though “Alaska” definitely went down as a highlight of the evening, the crowd had even more enthusiasm for the lead single of “Surrender,” the slightly eccentric yet very catchy “That’s Where I Am.”

Rogers later ended the encore with “Different Kind of World,” the closing track to “Surrender,” and expressed her gratitude for the energy the crowd gave throughout the entirety of the near two hour-long set.

While the show could have been enhanced with a couple more of her debut album’s stand-out tracks (“Give a Little” and “Burning”), Rogers and her band delivered a great performance that highlighted her new material and brought the incredible sounds of “Surrender” to Minneapolis.

Rapson Hall, the hub for the University of Minnesota’s School of Architecture, is one of the most distinct, yet polarizing, academic buildings on campus. The square interior’s simplicity is disrupted by its cross-shaped addition that houses the building’s Church Street entrance.

“I think there is a dislike of the building because it is different. It’s not the same as every building you think it should be like,” said Jennifer Yoos, the department head of architecture and interior design.

Yoos said she actually enjoys how Rapson Hall’s challenging appearance might put off individuals less versed in architecture.

“If you travel and you go to any major city in the world, you’ll see buildings like it,” Yoos said. “It feels like people need to go and see more architecture and get to know more about what architecture is, rather than just kind of pushing it away and rejecting it.”

Old vs. New Rapson
The building has two different areas: “Old Rapson” and “New Rapson.” Old Rapson is the main square area of the building built in the early ‘60s. New Rapson is the cross-shaped 2002 addition to the building designed by New York-based architect Steven Holl.

The offbeat design of the building is even used as an example for current architecture students.

“In our first year of architecture school, we studied Rapson a lot and learned a lot of design principles using Rapson as an example,” said Ally Rettler, a fourth-year architecture student.
“I remember learning about symmetry and datum and all these design terms and Rapson being an example of it.”

The New Rapson addition addressed needs in the architecture school for a graduate studio, a library and a public space. It’s also one of the most novel aspects of the building.

“When we were studying the building, that part really broke all the rules. It broke the symmetry, it broke the pattern and repetition they had going so well. There’s a lot of intent in that,” Rettler said. “There’s this contrast of the new and the old.”

Ralph Rapson, whom the building is named after, was the head of the School of Architecture from 1954 to 1984.

“He was head for 30 years, so he had a big impact,” Yoos said. “He also educated a lot of architects who went on to create firms in the community who would employ our graduates, so there’s a lot of people who really felt like he was an important person.”

Ralph Rapson brought a global perspective to the School of Architecture by welcoming international students, according to Yoos, and the building’s odd look reflects some of that experimentation.

Furthermore, Yoos said the building works as a strong recruitment tool for those who love to visit Rapson Hall and see the building’s design themselves.

“Those who are well-versed in architecture generally gravitate towards the building regardless,” Yoos said. “Quite often we get potential faculty members or students coming here just to see the building – and then they see our program.”

Paramore, one of the most successful and versatile rock groups of the 21st century, has returned with “This is Why,” their first album in six years.

The band’s sixth studio album comes after the release of frontperson Hayley Williams’ two debut solo albums during the pandemic: “Petals for Armor” and “Flowers For Vases/Descansos.”

Throughout the band’s career, Paramore has refused confining to any one style. Paramore’s early hits, “Misery Business” and “That’s What You Get,” introduced the band as a pop punk powerhouse.

The band continued to have mainstream hits into the 2010s with tracks like “Ain’t it Fun” and “Still Into You,” both of which received a considerable amount of airplay on pop radio. “After Laughter,” their 2017 studio LP, found them drifting further into the realm of polished rock music, trading in the accessibility of their 2013 self-titled LP.

“This Is Why” shows the band is continuing to stay true to their evolution as a group without pandering to trending pop conventions. The band continues to have the melodic appeal they had on their last two records, while simultaneously experimenting with new sounds.

“This Is Why,” the album’s titular song and lead single, kickstarts the album with a funky, danceable anthem and a chorus that calls back to the Talking Heads’ iconic punchy chants. The dynamics on this track are stellar, the verses are calm and the pre-choruses build tension before the band explodes into the extremely catchy chorus.

Instrumentally and melodically, this album is top-notch and arguably one of their best works as a band. However, the album is not without its awkward moments.

On “The News,” Paramore establishes a sense of urgency underscored by the song’s message about 24-hour news cycles, smartphones, social media and the overwhelming side effects of life in the digital age.
However, the song’s lyrics feel tone-deaf at times. Williams sings, “Far, I’m far, so far from the front line / Quite the opposite, I’m safe inside / But I worry and I give money and I feel useless behind this computer / And that’s just barely scratched the surface of my mind.”

Williams expresses her concern for devastating conflicts on the other side of the world but feels useless when those conflicts aren’t immediately alleviated after she donates money. It’s giving celebrities singing “Imagine” during the COVID-19 pandemic’s lockdown-era. The lyrics do, in fact, accurately represent how modern-day news coverage can be harmful to one’s mental health, but lines like these detract from the song’s cultural criticism.

With her recent solo material, as well as with this new Paramore album, Williams and her bandmates have recently taken a lot of inspiration from Radiohead. The verses on the title track and track three, “Running Out of Time,” are decorated with atmospheric guitars, soft basslines and dreamy vocal melodies. These characteristics are not too far off from Radiohead’s 2007 masterpiece “In Rainbows.” The influence is also apparent on “Liar,” a slowburner near the end of the album that recalls the stunning soundscapes of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi.”

“Running Out of Time” could have easily been released as a single. It has an appealing structure and catchy chorus similar to the title track.

“Figure 8” is another stand-out track. Williams delivers a powerful vocal performance, backed with a hypnotic arpeggiated melody that repeats throughout the song.
While not necessarily reinventing the wheel, Paramore takes musical leaps with “This is Why.” Williams’ vocal prowess, combined with guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro, creates an extremely catchy and energetic 36-minute rock record.

Semisonic, the Minneapolis rock band behind the hit ‘90s song “Closing Time,” returned to the First Avenue Mainroom on Jan. 27-28 for the first time in about five years..

Their Minneapolis comeback comes more than a year after the band canceled two First Avenue gigs in 2021 due to the spread of COVID-19. The shows also marked their first time playing live since releasing new material, 2020’s EP “You’re Not Alone.”

The group began their hometown visit earlier in the week with a surprise show at the Icehouse on Jan. 25. However, the week’s main attractions were Semisonic’s two headlining performances at First Avenue for The Current’s 18th Anniversary Weekend celebration.

The fact that “You’re Not Alone” included their first new music in 19 years only accentuated the resurgent spirit.

“When was the last time we were in this room John, 2017?” frontman Dan Wilson asked bassist John Munson onstage between songs, early into their Friday night performance.

“I think that’s right,” Munson replied.

The two laughed about how they’ve aged since then before gesturing to the crowd and joking that their audience wasn’t getting any younger either.

The audience responded warmly to the onstage banter, demonstrating a mutual understanding that even though a lot has changed over the years, Semisonic can still get their hometown crowd going.

The band, best known for their 1998 megahit “Closing Time,” played songs from their original studio albums, their 2020 comeback EP and even some unreleased material.

While a casual observer outside of the Twin Cities may quickly label Semisonic as a “one-hit-wonder,” the responsive Minneapolis audience on Friday night suggested otherwise. After opening with a few cuts from their debut album, “Great Divide,” the band went on to perform a career-spanning set to an audience that was enthusiastic for it all — even the new songs.

“Basement Tapes,” one of the standout tracks from “You’re Not Alone,” had fans in the crowd singing along to every word – a testament to the band’s longevity and appeal as a legacy act.

Outside of his work with Semisonic, Wilson has led a successful career as a songwriter for other artists. Wilson earned co-writing credits for his work on some of the 2010s’ biggest hits, including Adele’s “Someone Like You” and Taylor Swift’s “Treacherous.”

Still, after years as a songwriter, 61-year-old Wilson’s voice was top-notch for the entirety of Friday night’s performance. Bassist Munson effortlessly backed Wilson’s lead vocals with the vocal harmonies that made the band’s ‘90s material feel melodic on their biggest songs like “F.N.T.” and, of course, “Closing Time.”

The other half of the group’s rhythm section, drummer Jacob Slichter, sounded lively as ever, but he moved to the keyboards for the final song of the encore – “El Matador.”

According to Wilson, as the band’s main songwriter, fans mistake “El Matador” as being written by him, though it was actually written by Slichter.

“I get these notes about El Matador. ‘El Matador is such a beautiful song Dan, you’re just the greatest songwriter,’ and I’m always torn because I didn’t write those songs. Jake wrote those songs,” Wilson said onstage.

Throughout the night, the members of Semisonic expressed their great appreciation to the sold-out crowd. At the end of their set, the satisfactory applause and cheers from the audience showed the feeling was mutual.