Ruby, I fuckin miss you like crazy. I have so much to tell you. That ill probably never get to tell you. Things I want to ask. Idk. I'm talking to myself. You'll never see this. And I hate it..
There was this amazing band called Lifter Puller from Minneapolis, where I lived in 1998-2001. I was supposed to write a preview about a show they had coming up at The 7th Street Entry. This was a popular 300-capacity venue in downtown Minneapolis whose name was aptly given – the entry to the club was
on 7th Street, but also because it was often a place for entry-level bands to play. When I called band member Craig Finn, he told me the band was done. Here are excerpts from what was published:
The discovery of their break up was sudden. Singer/guitarist Craig Finn gave me the news over the phone, as I was fixing to set up an interview for their now cancelled Seventh Street Entry show. It took me a moment to process what he revealed, and before I could think to say anything more eloquent, I had already blurted out “What?!” The band has had it’s run.
The setting sun was glaring against the Weisman’s shiny aluminum exterior. July 29th’s performance of Lifter Puller’s “Nassau Coliseum” brought a tear to my eye. The band looked exhausted; the crowd’s attention was given wholly to the band. During those last moments panic filled eyes as the mic was breaking up, the room kept growing increasingly humid, and the bodies against the stage were falling against and into another. “Nassau Coliseum” was imperfect; And that in itself was perfect poetry in motion. Expressions on the sea of sweaty faces told a million stories. That moment was something short of saying farewells to a cherished friend moving far away, never to return. It would be the last song. This was a moment of Minneapolis Rock history.
It was five days since that show when I sat down with guitarist/keyboardist Steve Barone and drummer Dan Monick. The overcast day on Lyndale Blvd. fit the mood for a discussion about their break up. I began by asking if it was forseen. Barone sips his iced coffee and explains, “We cancelled the rest (of our shows) because we didn’t want to do the ‘Hey, we’re breaking up at the end of the summer.’ When you decide to break up, you break up. You don’t go on.”
I went on to describe Lifter Puller as The Pixies’ answer to “indie punk” in that Craig is the very definition of a troubador. He is a rich storyteller as Black Francis, maybe even a better one. I was 23 when I wrote this article. It’s since been posted on a couple websites run by fans. Lifter Puller reunited for a three shows in 2003. After this, Craig and Tad formed the band The Hold Steady, and my friend Bobby Drake (also from Minneapolis) joined them on drums. I am a fan of this band too, they currently tour worldwide and have been featured in magazines way bigger than Pulse of the Twin Cities, where my article was originally published.
PS: It’s worth it to note that Dan Monick is now a well-known photographer, who has produced some of my favorite images.
