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IN EARLY 1998 > Minneapolis singer/songwriter Rob Meany decided to split from his group of the past two years, Jon Ken Po, and form a band of his own. He brought with him Jon Ken Po bassist John Moser and began to assemble a line-up of players from the teeming ranks of the local music scene. Through a newspaper ad and a demo tape full of songs, he recruited a formidable guitar player Jason Jordan and a like-minded drummer Dave Wagner to join the fold. {read more} 
TERRAMARA IS >
PAST MEMBERS > |
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... continued from above. In August 1998, after rehearsing for several months, Wagner bowed out, renewing the search for a drummer to fill his shoes. By word of mouth, Meany came into contact with a young drummer from St. Paul named Jeff Garcia who fit the bill. Garcia played with the band long enough to perform for several shows and record the band's first demo in the fall of 1998, but was replaced by current drummer Dave Thomas in early 1999. About the same time, founding member John Moser opted out as well, leaving the bass playing to a friend of Jordan's, DJ Sandau. The line-up of Meany, Jordan, Sandau and Thomas remained stable through most of 1999-2000 including the recording of the band''s first full-length CD, the self-titled Terramara album. Playing steadily in 1999, the group quickly gained a reputation for strong songwriting and top-notch musicianship in the Minneapolis music scene. One highlight of 1999 included an appearance on the "The Buzz", a local music news segment on KSTP-TV Channel 9 featuring Robyn Robinson. By December 1999, after playing the local club scene for about a year, the group was ready to record its first album. Based on recommendations from several sources, the band enlisted the expertise of local producer Ken Chastain to guide the recording and arranging process. Chastain is best known for his work with the Honeydogs and Johnny Clueless, and was an original member of both Beat the Clock and Greazy Meal. continued after the gallery ...
... continued from above. In February 2000, with a sizable body of songs ready to go, the group holed up at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota for a long weekend of tracking with Chastain. Overdubs were completed at several smaller studios in Minneapolis in the following months and mixing was done back at Pachyderm in May of 2000. By mid-summer the album was finished, making way for an official release in October 2000. As the band was beginning work on the first album, they were also joining forces with several other like-minded bands in the Cities, Joylab and Elephants Gerald, to cross- promote and create a community of artists called Insight Galactic. One such adventure led them to load up the now infamous TerraVan and drive with Joylab to Austin, Texas for an unofficial appearance at the SXSW Music Conference in March 2000. The trip did not yield any record deals, but had some noteworthy moments which can only related by the band members themselves. After a big release bash at the Cabooze in late fall, the band began performing steadily in support of the CD in 2001, becoming a regular headliner at many of Minneapolis' best clubs such at the Fine Line Music Cafe, the Cabooze and the Uptown, and played to thousands of people at such major outdoor events as the Taste of Minnesota and the Festival of the Heart & Soul. With the release of the album, the group began to garner some favorable press. Critics compared their sound to rock giants such as Sting and Steely Dan. Local radio was also very supportive, with KQRS's local music DJ Mei Young declaring Terramara "The best band in Minneapolis no one has heard of". Songs from the album received regular spins on several local stations, including KQRS, KTCZ Cities 97, and KFAI. In the fall of 2001, long-time members Sandau and Jordan decided to call it quits. Remaining members Meany and Thomas decided to carry on and recruited a young guitarist from Fargo, North Dakota to join the ranks. With a background in jazz and rock, Karl Koopman was a perfect fit for the Terramara sound. The group did not need to look far to find a new bassist as Dave Thomas suggested bringing in a good friend and musician Erik Pedersen to take on the duties. A versatile bass player with classical training, Pedersen complimented the current line-up well. With the new line-up in place, Meany began the task of writing a new set of tunes for the second album. Working throughout 2002, the group refined its sound and settled into the fresh chemistry the new players provided. In the summer of 2002, Terramara made a second appearance at Taste of Minnesota and also performed at the unique Tree Frog Music Festival in Faribault, Minnesota. About that time, the band was also recruited to record a song for the soundtrack of an independent film called revisions. Working with Dave's brother Andrew Thomas as producer, the group laid down tracks for a new song entitled, "Invisible People" at Soliton Studios in August 2002 and released it as a free single shortly after. Highlights of fall 2002 included a short house gig at Bunkers in Minneapolis and being selected to perform at the first ever Rolling River Music and Film Festival. In May 2003, Terramara was a top-ten finalist from over 300 submissions in a Grammy-(NARAS) and ASCAP-sponsored Demo Review Contest & Panel held at the legendary First Avenue nightclub in downtown Minneapolis. Their song, "Summer's End" received rave reviews from a panel of industry professionals who gathered to listen to and critique each finalist in front of a large crowd of local musicians. In the summer of 2003, after an unprecedented third appearance at the Taste of Minnesota Festival, a newly energized Terramara turned its efforts toward recording a second album. Based on the great results of the first album, the band opted to bring back Ken Chastain to produce its sophomore effort. Recording began in September at, fittingly, Terrarium Studios in Minneapolis with as many as 20 new songs vying for a place on the record. Also in 2003, Terramara was chosen from among 1200 submissions, screened by Billboard and TAXI, as one of the top 15 independent artists in the Midwest in DiscMakers Independent Music Word Series. As a winner, Terramara's song, "Jaded Little Love Song" received the honor of being included in a compilation CD distributed to radio and industry. After an initial set of days recording at the Terrarium in Minneapolis in September, the band settled into the long process of overdubbing and editing parts at Ken Chastain's studio. The work went more slowly than scheduled--sometimes only a few hours a week. On this album, Rob and Karl were also able to record their parts at their own studios and bring in the finished tracks as a digital file. The wonders of science made the process more flexible, but also more time-consuming. In the fall of 2004, longtime bass player Erik Pedersen moved to Utah to pursue his interest in violin-making. Another local music veteran, Tom Larson, was recruited to take his place in the line-up for upcoming shows. With perseverance , the final tracks were finished and the mixing began under the direction of Rob Genadek who has done work for Peter Himmelman and many other local artists. Rob also mastered the project. By early 2005, the album was ready to go into production. The new album, entitled, Four Blocks To Hennepin, was released in late spring of 2005, followed by a series of promotional shows and a national college radio campaign. The college radio campaign resulted in most of the 300 stations surveyed adding Four Blocks To Hennepin to their playlists. At least 40 stations had the CD in medium or heavy rotation for several weeks. The single "Running Down The Avenue" charted as high as #1 for eight weeks on the St. Mary's College station in Minnesota. Terramara officially launched the CD with a show at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis on May 20th, followed by a number of other shows in the Twin Cities and Duluth. Over the summer of 2005, Terramara performed live on several Minneapolis TV stations, including KARE-11 Today Show, KARE-11 Saturday Morning, WCCO-4 Saturday Morning, and Fox-9 Sound Check. In July, the band was also selected from hundreds of submissions to compete in the WB Minnesota's "Strictly Original" New Music Competition, a locally televised battle of the bands. The band taped a performance of its song, "Running Down the Avenue" for broadcast on the program in late August. Viewers voted Terramara into the finals where five remaining bands performed again for the grand prize. The final episode was taped in front of a live audience in early September. At the end, a panel of inustry judges selected Terramara as the overall winner. Prizes include a recording deal, free promotional materials, and a year's worth of pizza.
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