music

It sounds like a cute little story: One night while he was sawing some ZZZ's, Mandy Tensen-Woolery woke up her husband, Nathan, with a catchy lyric on which he later based a song.

"I literally dreamt it up," Mandy recalled.

Psychologists might have a field day once they hear the song, though. It's called "Bloody Stumps," and it's only one of several tracks to reference bodily harm on the otherwise sweet-sounding new CD by the couple's band, Fitzgerald.

Hanging out Tuesday at a coffee shop near their home in Minneapolis' Seward neighborhood, Mandy and Nathan don't come off nearly as weird as they do in "Bloody Stumps" and other songs on "Raised by Wolves," their second CD. The tune -- one of many on the album to blend banjo, clarinet, guitar and the couple's hip, Stereolab/Low-like harmonies -- finds Mandy singing in her soft, pretty voice, "I think you should cut your hands off and wave your bloody stumps."

Nathan, who does most of the songwriting, said "Bloody Stumps" is a good example of how he tries to avoid "the obvious singer-songwriter themes." Obviously.

"I always try to avoid the personal-storytelling kind of songs," he said, pointing to other songs such as the strikingly catchy opener "How Far North?" and "The Alligator Wrestler," which are made-up stories. The album's standout track, the Postal Service-like electro-folk song "I Can Breathe Underwater," also was inspired by dreams he had as a kid hoping for Aquaman's abilities.

The Tensen-Woolerys (they took each other's last name) have lived interesting enough lives to write autobiographically. They were high-school sweethearts in Willmar, the western-Minnesota home of the Jennie-O turkey company. After college in the Twin Cities, the couple spent a year as social workers in India, where they dreamed up songs for their first CD, "Light a Match and Burn It Slowly."

"[India] was a great experience. Because I was so separated from the music I'm used to, it got me thinking and writing more unusually," Nathan said.

For "Raised by Wolves," the couple took a leap forward sonically thanks to Olympic Hopefuls frontmen Darren Jackson and Erik Appelwick, their labelmates on 2024 Records, who co-produced the album.

"They both have their own specialties, so Erik would kind of work with us during the day and Darren at night," Nathan explained.

Fitzgerald performs with a rotating cast of musicians, often with a rhythm section or sometimes just as a duo. Look for guests at their CD-release party Saturday at the Turf Club, which Haley Bonar is headlining.

And, for the record, a message up top on www.fitzgeraldmusic.com should clear up any possible controversy.

"We don't really think you should cut your hands off," it reads.

VARSITY FINALLY A GO

Jason McLean looked relieved but not exactly happy Tuesday, when he proudly showed off the newly renovated Varsity Theater. After waiting six months for the necessary city permits, McLean needed only a new exit door and a few other minor tweaks to finally reopen the historic Dinkytown venue this past weekend.

"The point is, we could have made the changes back in August or September, and we'd have been in business by October," said McLean, also the proprietor of the neighboring Loring Pasta Bar.

Whatever anyone thinks of McLean -- who has had many beefs with the city -- one look inside the new Varsity and you'll agree it's a shame that we didn't have it for more than a few weeks this past winter. It's now one of the warmest, coziest venues in town.

With its array of plush couches, chairs and even daybeds spread around a Lego-like array of moveable stage blocks, the Varsity can change from a songwriter's living room to a theater troupe's playhouse to a regular old rock concert hall, with capacity ranging from 180 to about 300. (The old movie theater had 940 seats. How's that for safety-code changes?)