When Cloud Cult headlined the St. John's Block Party in Rochester last month, frontman Craig Minowa faced a particularly surreal moment -- surreal even for a guy who writes so many songs about the afterlife and inner-psyche.
"I could look up and see the window I was looking out of just a few months earlier," Minowa recalled, referring to the hospital room at the Mayo Clinic where he stayed in February following heart surgery. "Everything had sort of come full circle then."
Over the winter, the singer had to put his band on hold when he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat that plagued him with bouts of dizziness and exhaustion.
Talking by phone Monday from his farm in Viroqua, Wis., the 38-year-old bandleader reported a clear checkup now: "It seems to be ticking right again, and I even feel a little better than I did before."
Minowa's musical endeavors are getting back up to speed, too. He has more music to write for the National Geographic Channel over the next few months. As for Cloud Cult, the orchestral-rock octet hit the road again in April after finding a replacement for longtime cellist Sarah Young (new guy Daniel Zamzow also plays in Liminal Phase). The new lineup will make its overdue debut on a Twin Cities stage Friday -- one of the biggest stages in town.
The show takes place at Orchestra Hall, where Cloud Cult has previously played for the Day of Music and also at a festival during the Republican National Convention (no kidding). However, this will be the group's first ticketed concert in the ornate mega-hall, and the band has a big idea for it. As if the band's usual two painters on stage weren't enough visual amusement, each song in Friday's set will sync up with a new video backdrop featuring footage from local filmmakers One Light Collective, some animation and a variety of other images.
"This show is sort of us handing in an application to our fans for work we hope to do next year," Minowa said.
Clearly, then, his hospitalization did not leave Minowa wondering if it's time to put Cloud Cult to bed, as was the case before the release of last year's album, "Light Chasers," when his son Nova was born (Craig and his wife/bandmate Connie are expecting again in January). He said, "I got so many e-mails and messages of encouragement by fans, it only pushed me back toward the band and made me more deeply committed."
