Vikings' Chris Kluwe kicking it with metal band at Entry tonight

The punter's group Tripping Icarus, in which he plays bass, is hosting an album release party.

December 2, 2011 at 1:18PM
Chris Kluwe
Chris Kluwe (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Chris Kluwe plays bass in Tripping Icarus. / Photo by Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune
Chris Kluwe plays bass in Tripping Icarus. / Photo by Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Here's hoping none of the drug-test czars in the NFL make it out to 7th Street Entry tonight, when Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe's band Tripping Icarus is hosting the release party for its new album. Kluwe is only the bass player in the hazy metal band, but there still might be some red flags thrown up (or yellow?) when the band's singer Jesse Damien Revel bellows out the line, "My girlfriend is Mary Jane," a rather telling hook in the song "Catching Clouds." Insert coughing noise here.

One of the more consistent members of the Vikings, Kluwe's band is also pretty straight-ahead and predictable. Most of its songs -- which can be heard for free over at the band's Reverb Nation site -- follow the grunge-metal mold of Soundgarden and especially Alice in Chains, with a little Tool psychedlica thrown in. All told, the music is a bit rote and lugheaded, but it's powerful in parts and certainly better than most athletes' musical alter-egos (see: Timberwolves guard Troy "T-Hud" Hudson's rap career; not to mention Joe Mauer's TV singing gig).

Tripping Icarus' album, "Perfect Citizen," was recorded at Ed Ackerson's Flowers Studio with producer Andy Lindberg, who sadly passed away before its completion. The quartet is thus dedicating the album and tonight's show to him. Click here for more details on the party (9 p.m., $5).

about the writer

about the writer

Chris Riemenschneider

Critic / Reporter

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.

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