by Tad Johnson
Thisweek Newspapers

Jeff Nordquist says he always wanted to be a rock star.

Well, the Apple Valley trumpet player was granted his wish about two years ago when he joined some college buddies in the Twin Cities pop-alternative band Kubla Khan.

He's living the rock 'n' roll dream, but he confesses "I'm not as filthy rich as I wanted to be.î

Jeff and his wife, Katie (Perrault) Nordquist, a 1995 Eagan High School graduate, are expecting their first child in December, so the Benjamins rolling in from sold-out arenas and Billboard-charting records would be a welcome result, but he'll settle for nights playing at smaller local clubs covering the cost for diapers and baby formula for a month or two.

"Mostly, it is just about the people in the band,î he said. "They are great people to be around.î

Kubla Khan is a side project in the lives of the band members who are in their late-20s and early-30s. They meet for practice usually once a week and play shows about twice a month.

"It is hard to do anymore than that,î he said. "We'd love to quit our day jobs and go on the road, but it's impossible to do these days.î

Nordquist busies himself during the work week as a programmer for MakeMusic in Eden Prairie, which produces Finale and SmartMusic software.

He also plays trumpet at Chanhassen Dinner Theater a couple times a week and other venues like the Children's Theater in Minneapolis, The Guthrie, Pantages and lots of churches.

Nordquist met most of his bandmates in Kubla Khan while a student at St. Olaf College in Northfield. Some played in the jam-rock outfit Bobby Llama, and Nordquist was a big fan, but also secretly jealous of all the fun they were having.

He played occasionally with Bobby Llama and then Kubla Khan, when they went to record their first CD about two years ago.

Since then they have been performing at Twin Cities clubs and a year ago started laying down tracks for their second CD, "Lowertown.î

The CD bursts with guitar-riffing energy and has more hooks than a pro fisherman's tacklebox. It's a stew of many influences from Ben Folds and Foo Fighters to the Beatles and the Beach Boys.

Their sound is hard to pin down, and that's probably the fun of it. There are slices of the Push Stars, Camper Van Beethoven and the Band in the music, but it's a whole different bread loaf altogether. Kubla Khan's dough definitely has enough sweet sugar to satisfy that power pop appetite.

Capturing the power of the live show on CD was a challenge that had Nordquist recording his entire horn track a second time.

"You don't want to miss a note, so we were holding something back,î Nordquist said. "We wanted it to be as ballsy as a live show. Ö They sounded too nice, so we kind of played everything louder and with a little more energy.î

He says it was important for them to do that because most of their loyal fans are accustomed to the spontaneity, energy and general craziness of the live shows.

"Sometimes we have big crowds for the bar shows,î he said. "The thrill of it for me is being up on stage and making the music and seeing people dancing. I like the idea of helping to provide that kind of experience for them.î

Kubla Khan will have a CD release party Friday, July 7 at Minneapolis' 400 Bar for its new, seven-song release, "Lowertown.î Special guests will be Spymob and the Alarmists. For ticket information, call the 400 Bar at (612) 332-2903 or see the Web site www.400bar.com.

Tad Johnson is at editor.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.

Top of Page

Check out this week's newspaper for more about your community.

Thisweek Newspapers
12190 County Road 11, Burnsville, MN 55337
Telephone: 952-894-1111 Fax: 952-846-2010