69 Cents

Inducted: June 2010

WhenThe Free Press launched the Meet the Band blog — a central location tosee, listen to and read about all the bands in the Meet theBand family— we had an uptick in nominations.

Local music fans e-mailed to saywe were crazy if we didn’t induct bands like City Mouse and Powerhouse,the ones that have been playing in Mankato’s music scene for years andyears.

No band, however, received as many nominations as 69 Cents.The rock band’s fans have spoken ... again. They did, after all, beatout CityMouse, the Murphy Brothers, Home Free and Fish Frye for secondplace in The Free Press Readers’ Choice awards this year. (Hairball tookfirst.)

So, loyal 69 Cents listeners, we hear you. And thoseunfamiliar with the Mankato band, now’s your chance to listen up andlearn a few things about the 13-year-old band from guitarist andvocalist Dale Wolters.

Q: Tell us about your band.
A: Well, weall have similar tastes in music, and being together so long, we haveplayed nearly every style you can imagine. It has changed over theyears, but we pretty much try to stay current with most of thestuff onthe radio.
You could say we fit more into the active rock genre. Ithink we each have our own unique style, but being in a cover band, wepretty much stick to the sound we are covering. Although, we do add ourown personality to the music.

Q: Do you play original material or covers? A mix of both?
A: Mostly covers. We have some original stuff but don’t play most of it due to member changes and such.

Q: When you write music, what’s your inspiration?
A:When we do write, it is mostly good-time rock music. We don’treally follow any one particular thought process. We have had theopportunity to write some backing tracks for a TV show several yearsback and recently did some tracks for a hip-hop artist based outof Philadelphia. That project is an ongoing work in progress, shall wesay.

Q: How do you choose songs for your repertoire to cover?
A: We try to stay with what is currently on the radio. Stuff that we enjoy and is on the charts.
We will try to sneak in some of our personal favorites, too, but mainly stick to what is happening at the time.

Q: What’s a good night on stage like?
A:When the energy is flowing and everyone is having a good time, it makesthe night so much better. We always enjoy a good crowd and really takein their vibe, which really helps our performance tremendously.Thegreat time really becomes contagious.

Q: What do you love about performing?
A:Mostly being out with our friends. We have met so many cool people overthe years, and it is neat to see our friends become like a family. Welook forward to our shows to see everyone. It’s a cool job.

Q: Who are some of your influences?
A:We all have our personal influences, of course, but collectively,we really like bands like Buck Cherry, Shinedown, Styx ... . Thelistcould go on and on. We also enjoy listening to funk and someR&B. I guess we have tons of influences.

Q: If you ever made the cover of Rolling Stone, what other bands would you want to be compared to?
A: Ha, ha. That is a tough one. The Bee Gees, of course.

Q: How do you unwind after a show?
A: We tend to mingle with our friends, enjoy some cocktails.

Q: Any interesting band rituals?
A:A couple of our guys really like to do a shot or two before we go on.I’m not sure if it is a ritual or not, but it helps set the mood. We dosome weird things, but I would not consider them ritualistic-ish.