We had yet another productive rehearsal yesterday! We spent about five hours reviewing, arranging and rearranging, working up to our first show.
We decided that Jackson Browne is pretty cool, so why not add one of his songs to our repertoire? Oh, and Buddy Holly! Of course! We have so many cool things to share with you we don't even know where to start.
Our next rehearsal is in a couple weeks, more to come!
We thought we should let you know we are alive and well!
Yes, we took a bit of a hiatus this winter, but think of us as cute little chipmunks who don't like to go out in the cold; in fact, The Chipmunks would be a great name for a band, but that's already been taken.
Oddly enough, Scott, Andy and Kevin have a weird fixation with The Chipmunks. But that's a whole other rehearsal log.
Yesterday we kicked off the rust, broke a few guitar strings and splintered a drumstick or two. Between the bizarre band banter of Dr. Teeth and dancing muppets... to how mineral oil and water do not mix, we actually got some work done. A solid four hour rehearsal took us on a journey exploring new stuff, refreshing old stuff, and a spontaneous, accidental noodling of "Purple Rain."
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| Taking a break in our rehearsal space, "Scott's Cave." 28 March 2026 |
We felt an homage to Neil Sedaka would be nice (since he recently passed) so we whipped up a Mugwugs version of one of his hits.
We are also deciding on a Brian Wilson tune. He wrote a few good ones (just a few!) so it is a challenge settling on the right one. How much of a challenge? We've been debating it for a year.
We are also working on the possibility of Elvis entering the building (and then leaving the building -- he might need some help!). After all, we have an awesome Elvis impersonator, why not take complete, unabashed advantage of the situation?! More on that later.
"Girth" is still kickin' and we are working a new song (heck, maybe even two!) for him.
More artists we are adding to our repertoire this summer: Jay and the Americans, April Wine, Eagles, The McCoys, "Weird Al" Yankovic, most likely more Alabama... and very possibly the Hollies and Train.
How's THAT for variety?
Yes, The Mugwugs are already thinking summer!
We braved this stupid polar vortex and had our first rehearsal for the upcoming 2026 season and we have lots of exciting stuff coming your way!
It was a fun day of Yoda impressions, Spinal Tap and Airplane! references, Swedish and German interpretations of French phrases, sequined Elvis suits and expounding on the virtues of holy harmony water (in other words, a typical Mugwugs rehearsal).
Somehow, we managed to learn six new songs in the process as well.
Anyway, Brian has a fancy new keyboard, Sam has a shiny new drum kit, and we dived into everything from April Wine to Elvis to “Weird Al” Yankovic (how is THAT for variety?)… heck, you might even hear something brand new from Girth?
Next summer looks like it'll be a fun one!
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| The Mugwugs hard at work from the drummer's view... |
The inspiration for this post came from something Kevin casually mentioned at the end of our rehearsal yesterday. This is paraphrasing, but he said something like "It would be fun to video a rehearsal and just post the antics between songs." Well, no cameras were rolling, but hopefully the following is the next best thing. And if folks like it, there'll be more where this came from!
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ON Saturday, the Mugwugs gathered together at Scott's home studio near Bertha, Minnesota, to kick off the rust and oil the gears, so to speak. It felt good to get back together again. Indeed, we were veritable cherry blossoms in the spring.
As a band, we typically don't perform much during the winter months (loading in and loading out while battling -20 F temperatures and driving on icy roads in the middle of the night just doesn't seem appealing anymore). Instead, we take advantage of those frigid months to come up with new ideas and then put our heads together in the spring to ramp up for the summer.
That's what we did yesterday.
In the fall of 2024 we had several new songs arranged and rehearsed, and just about ready for prime time. We dusted those off first and we were pleasantly surprised how quickly they took shape again. Then we fished around in the song attic and kicked the tires on a bunch of old tunes we'd not played in a long, long time.
It was fun to just make music again. It was a productive five hour marathon...
But typical of a Mugwugs rehearsal, a majority of the time was spent laughing and analyzing elements of pop culture that most people don't even think about (probably for good reason!).
We kicked off with our usual set opener (the Doobie Brothers' "Listen to the Music"), and as the last chord faded away, Kevin proclaimed: "Yah, yah... is good!"
And the Mugwugs banter began...
"'Yah, yah, is good!' Didn't that come from a cartoon?"
"'Yah, yah...' is that German? Maybe Danish? But you have to say it right... it's got to be gutteral or you sound Swedish."
"Wait... yes! The Looney Tunes version of Hansel and Gretel, they were eating chocolate in the roasting pan. 'Yah, is good!' With Witch Hazel! Remember her?"
"I loved Witch Hazel!"
And here ensues a ten minute in-depth discussion on the merits of the Looney Tunes' Hansel and Gretel; and it was agreed the most enduring characteristics of Witch Hazel were her tiny feet and her buzzing bobby pins.
And if you, dear reader, are already confused, you probably haven't seen a Mugwugs show. This is how our collective minds operate. And that's what you get when we are on stage. We can't help ourselves!
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| "Yah, yah, is good!" |
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| Witch Hazel and her adorable tiny feet and bobby pins |
Other highlights of our rehearsal on Saturday:
(After brushing off David Lee Murphy's "Dust on the Bottle," a song we hadn't played in more than a year)...
Scott: "I think that kinda scratches the country itch."
Kevin: "We've scratched that itch a lot."
Andy: "I think we're bleeding."
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| Scott Wagner: guitar and vocals |
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| Kevin Nyberg: guitars and vocals |
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| Andy Bingham: bass guitar and mandola... a four stringed bass with five tuning pegs! |
After about an hour into rehearsal:
Sam: "Is my snare drum tuned too high?"
Brian: "Yes. It sounds like a marching band."
Sam: "Hey, dick... who asked you?"
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| Sam Branstner: drums and vocals. And three sticks. |
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| Brian "Girth" Budahn: keyboards and vocals. |
(The AI characters above were created by Kevin)
The following conversation is a prime example how the Mugwugs professionally delegate lead vocals on a song. After dusting off The Proclaimers' "500 Miles," a song we hadn't played in about four years:
Kevin: "Scott, you want this one?"
Scott: "Um... Not really."
Kevin: "Wanna arm wrestle for it?"
Scott: "Um... Not really."
Kevin: "I'll let you win!"
Scott: "No, I'll let YOU win!"
Sam: "Guys, just cut off your arms. Problem solved."
Brian: "Okay, okay... I can take a hint. I'll sing it."
Other Mugwugs Rehearsal Fun Facts....
So there you go, a little peek into the world of a Mugwugs rehearsal. We hope to see you this summer!
