This is about Venison, a band from Eau Claire, WI that co-existed in Minneapolis, MN at various times between 1999 – 2006. Even though their roots might be in Wisconsin, they’re just as much one of ours, as far as I’m concerned. Hey, I’m Mpls born and raised, and I’m married to a proud Sconnie girl, so deal with it.
I don’t recall exactly when Rick Fuller and myself first crossed each others paths; certainly through some extension of my role as a writer for Your Flesh or my own ‘zine The New Puritan ReView, possibly through mutual pals in Yellow No. 5, or The Wrap Up ‘zine, or even through his work as a film producer as part of Harder/Fuller Films, Inc., with Director Phil Harder – but all these years later it just seems like he’s always been there. A formidable presence in the local scene and beyond, his no-nonsense lyrical prowess penetrated my inner ear in a way that few have been able to reach outside of Mark E. Smith of The Fall – for whom it turned out, we both shared no small amount of admiration. But lest I come off like a hyperbolic fanboy, let me attest to the fact that the rest of the band were also top-notch in their own right.
Many of the core and extended family members of Venison would continue to appear in my sights for the next several years in some of the least expected places, not the least of which would include some of the most prolific bands the Midwest had to offer, including Touch Is Automatic, Überscenester, and Big Trouble House. In eight years, the band released no less than five albums and a couple of singles on the prestigious Big Money Inc. and Sursumcorda labels, as well as appearing on a smattering of local compilations alongside some of the hard-hitters of the true underground indie scene – local and otherwise.
So why, you may ask, haven’t they become a household name, like their contemporaries in Lifter Puller / The Hold Steady, or Guided By Voices? To which I can only reply, there is no justice in the world, my friend. Or maybe there is, and the real art is in keeping your hand close to home and playing the game the way you want. Your guess is as good as mine, I reckon.
On a recent trip back to my hometown, I was delighted to discover a new Venison album on my first trek to a record shop, and I can tell you, the band these days – albeit slightly reformed – sounds as vibrant and relevant as ever. But maybe I’ll stop gushing for the moment, and let you listen to the music with your own ears; then you can tell me if you think I’m just making this all up. Dig it!
Back in the day, the line-up generally looked like this:
Chris “Chicken” Weise : Drums
Jon “Jono” Olstadt : Guitar
• [Yellow No. 5 (aka Touch Is Automatic)]
Justin Solberg : Bass
Matt Caflisch : Guitar, Vocals
• [Big Trouble House, J.U.L.P., Like Hell, Two Harbors, Überscenester]
Rick Fuller : Lead Vocals
• [Harder / Fuller Films, Horse Latitudes Records, Murderapolis]
….and sometimes included even more folks:
Kevin Lian-Anderson
Chris Jackson
Chris Gray [Hard Luck Country Club]
Pat Langreck [Big Trouble House]
Todd Gitzlaff
What follows are a couple of live recordings which Rick Fuller has graciously allowed me to share on Live Music Archive with other past, present and future fans.
Venison • 1995-11-30
Minneapolis, MN • 7th St. Entry
stereo audience recording
duration (42:51.52)
[01] Goin Downy (02:56.66)
[02] Fairy Tale Time (02:32.09)
[03] Jack Lambert Attitude (03:07.21)
[04] interim (00:23.58)
[05] Forward (02:56.27)
[06] interim (00:21.23)
[07] Grips (04:07.63)
[08] interim (00:18.67)
[09] Pathetic (02:07.20)
[10] interim (00:16.38)
[11] Big Balls [AC/DC] (02:42.21)
[12] interim (00:46.07)
[13] Iowa (03:49.46)
[14] interim (01:17.36)
[15] Shallow (03:02.69)
[16] interim (00:16.23)
[17] Victim Of Bad Math (03:10.07)
[18] interim (01:00.46)
[19] Epstein’s Mother (02:32.07)
[20] interim (00:14.40)
[21] Cooking Dirt (03:57.12)
[22] end runout (00:54.21)
Chris “Chicken” Weise : Drums
Jon “Jono” Olstadt : Guitar
• [Yellow No. 5 (aka Touch Is Automatic)]
Justin Solberg : Bass
Matt Caflisch : Guitar, Vocals
• [Big Trouble House, J.U.L.P., Like Hell, Two Harbors, Überscenester]
Rick Fuller : Lead Vocals
• [Harder / Fuller Films, Horse Latitudes Records, Murderapolis]
Bill:
2i
Venison
Flour
Interstate Judy
MC / introduction by the inimitable Hardcore Dave
live mix: Bill Batson
Cooking Dirt was not on the setlist.
Big Balls is confirmed to be the same recording featured on the Venison Box [disc 2 track 10), although there the date is listed as 2/3/96
Recorded / transferred / tracked / tagged by: J.Free / Sonic Archives
Download or stream the show from Live Music Archive
Venison • 1996-08-02
Minneapolis, MN • 7th St. Entry
stereo audience recording
duration (47:24.00)
[01] start (00:37.08)
[02] Guns (03:37.08)
[03] Forward (03:10.53)
[04] interim (00:15.43)
[05] Grand Tradition Of No One (05:13.05)
[06] Hangover (05:12.02)
[07] Life Support (03:43.64)
[08] interim (00:53.28)
[09] Visionary (02:23.62)
[10] Leko (02:35.65)
[11] Epstein’s Mother (02:41.26)
[12] interim (00:21.58)
[13] Sucking Song (03:14.31)
[14] Rat (02:51.46)
[15] interim (00:22.15)
[16] Downward Dancer Movement (03:01.18)
[17] interim (00:23.28)
[18] Margot Kidder (02:35.46)
[19] interim (00:22.48)
[20] Shoot Your Way To Freedom [Grant Hart / Nova Mob] (03:47.21) [end truncated]
The tape runs out at the very end, but the set ended a few moments later, so that was technically the end of the set.
Tracks 2-5 [Guns / Forward / Grand Tradition Of No One] appear on the Venison Box [disc 3 • tracks 6-8].
Recorded / transferred / tracked / tagged by: J.Free / Sonic Archives
Download or stream the show from Live Music Archive
It is well worth your time to track down any of the band’s releases:
Three recent releases – circa 2025! – can be purchased from the band’s official bandcamp page
Five of the earlier CDs and a couple of singles can be spotted on the discogs site
The band also contributed a couple of tracks to the Big Money Inc Workman’s Comp, which also has been seen at discogs.
Download or stream all sets by Venison from Live Music Archive
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