Interview: Andrew Broder Talks About ‘A Residency At The End Of the World,” The 3rd Year of His January Turf Club Residency (Every Wed in Jan.)

For the third straight year, Andrew Broder will curate and host a January residency at the Turf Club every Wednesday of the month. We interviewed the Minneapolis artist about what to expect from the 2019 version, what he has learned from previous years and how to expand musician/activist collaborations. You can see the full lineup for this years’s iteration, called Residency At The End of The World, at the end of the interview. 

Reviler: This is year three of this series. What have you learned during this time about making it successful? 
Andrew Broder: The success of the series is something I can only really measure by the feedback I’ve gotten from the audience, and the ongoing support from First Ave and the musicians who take part, which is deeply heartening! The thing I try to maintain is a sense of DIY spirit, of solidarity and togetherness. Keeping it fun and loose, even though we sometimes are addressing some very serious issues. I try to keep the lineups fresh, bring in new artists that I am only a little familiar with, and keep expanding our little local gang here. It feels good. I just try to keep it simple and appreciate people, as the name says.

Reviler: What are some of the things you are excited about for this year’s iteration? Any bands who may be under the radar people should make sure not to miss?

Broder: Obviously hosting Big Red Machine’s first MN show is a big deal and kudos to those dudes for being so down. Having Yoni from Why? here, and us doing a Hymie’s Basement set is exciting, something that just never happens, so that’s pretty special. Naeem (fka SpankRock) DJing every week along with amazing other DJs at the end of the night dance party is gonna be incredible, and, uh, lit. I like Gully Boys a lot. FeelFreeHiFi are incredible DJs. I’m stoked to see Angel Davanport live for the first time…. It’s all great! Nothing sucks! Haha… Oh yeah, and my band The Cloak Ox hasn’t played in like two years-ish? We’re gonna be doing a very special kind of set.

Reviler: Any specific ideas this year about genres or themes for the different nights? 

Broder: The series as a whole is about THE END OF THE WORLD – and that can mean lots of different things, good, bad, sad, scary, exhilarating, inspiring… And our main themes coming out of that are: Capitalism, Patriarchy, Technology and Celebrity, our new 4 Horsemen of the Apocalyse. We want to talk about all of that, or represent aspects of all of that throughout the month. The themes are something people can read about in the zine that we made for the series, which you can get at the shows. So far we have booked Kate Aranoff to talk about climate change, Lori and Julie from MyTalk107 to come and talk celebrity culture, the 1st week we have something really special dealing with the Franklin/ Hiawatha encampment… We’ll be adding more as we go, keep it surprising. 

Reviler: How did you go about deciding the orgs who will be highlighted and supported each night?

Broder:I wanted a mixture of local – the Franklin/ Hiawatha camp is something that was very much in all our faces this last year here in the Twin Cities, and we felt like it was something we needed to address. 350 and OneTree planted are taking direct action to combat fossil fuel use/ climate change disaster and RAICES is dealing with helping immigrants and asylum seekers at the border get legal assistance, know their rights, etc. I guess it’s all kinda ripped from today’s headlines, you know? Like, there’s a million things that are scary and broken, just pick some and start.

Reviler: For the first night, you have a big name band (Justin Vernon & Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine) who normally would play a venue bigger than the Turf Club. How do you decide when to bring in big bands who will sell out the Turf (like this show) compared with an all- or mostly-local lineup?

Broder: It’s not really that strategic – I just ask my friends, and whoever is down, is down. That might be a famous person or someone on the verge, or someone who doesn’t aspire or fit it into that… It’s supposed to be a mix of all that stuff, and for all those levels to interact in the same series is cool, it makes you just focus on the music and the fun.

Reviler: This year is co-branded with Justin Vernon’s 37d03d collective. How did that come about? What will that mean for people coming to the shows?
Broder:I have been involved in the 37d03d thing for the last couple years now, and for someone like me it’s really helpful to have a music/art/friend collective/ army thing that has my back and trusts me. I have been doing music for a long time now, and I think continue to do good work – but I am realizing my strength is in my ability to bring unexpected things together, and to collaborate freely among different genres. A loose network like 37d03d is all about that shit. So, for someone like me, who realistically isn’t interested in touring or even doing traditional ‘album-cycle-campaign’ type music lifestyle, but still wants to make shit all the time – an umbrella group like this is really helpful. It’s still growing, and figuring itself out, but a big part of it going forward is going to be executing more stuff like this. It keeps me active.

Reviler: This residency and beyond, what are your tips to other artists who want to combine music and activism? How can more events like this happen in the Twin Cities?

Broder: I think out of necessity we as artists and creators are going to have to re-assess how we do things, as the need for more radical change grows every day. I’m not sure I have good advice, because my particular thing that I do, the people around me, the music I make- that’s all pretty unique to me. So someone in a different position has a totally different set of assets to bring to it – you know? All I am doing is containing all the stuff I really give a shit about- music, my friends, my family, my work, my world- in the same space and trying to see if I can connect people to it, with it. Hopefully that kind of energy spreads around. I do think people are starting to think along these lines more – they have to. 

Reviler: What can music fans expect from you and your bands this year? Any new albums?

Broder: I am planning on dropping several tunes this month in conjunction with the series, starting with a Big Red Machine remix. I’m working on a film score right now, plus a couple collaborations cooking in the early stages. I want to make another Fog record sometime. It’s always something.

Residency details

January 9 (SOLD OUT): w/ Big Red Machine, Naeem and DJ Keezy
January 16: w/ Marijuana Deathsquads, Sophia Eris, DJ Keezy
January 23: w/ Hymie’s Basement, Yoni Wolf (of Why?), Lady Midnight, Dave King/Andrew Broder, MARGRET and Naeem (DJ Set) 
January 30: w/ The Cloak Ox, Serengeti, Angel Davenport, and Naeem (DJ set)

Tickets & info: http://bit.ly/2AykiZA
1/9: $25.00 advance | There is a 4-ticket limit for this show
1/16, 1/23, 1/30: $10.00 advance/$12.00 Day of Show

ALL SHOWS: 7:00pm Doors/7:30pm Showtime/21+