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Vicious Vicious with Erik Applewick center.

...A Man About Town

You don’t even know that you know him. He’s the man around town as far as local music is concerned. Nearly every band worth hearing in the Twin Cities area can be connected through one man – Erik Applewick. While my purpose is to shed some much needed light on what is perhaps Applewick’s dearest and most personal project, Vicious Vicious, I’d be remiss not to drop some names in the process.

My first “run-in” with Applewick came via some of my local favorites, Alva Star, in which he was a member. Though the current status of the band is unknown, I fear we may have to chalk it up as another indefinite hiatus. More recently, he’s found success with power-pop outfit the Hopefuls (formerly the Olympic Hopefuls, if you jumped on the bandwagon late). The band released their debut, “The Fuses Refuse To Burn”, courtesy of local indie label 2024 Records, with which they received impressive reviews. Moreover, Applewick jumped on board last year with seemingly overnight indie-rock phenomenon Tapes ’N’ Tapes to replace original bassist Shawn Neary. He’ll take a backseat, too – he’s credited with twiddling the knobs for local radio-rock band White Light Riot, among many others.

Vicious Vicious

Where does Vicious Vicious come in? What started as a solo endeavor back in 2002 with the debut album “Blood and Clover” has since evolved into a full band undertaking. A few years later, VV released one of the year’s best local discs of 2005 with “Don’t Look So Surprised”. Last week, Applewick and his crew celebrated the release of their new full-length album “Parade” with a soiree at Dinkytown’s Varsity Theatre. Head down to our favorite local retailer, Electric Fetus, to grab yourself a copy. Otherwise, hit up the local section at your neighborhood Cheapo – they’ve yet to let me down. Included for listening is the new track “Don’t Let Me Down” as well as 2003’s favorite party track, “Shake That Ass On The Dance Floor.” Head to the band’s official site to stream more tracks from “Parade.”

AjiSignal is a magazine
about new music in cities.