Curtiss A

Curtiss A, also known as Curt Almsted, has remained a constant presence on the Minneapolis rock landscape ever since 1978, the year he cut tracks with his punk-ish outfit the Spooks. Though never a conventional punk, Almsted operated instead as a roots-rock provocateur whose sound owed more to John Lennon than to John Lydon. Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s he figured prominently in the rising Minneapolis scene that preceded the Replacements and Hüsker Dü, a circle that also featured the Suburbs, Suicide Commandos, Flamin' Ohs, and Hypstryz. His first album, Courtesy, recorded with future Replacement Slim Dunlap on lead guitar, earned both the artist and the independent Twin/Tone label considerable notice. After issuing his most recent full-length effort, 1988’s A Scarlett Letter—which featured ex-NRBQ guitarist Al Anderson—he maintained an unusually low profile.