Josh Von Mink (aka Josh Schmidt) is coming home to the North Shore on a mini tour with his Minneapolis-based band Step Rockets. Josh and his band mates, Brady Lillie, John Synhavsky and Anthony Schulz will be performing at the GunFlint Tavern on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14; at Papa Charlie’s in Lutsen on Feb. 15 and at Lutsen Resort on Feb. 16.
It’s not often that Josh Von Mink (aka 2003 Cook County High School graduate Josh Schmidt) performs on the North Shore. Fans will be happy to hear that the Vintage Mink alum is coming home for three shows in Cook County, February 14 – 16. Josh is now a member of Step Rockets, a Minneapolis- based foursome whose latest hit Kisser has rocketed onto the indie-rock music scene.
Together for just a little over a year, Step Rockets has been making waves with their music which has been described as “indie rock band exploring psychedelia, modern hooks and worldly grooves.” Josh plays guitar, synth and sings. His band mates are Brady Lillie, guitars and vocals; John Synhavsky, drums, percussion; and Anthony Schulz on bass.
The band’s discography isn’t huge, but the songs available on SoundCloud, Tumbler and iTunes leaves a listener wanting more.
There is Sleep Position, a rocking tune with great guitar, vocals and funky synth moments. If You Tried has a mellow, ‘80s feel and Shake Shake Shake, a slow-danceable, almost R&B tune with surprising guitar hooks.
The song that launched Step Rockets onto the indie music scene is Kisser. Just 13 days after its release, Kisser, with its accompanying video filmed at the Mall of America Underwater World aquarium, was No. 1 on Hype Machine. The upbeat tune blending electronic dance music, reggae and new wave sounds has accumulated over 300,000 plays on SoundCloud. On January 27, the song was featured in an episode of the award-winning Showtime series Shameless.
The band has received rave reviews from Minneapolis area critics and in an interview with Groundsounds, a Minneapolis music, art and culture website, the band quipped that one of its goals is to be the first band to perform on the moon.
If Step Rockets doesn’t make it to the moon, they certainly will find a place amongst the musical stars. They’ve performed in the Twin Cities at venues such as Prince’s home turf First Avenue; at the Firebird in St. Louis, Missouri; the Bowery Ballroom in New York City; Abbey Pub in Chicago, Illinois and more. After this visit to the North Shore, the Step Rockets will be preparing for upcoming shows at Fitzgerald’s in Houston, Texas in March and the Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware in June.
Don’t miss this chance to see Step Rockets on this mini tour. They’ll be at the Gunflint Tavern on Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14 at 8:30 p.m., at Papa Charlie’s at Lutsen Mountains on Feb. 15 at 3:15 with an acoustic show and 9 p.m. with a full show and on Feb. 16 at Lutsen Resort at 7 p.m.
See more about Step Rockets at: www.steprockets.com www.facebook.com/steprockets
Leave a Reply