Imagine a city managed exclusively by rock stars. There would be Joe Walsh, director of liquor operations; Ozzy Ozborne, director of wildlife management; Sting, chief of the fire department; and Ted “Motor City Madman” Nugent, director of ironic job title assignation.
Such a city would surely rock. It might just rock a little too hard to support refined society, however, which is why I say it’s for the best that our own city’s staff contains a solitary rock star: David Lindahl, economic development manager, and lead guitar/vocals for Wondercure. I began our conversation by asking David the stupidest question possible.
“Actually, no, not at all,” answered David. “There’s zero overlap between municipal economic development and rock and roll. I guess it’s just possible for a man to have two unrelated callings in life.
“Rock and roll was my first calling, believe it or not. The Beatles. The Stones. The Byrds. Dylan, Cream, and the entire British Invasion. If you grew up during the ‘60s, then you remember when everything on the radio was great.
“I wanted to be Eric Clapton so bad that it drove me to learn the guitar in 7th grade. I was still pretty awful at it when I started playing with John ‘Zog’ Herzog in 9th. Zog was always the heart of the band – a great bass player and even greater friend, whose audiologist sadly made him retire from rocking last year.
“In the late ‘80s we started a band called ‘272’ with our school pal David Keiski on ivories and my brother Bob on skins. After replacing David with Mike Lupo, we morphed into the ‘Prairie Dogs.’ That was our name for our pals from Eden Prairie. It turned out not to be a good name for a rock band. People often expected the Prairie Dogs to play country music, which we didn’t, which led to a lot of crowd disappointment (and sometimes relief).”
David and his bandmates renamed themselves to ‘Wondercure,’ the title of one of their original songs, around 2007. By that time they’d already realized their original songs are … just too good to have mainstream appeal. And that’s okay! It happens to the best musicians, whom you’ve naturally never heard of.
“While we do still write and record new songs, Wondercure is first and foremost a cover band,” David continued. “If it was recorded during the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s or ‘90s, then you might find it on our set list. In a single night we might play ‘Son of a Preacher Man,’ ‘I’m a Loser,’ ‘Ride Captain Ride,’ ‘Sister Golden Hair,’ ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World,’ ‘You’re So Vain,’ ‘So Into You,’ ‘Doctor, My Eyes,’ ‘Georgia,’ and ‘Melissa.’
“We’re egalitarian about it. Sometime before each gig – about once a month – each band member picks a new song for everyone else to learn. So long as the band can play it and it fits our ‘yacht rock’ vibe, we roll with it.
“Being a cover band isn’t as simple as aping famous songs. You’ve got to put love into it; make it your own, without losing the spark that made it a hit in the first place. If we make a big impression, then it’s definitely thanks to our awesome keyboardist, who can play arrangements that make us sound like twice as much band as we actually are, and also my brother’s talent for emulating famous singers. Donald Fagen, Elton John, and multiple Beatles – you’d swear they’re all in the same room once Bob’s warmed up.
“Rocking after 60? It’s easy! Just make sure you have comfortable shoes and some kind of soft pad to stand on. Also, save yourself a heart attack by performing with your favorite people. I’m fortunate to share the stage with many long-time friends, as well as family like my own son Sam.
“Who knows? Maybe someday Sam will play covers with his own kid … and maybe that kid will go on to become the next Eric Clapton. Could happen!”
Check out Wondercure on Facebook, and email wondercuretheband@gmail.com if you would care to rock.