Area band All Weather Human takes first in Midwest contest

The Brainerd area's All Weather Human Christian rock band took top place in the final round of a Midwest band competition last weekend at the Minneapolis based The New Union music club.

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All Weather Human earned cash and prizes totaling more than $2,000 in value, as well as a place on the stage at two summer music festivals, Sonshine and Spiritfest Midwest.

Saturday's competition was the culmination of a nine-month contest involving 66 groups. Three of the final round contenders were from the Brainerd lakes area, demonstrating a growing movement in Christian rock music in the lakes area. The other two area bands were Donkey's Jawbone and We3Kings. All three bands have strong regional followings.

"The focus of our band is to connect with people through our music and to communicate truth through that connection," said Nate Brennan, All Weather Human bassist. "Winning this contest will hopefully open up new doors for us to reach a wider audience. It's amazing to see so many people showing up at our concerts and hitting our Web site. There's momentum now, and I hope we as a band can keep giving people a picture of what God is like."

All Weather Human include brothers Nate (bassist) and Gabe Brennan (drummer), Jared Kramer (lead guitar), Tim Dobbelmann (lead vocals) and Dana Maendel (keyboard/percussion). Dobbelmann is from Glenwood, and the others grew up together in the Brainerd area.

All Weather Human will play today at Jumpstart, a B.A.Y. sponsored event. Other summer bookings will take the band throughout Minnesota, into Kansas and Indiana. The band is booked to play June 9 at The New Union and plans an Australian tour later this year.

To find out more or to order their latest release, visit their Web site at www.allweatherhuman.com.