Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Baseball and Music – greatest thing together since Peanut Butter & Chocolate…or Vodka and Everything

I get to fangirl my two favorite things in one spot - Baseball and Music!
For those who are not familiar with the band The Hold Steady, let me introduce you to their lead singer Craig Finn. Craig Finn is a Minnesota boy who moved to New York and sings in one of my Top 50 bands! (Also, that Harry Potter actor guy named them as one of his favorite bands too…so if you are into that kind of stuff maybe that will rock your boat.) He just happens to be one of the biggest Minnesota Twins fans in the world! When asking for some topic ideas earlier today @Desilove jumped right in with the suggestion of Craig Finn. The singer is often found sporting Twins gear whilst rocking out on stage…especially in rivalry locations – Chicago, New York, ect.

Sometimes it is hard to be a Minnesota Twins fan:
· Minnesota Nice can only stretch so far before I take my hoop earrings out at start with the BitchSox (White Sox), Ligers (Detroit Tigers) & Stankees (you can probably figure this one out) references.
· Having the Pohlad’s hold the purse strings.
· Being called a small market team in that tone of voice that makes me want to say “Hulk Angry” and then turn green and giant and start stomping on buildings.

BUT it will never be as hard as being a Minnesota Twins fan in Yankees territory!



Articles:
ESPN: Chat with musician Craig Finn

Some gems from his Q&A with ESPN

Eric in Hartford, Conn
As a long-time Braves fan, I demand to know when Craig is going to denounce Kent Hrbek’s reprehensible conduct in the 1991 World Series. Ron Grant deserves justice!

Craig Finn
Watch that play in slow motion! See if it looks like Kent pulled him of the bag. If you still think that, you are watching with Braves eyes. When are the Braves going to apologize for Jane Fonda being in the dugout?

Kevin (NYC)
I know you are a big Twins fan, but living in Brooklyn now, do you have a favorite New York team? (and I‘d hope if you do, it’s not the Yankees)Craig Finn
New York Mets. I can see them most nights on TV. I was happy to see Santana land there instead of the Yankees or Red Sox. They are just a fun team to watch. A good friend of ours has season tickets so we go sometimes.

Nate P. (St. Paul MN)
If fate turned out differently and you were a baseball player instead of a musician, what would your batter-up music be?

Craig Finn
I think Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy! It’s a pretty good riff! It’s not super powerful but it would be great for a singles hitter.

Sporting News – Interview: The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn Talks About Baseball, The Twins And More

Keep your eyes and ears open for the release of their new album, Heaven is Whenever, coming out in May 2010

7 comments:

Sarah said...

I love that he is pretty much our coolest celebrity fan, but the average joe doesn't even know who he is. That's how we roll in our small market I guess :D

Caryn said...

Craig Finn is NOT your coolest celebrity fan. PAUL WESTERBERG is your coolest celebrity fan. :)

RESPECT YOUR ELDERS!!

http://metsgrrl.com/index.php/site/comments/the-hold-steady-and-baseball/

haasertime said...

That's way cool, Caryn. I obviously knew Mars was a Twins fan, but the only thing I knew about Westerberg was that he sometimes wore a TC cap.

Here's a picture of Finn's guitar. He has an even shinier emblem on his new guitar. So he's representing even when he's not rocking a jersey.

Now if we can just get Prince on board...

Sarah said...

Well, if we're going to get all technical about it, the kid who played Connor on Angel is our coolest celebrity fan.

Baseball_Lipgloss said...

Caryn: OKAY SORRY! Stop yelling at me! :P Hahahaha, I will pay homage to Westerberg in my next posting...I'll give him a "very special shout out"! He is a way cool dude but something about the non-political correctness of Craig Finn strikes a chord in my vodka soaked heart!

haasertime: I love that Craig Finn said that he's more of a Minnesota Twins fan than a baseball fan. We need to campaign for The Hold Steady to do a after-game-concert (like the Jodi Messina one that Sarah - Oh Those Girls & I caught in Pittsburgh.) My head would EXPLODE if La Prince started touting his Twins fan-ness. It would be a perfect day.

Sarah: I am not sure if you just heard me going *cough*dork*cough* but I will take note of Conner from Angel.

Desi said...

yeah craig finn!

i keep trying to get into baseball every year. kathleen tried to get me to love BoSox, lauren tries to get me to love the Cards, and i live in michigan so i'm supposed to like the Tigers. but none of them have the wicked soundtrack the Twins do.

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