Cruiser

Born the bastard boy of a rockabilly rebel and a runaway from the rez, Cruiser came into the world in motion. Though his birth parents loved him, they could not keep him. So they gave him to more settled relatives who raised him as their own in the protected enclave of Shakopee.

He was brought up to be a good boy and follow the rules, but the rebel in his soul was awakened when he saw “A Hard Days Night” at the local show house. It was an epiphany, his first religious experience. Seeing and hearing The Beatles planted a seed that gave his life new purpose and direction.

For years, his life straddled the fence between doing what was expected and doing what his spirit craved. The - go to school, get a degree and become a corporate dandy - plan started to unravel with his early rock band days in Zachary, Obadiah Smith and Outlaw.

The seed that was planted with the first British Invasion came into bloom with the second British Invasion of Punk and New Wave. He re-united with J.K. and B.Roy to form the Brothers Foolish and release the beast of the original music they were creating. The Brothers have been making music together since 1981 and continue to do so. This was the outlet he needed and still craves today.

It was time to take the leap and jump the fence he had straddled for too long.  Good-bye corporate dandy, hello rock-n-roll. He formed The Jupes which was his vehicle to become a working musician. The Jupes have been playing together continuously for almost 30 years and still play regularly.

This transformative period also took Cruiser on a quest to the Pacific Northwest where he made music with a couple of surf punk bands, The Ultronz and the Wave Cats. While there, he tracked down his birth parents. They now owned a Turkish Bar called The Happy Hookah. Dad played in the house band and Mom had become an accomplished belly dancer.

His current project, Jiggs Lee and the Brothers Invasion fulfills an early musical ambition. Cruiser first saw Jiggs perform in 1967 with The Grasshoppers and has been patiently awaiting his chance to rock with Jiggs ever since.  Add to this his long time brothers B.Roy and J.K. and playing the music that started it for us all… perfect!