Guest Blog - Mike Kvalheim Returns
Hey Soggy Prairie Boys fans - this is Mike. You might have caught me playing with the Boys one of these past two weekends at Cows on the Concourse or the Dane County Dairy Breakfast on the Farm. When Kodey asked me (a long time back) to fill in for him while he was away on his tour of Asia, I said “Absolutely!” I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to pick some tunes with the Boys again!
If you’re a long-time fan of the SPB you know that I played guitar with the band from the time we formed back in 2002 up until the spring of 2015. While I always sang lead vocals on a handful of tunes, Kodey always carried most of the lead singing load. So knowing that Kodey would be gone in Asia (and knowing that filling in for Kodey is no small task!) I spent some serious time working my way through the vast SPB setlist. With a few months practice, some re-keying songs to fit my vocal range, and some practice with the Boys I was ready for the first gig.
Cows on the Concourse went off without a hitch. The rain held off and the crowd seemed to grow and grow as the morning went along. And why wouldn’t it… you can’t beat dairy cows and Bluegrass music at the Wisconsin State Capitol! I’ve always enjoyed playing gigs like this with the band, and not just because we’ve been invited back for years. We’re a band that got our start in FFA, and many of our early gigs were for our friends in southern Wisconsin’s Ag community. Breakfasts on the Farms, Dairy Promotion events, and even the Fabulous Farm Babe’s Backyard parties were the gigs that launched the Soggy Prairie Boys as a band. There’s something heartwarming about playing for your original fan base, and I was definitely feeling that at the Cows on the Concourse gig.
The following Saturday we got to play Dane
County Breakfast on the Farm at the Meinholz
Dairy Farm in Middleton. I grew up knowing
the Meinholz boys; my dad was their Ag teacher and Sherri used to come to our trailer to babysit me and Jim when we were little. We hit the jackpot on another beautiful day - the breakfast was delicious and the music rang out!
I’m grateful to the SPB for asking me back for a couple gigs and I had a blast! As a band they just keep getting tighter and better, and they’re always adding new material. Oh, and that song “Some Roads” that Tom sings now - I love that song!
