The Pistol Whippin Party Penguins

The Pistol Whippin Party Penguins started in 2006 although, all four members have been playing together for over four years. Matt Walvatne and Jake Manders started writing songs togethor in 1999. They met during their freshmen year in college at Mankato State University. Matt had a strong Jam Band influence and Jake played Alternative Grunge style acoustic. Their styles meshed well and shortly after the two played their first payed gig at "The Grind" near campus. Throughout college Matt and Jake performed regularly at the local open mics. Eventually they were asked to host Tuesday Night Open Mic at The What's Up Lounge. Matt and Jake Started performing under the name "Jake & Dubs". Meanwhile Chris Pyle and Ryan Schallock were also busy in the Mankato Music Scene. Chris is a Blues influenced guitarist, and Ryan played drums mainly influenced by Funk Jams. Besides jamming together at The What's Up Lounge the four would play music in the garage of a legendary party house called "The One Acre Farm" It was named the one acre farm after the huge full acre lot right across the street from campus. Matt and Jake were fortunate to live at the farm for two years before the landlord tore it down to build apartments. After college in 2003 Matt moved back to his hometown of Robbinsdale MN and started his own band called "Raised on Rhythm" ROR consisted of five members four of which went to school at MSU. Raised on Rhythm exploded onto the Minneapolis music scene and played such venues as The Nomad, Bayside Bar & Grill & The Fine Line on a regular basis. During this time Jake, Chris and Ryan stayed in Mankato to finish their degrees. In 2005 Raised on Rhythm and Jake Manders were asked to perform at the Yggdrasil Fesitval at Harmony Park. The Yggdrasil Fesitval was a benefit for music and art education in MN and featured local and national acts such as; Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, White Iron Band, God Johnson, Stealin Strings, Phix, Byron Space Circus and Pert' Near Sandstone. After Raised on Rhythm's Set Jake Manders performed solo eventually asking Matt Walvatne to join in on some vintage "Jake & Dubs" originals. The next few months Jake opened shows for Raised on Rhythm until they eventually decided to take a break in 2005. During this time Jake was heavily influenced by the likes of Ryan Adams and Whiskey Town he started writing country flare tunes, the first of which was titled "A Hold of Misery". Matt was also inspired by similar styles such as; Todd Snyder, Tom Waits and John Prine. In 2006 when Matt and Jake would meet to play music and share their new originals it was as if the other wished they had written it. Songs like; "Rather Be Dead", "Got No Business", "Good Days and Bad", "Thanks a lot Dave" & "Reality Show" Were all written and recorded in Matt's Steven's Square area apartment. The two recorded over fifteen originals during this time and were able to publically share them during their first Fineline performance on January 4th, 2006. (Five more Fineline Performances would follow that same year) "Jake & Dubs" began playing at various venues around Minneapolis as a folk duo. The new sound of "Jake & Dubs" was different from what was done in Mankato because the two unintentionally compromised their styles. Jake departed from his indie grunge style of singing/songwriting and Matt seemed to be more concerned about telling a story in his songs rather than experimenting with Spacey Jams. The two decided to go with what felt natural. The outcome became Bluegrass. Longtime college friends Chris Pyle and Ryan Schallock were also on the same page. Chris's Blues Riffs and vocals would make you think he was a descendant of Hank Williams and Schallock's Mandolin and Doug Canyon alter ego both complemented nicely with the Alt Country music written by Jake & Dubs. Originals, such as; "One Acre Farm" "Hard for the Money" and "Brand New Start" defines the unique sound of "The Pistol Whippin Party Penguins". The four piece harmonies and rowdy foot stompin beats brings the crowd to a Ho-Down. Today The four piece "Pistol Whippin Party Penguins" live in the Twin Cities and continue to perform in various towns all across the midwest.