I shouldn't have been surprised that one of the best dance party albums of the year came from Minneapolis. After all, that's where Prince lived when he made his most rhythmic and dance-oriented albums. Biota Bondo ( Foodchain ) by the Minneapolis-based trio Iffy gets the party started right with the opening track, "Double Dutch," a song that sounds like it fell off of a Sugar Ray album, thought better of getting back on, and was adopted by Iffy. "Can-O-Cope" could be a postmodern re-imagining of Three Dog Night's cover of Randy Newman's "Mama Told Me Not To Come" ( how's that for convoluted! ) . That track is available as a 12-inch single ( DJ alert! ) with remixes by Q-Burns Abstract Message, Freddy Fresh and Tom Rothrock. Other custom-made potential dance floor sensations include "Hi-Life," "The Citation," "Joyrider," and especially "Super Bad Girl."
Perhaps the coolest aspect of Iffy is openly gay band member Tom Merkl. A longtime presence in the fertile Minneapolis music scene, his latest band is poised to become his best-known band. In addition to being an integral part of this trio, Merkl is also part of a duo. He has been in a relationship with his boyfriend Richard for seven years. Richard lives in the Netherlands and there are immigration issues complicating their union. Therefore, Merkl spends part of the year with Richard in the Netherlands. Tom asked me to call attention to this situation facing many gays and lesbians in relationships with people living in other countries who are not U.S. citizens. For more information, please consult the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force website ( www.lgirtf.org ) . While you are there, please take a look at the Permanent Partner Immigration Act petition.
Gregg Shapiro: I'd like to begin by asking you to tell me about why you spend part of the year in Minneapolis and the other part of the year in the Netherlands.
Tom Merkl: I'm in Minneapolis because I'm playing in this band Iffy. We've been together three or four years. Our debut CD just came out a few months ago. I spend the time I'm not working in the Netherlands, because that's where my boyfriend lives. Because of immigration issues, he can't move here to the U.S. They're a bit more lenient towards that sort of thing in the Netherlands. I have residency over there.
GS: How long have you been together?
TM: Seven years.
GS: As someone who hails from Minneapolis, what do you think it is that makes the Minneapolis music scene different from the music scene in other cities?
TM: It depends on what cities.
GS: Say Chicago or New York or L.A.
TM: I haven't spent a whole lot of time in those scenes. One good thing about Minneapolis is that there are a lot of people in the music business. So, if you're looking for someone to play with or somewhere to rehearse, it's pretty easy to find.
GS: Minneapolis also seems to be fertile ground for queer musicians,,,Bob Mould and Grant Hart are from also from Minneapolis. Do you think there is something in the water?
TM: ( laughs ) I don't think it's something in the water. I guess that Minnesota is a bit more liberal, so that might have something to do with it.
GS: Prior to Iffy, with what other bands were you involved?
TM: I was playing in Run Westy Run for five years, I think. Before that I had a band called Nova Mob.
GS: That's the band that you were in with Grant Hart, correct?
TM: Correct.
GS: You are credited with co-writing a dozen of the Biota Bondo's 13 songs.
TM: The songwriting process is different with every song. We've taken it to extremes, because the first song ( for example ) , "Double Dutch," I wrote in the Netherlands. I have a high-speed connection Internet connection there. I wrote that and I sent the files of the song to Kirk, the singer, who lives in Minneapolis here. He would put his vocals on top of that and send that back to the Netherlands. We'd go back and forth. That's one extreme. The other extreme is just having everybody sit around and play music and see what comes up. That's how "Sweet Stuff" came up.
GS: A number of the songs on the album, including "Hilife," "Can-O-Cope," "Super Bad Girl," "Proof," and "The Citation," flirt with being straightforward dance tracks. What can you tell me about the more dance-oriented tunes on the disc?
TM: In Europe, dance seems to be a lot more popular. You'll hear straight-up dance tracks, like club tracks, on your morning drive. It's a lot more popular over there. I think that's probably where that influence came from.
GS: For a long time, dance music was the territory of gay men, and now straight men seem to be discovering it and listening to it more. Why do you think that is?
TM: I think it's general club night life. It's just something really fun. When you're out at a club you like to boogie and shake your thing ( laughs ) . Everybody likes to do that. It's not just one part of the population.
GS: A bass player is as essential as a drummer in a dance-oriented band. Can you please say something about your role as the bass player?
TM: I think you can manipulate the groove more than with a guitar or something like that. Especially with this kind of music, where a lot of it is the bass line,,,the more prominent part.
GS: While on tour, what do you most look forward to about other cities?
TM: I guess it would be the playing. It ( touring ) can be excruciatingly boring. The same routine. Get up, drive, do your sound-check, go out to dinner, do your show and go back to the hotel everyday. It's really boring. The most fun thing is the actual playing.