'The Minstrel Cycle' experience prepares to deliver a timeless message

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By CANDICE NOVITZKE
Tuesday, November 6, 2007 9:46 AM CST

The Chippewa Herald

“This is so fun it’s ridiculous,” said 59-year-old Wayne Zank of Holcombe.

Wayne kicked back one evening last week after sharing some laughs with friends and family after band practice. Though the group has no official name, together they perform “The Minstrel Cycle,” the first rock opera created by Chippewa Valley’s own musical masterminds set to debut on Friday.

The fun may be present in ridiculously high levels when the group gets together, but so is dedication, innovation and respect. It would also be difficult to ignore the magic evident in the sequence of events that brought everyone together in this one-of-a-kind musical experience.

A start to the magic

Wayne’s brother Don Zank of Bloomer, 63, set aside his bass and guitar more than 20 years ago, vowing never to play again.

But Don changed his tune nearly two years ago when Wayne’s son Wolfgang, then 8, received a digital drum kit from Santa.

Wolfgang had practiced drumming for several years by listening to the percussive sounds of Yes, Pink Floyd, Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, to name a few. He never had a lesson, nor does anyone else in the family play percussion.

“I have no idea how he learned that,” Wayne said. “But he’s wired for it.”

So the boy played those drums.

“Wolfie inspired us,” Wayne said. “That’s what got Don and I out of retirement. We started playing Christmas music together.”

Wolfie’s skill level was high enough to play with some of the most experienced musicians in the region. Those first practices took on a life of their own.

“We started doing cover tunes and it just melded all together,” said guitarist Andy Tackett, 40, of Holcombe.

“We had so much fun we decided to make a rock opera,” Wayne said.

Now still only 10 years old, Wolfgang has infused the group with youthfulness and a fresh perspective. They gave a preview of the show in April at The Stones Throw in Eau Claire. Since then the show has evolved a bit, and they’ve been practicing three or four nights per week.

“It was hard to stop,” said Don, who picked up his bass for ’The Minstrel Cycle’ after a long hiatus.

There’s no denying magic when it’s there. You just have to run with it.

“It’s got us young again,” Wayne said. “It’s great when something comes along and kicks you back to that time.”

“I’m still not going to play for money,” Don said with a laugh.

The minstrel way

It’s uncommon to see such a diverse range of experience in a single group of performers. But by all accounts, this hasn’t made working together difficult at all.

“We all get along well,” Don said.

“Sometimes Wolfie yells at us for speeding up,” Wayne said with a laugh.

“My foot doesn’t lie!” Wolfie says, pointing to it. Everyone chuckles.

Undoubtedly, it helps that everyone shares a love for each other in addition to their love for the music.

Andy Tackett, a close friend of the Zank family, plays guitar and sings. Rick Anderson lends his vocal expertise. Pegi Zank, Wayne’s wife and Wolfgang’s mother, works behind the scenes. Barb Brower has performed with many groups as a vocalist and will add her harmonies to the show.

Although their life stories are different, each person evokes the minstrel mindset — which is important for the show’s theme.

“The music is kind of medieval,” said Wayne, who wrote the first piece of music that spawned the rock opera. “We had this affinity for minstrels, so it was going to be about a minstrel and what he does.”

The story is woven around this one minstrel’s journey. He is a storyteller and musician. It takes the listener through the eyes of the child who yearns to learn, the peace found somewhere in between youth and adulthood, the dark reality of war and a search for truth. Finally, the cycle is complete with the death of the minstrel and rebirth of a new child, eager to learn.

“I believe that music runs in cycles, and we want that minstrel music — a tradition of telling stories — to come back,” Wayne said. “We want to have people create their own music and stories. That’s what ’The Minstrel Cycle’ is.”

Everyone in the group has played professionally at various points in their lives. Andy is the only one who still plays gigs for a living, working out of town on the weekends.

Despite the vast musical experiences of the group — more than 175 years collectively — this is the first rock opera any of them have been part of.

The entire show is about an hour and 15 minutes long. The movement of the music makes time literally fly by.

Wolfgang takes to his feet for one number, performing a ballet with Chelsea Dahm, a Rochester, Minn. native now living in Eau Claire.

About the ballet dance, Wolfgang says simply, “It’s different.”

“The Minstrel Cycle” is meant to be performed only in smaller, theater-type venues. The Heyde Center was a perfect place for the group to debut its show, since many members are from Chippewa County.

The Mabel Tainter Theater in Menomonie will host a show on Jan. 11. Roughly six more shows at other venues will probably follow.

“I just want to do something good,” Don said. “Good music, good storytelling, a good show. When we’re done everybody should be smiling.”

So far, so good.

Reach Candice Novitzke at candice.novitzke@lee.net.

- Find The Minstrel Cycle online at www.minstrelopera.com

-See the rock opera’s debut at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 9, at the Heyde Center for the Arts, 3 S. High St., Chippewa Falls. Adults/$10, seniors/$9, students under 18/$6. For tickets, call 726-9000.

Click here to view or purchase exclusive practice photos of the rock opera "The Minstrel Cycle."