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Puafua was an Eclectic Minneapolis, Minnesota based Progressive Rock Jam Band in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Members included Dylan Nau (guitar), Jake Pool (bass), Steve Olmstead (keyboard), Casey Kashiemer (drums), Eric Bequeaith (trumpet), Aaron Stoehr (trombone), Jeff Siegfried (saxophone), and Scott Holzinger (percussion).. Though short-lived, Puafua's output, scope of songwriting, and live performance feats were unparalleled in the Twin Cities; the mammoth eight-piece group often breaking into spontaneously composed, complete songs as if at will. Puafua was a West Bank staple in Minneapolis, holding a regular slot at the Red Sea Bar in addition to frequenting the 400 Bar, 5 Corners, and The Cabooze. The Turf Club, The Fine Line, The 7th Street Entry, O'Gara's, The Uptown Bar and Grill, and First Avenue's Main Stage were also frequent stops for the band in addition to clubs in greater Minnesota and Wisconsin towns such as Duluth, Rochester, St. Cloud, Superior, North Branch, and Eau Claire. Puafua also frequented the band rosters at Harvest Fest in Harmony Park and Farmapalooza in Black Bear, WI.

Inception

Puafua began in the early 1990s with two rival bands from bordering towns west of Minneapolis: Rockford and Buffalo. Casey Kashiemer and Eric Bequeath were part of the Rockford Metal band Adopt. Dylan Nau and Jake Pool were part of their own Buffalo metal band which had Pink Floyd undertones: a foreshadowing of the writing to come in Puafua by way of Dylan Nau.

Nau, Puafua's first principal songwriter, grew up a friend of the Zimmerman family (Bob Dylan's family), and spent his formative years making use of Dylan's Minnesota recording studio with the Zimmermans, developing his unique guitar and vocal style during that time. By their graduating summer, 1993, the two bands joined forces in a battle of the bands show that would manage to create a musical respect among the four principal Puafua players three years before they would form a band together.

In the summer of 1993, Nau would coincidentally meet his soon-to-be college buddy and Puafua's second principal songwriter, Jeff Siegfried, while Siegfried played his saxophone on the street in Downtown Minneapolis. Though the two only spoke briefly, they would soon find themselves together in the classroom at Augsburg College, as well as in their own hybrid Jazz-Fusion band Ear Train through the mid-90s.

Siegfried, himself in Minneapolis-based Alternative band The Uh in 1993, melded his lyrics well with Nau's writing style, the two inking several minor college hits during their time at Augsburg in addition to forming Augsburg Basement Recordings, the campus' yearly showcase of musicians. Siegfried is the cousin of No Wave pioneer James Chance (a.k.a. James Siegfried), and, like Chance, wields both saxophone and keyboards in performance.

Augsburg buddy Steve Olmstead and Kashiemer's friend, Aaron Stoehr, would round out the band roster as it grew from a four-piece to a seven-piece from 1996 to 1998. By 2000 the group would have gained and lost multi-instrumentalist Scott Holzinger who eventually found a home with Minneapolis Jam band Wookiefoot, as well as gaining a sound man in Eric Shostead and two fill-in players in Peter Miller and James Pope.

Accomplishments Of Note and The End

In its infancy, Puafua's first honor was being asked to open for Minneapolis band February's final show on the Main Stage at First Avenue. Additionally, Puafua held a frequent place of honor in Vox Medusa's Ricochet Kitchen line-up, a performance-based art coalition which was perfect for a group that, itself, dabbled in performance art: for example, it was not uncommon to see Puafua featuring spectacles such as aliens playing Theremins or the entire band sporting Puafua basketball uniforms and shooting hoops during a performance. In 1998, "The Pursuit of Catness," Puafua's first full-length album recorded at Sin Toast Studios and Oar Fin Records, enjoyed airplay on local college radio stations, particularly KVSC in St. Cloud, as well as local community stations KFAI and the Homegrown Show with Mei Young on KQRS. Additionally, before the advent of Napster, the album's joke recording "I'm in Jail" made a run to number three on one of the world's first peer-to-peer music sharing websites, MP3.com. In 1999, Puafua introduced west coast Jam Band Wookiefoot to its Minneapolis audience at the 7th Street Entry. In 2000 Puafua teamed up with the Minnesota branch of the organization NORML, participating in concerts, events, and as a featured band on the Free Weed compilation CD. In 2002, Puafua was nominated by the Minnesota Music Academy for Eclectic Band of the Year. 2002 also marked the end of Puafua's live performances and recordings, the band giving up a marquee slot at the famed Cabooze bar, a slot formerly held by The Big Wu for whom Puafua was an opening act in its early days. Small collections of band members resurfaced in the Minneapolis-based groups Spry and Gold Standard through 2009. In 2010 members of Puafua reunited in performance to celebrate the life of deceased friend Ed Tyler (clip).

Puafua Albums

In addition to studio recordings, extensive live bootleg recordings were compiled and made available by Roger Learned, some of which appear in albums produced by the group. The official Puafua albums are:

PUAFUAPUAFUAPUAFUA (1997)
The Pursuit of Catness (1998)
Sweet Treats (1999)
Baker's Choice (1999)
Boosh (2000)
Onstage 1 (2001)
Onstage 2 (2002)
Onstage 3 (2003).

Since Puafua, Nau has had songwriting/performing/arranging roles with Willamena, Gold Standard, , The Feelin' Band, In Formation, and Apollo Cobra with Puafua and Gold Standard band mate Aaron Stoehr. Nau's Puafua collaborator, Siegfried has since worked arranging horns for and performing with former Wailer Devon Evans, in Spry with Puafua bandmate Aaron Stoehr, and briefly in Gold Standard. He currently produces The Siegfrieds as well as heading up the role of director of music under clan name Roar of the Buffalo Horn for the Rainbow Warriors in San Francisco. Drummer Casey Kashiemer moved to Madison, WI to play with award winning hip-hop group The Figureheads.

Sources/External Links

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 # http://www.onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/figureheads.html
 # http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/homecookin/puafuaemail.html