Minus Six hoping it all adds up
By Todd Welvaert, toddw@qconline.com
The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus – Front Page
Monday, October 11th, 2004

The music starts with slow bass chords as a collection of animated high-school-aged girls ring the stage. The band, on wireless microphones, starts the show by emerging from the excited throng.

It's somehow fitting that Minus Six begins its music there, among its fans.

``Be out in the garage almost every day / Makin' kick-ass music from ninth to 12th grade ...'' lead vocalist Kevin Carton sings. The words come in a rapid-fire tumble.

``We were rockin' all day long / we were rockin', singin' and writin' songs / rockin' -- that's where we belong.''

They've been playing together a little more than a year, formed from what started as a loose collection of musicians who played in their church band. That's snowballed into an act that has fans packed in for show after show, an appreciably successful CD, and very big hopes and dreams.

``I think this band can do it,'' says Mr. Carton, 17, in a raspy voice after the show. ``I think this is going to be the first famous band that came from the Quad-Cities -- I have no doubt. No doubt we are going to make it. We are going to put the Quad-Cities on the map.''

Three Alleman High School juniors form the nucleus of the group. Mr. Carton, 17, Moline, is on piano; Tyler Kaschke, 16, East Moline, plays drums; and Kameron Rummans, 17, Rock Island, is on bass.

Matt Sivertsen, 25, Moline, plays saxophone and works as a financial planner at the Planning Center by day. He also serves as a youth director at Christ the King Catholic Church, where he met up with his bandmates and organized the group.

``The vibe from these guys is just so positive,'' he said. ``We don't have the fights and the arguments about playlists or whatever you see in some of the other bands/ It's about getting the job done, about getting out there and having fun.

``We are all committed to see where this can take us, where we can go. We all have a passion for this.''

Mr. Sivertsen looks uncomfortable in front of the high-school crowd at first, stilted and a step out of place. Then a song passes, and something changes. He's swaying and playing off the crowd's energy, and it becomes hard to imagine him doing anything else.

Mr. Carton is the group's primary songwriter, but all the members collaborate. The songs -- the band has nearly 30 originals to complement countless covers -- carpet the universal themes, like love and loss, while also including the obscure, like a fan favorite called ``Bicycle Man.''

``We get together to hash out the parts,'' Mr. Carton says. ``It's not always what I envision, but everybody offers some pretty good stuff. I usually have a pretty good picture in my head of what I want.''

``Picture?'' Mr. Rummans blurts. ``It's like a freaking movie.''

They've enjoyed a good run. They've sold 500 CDs in three months, but finding places to play isn't always easy.

``Our fan base is an issue for us,'' Mr. Sivertsen says. ``Because of their age, most of what we've built is at the high schools. We haven't really crossed over the bars yet. Augie is talking about booking us, and we are playing the ``Jingle Jam,'' so that will be good.

``Right now it's about getting the music out there and having lots of people listen to it.''

For now, they stick to the coffee shops, outdoor parties and the occasional high-school gig. They are hoping to release another CD at the beginning of next year, something Mr. Sivertsen hopes will be good enough to send out to record companies.

``We talked with a guy who pushes bands out of Chicago, and he had a lot of positive things to say about the music -- real positive things,'' he says. ``That's what we are concentrating on now, with the next CD -- taking our time, doing it right, so we have something we can be proud of, that really shows what we can do.''

Mr. Sivertsen said the band started with just their instruments and what they could borrow from the church. The gigs, merchandise and CDs have allowed them to buy their own equipment and lights and fund their next project.

``We started with nothing, and now we have about $15,000 to $20,000 wrapped up in equipment,'' he says. ``We put everything in the bank.''

``We're really lucky to have a financial planner on board,'' Mr. Rummans says. ``The guy has records like you wouldn't believe. Kameron ... Taco Bell ... June 3 ... Grande Burrito ... It's scary.''

Mr. Sivertsen graduated from the University of Illinois in 2001. His wife, Laura, supports his efforts and comes to as many gigs as she can.

``We're all real lucky in that all of our parents support what we are doing,'' Mr. Carton says.

The first CD cost about $2,000 to put out, but the band was blessed in a way, Mr. Carton says. A friend, Phil Schaefer, with AMEG Studios, Moline, let them record on his equipment in his basement.

``I think I would have been really nervous if we were paying by the hour,'' Mr. Kaschke says. ``As it was, we could kind of relax and play and get what we wanted.''

``I think it was something (Mr. Schaefer) wanted to be a part of,'' Mr. Sivertsen says.

But it's not all blessings. As optimistic as they are, they know there a day coming when the band might have to make some hard decisions. In two years, three members will graduate.

``I think it will depend on where we end up. If we end up at local colleges around here, then there's no stopping us,'' Mr. Kaschke says. ``I think two years from now will be a huge transition period for the group.''

Mr. Rummans says his parents insist he get through college.

``They want the best for me, the best education, the best future. They want me to make good decisions,'' he says. Asked what if it were to come down to a record deal or college, he shrugs and looks to his bandmates.

``College,'' he says flatly.

But for now, on a night vibrant with music and fan adoration, music comes first.

The show builds energy throughout, and it isn't long before the girls in front of the stage are singing the words, and performing an impromptu line dance.

``We look out, and the front row is all girls, and they've made up their little hand signs and motions,'' Mr. Carton says. ``It's like a line dance for the whole song.

``How does that happen? I don't know. But it's pretty cool.''

The show's energy continues to build. Fans yell out favorites, and the playlist is forgotten.

Two years can be a long time in the lifeline of a band, Mr. Sivertsen says.

``I just know we can make it,'' he says. ``There's just so much optimism. I think we are going to be going strong for at least the next couple years, and we have a little bit of magic.''

``I hope so,'' Mr. Kaschke says.

``I don't have much,'' Mr. Rummans says, ``but I'd put everything I got on it.''

By the end of the show, the band is dripping with sweat, and the crowd is shouting for one more song.

``We were rockin' all day long / We were rockin', singin' and writin' songs / rockin', that's where we belong,'' Mr. Carton sings.

``We grew up, got a record deal, sold a billion CDs / Put some money in the bank, retired at 25 with ease / Bought a big house with a big lawn, put some hammocks up in the trees / There we laid back all day long, thinking of the good times, swinging in the breeze ...''

© 2004, Moline Dispatch Publishing Company, LLC