Fort Wilson Riot - Phot by Stacy Schwartz

Directed by burgeoning young director Jeremy Catteron, the groundbreaking musical event combines every element of live performance imaginable: live rock and roll, acting, dancing, puppetry and video collide to create an event so unlike any of its individual elements that it is nearly impossible to define. On an afternoon a few weeks prior to the show's debut, Catterton and the members of Fort Wilson Riot sat down in drummer Ben Smith and bassist Joe Goggins's sunny Whittier neighborhood apartment to discuss their upcoming CD release show/rock opera/hypercreative, genre-bending multimedia event.

“We never necessarily meant it to end up being a theatrical performance,” begins Smith. “We were just writing this long song that had different parts.”

The band and director are sitting in a circle in Smith's living room, and throughout our interview all five are so excited to discuss their project that they answer many of my questions before I even have a chance to ask them.

“The song began right after we formed as a band,” says Goggins, and guitarist and singer Mullis jumps in to finish the thought. “I think we decided pretty early on that it was going to be in five parts,” he chatters, “one song in five parts, but we didn't know... Each part was getting longer and longer and longer...”

What began as one of the band's first songs soon turned into an epic, sprawling narrative, based in part on short story by Paul Bowles titled Tapiama that centers around a foolish but well-intentioned bird, Idigaragua, who cries “Nadie me quiere,” nobody likes me. The bird appears again in the opening lines Fort Wilson Riot's nearly hour-long song, and it resurfaces throughout as they tell the story of an unnamed American journalist who is lost at sea, encountering challenges both real and imagined on a whirlwind existential journey.

If it sounds like a far-fetched premise for a rock song (or if the idea of one of a band's first songs being an hour long seems shocking), it's because the storyline is so complex and rich with philosophical musings and moral dilemmas that it is nearly impossible to explain in words alone. On a concept album that shifts from Gilbert & Sullivan to the Arcade Fire at a moment's notice, Fort Wilson Riot's album Idigaragua yanks the listener out of the confines of normal rock music and throws the listener into a mystical world filled with circus freaks, pirates, village riots and zombies. And when the album is brought to life on stage, actors play out the scenes in the songs with wild dancing, costumes, and puppets in a frenetic fashion unlike any kind of theatrical production being made today.

Jeremy Catterton - Photo by Stacy Schwartz

Rather than having musical actors sing the parts, the members of Fort Wilson Riot plus two guest musicians, Rob Schlette and Jess Haas, perform live on stage, with the actors running around in the forefront and dragging out props to create real-life re-enactments of their lyrics. The journalist and a revolving array of characters played by nine cast members dramatically lip sync the words and flail about, grabbing lawn chairs and scarves and whatever else happens to be laying in the wings to illustrate a particular scene.

“We just want you to come along with us for a ride,” says Catterton, as he picks up a pen from the coffee table, his eyes glinting. “I mean, if this pen is a pirate sword, and I want you to walk the plank, we don't have time to discuss or think about, is that really a sword? No. Because they're rocking, ok? So deal with the fact that we say this is a sword, and now let's rock and go with it. That's what has to happen.”

The result is spectacular. Not only has the band managed to create one of the most ambitious debut full-length albums in Minnesota rock history, but they have united with a visionary director to create, at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, what could be the musical event of the year.

“People from so many different forms of art are really excited about being a part of it, and giving their time,” says Mullis, and the bandmates shoot each other giddy smiles. “It's just this massive community movement to make this thing.” Hager agrees. “This is the most collaborative thing I've ever worked on in my whole life,” she says. “It's a really a beautiful thing to be a part of.”

In the end, Idigaragua is a show put together by a group of people who are genuinely motivated to make the best work possible—not for fame, not for glory, not for indie street cred; but for themselves, fueled by the excitement of their own wild artistic vision.

“It's a wonderful opportunity for us to really brandish our weapons,” says Catterton, raising a clenched fist in victory. “We're all on the brink of something great. We're all still young, we're all in our mid-20s, and we're all foaming at the mouth to show the world what we can do.”

Fort Wilson Riot's website
Fort Wilson Riot's myspace page

Watch the trailers for Idigaragua:

Trailer #1

Trailer #2

Full schedule of live performances:
All shows at Bedlam Theatre ,1501 S. 6th St. on the West Bank (Directions )

September 6, 2007 @  8:00 p.m. (Pay-what-you-can Preview performance)
September 7, 2007 @ 8:00 p.m. (Press opening)
September 9, 2007 @  3:30 p.m.
September 10, 2007 @ 10:30 p.m.
September 13, 2007 @ 10:30 p.m.
September 14, 2007 @ 10:30 p.m
September 15, 2007 @ 10:30 p.m.
September 16, 2007 @ 3:30 p.m.
September 16, 2007 @ 8:00 p.m.