Nevermind the Flaming Lips; Minneapolis punk pioneers the Suicide Commandos are playing a free show at the State Fair (Sunday, opening for Fountains Of Wayne) and all is right with the world. Commandos bassist and solo artist Steve Almaas played his first-ever solo show in Minneapolis at the 331 Club
Wednesday night, and he took time out from gigs and Commandos practice to help us to what's happening in Almaas land.

Reveille: Is it a kick to be playing the State Fair Grandstand?

Almaas: Absolutely. It definitely was a career goal that is finally about to be met. It’s something we hadn’t done. And I like Fountains Of Wayne, so I’m looking forward to seeing them.

Reveille: Do you have memories of the Fair in terms of seeing rock bands there?

Almaas: Oh, yeah. (Guitarist) Bruce Allen from the Suburbs who’s been my friend since first grade, we would go to the Fair every year. And I saw the Grass Roots at the Grandstand in 1966. I have no idea who was in the band, but the only hit they had was “Where Were You When I Needed You.”

Bruce and I used to go to the Teen Center, where we saw the James Gang and Sugarloaf. Before that, we spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out how we were going to get into Club Lido, the burlesque show. It was in the Midway, and you had to be 16 to get in. We were only 12, and we’d sit outside of that thing and just scheme how to get in. Into Club Lido. I think there were some scantily-clad women in there.

Reveille: Give me an update on what you’ve been doing.

Almaas: I am blessed in that I have a little record deal in Sweden that I’ve had for 15 years. Basically, the guy will make a record with me when I want to. Summer is a big musical time for me, because I work as a teacher, and have summers off. So this summer I’ve been doing a lot of woodshedding; just writing and getting stuff together. So hopefully, next summer it’ll be time for a new record.

Reveille: How many records in your catalog now?

Almaas: Four solo albums, and two duets records. So six total. I think the first three were not put out in the States, but the other three came out on a label called Parasol.

Reveille: How has Commandos practice been?

Almaas: We’ve been going whole-hog since I got here Thursday. We’re just getting our stamina up. The Commandos haven’t played a full set in ten years, so that’s been a lot – the vibe has been good all around.

Reveille: And the three of you took in the (St. Paul) Saints game last night (Monday)?

Almaas: We did. We sang (on the field) during the seventh-inning stretch. They were blasting (The Commandos’ iconic hit) “Complicated Fun.” It was pretty great. With the Commandos, it’s always a ton of laughter. We have the kind of friendship that – I’m sure you enjoy the same kind of thing with some people – where no matter how long it’s been, we just seem to take up where we left off. So mainly, we’ve been telling a lot of the same old jokes and howling at them like we do.

Reveille: Chris (Osgood) once told me that his favorite legacy of the Commandos is the fact that no three guys have ever had as much fun as you guys.

Almaas: We have a very good time together, when it gets right down to it. It’s funny how, when I think about the good times of the Commandos is the stuff that happened in the first year, when we were doing a lot of those four-set-a-night gigs out in the middle of nowhere in the tri-state area.

Chris had a job as a booking agent at Schon Productions, so they had all these high school dances and stuff they’d call in for. And Chris would say, “Well, you can have the Litter for $300, or you can have the Commandos for $150.”

So we worked non-stop. We played every weekend. That was the real bonding time. We were constantly playing high schools; junior highs, clubs. Schools were more fun, the clubs were often pretty grim. There were plenty of times where we’d get booked for five nights and play two, and then bargain with the guy who paid us for three to leave.

Reveille: Was that because you were a punk rock band?

Almaas: Absolutely. They had no idea what we were up to. In the schools, it was loud and had a pounding beat. The kids were pretty much into it. I can’t ever recall having a problem with the schools.

We got this one job, and it was a Future Farmers Of America prom. We got there, and we were told in no uncertain terms that we had to play “Stairway To Heaven” as they were having the processional to crown the new Future Farmers Of America queen. We basically played the first four bars over and over for 20 minutes. Everybody was happy.

Reveille: Any chance we’ll be hearing that at the Fair?

Almaas: If you shout loud enough, who knows?