You'd think someone like Cody Weigel would live for a day like Halloween. You'd think a white guy from Moorhead who hits the stage as the nightmare walking, psychopath talking, gangster stalking Your Lord would revel in the masquerade.
"Actually, I really like New Year's Eve," Weigel says. "Halloween is just an excuse to get drunk on Thursday."
Or maybe that's the street-wise, cynical Your Lord talking about tonight's home-coming show at Ralph's Corner.
To understand Your Lord, you have to figure out if the quiet, young Mr. Weigel is speaking, or the trash-talking Your Lord. More important, you have to figure out what is a joke and what is real.
Your Lord will say that it's all real. Cody Weigel will say that it's a very real and very funny joke.
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The answer is somewhere in between.
What can't be denied is the music. Your Lord storms the stage with his posse, the Infinite Soul Tribe, and launches through some of the toughest, nastiest, sometimes even funniest ghetto rap. The other undeniable truth is that it's coming from six white 20-somethings from Fargo-Moorhead.
"It's quirky white music that makes fun of everything and everyone," says Jay Miller, who books shows at Ralph's.
"I think it definitely has humorous overtones, but we put a lot of effort into it," Weigel says. "It's so over-the-top that it's obvious, but at the same time, we're keeping it real."
Even if the hard-core lyrics and outlandish antics aren't taken seriously, the music is.
With Mix Masta Moustache (Adam Marks) throwing down heavy beats and samples from the back of the stage and Apostle Paul (Micah Dahl), Justice-1 (Pete Foss), Dr. Robbie Rootbeer (Guy Nelson) and Dirty Preston (Preston Olson) dropping raps and rhymes over Your Lord, each show is equal parts concert and carnival.
Although the six have been friends for some time, they've only been together as an act for a little over two years. Twin City transplants (except for Dahl, who lives in St. Louis) the sextet hit the road earlier this year to test their chops in different markets.
The tour lasted two weeks, including a crazy show in Detroit where they were kicked out of the club.
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By the end of a typical show the crowd is reduced to a sweaty mob, bouncing with the beat. That, or ready to beat up the band.
"It's a pretty wide range," Weigel says of the crowd. "I'd say a third of the people get it, another third are totally shocked and still another third are totally p.o.'d. The guys who are p.o.'d are usually in the front."
Weigel admits he's pushing buttons and stepping on toes, but insists that there are some certain truths spouted by Your Lord. He says rap has become such a presence in society, it's less about a certain demographic, and more about an attitude.
"I don't think anyone can really relate to anyone else on a one-to-one level," Weigel says. "But right now I'm pretty damn broke. That's real and I can relate to that."
And knowing that may be the difference between being in on the joke, or knowing the joke is on you.
Readers can reach Forum reporter John Lamb at (701) 241-5533
If you go
What: Your Lord and the Infinite Soul Tribe, Artic Universe, Les Dirty Frenchmen and Huge Eyes
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When: 8 tonight
Where: Ralph's Corner, Moorhead
Information: This is a 21 and older show with a $5 cover
