Amerikan Junk was born in 1998 to two middle Minnesotan city boys, Ryan “Mean” Deaner (vocals, drums) and Conrad Gimse (vocals, guitar), Amerikan Junk has been around for numerous years. Starting out in the small town of Willmar, MN (pop. 18351), Ryan and Conrad had recruited two other local youths. Ben “Shapes” Chapin to play bass, and Ben “Bendale” Dale (formerly of the “DTs” and “The Peter North Quartet”) on backing guitar, making Amerikan Junk a 4-piece punk band. They quickly wrote a handful of songs so they could get out and play some shows in the area.

There were not a lot of options for places to play so they mostly played in garages, basements, local parties, and at the Armory where kids would come to skateboard after school. They were looking forward to moving to an area more suited to bands starting out. So in 1999 the boys, minus bassist Ben “Shapes”, moved an hour northeast to the bubbling city of Saint Cloud. It was in St. Cloud the guys recruited a young bassist, Adam Huff, later of “Left Hand Path” fame. They set out to play some shows in the area over the next couple of years in house parties, coffee shops, and dive bars.

In 2003, following a year hiatus, Ryan and Conrad joined back together to record The Way You Seem EP with soon-to-be-guitarist Jeremy Beard at Ridgewater College’s Hutchinson campus. Adding bassist Ryan Nielson, the foursome set out to play a great deal of venues in Minnesota from the Twin Cities metro area to Duluth and Superior, WI. In 2004 the quartet recorded four tracks that would become the EP Sir Conformer and continued to play venues across the state.

In the following year Amerikan Junk attained another new bass player, Jason Olson (of “Woodenman Ceilingfan” and “Hook Echo”), and IPR graduate Brent “Carl Brakelights” Lundquist as our sound tech. Together with “Carl”, Amerikan Junk recorded their most ambitious project to date, the EP Monkeys for Sale. Along with 5 great tunes, the CD is enhanced with a short video from an upcoming DVD release, Amerikan Junk – Live in St. Paul, that is viewable on your Mac or PC. Throughout the years, Amerikan Junk has been able to keep their projects DIY. With little to no media support, and without the aid of a record label, they have been able to keep control of their sound and message!

Currently in the works for Amerikan Junk: more live shows, an upcoming DVD release, and a fist-full of new tracks for an upcoming album Smoke in the Freedom. Keep your eyes and ears open!