Musician living in Austria looking forward to coming home to Colfax for July concert
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CHUCK LEMONDS
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — Chuck LeMonds, a musician who lives in Austria and has performed all over the world, says he is looking forward to coming home to Colfax for a July 13 concert.
LeMonds, described as a County Soul/artist, singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer, will be performing a concert for the Colfax High School Classes of 1976 to 1980 at Gerald Eder’s farm on the afternoon of July 13.
So how did a young man who graduated from Colfax High School in 1978 end up in Austria?
The Colfax Messenger e-mailed questions to LeMonds to find out.
LeMonds lived out on Tainter Lake for seven or eight years and then spent six years in Eau Claire.
“I got a BA degree in German and traveled in Europe a few times, and when I was visiting Austria, I met an Austrian woman and moved back to be close to her! A classic story!” LeMonds said.
According to his biography, Chuck LeMonds recorded his first album “Here and Then, There and Now” in 1987 in Eau Claire, and invited musicians who lived there to join him: Peter Phippen, Randy Sabien, Willy Porter and Sue Gifford, to name a few of them.
“My mother was very musical and encouraged all the children in our family to sing and play instruments. She sang and played the piano and the clarinet,” LeMonds said.
“That was my way into music. I wrote my first song on the school bus on the way home at 18 years old. It was very philosophical,” he said.
“Recording songs came later when I was living in Eau Claire. My first solo album was recorded in Wausau in 1989,” LeMonds said.
According to his biography, “Growing up, Chuck’s mother, Marilyn, was a passionate musician playing in her school’s marching band in Chaffee, Missouri, with her main instruments being clarinet, piano and her voice. She loved to sing jazz pop torch songs that were so popular at that time in the 50’s. Her dream to become a professional musician was put on hold at the age of 16 when her first child was born . She brought seven children into the world and lived her music out by leading all seven children and four step-children, in a very natural way, into the world of music and singing.”
LeMonds was born in 1959 in St. Louis, Missouri.
He moved to Austria in the early 1990s and lives “among the rolling hills of Styria, not far from the borders of Hungary and Slovenia, with a view of the Alps and vineyards,” according to his biography.
Freight trains
LeMonds’ father, Sonny, spent 25 years traveling around the United States on freight trains and doing seasonal work along the way, such as picking fruit, according to LeMonds’ biography.
As winter weather set in, Sonny would find work in warmer places and eventually took up residence in an old school bus that was painted green and parked near the Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau.
LeMonds wrote a song about the school bus in 1994 called, “If the Motor was Working.”
LeMonds and his brother learned how to hop freight trains from their father when LeMonds was eight years old.
LeMonds’ grandfather, who owned a coal company in St. Louis, lost his business in 1929 at the start of the Great Depression and then became a card dealer in the back rooms of gin houses and honky-tonks along the Mississippi River.
The life of his card dealer grandfather is the basis for the song “Full Deck of Cards.”
LeMonds’ maternal grandfather drove trains for the Frisco line in Missouri.
Over the course of his career, LeMonds has worked with a number of musicians from Wisconsin, including Grammy nominated flutist Peter Phippen; blues guitarist and national treasure Howard “guitar” Luedtke; violinist Randy Sabien; songwriter Anne Weiss; James Brown’s funky drummer Clyde Stubblefield; songwriter/guitarist Willy Porter; recording artist and guitarist Chris Silver; and singer-songwriter Liz Myer, according to his biography.
He has worked with a number of musicians from other countries as well.
Albums
Since 1987, LeMonds has produced a dozen albums.
He says his newest album, “Sacred Gossip,” released in December of 2023, is his favorite.
“I recorded it at my home studio, but musicians from Austria, Norway and the states played on it,” he said.
Other albums include “Ghost in the Wishing Well” (2019); “A Walking Paradise” (2016); “The Rivers Call” (2013); “LeMonds” (2010); “Mississippi Angel” (2008); “Pink Roshi” (2006); “Road to Limbo” (1998); “For a Moment’s Gain” (1996); “Color of the Sun” (1994); “Hearts of 1905” (1989); Here & Then, There & Now (1987).
The influences on LeMonds’ music include The Stanley Brothers, Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, many Delta blues players and great story-teller singers, such as Utah Phillips and Claudia Schmidt, according to his biography.
Colfax
It has been eight years since LeMonds visited Colfax.
“I am really looking forward to seeing family and friends,” he said.
The idea for a concert at Gerald Eder’s place came from Bob Fehr.
“He told me to let him know when I return to the Colfax area and maybe a few from the class could get together, since I couldn’t make the 45 year reunion. Then Bob talked with Gerald Eder, and they thought it would be cool to make a gathering at Gerald’s farm,” LeMonds said.
“I thought it was a cool idea. My old friend Denny Lenz of Pony Tail Pizzas will be providing wood-fired pizzas for the hungry guests,” he said.
“Just being around Colfax and so many people I knew long ago will be the highlight for me. And, of course, getting to play my songs live for them all,” he said.
“I have so many amazing memories of my time around Colfax. Working on the Schindler farm with my friend, Bob, allowed me to see how much work and love goes into dairy farming. Hanging out at 22 Mile Ford on a Friday night or fishing the Red Cedar River. So many beautiful memories,” LeMonds said.
Concerts
In addition to his concert at Gerald Eder’s farm on July 13, LeMonds is playing in a variety of other venues around the area.
On July 4, he will be at Heart Breakers in Chippewa Falls, which will feature Howard “Guitar” Luedtke with Chuck LeMonds as a special guest, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
On July 7, LeMonds and Chris Silver will be at Junior’s Bar on the Patio in River Falls, beginning at 5 p.m.
On July 11, LeMonds and Silver will appear at the Rush River Brewery in River Falls, beginning at 5 p.m.
On July 12, there will be a House Concert with Chuck LeMonds in Minneapolis (contact per.austreng@gmail.com for more information).
On July 18, LeMonds and Silver will be performing at Music in the Park in River Falls.
For those who are curious about LeMonds’ music, visit www.chucklemonds.org. His albums are available at www.chucklemonds2.bandcamp.com.
All members of the Colfax High School Classes of 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980 are invited on July 13 to the concert at Gerald Eder Park, 12128 20th Street, Colfax. The event begins at 3:30 p.m.
