Rhinoshrine performed in Battle of the Bands round two on Friday, Feb. 10 in a 20 minute set. Four bands competed in Battle of the Bands; the band voted as the winner by the crowd will compete against the victors of the three other rounds at Spring Jam, which will take place in late April.
Rhinoshrine–a band whose history spans back to kindergarten– creates music from a variety of genres they hope everyone will enjoy.
“We’re a garage rock band,” says guitarist, Bud Hjelmberg. “I like to tell people we’re a rock band, and people ask me what kind and I just go… We’re a rock band.”
Bassist Ben Ranney describes Rhinoshrine’s style as “alt, indie, rock, with a little bit of psych, a little bit of jazz, a little bit of classic.”
The members of Rhinoshrine are motivated through evoking strong emotions in their music that are true to them and use playing for an audience as an outlet to express themselves.
“I really do hope that when people listen to it, it doesn’t just evoke different feelings from what we are choosing to write at the time,” says drummer Sam Foster. “Our music is never really the same.”
For a band with roots at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities– their performance at the Whole Music Club is a warmly welcomed homecoming.
“We’ve all been around Minneapolis forever,” says pianist and trumpet player, Adam Trelstad. “We kinda got our chops playing at the U at the house shows there, and it would be great to get more official there.”
As the members of Rhinoshrine perform as a group and as friends, they have recognized their tightly-knit bonds that continue to form.
Hjelmberg compares his chemistry with bands prior to his time in Rhinoshrine, “We do definitely have a groove I didn’t realize before. We’re getting tighter in some fashion.”
Tresland describes their growth as second nature, “That unconscious growth of knowing what each other’s doing– when we’re learning a song now, things just come together easier.”
After their performance at Battle of the Bands, the members of Rhinoshrine express their gratitude.
“We’re Rhinoshrine, we love you, and you’re all amazing,” says Hjelmberg.
Emily Storm 