here is what craig finn (the lead singer of the hold steady) said about this song:
"Payne Ave. is in the East Side of St. Paul. My thought is that it always looks like a nice family area during the day, but it tends to seem a little sinister at night. While I was growing up, it was reportedly a hotbed of activity for racist skinheads. The Payne Reliever was a bar on Payne Ave. that had live metal bands on one side and strippers on the other. I actually have never been there, but a friend told me about it. I don't know if it's still around.... This song has my favorite line on the record: "When Gideon was living in South Minneapolis, he was the Cowboy on the crosstown bus." There are these weird cowboy dudes on Lake St. and Franklin Ave. in Minneapolis. They are like drifters. Maybe homeless or maybe not. Definitely drinkers though. I don't see them that often, but I usually do if I ride the Lake St. bus. Ironically, some of the bars on Lake St. have a Western motif: the Round Up Saloon, the Yukon club, etc. One dude got on the bus and lifted up his hat and nodded to my wife, "Hello there, little philly." I always marvel. People who live in the Twin Cities tend to apologize and think it's boring but I think it's the most inspiring place I have ever been."
here is what craig finn (the lead singer of the hold steady) said about this song:
"Payne Ave. is in the East Side of St. Paul. My thought is that it always looks like a nice family area during the day, but it tends to seem a little sinister at night. While I was growing up, it was reportedly a hotbed of activity for racist skinheads. The Payne Reliever was a bar on Payne Ave. that had live metal bands on one side and strippers on the other. I actually have never been there, but a friend told me about it. I don't know if it's still around.... This song has my favorite line on the record: "When Gideon was living in South Minneapolis, he was the Cowboy on the crosstown bus." There are these weird cowboy dudes on Lake St. and Franklin Ave. in Minneapolis. They are like drifters. Maybe homeless or maybe not. Definitely drinkers though. I don't see them that often, but I usually do if I ride the Lake St. bus. Ironically, some of the bars on Lake St. have a Western motif: the Round Up Saloon, the Yukon club, etc. One dude got on the bus and lifted up his hat and nodded to my wife, "Hello there, little philly." I always marvel. People who live in the Twin Cities tend to apologize and think it's boring but I think it's the most inspiring place I have ever been."