The Guests
Chuck Klosterman
For years, Chuck Klosterman has been taking your world and giving it more laughs and more depth than it would have had without his sharp perspective. From "Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota" to his latest work, "Eating the Dinosaur," Klosterman has covered everything from heavy metal bands to sitcom laugh tracks and the Unabomber's manifesto. The former senior writer for Spin and ESPN contributor has also written for The New York Times Magazine and Esquire. He's always got something smart to say about sports, movies, TV, rock'n'roll, your momma - and he'll join John Moe and John Munson for Wits™ this spring.
Craig Finn
Craig Finn puts on a raw, loud, honest-to-goodness rock show with his band The Hold Steady and is known for his literary lyrics all chock full of Minnesota mentions of the Grain Belt bridge, 494, the Mississippi River. One reviewer characterizes Finn's lyrics as funny and conversational, "the kind of language you might overhear in bars where people go to drink and die, poetic in its grungy perfection." There's some good vibes between Finn and Klosterman: they're both Midwesterners, they both love sports, and they both love each other's work. Finn has co-written a film adaptation to Chuck Klosterman's book, "Fargo Rock City." Klosterman has ranked The Hold Steady's work among the best in the century. The Century!
Maria Bamford
You may have seen comedian Maria Bamford recently as a guest star on Louie (fX). She's got recurring roles on the re-booted Arrested Development (Netflix), Tim & Eric: Awesome Show and Check It Out (both Adult Swim). Maria, a Duluth, Minn. native, is the first female comic to have two half-hour Comedy Central Presents specials. Movie producer Judd Apatow (Anchorman, Knocked Up) has said of Maria, "I've seen a lot of comics and it takes a lot to make me laugh really hard. And she definitely makes me laugh super hard."
Nikki Sixx
Co-founder and bassist of Mötley Crüe, Nikki Sixx wrote songs you rocked out to like "Dr. Feelgood" and "Girls, Girls, Girls." His book "The Heroin Diaries" is a collection of his diary entries from a year of out-of-control drug use and was a New York Times Bestseller. He's out with a new book, "This Is Gonna Hurt," which details his experiences, "from his early years filled with toxic waste, to his success with Motley Crue, to his death from an OD and his eventual rebirth through music, photography, and love."