Petal Pusher

Long ago, in a time before cell phones and the internet, three young women in Minneapolis, Minnesota formed a band in the late 1980s after their bad perms grew out. They called themselves Zuzu’s Petals. The band name was lifted from Frank Capra’s obscure-at-the-time movie It’s a Wonderful Life. Though never a household name, Zuzu’s Petals made some glorious indie label records and toured all over the US and the UK all without the assistance of GPS. Creating a following of loveable dorks unable to resist their infectious lack of pretension and finding their punk/pop harmonies an elixir in the time of grunge, the Petals hit their stride in 1992 with the release of their first album When No One’s Looking. But there were complications, illness, love affairs, sexism, secrets, and heartbreak. Here’s a story about music obsession, intense creativity often fueled by intense partying, all originating in the center of the Minneapolis music renaissance in the age of Prince, The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum, The Jayhawks, and Babes in Toyland (to name a few). Originally published in 2007, now a new generation of readers can inhabit the world of indie rock in the late 80s-mid 90s.