Rockfist! News | Minnesota Classic Rock & Hair Metal Cover Band

We'll be taking the stage at Coasters at the Minnesota State Fair once again this year! Come on out to the Fair to enjoy your Eats on a Stick and then come rock out with us until the park closes! View State Fair pictures from last year's show and a recap below.

SUNDAY--08/24/2008 6:30 PM
Minnesota State Fair - Beer Garden
Coasters on Liggett Street and Carnes Avenue

New Merchandise--We'll have new T-shirts available that you'll ALL want to get your hands on! They feature the Rockfist! name on the front and our new guitar pick logo on the back.

We Salute You: Check out our Fan Zone for our profile on Lisa, one of the biggest supporters of Rockfist! Keep checking the website for updates: you could be the next fan to be honored

That's all for now! Thank you all for your continued support and we'll see you on the dance floor!

Vinnie from Tampa ended up winning the Queensryche contest, but it was close! Congrats to Vinnie, Rick and Tony for being the final three vocalists in the contest! Truly an experience to cherish.

Thanks to all those who supported Rick. We are very proud of him and blessed to be performing every night with such a talented vocalist. See you all at the next show!

It is with pleasure that we announce our very own Rick Forsgren is one of three finalists to compete in Seattle March 1, 2008. The three vocalists will do karaoke versions of one of three songs (Neon Knights, Syncronicity II, Welcome to the Machine) and the winner will perform a song with Queensryche later on that night. The winner will ALSO make a vocal appearance on an upcoming Queensryche album!

The members of Rockfist! would like to wish Rick the best of luck and a triumphant return home to the Twin Cities. Rick, you are truly an amazing vocalist with off the charts talent. Rock the hell out of Seattle and "show the world who you are." Cheers, brother!

Pictures of Rick onstage with Queensryche at Myth Nightclub are available at the Rockfist Fan Site!

Here's review of Rick's performance from Lance, one of our favorite fans! (Read more reviews and commentary at Musicscene.org.)

"Holy shit. 93X did a contest w/Queensryche where three fans were selected to sing karaoke versions of either Synchronicity II, Welcome To The Machine, or Neon Knights. The winner gets to sing the encore with Queensryche. This is happening in most of the tour stops, and the ultimate winner gets to sing on a Queensryche record. How cool!

Rockfist!'s very own Rick Forsgren flat out annihilated the competition on his version of Black Sabbath's Neon Knights. Not bad for a guy that didn't even know the song the day before! According to Rick, Sharon Tate (Geoff Tate's wife) called him and said if he won, he'd be singing Welcome To The Machine with the band. Turns out Rick didn't know that song either (!!) so he went and learned it.

But after his karaoke performance before the actual gig, one of QR's people said to him that he was the best singer they'd encountered while doing the contest on this tour, and that he didn't have to sing Wecome To The Machine, he could sing any of the three covers they'd selected. So he went with Neon Knights and fuckin' blew the doors off the place. Sure, he missed a lyric here and there, but the melodies were spot on and you could tell the band was diggin the guy's pipes. If anyone's heard Rick sing, they'll know what I'm talking about, he's prolly got the best male vocal range in town.

So congrats to Rick - he got to sing onstage with one of his very favorite bands, in front of a big crowd, and he seized the moment big time. What a dream come true! "

~Lance fuckin' Vien

Pictures of Rick onstage with Queensryche at Myth Nightclub are available at the Rockfist Fan Site!

Our Rick Forsgren is in a contest to sing with Queensryche at Myth Nightclub in Maplewood, Minnesota TONIGHT!!!

Now, for those of you who know Rick and his musical history, you have to know that this is a dream come true for him. We're so psyched for him!

This opportunity is part of a bigger contest---in which he could have an opportunity to record with Queensryche!!!

Early yesterday morning, Rick was on 93X singing for an opportunity to get up on stage with Queensryche tonight. Singers were asked to sing along to 'Empire', and the best three were chosen, OF COURSE Rick was a winner! Tonight, the best singer of the three will chosen by the loudest screaming from the audience.

If you can make it, come SCREAM for Rick! The highest decibel earning singer wins!!

If you are going to the show, PLEASE consider coming when the doors open to show your support--6pm. The contest starts shortly after doors.

1. Neon Knights (Black Sabbath)
2. Synchronicity II (The Police)
3. Welcome to the Machine (Pink Floyd)

Those of you who know Rick probably know what he picked, but we'll keep that as a surprise!

The three of them will sing "Karaoke style" to one of the above songs, and then the audience will scream for who they'd like to sing with Queensryche at the end of the show. Whoever gets the most audience noise will win!

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! A packed hotel, beautiful people, and kick ass music! Shenanigans had by all.

Thanks to the Pop Rocks camp. Ya'll put on a solid show and were fun to hang out with! (A few Rockfist! members even joined Pop Rocks on stage later on in the night! Whoo hoo! Thanks again for that!)

The staff at the Embassy Suites were absolute GOLD and know how to put together a great party with Star 102.5 FM. We were happy to take part in such a huge event.

What a fun night for us! Thanks to the people at Hope's Hope for letting us be a part of this. It felt good to contribute to a worthwhile (and heartbreaking) cause. Count us in for next year.

Trocadero's is an amazing club. Probably the best PA (hey Oz!) that we've played through as well as having a killer light show. They even had a green room. The staff was awesome and treated us like rock stars...with the appropriate bowls of M&M's!

Michael sat in with us for a few songs and we even had a guest rapper! We debuted a new song as well, 'Wait' by White Lion. I last learned that song when I was 14, so it was a long time coming

Friday after Thanksgiving we're at Grampa Al's in Faribault and the next night we're in Rochester at the Northstar. Both clubs are awesome and we always have a good time....see ya!

What an awesome night! Going in we had no idea what to expect from this gig. It's always like that at a new place, but the Xcel did not disappoint! We started right at the final bell of the game and played a solid 90 minute set to some rabid Wild fans. It kind of reminded me of the State Fair gig we did this summer...really diverse group of 80's rock fans. Who knew the kids loved the hair metal?

We've got a weekend off and will be adding some more songs, maybe brushing up on some stuff we haven't played in a while. Our next show is at Trocadero's in downtown Minneapolis, it's a benefit for Hope's Hope. Our good friend (and super fan) Mike is organizing it. It would really mean a lot for us to have all our friends there that night. Click this link for more info.

As a wise man once said..."if it ain't metal...it's crap!"

10/13/2007 Mainstreet, Hopkins
All right! I love that place...maybe it's the 'altar of rock'? Anyway, very fun night! We debuted 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' and 'Any Way You Want It'--apparently there's no such thing as too much Def Leppard or too much Journey. We also brought back 'You Got Another Thing Coming'. I think we've decided on a couple more songs to add as well.

Thanks to everybody who made it out. Mary, Tracy, other Tracy, Johnandamy (Happy bday! Thanks for bringing the party!), Lance, Rick, Irene, Gensmer, Eli (I think most of Epicurean?), fan-o-the-week Dale, Paul, Shane, Brian, Riley, Mike...oh..especially Rasta dude who kept trying to talk to me during songs.

Thanks to all who came out to the North Star in Rochester and Salida Depot in Becker to see Rockfist! this weekend.

The North Star was a blast, as usual. Many thanks to the Screamer for making the trip out. He and his lady came all the way out from St Cloud to get their Rockfist! fix. And Screamer has some killer rock moves, so watch out! Thanks to all who kept the dance floor moving and their rockfists in the air. We also saw some repeat Rockfist! offenders, Renata and Justyne. Thanks for the support. We're looking forward to our next trip out to Rockchester.

Salida Depot had some great moments, including some fantastic dancing by Ryan's numerous co-workers in attendance. Thanks a BUNCH to them for coming out. This night marked Dan's first Rockfist! show since coming back from Arizona. We missed ya, pal. Welcome back. Huge props to Dale for making BOTH shows! Now that is dedication!

We've got the weekend off, but will be back in action at Dibbo's on September 15th. ALWAYS a good time in Hudson. What happens in Hudson, stays in Hudson. See ya there!

"Pronto pups, steak sandwiches, French fries and fried (insert food item here). Wash it all down with some cold beer and wrap it up with a big serving of Rockfist! for dessert.

It was the PERFECT night for an outdoor show! Coasters was “rolling” with lots of Rockfist! regulars. It was great to see so many of you out at the Fair. A big thanks to everyone who made the night special. Your smiling faces are the reason we keep doing this.

It was also a treat to meet so many new folks who had never seen the band. Becky from MD was just happy to find someone playing some good 80s metal. Tony and his crew stuck around for the entire night.

Family galore joined the Rockfist! camp with a representative from every member’s family. Fathers, sons, sisters, nephews…it was all good. A rare opportunity for the kids to see some real 80s Rock.

We’re headed to “The Northstar” in Rochester this Friday August 31st and up to “Salida Depot” in Becker on September 1st. If you’re up for a road trip or live in the area, come on out.