Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Friday October 03, 2025 - Grand Forks, ND

Road Blog
October 3, 2025
Grand Forks, North Dakota

The 3 hour drive from Bismarck to Fargo was uneventful. Cruise was set to 88 as I listened to Eddie Trunk ‘s Thursday show, then blasted Halestorm and The Holy Cows. I guess I was on the H’s. I pulled into Fargo, a city I’m not sure I’ve ever been to before, but I do love that movie and TV show. I stopped into ORANGE RECORDS and thumbed through some bins, then hit Royal Liquors to replenish, and had to settle for some B-list as pint-selection was limited and I don’t want to over-commit on quantity with just 2 nights left.

From there I headed over to my dive motel which, to my dismay, sits next to the interstate in the parking lot of a truck stop. The lady at the front desk was a little road-worn, but she was sweet and plenty nice enough and got me into my room early, which I was grateful for. The room, however, well, not great. It’s an extended-stay deal, but I hope you brought your own kitchenware cuz ain’t nuthin in this room but a bed, TV, fridge, sink, and stovetop (and a bathroom of course). No coffee or coffee maker, no dishes, nothin’. Smells like bleach, sticky floors, neighbors fighting, that kinda joint. Living the dream, friends. I stocked up for breakfast foods and even got a large coffee at the truck stop, figuring I can nuke it in the morning to get my caffeine on.

After a couple hours chilling in the room I pulled the car into the diesel lane at the truck stop and washed the never-ending onslaught of North Dakota bugs off the windshield and pointed the car north towards Grand Forks. It’s a little over an hour away but it goes by quick at 88mph. First stop was Riverside park, which turns out isn’t really on the side of a river at all, but I meandered through a disc-golf fairway and eventually found the elusive riverbank. I keep hoping and expecting to see an eagle on this run, and this was probably my best chance, but no luck yet.

From there I headed over to Ojata Records where I was happy to see a poster for my show hanging, but not so much to see I’d been defaced as a French pirate. Just kidding, I LOL’d and took a picture. I saw some cool stuff, but I’m flying out so I don’t have capacity for extra records unless it’s something I really need.

I parked next to Half Brothers Brewing Company where I met the owner Bubba and he took me away from the busy taproom, downstairs, then down a service hallway to the music room. As we descended away from the crowd in a sort of Spinal Tap cant-find-the-stage moment I thought to myself…”welp, no way anyone’s coming down here. Gonna be a slow night.” It’s a nice room, though, with a real stage and good sound. We did a quick soundcheck and it was feeling great.

Back upstairs I got some wings and pretzel bites and their hazy IPA. The wings (Buddah Wings I think they’re called) are made with a rub that a friend (relative?) of Bubba’s has perfected over many years. I have to say that they were legit the best wings I’ve had in a long, long time. Big ol’ juicy pieces, cooked hot to the bone but not over-cooked (wings are often over or under cooked tbh), and man, that rub is somethin’ special. I felt him out for a minute to see if I might be able to snag the recipe but he quickly made it clear that even he isn’t privy to it. He also told me about another bar in town that does award-winning wings, and the topic of pickles came up a few times – apparently a big thing in Grand Forks, and they had at least 3 pickle flavored beers.

After dinner I took a stroll down the main street and into a park down there and it was really nice, with a bike path and lots of places to hang. Still no eagles but it was nice to walk off the wings and pretzel bites and clear my head before the show. Back at the brewery I set up my merch and a couple people came in and I thought… well, at least *someone’s* here. Then, as I got started a few more people came in, then a few more, and all of a sudden it was a pretty decent room. These people were there to listen, too, which makes a huge difference from the kind of crowd I had in Bismarck, where there were people, but very little engagement. They weren’t great in numbers last night, but they were engaged and responsive, and I was very appreciative that they were there, and that I was wrong about it being a slow night in the basement. We exchanged some banter about their local ND State hockey team and my Marquette, Michigan NMU Hockey, disregarding the advice I got from Tom in Bismarck, and had a laugh about that. Some people stayed, some left after a while (it was a long set), others came in to keep it steady, and it was a pretty good night – no complaints.

I played for 2 hours straight, talked to a couple locals, tore down, talked to Bubba about the live Soul Asylum record recorded in Grand Forks and he had some cool Soul Asylum stories too. On my way out I picked up one of the cool beer glasses they had for sale. Not like I need another friggin’ beer glass at home, but they were nice and it was a good night and I just felt compelled, so why not? On I-29 South I cranked SKID ROW’s best-of record for the 88mph drive south and made it back to the motel in just over an hour.

Up in my bleach-smelling, sparsely appointed room I went to pour a nightcap and the dump had no cups – paper, plastic, glass, or otherwise. What kind of motel doesn’t at least have dixie cups? What was I gonna do? I was weighing my slim options when I remembered the glass I bought at the brewery, so, overcome with gleeful joy, I went back down to the car, grabbed the glass, and all was right with the world.

TrooperGirl22 called, late at night after a long day with the girls up north, and we got caught up on each other’s goings-on and all is good on both sides. She had her own day of adventure and fun and no shortage of stories herself. Her signal dropped as were finishing up so we wrapped up by text and I made sure she was aware Detroit Lions at 4 and Detroit Tigers at 8 on Sunday. She has another day of adventure and activity planned on Saturday and I’m heading to Minneapolis, one of my top fav cities.

Big thanks to Bubba and the great staff at Half Brothers Brewing in Grand Forks for the hospitality and the fun show! This morning I am grateful that Woody Woodpecker is over (he’s an annoying little f**ker, no?) and Bugs and Daffy and Foghorn are on. I’m microwaving yesterday’s truck stop coffee in my Half Brothers Brewing Company glass (again, living the dream), and getting my shit together for the day. See ya tonight in Minneapolis at 331 Club with Luke from The Right Here playing solo and The Hilltop Pines. Gonna be a rowdy jam! Music starts shortly after 9 and I fly home early tomorrow. Let’s wrap this run up in style! Xx