A hearse, a guitar, and four young men. This is a snapshot of Stillwater’s thriving music scene in the mid-1960s. Captured in a photo featured in Scott Schell’s book Garage Sounds: Bringing Down the House, one of the area’s most successful garage bands, the More-Tishans, poses alongside their distinctive band mobile.
Formed in 1963 by a group of Stillwater High School students, the More-Tishans quickly graduated from practicing at home to playing school dances, teen clubs, armories, and venues across Minnesota and Wisconsin. Their 1950 Cadillac hearse, purchased in 1965 to transport their gear, including custom coffin-shaped guitar cases, became an iconic staple of their identity, ensuring their arrival was just as memorable as their music.
The band reached new heights with their 1967 single, “(I’ve Got) Nowhere to Run,” which earned regular regional radio airplay. By the time they played their farewell concert at the Stillwater Armory on August 23, 1968, they had logged more than 500 performances.
Copies of Garage Sounds are available to view in the library’s St. Croix Collection Room, with additional copies available for check-out. Fun fact: Library Board of Trustees member, musician and author, Craig Hansen, has played lead guitar with the More-Tishans, including when they were inducted into the Mid-America Music Hall of Fame in 2008.