In the 1970s, the original AZBY was a New Ulm-based band with four talented musicians: Rod Scheitel, Tom Bauer, Rick Christiansen, and Brad Anderson.
However, the AZBY that many in the southern Minnesota area have come to know and love today is younger, based in Janesville, and performing songs from the ‘80s, ‘90s, and 2000s. This iteration of the band features Scheitel’s grandsons Carter and Carson Quast, both of whom play guitar. Mike McCue plays drums, and Joey Burns plays bass. Carter is the frontman and takes charge of the vocals, with Carson and McCue taking lead vocal duties throughout their shows to relieve him.
According to Carter, the band was formed nearly two years ago “by accident.“ His mom, who works with McCue’s mom, wanted to surprise his dad with music for his 50th birthday party. At that time, the band wasn’t called AZBY, but it was the beginning of a long-standing musical relationship between the four.
Carter is a 2017 graduate of JWP. Carson and Burns have been friends since graduating together from JWP. Although Burns played guitar primarily prior to joining AZBY, he took the role of bassist. McCue graduated from Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial.
The band decided on AZBY when they tried coming up with other names but couldn’t agree as a band on any. “We had a couple of names we weren’t sure about,” Carter explained. “Some sounded cool, but we didn’t know if they would fit us.”
Carson remembered Carter brinigng up a conversation he had with their grandmother about their grandpa – Rod Scheitel – playing in AZBY. The name had been brought up, and with Scheitel, Bauer, Christiansen, and Anderson’s blessing, the Quasts, Burns, and McCue began using the name for their band.
The four thoroughly enjoy playing music together and jamming on the stage, and so do their fans. “I’d say that our music is for everyone,” Burns said. “We appeal to the older generation along with the younger generation.”
Carter Quast agreed. “The one thing with the older people is they know the 70s music. The younger people our age know the new music but some of the older music that was popular. Everyone can listen to us and hear something they like.”
The group plays a variety of ‘80s, ‘90s, and 2000s hits, mostly sticking to rock while flexing their musicality by playing some country tunes.
For a group that sticks to mostly rock, each band member has varying tastes. The Quast brothers grew up on hair metal band like Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe thanks to their parents. These days, though, Carson has leaned toward listening to country music, which is usually something he doesn’t listen to.
Carter’s influences come from singer-songwriters like Neil Young and James Taylor. “I’ve also listened to and know every single Beatles song from their catalog. Now, I like John Mayer as a guitarist and songwriter. I’m into Stevie Ray Vaughan as well.”
McCue listened to Led Zeppelin and Greta Van Fleet during his teenage years. He’s been into bands with heavier sounds like “Downward.” “My dad’s into bluegrass and folk, so I’ve listened to that quite a bit, too,” he added.
Burns is into heavy metal and thrash bands like Slayer, Pantera, and the Layne Staley era of Alice in Chains. If it’s thrash, grunge, or sludge metal, he’s into it.
In their time together, the band’s favorite gigs included a recent gig over the summer at Reggie’s Brewhouse in Owatonna. The funny part was, it was a gig where things were going wrong.
“We had a sound issue,” Burns said. Carter added, “We were supposed to play for two hours, and we had problems with the sound for an hour. Once we fixed things up, we were allowed to play a little longer. That was a fun gig.”
McCue also shared memories about their gig at the Anchor Bar and Grill in Madison Lake shortly after their show at Reggie’s Brewhouse.
When asked about offstage memories (notably any “afterparty”), the band joked that they would usually be too tired from the gig and packing all their gear for the road. However, there was a stretch during the summer where they had a private show, then they played at Waseca’s Lakefest during the 4th of July, and then later that night, drove to the Anchor Bar and Grill in Madison Lake.
“That day, I was sick,” Burns said. “I won’t lie. That wasn’t a fun time.”
As far as favorite songs to perform, the band mostly agreed on Pearl Jam’s “Alive.” Carter and McCue are emphatic fans of performing the song. “It’s great to headbang while Carter performs the solo to that song,” Burns said.
Burns said that any song he could bang his head to was his favorite, while Carson said whatever the crowd was into on any given night was his favorite.
Since they’re a cover band, they haven’t focused too hard on making their songs. It could be in the realm of possibility soon, but they made no clear promises. “We make original songs individually,” Carter said. “Would it be cool to plan a week to write an album? Yes. Will that happen? Not sure.”
The one barrier to making an album is time. All members work day jobs and book shows heavily during the summer. The members’ unique tastes translate into their songs. While they may sound great by themselves, putting them all together in an album wouldn’t make a cohesive sound.
“We’d need to create a concept for the album to make it work,” Carter explained. “There have been songs I’ve written that Mike plays on. I’ve also written songs with Carson that sound similar to each other.
When asked about advice they’d give to aspiring musicians or bands, here’s what they said:
Carson: “Set your goals. Life can get really busy, but as long as you’re trying to meet those goals and get where you want to be, you’ll do well. You want to make sure you’re making progress in a certain amount of time.”
McCue: “You need patience and determination to get the shows booked. It can be challenging to get your name out there. Getting someone to hire you as a band can be tough.”
Carter: “Try something different. Figure out your X-Factor as a band. There are so many different cover bands out there. Some of them have distinct players at those higher levels. For others, their song selection is really on point, or maybe they have more production value with lights and everything happening on the stage.”
AZBY is looking to continue playing shows for the next few months, with a gig at the Landing in Madison Lake on Sunday, September 1, and another show in Madelia on September 28. The band is especially excited to play at the Mill on New Year’s Eve. “I’ve been definitely trying to get the word out on that one,” Burns said.
Like the original members of AZBY, this new reincarnation of the band features four guys who have fun on the stage performing for hundreds of fans and classic rock enthusiasts. Their brotherhood shows both on and off the stage. “I feel very fortunate to be with these three,” Carter said. “We get along great and play well together. Am I the best guitarist? No. But when you put all the elements together with the right people, it sounds good. And that’s AZBY.”
