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Married 32 years, and playing together for 35 years, the loving collaboration of lives intertwined for decades provides a delightful result of bluegrass, folk, pop, blues and rock music for skilled musicians Mike Monson and Kim Curtis-Monson, the Fish Heads founders from Gary, New Duluth. 

The couple met at Sir Benedict’s Tavern, where they have become a fan favorite during their three and half decades of performance together. 

The couple has talked of retirement - however Louis Armstrong’s poignant quote “Musicians don’t retire; they stop when there’s no more music in them,” hearkens within their soul. 

What’s in a name? 

The Fish Heads, which seems appropriate for a band that is dedicated to fundraising for food, came by the name naturally. The couple loves to fish, to share their bounty and savor a great catch. Mike said, “There is nothing better than freshwater fish from the Great Lakes.” 

With the good fortune of calling Duluth home and being near the shores of Lake Superior, Kim and Mike, for years played small concerts and helped feed boy scout troops at Siskiwit Bay on Isle Royale, arriving by their 24-foot large boat. 

Music, their passion, fishing and boating, their beloved hobby – the formation of a new band name came in 2000, with a catchy moniker for Kim – Mama Guppy. 

Kim, also known affectionately as Suzi to her family, (Suzanne is her middle name) explained that retirement was in discussion as aged bodies, multiple knee surgeries, medicine cabinets replete with pain relief medicinal lined shelves, and the comfort of staying home coming off the Covid years was growing on the couple; a couple that has traveled thousands upon thousands of miles as festival musicians in the upper Midwest. The Monsons downsized the big boat to a 17-footer they recently sold to opt for a future hobby fishing by charter. 

The Fish Heads developed the “Bunker Sessions” in March 2020 as Covid-19 virus shutdowns were mandated across the nation. 

What’s a Bunker Session you ask? It is a two-hour Friday evening performance from 6-8 pm played live via Fish Head’s Facebook page for the public to attend – FREE. 

Kim and Mike started out playing every Friday during the Covid shutdown and then reduced the schedule to every other Friday during the autumn-winter season also known as the “winter blues” season. The “bunker” is below ground level in the couple’s historic old 4-story former commercial building-community center now turned home and studio in downtown Gary, New Duluth. 

In the early 1900s Gary was a Duluth “burb” boom town located near Morgan Park and the Morgan Park Steel Plant. The area was rich with immigrants – Serbs, Croatians, Slovenians; all coming to a new land to raise families and work. The Monson’s home was part of a lumber company, later purchased by the Serbian Orthodox Church and other small local churches. It was remodeled into the Gary Center of the International Institute. 

The Institute first served as a boarding house for young women moving in from rural midwestern farms for work in the area. It later transitioned into a community center complete with a kitchen, library,and gymnasium. The building served as a focus for all things social: music, dances, festivities, and local programs. It was the prelude of the YMCA in Duluth. 

In 2001 the building was remodeled into a superbly large family home with a basketball court and recording studio. The Monsons purchased the home in 2015, and the recording studio became the home of Big Fish Tunes (bigfishtunes.com). 

Kim and Mike have hosted multiple music sessions in the former gymnasium. The home, while private, is still served by a couple dedicated to community first. The Fish Heads have to-date raised more than $9,000  for the Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank (secondharvestnorthland.org) by way of Bunker Session donations. 

Dr. Terri Radovich M.D. of Grand Rapids, with family in Duluth, has been a follower of the Bunker Sessions since its inception. Terri, who snowbirds in Costa Rica, said the Friday night music session is something she looks forward to every “bunker” season. 

“Kim and Mike have the best relationship and banter – their talent is far-reaching. There is nothing better than to have a session open and playing in the background while the family engages in activity, energized by their melodies and joy,” Dr. Radovich said. 

Followers are encouraged to donate by Venmo, PayPal and Cash App to Second Harvest in lieu of “tipping the band.” 

The audience never knows what to expect and since the sessions are live – it is not unusual for Kim and Mike to interact back and forth on screen with their guests. The guests may interact by message with one another. It’s always an upbeat experience. 

The couple switches musical instruments often. They both play guitar, bass, fiddle, mandolin and ukelele. Mike is also their drummer. 

On occasion, third mate the talented Paul Jones, will join the couple on dobro, pedal steel guitar, 6-string guitar, and 5-string banjo. Jones is another seasoned musician who brings his old-time country sound to the festive music that is brought right into your home for a jovial two hours of human connection. 

The Fish Heads (two words) can be found on Facebook. There are multiple bands by the same name so you may have to hunt for the correct band and look for Kim and Mike in the profile pic (facebook.com/profile.phpid=10057886320175). 

There is an old proverb “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Kim Curtis-Monson and Mike Monson of the Fish Heads invite everyone into their bunker, for a side dish of music, an entertainment that enriches a lifetime. The music is live and feeding souls via Facebook in Gary, New Duluth. 

The Bunker Sessions start Friday, Sept. 27, and will play every other Friday for six months from 6-8 pm live.