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Mike and Kim in their Gary bunker. Photos by Jill Fisher.

This is a story about two musicians who followed their bliss — music (and fishing!) — and found each other several decades ago.

Kim Curtis-Monson and Mike Monson met at Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake in the nascent days of its Wednesday bluegrass Jams. Back in the early 1980s the former gas station had been adapted to house a craft beer joint.

Although both Mike and Kim were married at the time (she was separated), their mutual love of music drew them together.

Kim (AKA Mama Guppy, among other aliases) was born to a musical family in Grand Rapids. She has two older half siblings and a younger brother. Her father, Clayton Hanson, played guitar and mandolin; her mother, Joy, played piano and accordion by ear.

Just before Kim’s 12th birthday her father died. His good friend, Lloyd LaPlant, a carpenter who began constructing guitars as a hobby, became a father figure to her. She inherited her father’s guitar, a 1949 Gibson LG 3, and soon after their father’s death, she and her younger brother began teaching themselves to play using a Mel Bay chord book. Kim still has and plays this small parlor-size guitar that she says “booms like a rocket.”

Mike was born in St. Paul, one of three brothers, to Bob and LaVonne Monson. His dad played the accordion and keys and his mom played the saxophone and sang. As he tells it, he and his brothers all loved to sing.

After a brief time in Austin, Minnesota, the family relocated to Duluth. Mike was in kindergarten by then and has been a Duluthian ever since. For a short time he sang in the Duluth Boy’s Chorus.

As for playing the drums, it seems that instinct was inborn, since he recalls banging on pots and pans while still in diapers! Since then he’s become a multi-instrumentalist, learning guitar, ukelele, upright bass. He’s even modified a ukelele with bass strings.

The Fish Heads at Festival Rialto in Grand Rapids.

But Mike (whose moniker is Spike) wasn’t just into music. He was a ski jumper who made use of the several ski jumps in our area – Lakeside on 7 Bridges Road, Chester Bowl, Birch Park in Gary, Fond du Lac and Cloquet. He jumped alongside the “Denney Boys.” (Jim J. Denney competed in ski jumping events at the Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1976 and Lake Placid, New York, in 1980.) Luckily Mike never broke a bone doing it!

Mike is one of the founders of what has become the regular Wednesday night bluegrass jam at Sir Ben’s. Here’s how it happened: he was jogging through Chester Park one day when he saw and heard a banjo player, Kelly Imbodin. He stopped to chat with him and was told that a guitar player would be nice to play with.

Well, Mike said, “I play guitar” and so he was told to go and fetch it. That’s when Mike first learned Earl Scruggs’  “Foggy Mountain Breakdown“— the tune featured in the movie Bonnie and Clyde. The two started playing together that very same day, eventually playing regularly at Sir Ben’s for sandwiches and beer back when Jack and Barb Arnold owned the place and beer was the only alcoholic beverage served. Thus was born the bluegrass jam we enjoy to this day.

Meanwhile, Kim, who had attended Itasca Community College (now Minnesota North College) in Grand Rapids transferred to UMD. where she switched from Psychology to Commercial Art and Advertising.

During this time she kept up her musical avocation, performing as a solo act, singing and playing guitar at places such as Mr. Frank’s Pizza. It was her friend Cathe Hauge-Hall who told her she should check out the bluegrass jam at Sir Ben’s and that’s when the “meant-to-be” connection occurred.

Within a couple of years and after a providential skinny dip in Lester River, she and Mike became a couple. They were married on August 15, 1992, and have been making beautiful music together ever since.

Of course, as many musicians are forced to do, both Mike and Kim held regular day jobs to make ends meet.

Mike worked as a welder and pipefitter, which did a real number on his knees (possibly exacerbating stress from ski jumping?) both of which have been replaced. This led to his retirement from that livelihood at age 55.

For her part, Kim worked in the school system for 27 years as a special education and music instructor until her retirement at age 62. After that she taught part-time in a Forest Preschool Program, involving primarily outdoor activities. COVID put an end to that work.

Like most musicians, the people they played with and the bands they formed morphed over the years with different names and various players: Polka Dots, Strawberry Armada, Elbow Grease, Bluegrass Crossing, Natural ‘grass, Busters and Weed Killers. Mike and Kim also backed up John Berquist and the Moose Wallow Ramblers. Berquist was the composer of the locally famous song, “I Like It In Duluth,” which has regularly been on the Fish Heads’ playlists.

Despite their involvement with the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association since the 1980s, their music has also expanded beyond traditional bluegrass to include classic rock and roll, gospel, folk and Americana genres.

Eventually these two mainstays took the name Fish Heads, a name that reflects Mike and Kim’s shared love of fishing the fresh lakes, rivers and streams in the Northland. Their boat, named Sea Flat, extended their musical reach along the shores of Lake Superior, all the way to Isle Royale. Not to mention facilitating their fishing exploits!

One of the musicians who has played as a member of Fish Heads since 2012 is Paul Jones, a multi-instrumentalist. This includes the pedal steel guitar, which adds depth and soul to their sound.

When Paul moved to Duluth from Walker, Minn., he connected with Kim and Mike through the bluegrass community. He said that initially they had wanted him to play banjo and/or dobro, replacing a departing member of the group. But when he heard the two of them sing on a recording, he thought a pedal steel would better suit their voices and music. He said he’s met many musicians through them these past 14 years and has had a lot of fun playing with them.

Mike and Kim have also used their passion for music as a way of doing good in the world. Back when Amazing Grace in the DeWitt-Seitz building was a popular music venue as well as a bakery, Kim played with Warm Women of the North (and their hot men) raising money and awareness for breast cancer research. They often participate in benefit concerts for worthy causes such as the Cabin Fever Reliever fundraiser for KTWH community radio in Two Harbors.

Fish Heads at the KTWH benefit in March 2025.

When COVID shut down public performances, Mike and Kim began online performances called “The Bunker Sessions” from the basement of their home in Gary. This has provided them with international exposure and consequently many new loyal fans. Rather than accepting tips they have directed donations to the Northern Lakes Food Bank, raising the substantial amount of $11,000 to date!

The Fish Heads have opened for Nitty Gritty Dirt Band at DECC and for Charlie Daniels on the Bayfront stage and played Big Top Chautauqua as well. The band has played many outdoor concerts, with regular appearances at Chester Bowl, Lincoln Park, the Mesaba Co-op Park at midsummer, in addition to weddings, nursing homes and private parties.

Fish Heads at Lincoln Park.

Their annual Helga and Spike holiday bash they’ve held for the past decade has been a delight for many musicians and music lovers alike.

However, their final one was held this past December because the Monsons are selling their home in Gary. They are lightening their load and downsizing in preparation for their impending retirement from most music gigs. This means selling most of their musical instruments and equipment (amplifiers, microphones, cords, etc.) along with personal belongings.

Kim explained that hauling equipment around, especially in winter, is difficult for musicians with aging bodies

When reflecting on the music scene in Duluth, Kim said it has become saturated, such that it’s difficult for musicians to earn a livelihood solely from their music. She’s observed that many young musicians are living hippie lifestyles and basically playing for tips.

The Monsons recognize they have been slowing down and acknowledge that it’s time to make way for another, younger generation to make the scene. Their longtime fans will undoubtedly miss them playing regularly throughout the Northland and, at the same time, wish them well in their years ahead together.

Note: you can read more about the Fish Heads in an article by Pam Dowell in the Sept. 26, 2024, issue of the Reader (available online at duluthreader.com).

UPCOMING: Put the upcoming Winter Dance Party at Clyde Iron on your calendar: Sunday, Jan. 25. It’s a fundraiser for the Armory Arts and Music Center and will also be an opportunity to honor our late friend and musician Todd Eckart. For more information see dulutharmory.org or call 218-464-0227. See you there!