By Sarah CR Clark
Readers of the Park Bugle might very well know Mike Andrade and Glen Wadie from their work behind the meat counter at Tim & Tom’s Speedy Market in St. Anthony Park.
Perhaps lesser known is that the two butchers make up 50% of the rock-n-roll band The Grande Machine. (Grande is pronounced ‘grand.’)
Wadie described The Grande Machine’s sound as “dumb, loud rock-n-roll.” Wadie plays guitar and sings while Andrade rocks the bass.
There are two other band members: Matt Potts on guitar and Walter Baumann on drums. The four have played together for eight years and have released three albums.
Andrade and Wadie have worked together in a variety of locations. Before coming to Speedy, they were employed at O’Gara’s Bar and Grill (which closed in 2018, except for its presence at the Minnesota State Fair) and before that the two worked at Guitar Center in Roseville.
Wadie began working at Speedy in 2018, “It was right after O’Gara’s closed and about the time Tim (Faacks) was floating the idea of retiring,” Wadie said. “So it was kind of a lucky accident.”
Andrade started working at Speedy six months later, in the spring of 2019.
According to Andrade, 90% of what The Grande Machine plays is original music, written by various members of the band. Wadie called the band’s creative process a collective effort.
“A lot of times what happens is that our other guitar player will show up and he’ll share one or two parts of a new song and we’ll all start playing with that, adding to it and changing it together,” Andrade said. “Still, Glen writes most of our lyrics.”
Occasionally The Grande Machine will play songs by other artists, though usually they’re lesser known. “Any covers that we play, you wouldn’t necessarily know they’re covers. Except for [Prince’s] “Little Red Corvette,” Wadie said.
When asked for their favorite summertime music vibes, Andrade chose “old emo rock” and recalled seeing Papa Roach perform in the spring. “It was actually fantastic,” he said.
Wadie also plays in a second band called My Famous Mistake. He is a self-described Bruce Springsteen fan and, in the summer especially, he loves to listen to anything that reminds him of being a teenager. “That’s when I bust out all the old 90’s hip-hop and R&B kind of stuff, like Boyz II Men.”
As for products from behind Speedy’s butcher counter, Wadie said that butter steaks are his favorite. And, not only is Speedy’s chorizo verde Andrade’s favorite, it’s his own recipe.
Alas, The Grande Machine doesn’t have any songs about the art of butchery. Andrade’s favorite song by the band is a garage rock piece about unrequited love called “Rock and Roll Mags.” Wadie’s favorite is the Ramones-esque “All Night Long (With the Radio On).”
The Grande Machine’s music (as well as My Famous Mistake’s) can be found on streaming platforms like Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Wadie noted, “We like it best if people download music from Bandcamp, because Bandcamp takes a very small revenue share whereas all the other big services take a bigger cut.”
For readers looking for live music this summer, The Grande Machine invites you to a show they’re playing on Aug. 15 at Heritage Days in St. Paul Park.
Sarah CR Clark lives in St. Anthony Park and is a regular freelance writer for the Bugle.
Photo cutline: Mike Andrade and Glen Wadie are not only butchers at Tim & Tom’s Speedy Market, but also musicians in rock band The Grande Machine. Photo by Sarah CR Clark.
