On the origins of the band Sweet Wine:

The story of the band is also the story of two rival cities five miles apart on the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. The primary employment of the population was open pit iron ore mining by U.S. Steel, Jones and Laughlin, and Eveleth taconite. Eveleth and Virginia were longtime sports rivals in football and especially hockey. The men of the mines worked hard and drank hard in the numerous bars that lined the main streets of both cities. The film North Country with Charlize Theron is a good example of what the mining life was like. In the mid to late sixties, there wasn't alot for the youth to do except hang out on Virginia's main drag. It was like a scene from American Grafitti with kids in cars going up and down the street. Two men started production companies to cash in on the rock and roll phenomena started by the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, when kids across America picked up guitars and drums.

They started holding teen dances at the local National Guard armories, bringing in bands from the twin cites. As wanna-be rockers we had the great chance to see The Litter, Crow, The Jokers Wild, The Unbelievable Uglies as well as our own Range bands, The Electras from Ely, Virginia's own Tomorrow's Children and The Small Society. Understand for those of us not athletically inclined and chose to pick up an instrument, the musical community in these two small cities merged in mutual friendship, unlike the hockey games that could end up in fist fights among our classmates. Some even carried their rivalries to the teen dances where it wasn't unusual to see a fight break out in the middle of kids dancing.

So, back to Sweet Wine. I met bassist John "Ozzie" Oberstar from mutual friends in Eveleth. As I said, it was a small group of musicians. We both came from a psychedelic band we called The Cranberry Armada. We had the Nehru suits, scarves, beads and bell-bottoms. The group disolved following the death of lead guitarist Mike Doyle in a car accident. The guys in the band were all two years older than myself, I sang and nobody else wanted to! So, we heard of this guy Semi in Virginia and had the chance to go over to meet some of the local musicians. He was a guitar player and had a band of his own. I was expecting with a name like Semi to meet a large individual. Come to find out his last name was Simetkoski, hence shortened to Semi. He was about 5'8 and very charismatic. Through him I made the acquaintance of one of my very best friends from my youth, Michael "Meatball" Sachetti, an excellent drummer. The Iron Range was settled by immigrants to the US and Italians, Slovaks, Finns, and Croatians worked side by side.

So to this mix came a new kid in town, Cal Haluptzok. His family came from the upper peninsula town of Marquette, Michigan. His father's business had relocated to Virginia hence the move. Cal was an outstanding guitarist and brought with him his love of Eric Clapton as well as the Detroit scene bands we hadn't heard of. Like The MC5, Savage Grace, SRC, The Amboy Dukes and The Stooges. We took the name Sweet Wine from the song on Cream's first album. Our song list consisted of a mash-up of tunes from heavy blues to early punk like the 5. We only could play teen dances as none of us were old enough to get into bars, though we'd sneak some beers or smoke a joint sometimes before playing.

"Semi" decided he wanted to be our manager and encouraged us to make a record he could use for promotion. So Cal and I wrote a couple tunes, we all contributed to the lyrics sitting on Semi's couch, and off we went to Sound 80 studios in Minneapolis. The record was done in a four hour session with the vocal by me being the only overdub. The track was all cut live in one pass with Cal's guitar solos on the spot. A black Gibson Les Paul Custom into a Fender Super Reverb. After some time of playing teen dances, the group just disintegrated from no forward progress. Meatball and I went on to form Hooke with another friend Mike Lemieux and we did the trio thing playing songs by Cream, The James Gang, Hendrix, and Black Sabbath, believe it or not. One of the strangest memories I have is playing "War Pigs" at a local ski resort in the evening for the skiers' apres' ski. Thanks to Face Book, I've been able to stay in contact with Mike, Ozz, and Semi. What happened to Cal no one seems to know. I had heard he had a nervous breakdown and had to be hospitalized, though that may just be rumor. I hope he's still playing, he was brilliant.

Mike Sacchetti -

When and where were you born?

I was born in Virginia, MN in April of 1954.

Are you guys originally from Virginia, Minnesota?

I was born and raised in Virginia.

When did you first begin playing music and what was it that initially sparked your interest and passion?

I was friends in Jr High school with a couple of guys who were in a little garage band. I’m not sure who gave me the nickname “Meatball”, but it has stuck with me throughout my younger days. One of the members of this band was a guy named Semi. He was about 3 years older than my friends and I, but quickly became a good friend. I hung around with them until the band broke up shortly after. Through Semi, I met a guy named Dave Maki who was in a band in a neighboring town of Eveleth. It is about 5 miles from Virginia, MN. Dave’s band was called The Cranberry Armada. Dave and I quickly became friends and I started hanging around with him and also the rest of his band. I guess you could say I kind of became their “Roadie”. Mind you, I never played any musical instrument, I was just intrigued by all the following the band acquired. With the tragic accident of the death of Mike Doyle, the band dissolved, and then drummer Jimmy Lagges, decided to call it quits and sell his drum set. Having a little cash on hand, I bought the set and brought it home, not knowing a thing about playing drums. I practiced a little bit, and surprisingly, Dave asked if I wanted to play with the rest of the band. Needless to say I had to learn how quickly! I feel that I became a decent drummer for the time that I played. The Sweet Wine record I believe was recorded only a few months after I started playing.

What was growing up like for you? Do you have any siblings?

I was just a typical kid growing up in Northern MN. Hunting, fishing, hanging out at the outdoor skating rinks, bowling alleys, etc. The band idea was something totally out of the ordinary, and just became very intriguing. I am one of 4 siblings, 2 brothers (one deceased) and 1 sister.

Can you tell me about the local music in your community? What groups made a heavy impression on you at the time whether they were local, or more of a larger act?

There were quite a few local garage bands back then which kind of sparked my interest. Most really never amounted to much, but we were still having fun. I feel that the 2 bands that Dave and I were in became pretty popular in the area, Hooke more so than Sweet Wine. Two other bands that I know did very well up here were, The Small Society and Tomorrows Children.

Where would you go to see shows and who were among some of the first bands you saw live?

Other than local bands playing at the community parks and armories, I really didn’t see many shows. There were very few big name groups that made it up to this area, and I never really traveled too far to see them. The biggest names that I remember seeing here were the “Unbelievable Uglies”, “Crow”, “Jokers Wild”.

How did you guys initially meet and what commonalities brought you guys together in those early days?

I met Dave through Bill Semitkosky, and became almost instant friends, and for the next 4 years of my short drumming career we were virtually inseparable. I would say we were as close to being “brothers” as possible!

You mentioned in our correspondence that you and David were in a group called ‘Hooke’. Can you guys tell me about that outfit and the memories of how that all came to be? Was this prior to Sweet Wine forming, or did this all take place afterwards?

After the breakup of “Sweet Wine”, Dave and I started “Hooke” along with bass player Mike Lemieux. The band became pretty popular, and seems like we were playing 3 to 4 times a week; I was still in high school.

Where would you guys rehearse and what was the writing process for the band like?

We would switch off between Dave’s parents basement and my parents basement. I can still remember my parents complaining about the pictures falling off of the walls upstairs! We really didn’t do a lot of writing, other than the Sweet Wine record. With Hooke we covered pop songs from 1970-1971, as well as songs by groups that we really liked such as James Gang, Cream, The Beatles, Led Zepplin, Jeff Beck Group, Buffalo Springfield, Grand Funk Railroad, etc.

What was the overall vision you had for the group Honestly?

I just wanted to play, to enjoy this while it lasted. I knew deep down that this wasn’t going to be the financial future for the rest of my life, and I think the rest of the band members had bigger plans. Don’t get me wrong, I loved playing. There was this following and admiration for the band that was almost like an adrenaline rush. Unfortunately with the differences in ideas as for the bands future, we did disband, I think in late 1971. I graduated from High School in spring of 1972. We put a little group of classmates together and played for our senior class banquet, and I sold my drum set 2 days later. I haven’t picked up a drumstick since. Although I can easily say that I have missed it almost everyday since. Hard to believe how fast 50 years goes by!

What inspired you within, as well as outside of music and what did you want to bring to the table when it came time to start your very own bands? When and where was the very first Sweet Wine show?

I don’t quite remember when it was exactly, I’m thinking it was summer of 1968. We played in a little converted church in Cook, Mn. I remember being so nervous that I was nauseous. I had never played in front of people before.

With the band having only released a single that included two tracks, what would those set-lists consist of during that time? How did the deal with the Arcaide label come about and how did that all go down?

I really am not sure where the “Arcaide” label idea came from.

“Things You Told Me / Bringing Me Back Home’. (Arcaide : Circa 1970)

Where was the studio located?

The songs were recorded at Sound 80 Studios in Minneapolis, MN.

How long from start to finish, did it take to record ‘’Things You Told Me’ and ‘Bringing Me Back Home’? I think it took us 4 hours. What was the process of writing those tunes?

Basically hanging together at a group meeting!

Who was the label head and engineer/producer?

I thought the person’s name was Zimmerman at Sound 80 studios, but am not sure.

Can you tell me what that experience was like for you guys?

I was pretty young, probably ninth or tenth grade in High School. To me this was huge.

Tell me about the outfit Hooke. Was this prior to forming Sweet Wine, or did it take place afterwards?

Hooke was shortly after the breakup of Sweet Wine.

Did you guys play any gigs, or make it into the studio to record any material?

I think Hooke probably played more gigs, but never took the time to record anything.

What initially led to that decision. Do you still play music these days Mike? What other passions and interests have you delved in over the years?

Unfortunately, I sold my drums shortly after graduating High School. I have always had a pretty good mechanical aptitude, and I guess you could say I became kind of a gear-head. I met my wife, the summer of 1971, and got married in 1973. We will be celebrating our 49th year of marriage soon.

How did the contact from Permanent Records and Riding Easy come about when they showed interest in putting one of the Sweet Wine tunes on one of their ‘Brown Acid’ volumes?

To be honest Dakota, until you brought it up I had no idea that it had happened. I guess it is kind of exciting to hear yourself playing on an album like this.

Dakota Brown

David Maki & Mike Sacchetti - Sweet Wine (Part Two)

Jim Roos - Zipper

David Maki & Mike Sacchetti - Sweet Wine (Part One)