The Remainders R5

The Feb. 25 benefit for the Hunger Task Force of La Crosse at Fox Hollow Banquet Hall will give the many fans of the Remainders a chance to share their love of classic rock while providing much-needed funds for a worthy cause.

The Remainders don’t play out all that often — they average about a gig per month — but when they do play they thoroughly enjoy themselves. And because they draw large, enthusiastic crowds, they end up doing three to five benefits per year.

“With our day jobs, it’s hard for us to practice more than once a month,” explained vocalist and guitarist Andy Temte. “This is 100 percent a hobby for me, so once it becomes a job, I’m done. It’s a great release and it helps keep your sanity.”

Lest anyone think The Remainders are a bunch of amateurs, all its members have a strong background in rock and roll and most have extensive experience in other bands. Temte, for example has been in rock bands since he was 14.

Long before that, he was used to being on stage. He performed in stage productions at Viterbo University in La Crosse at the age of 9 and was a charter member of the La Crosse Boychoir by age 10.

Lead guitarist Kurt Schuldes got in his first rock band at age 16. He played in various bands for the next nine years, then took an extended hiatus from music until 2003 when The Remainders were formed to play what was supposed to be one gig — the 25th reunion of La Crosse Central High School’s Class of 1978. Schuldes, bassist Ed Overholt (an oncologist at Gunderson Lutheran) and Temte’s older sister, Beth, who was the vocalist that night, were also in that class.

Until he joined The Remainders, Schuldes figured he was out of music for good. “I’d just moved back to La Crosse from Florida and I kind of thought my playing days were over,” he said.

Meanwhile, that one gig has now stretched out to nine years of performances (Temte took over the vocalist duties from his sister in 2004). Befitting a group that is mostly 50-somethings, The Remainders don’t play music younger than 20 years old. Their music falls squarely under the heading of classic rock and — for once a month anyway — they get to play classic rock star and that’s seems to be working out just fine.

Schuldes seems particularly appreciative of the chance to get back out on stage again.

“It’s kind of hard to explain,” he said, “but you’ve have these dreams of playing with the equipment and the guitars, getting a certain kind of tone and sustain. Then (on stage) you kind of forget how old you are — in my mind I could be 17 again.”

Both Schuldes and Temte work at Kaplan Schweser in La Crosse and their wives help organize local fundraisers. Temte gives his wife, Linda, much of the credit for the success of those fundraisers. “She makes it happen behind the scenes,” he said, “and I get to play rock star.”

Temte, who lives in the town of Onalaska, is proud to say that a fundraiser like last year’s “Rockin’ the Docks” raised more than $40,000 for the YMCA. The money raised for worthy causes makes his stints on stage all that much more gratifying.

“It’s a combination of the thrill of rock ’n’ roll and being able to give back to the community that makes it all so compelling for me,” Temte said. - La Crosse Tribune

Voted best Rock Band and Band or Singer in the 2014 Best of La Crosse County survey. - La Crosse Convention and Visitors Bureau

In Search Of...The Remainders!
Local Band is Fan Favorite at Oktoberfest
Author: Jennifer Livingston, jlivingston@wkbt.com
Published On: Sep 28 2012 09:22:57 AM CDT Updated On: Sep 28 2012 09:22:52 AM CDT
Print


LA CROSSE, Wis. -
Dr. Andy Temte is president of Kaplan professional. "Kaplan is an education company. In 1999 we had four employees, now we have a little more than 400 in La Crosse."

At first glance you might form an impression about this business man in the corner office, but you should never judge a book by it's cover.

One floor down from Andy's office, you'll find Kurt Shuldes. "I'm a product manager for the study materials we do here. This is my day job. It pays the bills."

For the past 20 years, Ed Overholdt has been an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor at Gundersen Lutheran in La Crosse. But away from work Dr. Overholt trades in medical instruments for an instrument of another kind.

And Steve Duff is a third generation heating and air condition technician. "I'm just kind of doing this until I figure out what I want to do in life." And they key, might just be in the keys.

These four men, from all different walks of life, make up the very popular band the Remainders. The fifth member, drummer Mark Kennedy is a true rock-n-roller at heart and a little tough to track down.

They've played some of the biggest venues in the state. "The highlight's of our career have been playing at Summerfest in Milwaukee."

"Some of the Oktoberfest gigs. But I do have to say the Freedom Fest is the thing we look the most forward to every year because you get to open for some wonderful national acts. This last year playing with Steve Miller Band and Foreigner. The previous year was REO Speedwagon and 3 Dog Night."

They all came from musical backgrounds. "In choirs, show choir, boy choir." "Music has always been an important part of my life."

But life took most of them in different directions while music took a back seat.

Fullscreen
In Search Of...The Remainders!
ShareEmbed00:0000:00
Until, "It was our 25th reunion."

Kurt wanted to get a band together to play, "for one gig."

"Right away I knew I wanted Ed in the band because I knew he played bass."

"We got together with Beth Temte - Andy's older sister. who was in our class.."

Then Steve and Mark came on board. "This was supposed to be a one time show. It was so much fun that we didn't want to let it die out."

Beth Temte wasn't available long term but luckily her little brother was. And in 2003, The Remainders were born.

"I typically tell people the 'Leftovers' were taken, 'Midlife Crisis' was take. And the 'Remainders' was all we had left."

"Everyone needs the right amount of work/life balance. If you have too much life and not enough work - that's bad. If you have too much work and not enough life, that's bad as well."

"This career, doing what I do, pretty much every other day of the week has a moderate amount of stress involved in it. But for those four hours that we're playing, it's real therapy for me."

"It's really fun to be able to finally live this dream."

And it's a dream they won't let go of anytime soon. "I'd love to do this until I get even more grey and less hair."

"I know we've got quite a few good gigs left in us."

"Whenever someone decides they've had enough. I'm in it for the long haul."

"I'd say I've got at least five more years in me. Maybe more. Who knows. It's all about finding that right exit time. I'd love to go out on top." - News 8000

There’s a well-known adage that states, “Behind every
good man, there’s a good woman”—and for that, there’s a good
reason. Ask almost any successful man how he achieved results, and
often he’ll attribute his success to having a partner who offered solid
support, shared his vision and encouraged him to take risks. Linda
Temte, who’s been a driving force behind many successful local
fundraisers, found that support in her husband, Andy, who knows
best how to help when a fundraiser is being planned. “He just steps
out of the way,” she laughs.
Knowing when you’re needed
Andy Temte, president of Kaplan Professional Education in La
Crosse and lead singer and player guitar player for The Remainders,
a locally recognized classic rock cover band made up entirely of La
Crosse natives, is quick to agree. “It’s true; I get out of the way,” he
says. “When she’s in her zone, Linda and her team turn into a welloiled
juggernaut machine.”
This machine, which is composed of Linda’s sister, Donna Flower,
and friends Gina Gerrard and Sue LaCrosse, has been coordinating
charitable events together long enough for Linda to consider what
she and this group of women do as a “team sport.” “What started
out years ago as a simple invitation to help out with a fundraiser has
turned into a venture that takes a collaborative effort to be a success,” she says, noting that she and her team have developed an effective
formula for coordinating events that works every time. “We get
together and review what needs to get done,” she says. “Then a couple
of months before the event, we start doing what we’ve done before
and the momentum kind of builds. We have to make phone calls,
get letters out, gather auction items, print off sheets, get PowerPoints
together and secure entertainment. When it’s crunch time, we take
over the entire house.”
“It’s a good four-month-long process,” adds Andy, who says his wife
tends to downplay the time and effort it takes for her team to organize
an event, as compared to the effort it takes for The Remainders to
play for the same fundraiser. “Sometimes we (The Remainders) get all
the credit because we’re up on stage and visible, when it’s Linda and
her team that has done all the work,” he says. “Linda has incredible
fundraising skills, but she doesn’t like the attention.”
“Andy likes to be in the limelight, whereas I like the warm,
fuzzy feeling that comes with knowing that I’m doing something
to contribute,” says Linda. “So when I was helping with one of my
first fundraisers and looking for ideas I thought, ‘Why don’t we just
include the band?’” - Coulee Region Women's Magazine