The Hopefuls: Eight Years Later
In writing about The Hopefuls I knew that I was documenting an incomplete story. As long as Erik Appelwick, Eric Fawcett, Darren Jackson, and John Hermanson keep making music, there’ll be more to tell. In that spirit, I’ve decided to continue to follow and share their ongoing adventures through updates every two years.
It’s been eight years since I sent The Hopefuls: Chasing a Rock ‘n’ Roll Dream in the Minnesota Music Scene off to the publisher, so it's time again for an update. This one covers mid-2024 to September 2026.
Previous Updates:
Appelwick
These have been amazing times for Erik Appelwick / Vicious Vicious fans. 2025 saw the release of I Think We've Got a Situation. Besides being a crackerjack album, it also got a vinyl release, marking the first time Appelwick has put out a physical album since Tropical Depression in 2014.
Speaking of Tropical Depression: What initially appeared to be a permanent new moniker, and then became a two-album interlude between Vicious Vicious releases is now an official part of the Vicious Vicious ouvre. On streaming services, you'll find a Vicious Vicious album called Tropical Depression that combines both the 2014 self-titled and 2016 follow-up, Islands.
Appelwick continued to spoil us with an ambient album called Robot Dreams in Pastel that appeared in late 2025, and is now set to release another full-length, the 16-track You and I Belong, in November 2026.
Fawcett
While continuing his work as a family therapist, Eric Fawcett unexpectedly reunited with his Spymob bandmates and began writing and recording new music. It all came about when the band's group chat began discussing how nice it would be to make music together again. Singer/songwriter John Ostby had sold his piano and hadn't written a song in many years. But he was inspired by his bandmates' enthusiasm, and started writing again. And the songs poured out. From there, it snowballed. “When Spymob disbanded in 2005, it wasn’t because we no longer loved making music together. It was because we couldn’t afford to. We were busy starting families and raising children, and we were fed up with the capriciousness of record labels,” Fawcett says in the album's press release. “When the idea came up to record again 20 years later, not only was the inspiration still there, but technology had evolved in a way that allowed us to produce the entire album both independently and long-distance, with John and I in the Twin Cities and Brent in Los Angeles.”
The fruit of their labor is a stunning record called Another Night. For me it combines of all the iterations of Spymob into something better than they've ever been before. It has the sharp lyricism and relaxed air of Townhouse Stereo, the hooks and pop sensibilities of Sitting Around Keeping Score, and the open-heartedness of Memphis. The only casualty of the whole affair is that bassist Christian Twigg is no longer with the band. Apparently he began working on the sessions for Another Night, but there was some sort of falling out that led to his departure. The good news, however, is that the band are already deep into recording a follow-up album.
Johnny
With Storyhill still inactive, John Hermanson has focused on Christian music in performances with musicians Maren Haynes Marchesini and Megan Makeever. This has taken him on brief "tours" in Maryland, Washington, and Minnesota. He continues to make his home in Bozeman, Montana.
Darren
Darren has been uncharacteristically quiet. He hasn't released any new music since 2024's Praegustator, nor has he done much in the way of live performances. The only peep from Kid Dakota, in fact, is their second album, 2004's The West is the Future being released on vinyl by Graveface Records in the summer of 2026. This means every Kid Dakota record has now had a vinyl edition, which warms my collector's heart. Darren continues to teach music, and is now working for St. Paul Public Schools.
Honorary Hopefuls
In early 2025 we lost Hopefuls bassist Heath Henjum much too soon. I took some time to go back into the interview I did with him back in 2015, and to tell the full story of his life in music. It really gave me a deeper appreciation for what he brought to the bands he played with. You can read it here.
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