Twin Cities musicians remember legendary bassist Heath Henjum
by Reed Fischer
February 27, 2025
Heath Henjum, a steadfast member of several Twin Cities rock groups, has died. Over the past three decades, he played with the Hopefuls, the Beatifics, Vicious Vicious, Little Man, and several other groups.
On Sunday, Henjum’s sister Irene Henjum shared the news of his passing on Facebook, stating “I am going to miss you baby brother. Rest in Peace.” In the days since, many other former bandmates and friends followed with tributes and remembrances of the man often nicknamed “The Legend.” He died on Friday, Feb. 21, at the age of 55, according to a funeral home obituary notice.
Heath Laurence Henjum was born on June 19, 1969, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He graduated from O’Gorman High School in Sioux Falls in 1987. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, he studied political science, mathematics, and computer science while earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.
While working at The Record Shop in Sioux Falls, The Current host Bill DeVille crossed paths with Henjum regularly. “I was in my 20s and he was still in high school,” DeVille says. “Like many high school kids, he hung out a lot and we talked music.” Already a music nut and great bass player, Henjum played in Sioux Falls bands including Flag With Hank (1991’s Weaselroni) and Violet (1993’s Global Village and 1996’s Rejoice in the Frustration). The latter was Sioux Falls’ most popular band making original music, according to DeVille and others. “Heath was one of the nicest people you’d ever meet,” he says.
Henjum and future bandmate Erik Appelwick met in 1993. “[Heath] had earned the nickname ‘Legend’ because, as the legend goes, he could grow a full beard during an after-bar party,” Appelwick says.
Appelwick remembers seeing Violet perform at Leo’s Lounge in Vermillion. “Several of my friends and I would head out for a night of pounding beers and listening,” he says. “Invariably, an older, if not ancient, gentleman in a trucker hat and overalls named ‘Crazy’ Louie would hit the dance floor and it was a perfectly weird glimpse of small-town life. Heath’s bass playing was amazing, and the band as a whole was a lot of fun to watch.” Appelwick’s band the Harvesters later opened for Violet in Sioux Falls at the now-demolished Pomp Room.
By the late ’90s, Henjum had relocated to the Twin Cities, and was playing bass with local roots rock act the Sycamores. Singer Frank Randall called him an “incredibly gifted musician and an integral part of our journey as a band” in a tribute online. Henjum’s contributions are part of the band’s 1999 album Realizer.
Henjum later joined the Minneapolis psych-rock trio Little Man, and is featured on their 2004 album Big Rock. “Heath was tremendously talented on bass and was capable of playing many styles with ease, and naturally,” says Little Man frontman Chris Perricelli. Of their collaborations, Perricelli characterizes Henjum as supportive, intuitive, kind, approachable, and just “on it.” “There is a certain feeling and connection when you look into the eyes of your bandmate when you're performing a song,” Perricelli says. “Heath's big grin was felt, and I feel that now when I think about those moments playing music together. … Everybody wanted Heath in their band. He was in a lot of bands, sometimes all at the same time. He was busy.”
The many bands that Henjum contributed to in the mid-2000s included the Beatifics, Betty Drake, and indie-pop group the Hopefuls (formerly the Olympic Hopefuls, formerly Camaro). The tracksuit-clad Hopefuls — the name was shortened for copyright reasons — released The Fuses Refuse to Burn in 2005 and Now Playing at the One Seat Theater in 2008. Erik Appelwick, a guitarist and vocalist in the group, remembers a Hopefuls’ two-week tour of the Midwest and Atlantic states that “for all intents and purposes, was a fairly abysmal time.”
More on The Hopefuls
“Heath and I always had great fun, though,” Appelwick says. “We were a lot alike in some regards. Generally soft-spoken and eager to find the humor, wherever it might be. I felt lucky because I was able to share a band with a guy who, ten years earlier, was one of my local music heroes.”
Aside from garnering significant play on The Current, the Hopefuls’ song “Let’s Go!” appeared in The O.C. and Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. In 2006, Minnesota Public Radio filmed the band performing “Pretty Big Mouth” at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul.
Frontman Darren Jackson remembers meeting Henjum for the first time at the band’s first photo shoot. “At the time, I knew very little about Heath’s other musical accomplishments, but [Erik Appelwick] vouched for him and that was good enough for me,” Jackson says. “Heath quickly learned the songs and his playing and energy made the band exciting. Over the next five years we played a lot of shows together, not only in the Hopefuls, but also in Vicious Vicious, Alva Star, and my other band, Kid Dakota. We were fortunate to have had a lot of opportunities and we made a lot of memories together.”
Around 2006, Appelwick enlisted Henjum to play bass in Vicious Vicious along with a lineup featuring JG Everest, Martin Dosh, Adrian Suarez and Nick Tveitbakk. “This would’ve been the lineup that did the Parade album we released in 2007,” he says. “His bass playing on that album was impeccably tasty and as always, he was a total pro tracking his parts for that album.”
After the Hopefuls disbanded in 2010, Henjum moved along to play with St. Paul-based alt-country band Pill Hill and Minneapolis alt-rockers Buffalo Sleeper. “He was part of the music scene community family tree that had many offshoots from his branch in it all,” says Perricelli.
Jackson left the Twin Cities in 2010, but kept in touch with Henjum when he visited over the years. “Upon any meeting, I would sing him a silly little jingle that I made for him – ‘talkin’ ‘bout the legend of sweet ol’ Heath’,” he says. In 2024, Jackson wanted to form a Merle Haggard tribute band, Misery and Gin. Henjum was recruited to play bass. “He was always the first person I thought of when I needed a bass player,” Jackson says. “We never played any shows, as life got in the way, but we still really enjoyed playing those old country songs together.”
Ever since that first Olympic Hopefuls tour Henjum had dealt with extreme back pain, according to Appelwick. In their last conversation, in August of 2024, the old bandmates discussed ideas for future music projects or just goofing off together. Henjum told Appelwick that he wanted to play music, but “his back pain was so debilitating that he couldn’t even hold the guitar.”
In addition to the long-ago adventures that earned Henjum his “Legend” nickname, Jackson says his passion for music was equally legendary: “He was always playing with some band, recording something with his sons, or finding some new piece of gear to purchase.”
“The last thing I said to him on the phone was to get whatever surgery he needed to make himself whole again,” Appelwick says. “I don’t know what transpired in his life between last August and today. All I can say is that Heath was a sweet, smart, gentle, complex guy with a big heart and we all lost a Legend.”
“We all loved Heath,” says Perricelli.
“When someone dies unexpectedly there’s no closure, I want to relive those memories we made together just one more time,” Jackson says. “I know a lot of people feel my pain as Heath touched so many people in the Twin Cities music community. I will miss him so dearly. Godspeed, Legend.”
Henjum leaves behind sons Henry and Everett Henjum (mother: Jennifer Schweitzer), and Jeff McGuire (mother: Kathy Godfrey), as well as grandsons Frankie and Teddy McGuire.
A memorial service will be held at Nicollet Island Pavillion in Minneapolis on Saturday, April 12. Visitation will be at 1 p.m., memorial ceremony begins at 2 p.m. with a musical tribute to follow. In lieu of flowers, suggested donations can go to Friends of the Boundary Waters.
