(no music) (soft music) - [Presenter] On this episode of "Postcards" - My whole thing has always been like, make 'em cry.

If you can make 'em cry, you're doing a good job.

Like if you make 'em laugh so hard they cry, you're doing a good job.

If you make 'em feel so hard, they cry.

You're doing a good job, you know?

- I told my daughter about it and she said, "Mom, you have to own a coffee shop."

So without knowing a thing about coffee, here I am.

(bright music) - [Presenter] "Postcards" is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the Citizens of Minnesota.

Additional support provided by: Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen on behalf of Shalom Hill Farms, a retreat and conference center in a prairie setting near Wyndham, Minnesota.

On the web at shalomhillfarm.org.

Alexandria Minnesota, a year-round destination with hundreds of lakes, trails, and attractions for memorable vacations and events.

More information at explorealex.com.

A better future starts now.

West Central Initiative empowers communities with resources, funding, and support for a thriving region.

More at wcif.org.

- And then I set this in the baby seat.

Beautiful.

And there's no smoking in the car.

The kids ride in there, you know?

And I like 'em.

Yeah, let's see here.

My library, local files.

Boom.

Oh, this is more... A more amped up version of that "Start Over" song that I played earlier.

♪ Would you tell me that I need to stay ♪ ♪ Sunshine - I made this!

(laughs) ♪ No we won't stay away ♪ Sure is simple rise ♪ So goes another day - [Person] I should probably have my seatbelt on, huh?

♪ Wake up, have another day ♪ Pack and run away ♪ Leave the car, leave a note ♪ Grab your bag and let's catch the train ♪ ♪ We'll start over, we'll start a band ♪ ♪ We'll change our hair, we'll change our name ♪ - I'm Brice.

I... I'm, should I say my whole name?

It feels weird saying my whole name.

(drums playing) My favorite instrument is definitely the drums.

(drums playing) It's so much fun.

Yeah.

Also, I'm a very antsy kind of person, so it works out really well.

Because it's like, here's moving all of my body.

I can kind of just turn my mind off and listen to the song, and the rest knows what to do.

(drums playing) It had to have been eighth grade.

I started drumming for the church.

And I got really good at working with my feet and working with my hands at the same time.

And singing along with the other music that was going on and stuff.

Oh my gosh, this looks super cool!

The VBS here is always incredible.

It's always so- Aw!

I just need to check out in here real quick.

There's a tiny little fireplace in here, Kris.

This is incredible.

Look at that!

Oh.

Big old fish they caught.

If I start going to church again sometime, this is probably where it's gonna be.

Look at this.

It's is a dumb face that I drew on here.

(Brice laughing) I drew that!

This is, this comes from not paying attention at all when we're supposed to be paying attention.

I was really, really good at that.

Me and my brothers were kind of playing in a band and stuff, but then that broke up because they went to college and they had to go off and do their thing.

And so, I got good at playing the guitar.

And then I didn't like how it sounded just by myself.

And so, I kicked it up a notch and brought in a snare drum and found a way to like strum the guitar while doing a drum beat.

But I have dropped it down to a little suitcase that I can sit on and I'm able to play my songs and have a little beat.

If I ever needed to, it would definitely work in a panhandle situation.

I can take that to a street corner and freaking throw my hat down.

Easy peasy!

(guitar strumming) ♪ Shut your mouth, Mr.

Funny man ♪ ♪ We all came to see a show ♪ Keep your breakdown, Mr.

Funny man ♪ ♪ Go on, give a solid joke ♪ Oh yeah ♪ Give a solid joke ♪ Mr.

Funny man ♪ We only want a show ♪ Mr.

Funny man, give us your soul ♪ - So, I... When I was younger, I... Okay.

I was 15 or so.

And... I had a friend, Caleb, who was a lot like me.

And me and him kind of like- We went on a trip down to Colorado and it was a week-long, I think.

It was a good time.

A couple weeks later, I get the news that my friend Caleb had killed himself.

And that really rocked me.

That rocked our whole class.

I remember having a conversation with my dad 'cause he used to work at the school.

He had like called and asked, "Did Caleb kill himself?"

And... Yeah.

You know, and he was like, "Well, God dang, that's like, that's messed up.

He was a kid."

And like, "Don't be doing stuff like that."

Like "That's not okay."

And so... Then, two weeks after that or a month after that, I get the news that my dad killed himself.

And I... That one was pretty rough too.

That one made a little more sense to me.

But it, you know, now I don't have... Dad.

I don't have this guy that I can ask questions to and stuff like that.

And it was like, that was really, that gets really rough.

And as a 15-year-old like it, 'cause he missed everything for me.

You know?

Like he got to watch my brothers graduate, he got to watch them drive their car and stuff.

He missed my oldest brother's wedding.

He missed all of our weddings.

You know, he never got to meet any of his grandkids.

And they're all pretty freaking awesome.

You know?

They're really cool.

I think he would've liked us!

He would've really liked being here, and he missed it!

He missed all of it!

And like, oh.

So that's a BS thing.

(somber music) ♪ I've been looking for you ♪ Where have you gone ♪ I can't hold on much longer ♪ I've been losing my mind ♪ Can't catch my breath ♪ There isn't much left of who I am ♪ ♪ Used to be - So I get inspiration for the stuff that I write with just like what kinda weird complication thoughts I'm struggling with or fighting with.

A lot of my songs are like wrestling with God.

And are kind of like anti-suicide, take care of yourself.

You know, like try and... Try and help yourself 'cause it, you don't really have an option.

Forward is the only direction we got.

'Cause it's a thing that I wrestle with all the time!

It's so easy to get locked up in your head and feeling like nobody cares and nobody like gives a crap about you.

And I just want people to hear that and know that they're not the only ones feeling that and have something that they can kind of relate to and something that'll kind of rock 'em in their head a little bit.

Because I don't, I'm not trying to write little party hits that make people bob their head, I'm trying to write stuff that make you think.

♪ 'Cause here I am just a guy ♪ I'm living, breathing cyanide ♪ And you're breathing in my cyanide ♪ ♪ I can tell you the wrong I've done ♪ ♪ Won't change that you know now ♪ ♪ Won't change what we've become.

♪ ♪ But I pray you put your bet on me ♪ ♪ What we were meant to have is yet to be seen ♪ ♪ Well I'll say ♪ You can give it your life - I kind of spent my whole like early twenties and everything trying to burn all that outta my mind.

(laughs) I ended up like running around to California.

I did it in a very bad way that was not well thought out or organized.

I just kind of disappeared in the middle of the night one night.

And bought the first plane ticket there.

That cost most all of the money that I had.

And I fly into LAX, which spoiler, is not near anything that is what you see in the movies.

You know?

It's like I walked outta LAX and was like, "There is nothing here.

What is this town?

This is not what I thought."

So, I... I like got a cab and they brought me out to Hollywood Boulevard.

The guy was very surprised.

He was like, "You've got no idea where you are, huh."

"Nope, I'm just some idiot kid."

And he was super nice and drove me out there.

And he was like, "Give me like 30 bucks and that'll be fine."

I was like, "Oh, 30 bucks?"

And he is like, "The fare is not 30 bucks, but I can tell you do not have the money to... To pay me the fare."

I ended up doing a little walkabout kind of adventure style like, "Oh wow, what can I do with just a backpack and a guitar?"

You know?

Then I threw my thumb up and this lady picked me up.

And she was like, "Okay, well, what are you doing here kid?"

Like, "You obviously don't belong here."

So, you know, I told her my story and stuff and she got me a little bit of stage time and I got to play for like 30 minutes at the bar that night.

And everybody was buying me drinks and giving me money for running around and stuff.

And I woke up that next morning and she was like, "I've got a train ticket bought for you to go back home."

And then the train ride back home, it was awesome!

And there was a point where I was playing the guitar in the, in like the community car.

And people like the conductor came in and was like, "Okay, people gotta clear out!

Whoever's like kid playing the guitar, you gotta stop 'cause you're making too many people come in here.

So like knock it off."

And that was so cool!

♪ I'm livin' breathin' cyanide ♪ And you're breathin' in my cyanide ♪ - I've had this for... 12 years now.

It's been out to the west coast with me and, and all over.

Everywhere I go, this is where I, the thing I take with me.

It's been down to Arizona.

It's got this dumb little, it says "Play with your heart."

There.

While I was out busking in California.

I was like, "Oh yeah, play with your heart."

My whole thing has always been like, make 'em cry.

If you can make 'em cry, you're doing a good job.

Like if you make 'em laugh so hard they cry, you're doing a good job.

If you make 'em feel so hard, they cry.

You're doing a good job.

You know?

It's the whole spectrum.

♪ Yes I know it's a serious subject ♪ ♪ Try and kick it out your lane ♪ ♪ Yes I know there's more to life than work and weather ♪ ♪ But they're all so caught up in their ways ♪ - One of the things my dad told me, you gotta live for the story.

And he's right!

Nobody wants to talk to somebody who's like, "Oh, what have you been up to?"

"Ah, I've been going to work.

You know?

Just work stuff, whatever."

You know?

Boring!

Where do you go from there?

And so, yeah, he's right.

Live for the story!

You gotta do things that sound exciting.

And yeah, it might be scary at first, but then you start, I don't know, it just becomes like breathing!

♪ Show ♪ Mr.

Funny man, tell us what you know ♪ ♪ Mr.

Funny man, no we'll never let you go ♪ ♪ Mr.

Funny man, give us your soul ♪ ♪ Give us your soul, woah ♪ Oh yeah (Brice chuckles) (no music) (upbeat music) - [Person 1] LuLu Beans is an actual coffee house.

It has probably eight different rooms.

The building that LuLu Beans is in is about a hundred years old.

I just love how unique it is.

All the different little rooms.

- [Person 2] It's just a wonderful little atmosphere.

There's rooms with a fireplace.

- [Person 3] There's just little nooks and crannies all over.

- [Person 4] The decorations here literally looks like my apartment.

So I just love all the plants.

Little vintage, thrifted like charms that are here too.

- [Person 5] It's everybody's home, it's cozy.

It's just a loving environment.

- [Person 6] It's just a wonderful gem in Willmar.

- Then there's an upstairs.

Creaky old steps.

My friend, Cindy, owned this place and she had it up for sale.

And I was one of her regulars.

And I told my daughter about it and she said, "Mom, you have to own a coffee shop."

So, without knowing a thing about coffee, here I am.

I've owned LuLu Beans for close to 20 years now.

(all laughing) You act like you're happy to see her.

And let's say it with you guys.

- The biggest thing I can say about Lula Beans is that... We are a community, and we bring the community together.

And this community has turned itself into a family.

- Oh honey, they're right up there.

And then the couch is upstairs.

- And I just love being here.

I come and play Cribbage here pretty much every day at three o'clock.

- It's a very like, you know, personal-friendly environment.

I love getting to know all the regulars and getting to chat with them.

- I just love the vibe of this place.

There's no other coffee shop in town or surrounding areas like this.

(bright music) I feel like LuLu Beans is a place just to come to relax and meet new people and there's no judgment.

- A big part of what makes this place so popular or so inviting are the people that work here.

- Sometimes we're the best thing in somebody's day.

- I also love that my boss gives me the opportunity to display my work.

(quirky music) - Laure's very eager to support local artists.

So if you walk around LuLu Beans, you'll see lots of artwork.

A lot of it's photography.

- So this is Cat's work and this is Evelyn's work.

Both of them are employees of mine.

(energetic music) Why wouldn't you support an artist?

I always, especially if my employees are artistic, I really want them to get out of their shell and show their stuff.

- The owner, Laure, she just found out through some of the workers here who are my friends and have modeled for me for different projects and things.

Found out that I was a photographer and she wanted to showcase my work here.

- I make these little gnomes.

I make Christmas tree ornaments, those that are hanging in there.

A lot of my photography, this is one of the pictures.

It's a high dynamic resolution picture.

And I have a community wall.

So as an artist community, we're really grateful for Laure.

- These are all the other things that Dennis did.

- I think it's awesome to see people express themselves and have LuLu Beans feature all of these small town artists.

- I repurpose jewelry.

I take vintage, used, broken jewelry and remake it into something new.

And it's probably been about 12 years or so, I think.

Laure has displayed my stuff and she allows me to sell it here.

Which is cool because this is the only place I sell it.

- I think it's cool to be surrounded by art here, because you know, it helps strike conversations about art and it's also like good advertisement for the people that are like local artists, which is really cool as well.

- I've got Darcy's art here, her jewelry.

If you look over here, I also have someone that used to run our open mics.

And they do soaps, origami, and some moisturizers.

I also have a local potter.

It's very cool.

- The art I have on display here.

I really like to like keep it rotating out.

So like with all my most current stuff.

Yeah, and I'd like to just fill as many rooms with art as Laure will let me.

Whenever I'm really excited about a piece, I know I wanna like move it here next.

I think it's really important for artists to like have an opportunity to display their work.

And I love that people can come see it and stuff.

- In this area, this is Bobbi's photography.

- I'm extremely passionate about mental health awareness, body positivity, and pretty much anything that is considered taboo in today's society.

And I just really wanted to show that throughout my work.

- Really cool.

She has some really edgy stuff and I like it.

- There isn't many places in my opinion where a variety of different artists of all different forms of art can showcase their work here as well as like advertise at the same time.

- I do wood lathing.

This is actually made from a Stinger baseball bat.

It's a little Christmas ornament.

She lets me have a little space here for my woodworking.

- Regular?

(upbeat music) - I really like Italian sodas.

It's kind of a kid drink.

And I also just love coffee!

(chuckles) - If I haven't already had a matcha, that's my go-to.

- [Bobbi] Their bakery goods are baked fresh every day.

- Oh gosh.

Kara what do you like about LuLu Beans?

- The cinnamon rolls.

- The cinnamon rolls!

- My favorite thing to eat here, definitely the breakfast croissants.

I usually work the morning shifts, so like that's kind of like my go-to.

- And then for food, I love our breakfast croissants.

- My favorite probably is the breakfast croissants.

- My favorite treat to order at LuLu Beans is the carrot cake muffin.

It's called a muffin, but it's actually like a carrot cake.

And it's filled with wonderful yumminess.

- I'm in love with the pumpkin bar.

I also love peppermint all-year round.

So I'll do like an ice cassidy with a pump of peppermint.

- Their panini sandwiches are great.

They have a breakfast burrito that's to die for.

I like their kicking chicken sandwich.

- This one is my first time trying it.

- Oh, good!

- Normally, I get the kicking chicken but this one is delicious.

- Oh, you went out on a limb.

- Right.

(bright music) People come here to study.

People come here to plan a funeral.

People come here to have a bridal shower.

We've had baby reveals.

- So we started a tradition when they were super little.

Do you remember the first time you got to come?

- Not really.

- No.

We've shared every birthday here since they were in kindergarten!

So each morning before one of their birthdays, they both share January birthdays.

So we would actually end up here every 24th of January and then again on the 29th.

'Cause they couldn't share the same birthday, gosh forbid.

You know, we had to come two different times.

And so we would come before school and they would get to get a giant cinnamon roll.

But we just loved it because they would sit in here and they would take pictures.

And Laure would sometimes surprise them with "Happy Birthday" songs.

And we've been doing it for over 10 years.

(soft music) - It's great for Willmar to have a place like this.

- I love so many of the regulars.

And you know, it makes it fun to even see them in other public places and stuff.

- What I like most about LuLu Beans?

My employees, 'cause I have a very good relationship with a lot of my employees.

And the customers, they make our day.

- You can just kind of relax.

It's fun to see people around that you see.

Every time you come in here, you see some of the same local people, which is kind of cool.

- Yesterday, just specifically someone was like, "Oh, your smile brightens my day."

And I think that kind of goes for everyone that walks in.

We all kind of brighten each other's days with our smile.

- That's what pulls everybody together.

I always wanna stay, so that this is a safe place for everybody.

And nobody feels like they can't be here.

And I really do feel like that's what it is.

(soft music) (Brice strumming the guitar) ♪ There's something bigger going on ♪ ♪ I think you already know ♪ I think things are headed south ♪ ♪ Maybe it's time we get on out ♪ ♪ I think it might be time to go ♪ ♪ They've got you took with misdirection ♪ ♪ Exactly what they're trained to do ♪ ♪ Got you looking over there ♪ So they can take and take from here ♪ ♪ So they make their way to you ♪ ♪ Little bit of propaganda for your ears ♪ ♪ Just another conspiracy you refuse to hear ♪ ♪ You're a lot more fricking useful ♪ ♪ If you just don't fricking care ♪ ♪ So turn off your mind and fall in line ♪ ♪ We'll take them thoughts from here ♪ ♪ Take them thoughts here ♪ We'll take them thoughts from here ♪ ♪ Just think we're destined for better ♪ ♪ But we've been locked up on hold ♪ ♪ The best way to rule a God ♪ Is to convince her that he's not ♪ ♪ They might do as they're told ♪ ♪ Little bit of propaganda for your ears ♪ ♪ Just another conspiracy you refuse to hear ♪ ♪ But you're so much more useful ♪ ♪ If you just don't fricking care ♪ ♪ If you just turn off your mind and fall in line ♪ ♪ Got it from here ♪ Here ♪ Take that thought from here ♪ Yeah heres a totalitarian tip toe ♪ ♪ So you won't know ♪ I'm gonna change the way you think ♪ ♪ We're gonna take it one step at a time ♪ ♪ No, slow it all down ♪ So I can put you to the brink ♪ ♪ And you won't even know until it's much too late ♪ ♪ To grab your phone and enjoy the wait ♪ ♪ Desensitized to everything.

♪ A little bit of propaganda for your ears ♪ ♪ Just another conspiracy youll refuse to hear ♪ ♪ You're a lot more fricking useful ♪ ♪ If you just don't fricking care.

♪ ♪ Turn off your mind, babe fall in line ♪ ♪ We'll take them thoughts from here ♪ ♪ Take them from here ♪ We will take them thoughts from here ♪ ♪ Let's get this one thing clear ♪ ♪ We will take them thoughts from here ♪ (bright music) - [Presenter] "Postcards" is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Additional support provided by: Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen on behalf of Shalom Hill Farms, a retreat and conference center in a prairie setting near Wyndham, Minnesota.

On the web at shalomhillfarm.org.

Alexandria Minnesota, a year-round destination with hundreds of lakes, trails, and attractions for memorable vacations and events.

More information at explorealex.com.

A better future starts now.

West Central Initiative empowers communities with resources, funding, and support for a thriving region.

More at wcif.org.

(bright music)