Pete Berglund

aka: "Uncle Puffy"

Obituary:

Berglund, Peter John of Crystal, MN, passed away unexpectedly on May 4th 2006. Born October 31st 1957. His parents, Robert Berglund and Jeanne Rogers preceded him in death. He was survived by his sisters, Stacy Berglund and Becky Phillips; and his brothers, Paul and Doug Berglund; and his nephew Josh. Pete was passionate in music and was a member of local blues band Armadillo Jump. As "Uncle Puffy," he enthusiastically excelled at harmonica and guitar. He was an amateur magician, played volleyball and enjoyed photography. He worked at Minnesota Technologies and was an integral member and past president of APICS. He was columnist for both their publications. He worked locally and traveled internationally giving motivational business speeches on business, production and marketing. His deep understanding, quick wit, humorous anecdotes and mastery of analogy made him a well respected and a widely sought after speaker. He was respected by his peers, loved by his friends and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

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Pete Berglund

aka: "Uncle Puffy"

Years ago harp player Pete Berglund awoke one afternoon finding himself on the lamb on completely trumped up charges. Eluding Fargo's finest, he eventually landed in Minneapolis and thought "No one will find me here!" Needing to make enough cash to cover his weekly room, he began to blow the harmonica he found in a sock drawer. From that first note he became "Uncle Puffy". Puffy has blown his message across all 10,000 lakes with bands like Helmets Without Heads, The Tone Cats, and The Captain Mayhem We Don't Wanna Pay 'Em Band..

If you are new to Blues music, or like it but never really understood the why and wherefores, here are some very fundamental rules:

1. Most Blues begin with: "Woke up this morning..."
2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line like, "I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town."
3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it.  Then find something that rhymes sort of: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher and she weigh 500 pound"
4. The Blues is not about choice. You stuck in a ditch, you stuck in a ditch...ain't no way out.
5. Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs and broken-down trucks. Blues don't travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles. Most Blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft and state-sponsored motor pools ain't even in the running. Walkin' plays a major part in the Blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die. 
6. Teenagers can't sing the Blues. They ain't fixin' to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, "adulthood" means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis. 
7. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or anywhere in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, and Nawlins are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the Blues in any place that don't get rain. 
8. A man with male pattern baldness ain't the Blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg 'cause you were skiing is not the Blues. Breaking your leg 'cause an alligator be chomping on it is.
9. You can't have no Blues in an office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster. 
10. Good places for the Blues:
    a. highway
    b. jailhouse
    c. empty bed
    d. bottom of a whiskey glass
11. Bad places for the Blues:
    a. Nordstrom
    b. gallery openings
    c. Ivy League institutions
    d. golf courses
12. No one will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, 'less you happen to be an old person, and you slept in it and its too big.
13. Do you have the right to sing the Blues?
    Yes, if
    i.      you're older than dirt
    ii.      you're blind
    iii.      you shot a man in Memphis
    iv.      you can't be satisfied
    No, if
    i.      you have all your teeth
    ii.      you were once blind but now can see
    iii.      the man in Memphis lived
    iv.      you have a 401K or trust fund
14. Blues is not a matter of color. It's a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the Blues. Sonny Liston could have. Ugly white people also got a leg up on the Blues. 
15. If you ask for water and your darlin' gives you gasoline, it's the Blues. Other acceptable Blues beverages are:
    a. cheap wine
    b. whiskey or bourbon
    c. muddy water
    d. black coffee
16. The following are NOT Blues beverages:  
    a. Perrier  
    b. Chardonnay
    c. Snapple
    d. Slim Fast. 
17. If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die.  So are the electric chair, substance abuse and dyin' lonely on a broke-down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction.
18. Some Blues names for women:
    a. Sadie
    b. Big Mama Bessie
    c. Fat River Dumpling
19. Some Blues names for men:
    a. Joe
    b. Willie
    c. Little Willie
    d. Big WilliePersons with names like Michelle, Amber, Jennifer, Debbie, and Heather can't sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.
20. Blues Name Starter Kit:
    a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.)
    b. plus the name of a fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi, etc.)
    c. plus the last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.) For example: Blind Lime Jefferson, Pegleg Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not "Kiwi.")
21. I don't care how tragic your life is: if you own a computer, you cannot sing the blues, period.