The Remainders Connect Father and Son Via Music and Philanthropy

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Sometimes a musical group’s raison d’être sets it apart. Locally, The Royal Malossi and The Mission River Band have focused on generosity, playing benefit shows or donating their cut to charities.

Add The Remainders to that list. With a motto of “Rock’n Out and Doin’ Good,” The Remainders have helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities over the past 17 years. Father and son Andrew and Nick Temte have found the satisfaction that comes from mixing music with philanthropy.

Andrew’s La Crosse-based group The Remainders recorded the song “Hitchin a Ride” with Milwaukee-based Nick wearing the producer’s hat.

Family Tradition

At age 14 Andrew joined his first band and dropped out of high school before graduation to go on the road. At 21 he married, went back to school and focused on his family. When he turned 40, Andy—also the author of the book Balancing Act: Teach Coach Mentor Inspire—felt the need to scratch his musical itch again.

For Nick, it was bands during high school and practice sessions in the basement of his family’s home; hip hop collaborations and a solo project were in his future. “Everyone in our family is musical in some way,” Nick says. “Music was always encouraged in our house growing up, and there were always instruments lying around, so I played a little of everything. Singing has always been my favorite.”

He and his father never sat down and had a formal lesson together, but since The Remainders practiced in the basement for a stretch, Nick had access to every instrument. “It was more like ‘There's a guitar and a drum set in the basement. Go have fun kids,’” he recalls.

Having Nick onboard has sparked a new level of creativity for Andrew, describing it as a “driving a desire to build our catalog of original music. We also want to show members of ‘more seasoned’ generations that it’s never too late to tap into your creative energy to keep mind and body strong and stay relevant in music and art.”

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