Zwart knows that as well as anyone.

After years of paying his dues -- racking up more than 40,000 miles a year on the road, playing wherever a club would have them -- the co-founder of Zwarte enjoyed national success. The band had good regional airplay, and sold more than 150,000 copies of its four albums. It was about as big as any band from the Upper Midwest could hope to be.

But, after 15 years, it just wasn't fun for Zwart anymore.

The drummer quit the band. He was ready for a fresh start. He paid his dues and reached for fame and found it to be a fickle mistress. Zwart wanted to play music for the sake of playing music again.

So he is.

Along with two fellow South Dakotans and a former Zwarte bass player, Zwart formed a new band. It's called Judd Hoos.

Judd Who?

That's the point. It's brand new, stripped of the baggage history can create. When Judd Hoos played the Burnt Creek Club last fall, no one knew what to expect. The band's two performances there didn't draw huge crowds, a situation club owner Jeff Anderson suspects will be different this time around. After two strong performances, Anderson hopes there will be a buzz surrounding Judd Hoos' shows at the Burnt Creek Club tonight and Saturday. The band will play at about 9 each night.

"When you're out doing what I'm doing now, the phrase 'start over' gets thrown in your face a lot," Zwart said. "I get asked all the time to play Zwarte songs. My answer is, 'If I wanted to do Zwarte I'd have stayed in Zwarte.' Judd Hoos is getting known for good, good shows. The feedback I get from the people is the same thing."

Judd Hoos is a straight-up rock band, with six originals currently in its repertoire. The band also covers a range of acts, including the Foo Fighters, Jet, Maroon 5, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, U2 and Nirvana.

Zwart's desire to get out from behind the drums was part of the reason for creating a new band. He's the front man now, and said he loves singing. The band's drummer is Shane Funk, a Spearfish, S.D., resident. Drew Lerdal, from nearby Rapid City, plays guitar and keyboard. Chris Hornick, from Denver, plays bass. All contribute to vocals.

With Zwart living in Sioux Falls, S.D., Hornick in Denver and Funk and Lerdal in the Black Hills, Judd Hoos has to take a different approach to its music than many bands. The members practice in their homes and often perform multi-night live shows to make up for the extra travel time.

Once they're on the road, Zwart said there's not a lot of down time for the band members. They spend most of their free time rehearsing, which has become especially important lately as Judd Hoos is in the process of recording its first album. The band expects to record its sets in Bismarck this weekend.

In the winter, the band performs three weekends a month. As things warm up, however, it will be getting around a lot more.

"In the summer we hit it as hard as we can," Zwart said. "We got an enormous bump in popularity playing at the Loud American (in Sturgis, S.D.) last year. That's gotten us gigs all over the place. A gal from Wisconsin paid us up-front (at Sturgis) for a gig there."

Judd Hoos is working on adding more originals to its sets. Zwart is still traveling more than 40,000 miles a year, and uses a lot of that time to think about lyrics.

"When you stop and add it up, that's a lot of windshield time," Zwart said. "That's where I get all the inspiration."

Judd Hoos has shows booked across the Midwest this year, from North Dakota and South Dakota to Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. That's a lot more time to spend behind the glass, day-dreaming up lyrics.

And a lot more places to play good, live music just for the sake of playing it.

(Reach Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tspilde@ndonline.com .)