Dennis Wygmans is a believer in second chances. He's also a fan of finding alternative solutions to problems. For example, one night in the mid-1990s, a skinny punk-rock singer from Ukraine was onstage at Club Toast, which Wygmans owned with his brother, Justin. Eugene Nikolaev, front man for the local band the Fags, was putting on a hell of a show in his characteristic unhinged fashion. That included trashing a monitor speaker, to the delight of the crowd. After the set, Wygmans approached Nikolaev. "I told him that I loved the theatrics, but that all he was really doing was ruining the sound guy's gear," Wygmans recalls. Nikolaev understood his mistake, says Wygmans, when he "realized he was costing a working stiff money." Some club owners would have blacklisted the band. But Nikolaev, now better known as Gogol Bordello's Eugene Hütz, agreed to start bringing in his own junk speakers to pulverize onstage. And Wygmans says they never had a major problem again. That's a small example of Wygmans' graciousness and faith in people to do right when given the chance. A punk band's destructiveness is inconsequential compared with the severity of the transgressions that have tested — and largely upheld — that faith during Wygmans' second life as a lawyer. Most recently, he served as deputy state's attorney in Addison County, handling domestic violence and sexual assault cases. Even in those dire circumstances, Wygmans' belief in people shaped his progressive approach to criminal justice. And some important people took notice. Earlier this month, outgoing Vermont governor Peter Shumlin promoted Wygmans, now 51, to the position of Addison County state's attorney. The appointment marks a big step in the unlikely journey of the onetime local rock-and-roll magnate. Wygmans was born in Burlington and grew up in Jericho. He attended the University of Vermont in the 1980s and spent years as music director at the college's radio station, WRUV 90.1 FM. Wygmans was also a nightclub DJ, spinning at the downtown hot spot Border, which is now Club Metronome. His time there planted the seed that would germinate into Club Toast. "Border was underground for Vermont," says Wygmans over drinks at a restaurant near his South Burlington home. "It had that exclusive underground vibe, and DJ culture was important there." Toast, which opened in 1993, had a similar vibe but relied more heavily on live acts. "We wanted to do…
Dennis Wygmans is a believer in second chances. He's also a fan of finding alternative solutions to problems. For example, one night in the mid-1990s, a skinny punk-rock singer from Ukraine was onstage at Club Toast, which Wygmans owned with his brother, Justin. Eugene Nikolaev, front man for the local band the Fags, was putting on a hell of a show in his characteristic unhinged fashion. That included trashing a monitor speaker, to the delight of the crowd. After the set, Wygmans approached Nikolaev. "I told him that I loved the theatrics, but that all he was really doing was ruining the sound guy's gear," Wygmans recalls. Nikolaev understood his mistake, says Wygmans, when he "realized he was costing a working stiff money." Some club owners would have blacklisted the band. But Nikolaev, now better known as Gogol Bordello's Eugene Hütz, agreed to start bringing in his own junk speakers to pulverize onstage. And Wygmans says they never had a major problem again. That's a small example of Wygmans' graciousness and faith in people to do right when given the chance. A punk band's destructiveness is inconsequential compared with the severity of the transgressions that have tested — and largely upheld — that faith during Wygmans' second life as a lawyer. Most recently, he served as deputy state's attorney in Addison County, handling domestic violence and sexual assault cases. Even in those dire circumstances, Wygmans' belief in people shaped his progressive approach to criminal justice. And some important people took notice. Earlier this month, outgoing Vermont governor Peter Shumlin promoted Wygmans, now 51, to the position of Addison County state's attorney. The appointment marks a big step in the unlikely journey of the onetime local rock-and-roll magnate. Wygmans was born in Burlington and grew up in Jericho. He attended the University of Vermont in the 1980s and spent years as music director at the college's radio station, WRUV 90.1 FM. Wygmans was also a nightclub DJ, spinning at the downtown hot spot Border, which is now Club Metronome. His time there planted the seed that would germinate into Club Toast. "Border was underground for Vermont," says Wygmans over drinks at a restaurant near his South Burlington home. "It had that exclusive underground vibe, and DJ culture was important there." Toast, which opened in 1993, had a similar vibe but relied more heavily on live acts. "We wanted to do…