Video by students at the Bethany Lutheran College Media Arts department in Mankato.

I know there are a lot of music recording folks out there in the PDD community, so I am posting this plea for help.

I participate in a number of drum circles with a dear friend. I had discussed making a CD of some of our sessions for her to send to her sister. My friend has fallen ill, so now time seems to be of the essence.

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KUWS‘s Final Edition is a valuable local resource — a place where media professionals can reflect on the work they do and the impact they have on the community.

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Here is a photo I took of the Granada Stage Bar during a snow storm in the early 1980s, a few years after moving to town. I don’t know or remember anything about it, including its actual location. In my mind I think it was on Superior St, but that organ has been wrong on a regular basis. Anybody have any knowledge of it?

Regarding the Rocket Bar renovation:

Well, folks, far-be-it from me to talk the talk and not walk the walk, but when a few hundred thousand greenbacks comprise the difference between the “talk” and the “walk,” well, shucks … it was a good run.

After receiving the initial bid from the general contractor last week, it appears we are going to have to do this in phases, if at all. The initial phase, relieving the building of a few structural ailments, will likely begin in the next month or so.

As for what will become of the place in the long run, it’s anybody’s guess. I’ve got a couple ideas, though. I think I’ll let them gestate a while, and refocus on a few things left in the wake of this, that and the other project/priority. What was that called? Oh, yeah: life.

Music Resource Center student Curren Effinger wrote, recorded, filmed, and edited this video for his song “Little Drum” this spring with help from students at the UMD Participatory Media Lab.  It was a huge job, but tons of fun and we’re excited to share it with you.

If you think this is a program worth supporting I encourage you to attend one of our upcoming events and to donate online.  We are currently raising funds to purchase instruments and video/recording equipment so that we can more easily make awesome videos like this in the future.  We thank you for your support.

The Music Resource Center-Duluth is a program of the Armory Arts and Music Center.

Here’s a sampling of what you have to look forward to this week on the PDD Calendar.

There are only two seasons in Duluth, winter and road construction. Apparently winter is over. Many new projects begin today.

Nerd Nite is back on Wednesday with presentations on Max Headroom, biking and The Shining in their new venue, the Underground.

The Steampunk Spectacular exhibition of fashion, music, craft and anachronistic fun runs Thursday and Friday at the Depot.

Miss Homegrown? Western Thaw promises 18 bands in 2 venues over 3 nights – Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The Duluth Dolls are back with a new neo-burlesque show, Calendar Girls, playing Friday and Saturday at the Teatro Zuccone.

And if you’re looking for big names, Sheryl Crow is playing Black Bear Casino on Friday and Willie Nelson is playing Grand Casino Mille Lacs on Saturday.

So what are you doing this week? Can we tag along? Any upcoming events that you want to promote? Let us know.

Ed Newman interviews several local artists and writers a month at his blog, the Ennyman’s Territory. So I thought I’d return the favor.

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Please call 218-349-9486 if you find our dog. We will offer a reward! It must be spring in the air that made our dog run away from his home on North Seventh Avenue East and High Street. He bolted out the back door and we haven’t seen him since, despite searching the neighborhood. We are worried about him and would love to have extra eyes on the lookout for him.

Here are his stats:

He’s a male Gordon setter whose name is Ullr (pronounced You-ler). He is black with tan feet and tan muzzle and eye markings. He has a white chin and white blaze on his chest. He has a collar but no ID tags. He does have a Home Again microchip implanted in his back with the ID #47401E5E1C. He is up to date on his shots and he’s a friendly dog who responds to commands to come, sit, stay and whoa.

Since this old comic was available for a quarter at the Wallace Hankins Estate Sale, I thought I’d scan and post it, in case anyone finds it interesting or knows specifically what it’s about.

I would guess it’s from the 1930s, when buses began replacing streetcars, which may have resulted in cutting trees to widen roads, or maybe the tree is simply a metaphor for how the streetcar business would be hacked to death by buses.

The headline leads me to believe this was a newspaper editorial comic that the Park Point Community Club had printed on card stock and distributed around town to raise a fuss. The signature on the comic is John Harrison.

We (the Duluth Grill) are looking at tearing up part of our back parking lot (we won’t lose any parking spaces, we’ll just manipulate placement a little) and putting in a 140-foot-long, 12-foot-wide, six-foot-high rain garden/orchard. If you want to get on our e-mail list send a request to likeahenway [at] hotmail [dot] com.

This was my first English-language opera. I’ve attended other operas (Kate is a fan of Verdi, and that is the limit of my opera experience, lots of Verdi), but I’d never been to an opera where I understood what was going on without a teletype screen.

And I loved it.
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Another installment of the exciting game in which the person who is the first to identify where the photo was shot is the winner of great dignity and respect.

This week LakeVoice releases its final edition of the semester, and will return to its regular publishing cycle in the fall. Check out this week’s stories about a WDIO reporter who shares his post-graduation experience, Animal Allies and its partnership with PetSmart Charities Rescue Waggin, learn about Geocashing and how to participate, and how hunger impacts the Northland.

The People Say Fox have just released a 7″ single of our song, “The Roseman,” off of our recent release Glowcap. You may have caught the fantastic video by Al Skomars in the Homegrown video festival. Anyway, you can snag a copy at http://siftstatic.storenvy.com/ or at one of our upcoming shows; May 18 @ Beaner’s for Day 3 of Western Thaw, or June 8th @ Beaner’s for Pete Cich’s Birthday bash!

First release is /250 on black 7″ including screen printed covers. The record also comes with a full download of the entire 10-track album, Glowcap.

We have capitulated to the demands of the marketplace! Our new album “Theatre Stardusk” is now available on Bandcamp in any digital format you could hope to have. And we put our other two albums on there, too. If you’ve been holding off buying our new album because it’s only on vinyl, the wait is over. Tell your friends and enemies that the hot new shit is at:

carsampersandtrucks.bandcamp.com/album/theatre-stardusk

Smelter: John Finkle
Photographer: Chelsea Froemke

Smelting posts from years past:
Where is the best place to eat smelt? (2012)
Duluth Smelting (2011)
Remember the glory days of smelting? (2010)