April 2014 Posts

Homegrown Music Video Fest 2014

Year #6: Back in February, participants picked a band/song out of Walt Dizzo’s bucket, and 13 people followed through by delivering videos before April 21. Here’s a page with all the video links that were sent to PDD, in the order that they played Monday and Tuesday nights. If any of the participants have others posted to YouTube or Vimeo and want to send us the link, we’ll add them to the list.

There will be one more screening Sunday, May 4, 2 pm at Chester Creek Cafe.

2013 Videos
2012 Videos
2011 Videos
2010 Videos
2009 Videos

Happy 60th anniversary, Sammy’s Pizza

It all began 60 years ago. Sam and Louise Perrella moved their small cafe from Keewatin to Hibbing. And with that move, expanded the menu with pizza. Sam had learned about the Italian item from the men who worked in the mines.

Homegrown Kickball

The 2014 Homegrown kickball game is officially being relocated to Observation Park.

Tim Kaiser CD Release at Homegrown

Holy Water – Myths for Man is the latest release by Tim Kaiser. Having been out on tour, it was too late to get into the Field Guide, so here it is on PDD. Super limited edition in custom-made case. Available during Homegrown Friday, May 2, at Teatro. Enjoy in the privacy of your own home. We won’t tell.

List of Duluth-related album releases in 2014

An open letter to Mayor Ness and the Duluth City Council

Home sweet home? photo: Deb Holman

April 27, 2014
TO: Duluth Mayor Don Ness
Duluth City Council
FROM: Concerned people of Duluth

At its first meeting of the year, the Duluth City Council, with the support of Mayor Ness, unanimously passed a resolution supporting a Homeless Bill of Rights and committing the City to take bold action to end homelessness.

Three months later, the city has not appointed a single person to the Human Rights Commission, the body tasked with implementing the resolution. In recent days, Mayor Ness has been quoted by the Duluth News-Tribune calling housing projects for the chronically homeless a “distraction,” and urging Duluth to “stay focused on market-rate housing.”

Homegrown 2014 on KUMD

As always KUMD, Duluth Public Radio, will feature performers from Duluth’s Homegrown Music Festival Live from Studio A all week long. We’ll also feature a two-hour edition of the Local, Wednesday from 5-7pm, featuring Mary Bue, the Crunchy Bunch, and maybe more.

Homegrown Live from Studio A Schedule:

Monday: 2pm     Steve Johnson [Listen]
Tuesday: 2pm Tin Can Gin [Listen]
Wednesday:  noon Thunder Brothers [Listen], 2pm Wood Blind [Listen]
Thursday: noon Brother George [Listen], 2pm Timothy Martin and the New Norm [Listen]
Friday:  noon Silk Sheiks1pm Getarounds2pm Amy Abts of Extinct Gingers

This week: tastes like chicken

  

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

Blah blah blah Homegrown. Blah blah all week blah over 200 bands blah blah. Blah blah PDD Chicken app. Yadda yadda yadda.

Believe it or not, there are other things going on in town, too!

Emily Woster (inventor of the PDD Bingo Sheet) is presenting on Anne of Green Gables at the Nordic Center on Tuesday. And speaking of that feisty fictional red head, Wise Fool opens its production of Anne of Green Gables at the UWS Manion Theater on Friday.

And that’s not the only theater going on! Much Ado About Nothing opens at East High School on Thursday and All in the Timing opens at Marshall on Friday while Pride & Prejudice continues at Harbor City and Damn Yankees continues at UMD.

For the outdoorsy types, Hartley Nature Center is having an Outdoor Expo on Saturday and Camp Miller is having an open house on Sunday with all sorts of activities.

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

The Figures

Happy Homegrown Duluth!  I had to send a contribution from afar. I wanted to premiere my first short film on PDD. It’s a spooky little thing filmed in Duluth during a brief visit I made in 2014. The soundtrack is by myself and Eric Lyman, we record as Pale Wall. This film may be best viewed around 3 a.m. with a warm blanket. Cheers.

If you want this in your collection I have artfully packaged DVDs available. Contact jhuntzinger @ gmail.com

World Book Night 2014 in Duluth

Every year since 2012, on April 23, which is William Shakespeare’s birthday, volunteers across the country spread out and give away special editions of books to unsuspecting citizens. It’s a campaign to promote literacy and the importance of people having access to books, no matter their circumstances.

This year, I gave away copies of Peter Geye’s The Lighthouse Road, which is a novel set in early 20th-century Duluth and on the North Shore. I figured it would resonate with anyone who lives here or would like to live here. As I’ve done since this initiative was launched, I blogged about my experiences for Publishers Weekly magazine. Did anyone else give out books on World Book Night this year? If so, I’d love to hear your stories!

Bear

In early spring, bear moms often “park” their tiny cubs in or next to a tall “refuge tree” while they go off to forage. The cubs can climb to safety if they feel threatened, and can sleep up in the branches, out of harm’s way, while they wait for mom to return. Mom may be gone for a while. Read more about “refuge trees” here.

Wildwoods got a call yesterday morning about a small cub all by herself. After touching base with Dr. Rogers at the Bear Center, we’ve asked the folks who called about the cub to keep an eye on her from a distance, while keeping curious onlookers, dogs, etc., away. We want to give mom every chance to come back and reclaim her cub.

Net neutrality under attack

The Federal Communications Commission is once again planning to put an end to net neutrality. I can’t weigh in on the geek end of this issue, but it is surely a bad idea, considering that print and broadcast media are so tightly controlled, with six corporations owning 90 percent of U.S. media. Big Money should not be able to control internet traffic. What to do?

Homegrown Music Festival 2014 Primer

Duluth’s 16th annual showcase of devil music is upon us. We present here the final rundown of tidbits you need to know to maximize your ability to navigate the eight-day 200-band shitshow. Have fun, and don’t eat the brown lutefisk.

The URL for PDD’s Homegrown Chicken App for mobile devices is … calendar.perfectduluthday.com/homegrown.

The official Homegrown website should have everything else you need, and of course, there are Field Guides all over town. At the bottom of this post is an online version of the Field Guide.

There are a couple schedule changes to report:

Roller Derby Victory!

Harbor City Roller Dames were victorious all around Saturday night! The HCRD Shipwreckers won their bout against Forx Roller Derby 295-112; I missed most of this bout, catching dinner with friends beforehand.

The HCRD Nautikills won their bout against Mid State Sisters of Skate 223-129! It was close in the beginning; the SOS seemed masterful at luring the dames into the penalty box, and they were skillful at keeping control of the lead jammer.

But no one is as flexible as the Dames, no team can adjust the way the dames can adjust, you know?

Special goodbye to the person who introduced me to local derby through a Nerd Nite presentation years ago, I think it was: Killer Cletah. This was her retirement bout, and I will miss her terribly, despite being greeted with “Good to see you, Sir.”

Video Archive: Homegrown Kickball 2004

Ahhh … the fresh spring air, clogged lungs and diseased livers. Scenes from the Homegrown Music Festival Kickball Classic of a decade ago, and the after-party at the Shaky Ray. The song is Bone Appetit’s “Drive Away.” Video shot and edited by Barrett Chase.

Fisheye View of Chester Creek