Paul Lundgren
Duluth Album Releases in 2013
Breanne Marie
Six Strings of Peace & Sanity
(Jan. 1)
Available on Bandcamp
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Eric Swanson at Sacred Heart Studios
Duck Duck Punch
Human Chemistry
Truth No. (Jan. 15)
Available on Amazon
Dave Mehling
Broke Heart Songs (EP)
(Jan. 19)
Produced by Dave Mehling and Michael Morris; recorded at the Barn in Northfield
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A glimpse of Duluth in 1948
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulWWwAZfTJ4
Scenes of Duluth start at the 1:37 mark in this 1948 documentary on Finnish-American life in Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota. (Thanks to Dwight Swanson for the tip.)
Sax-Zim Bog in New York Times
“Welcome to the Sax-Zim Bog,” said our guide, Steve Weston. “Tonight we’ll be going through the towns of Sax and Zim, population nothing.” Moments later we drove by a snow-dusted, abandoned trailer, the front door hanging off one hinge. This was downtown Sax. Zim, a few miles to the north, wasn’t much more. Both are remnants of failed attempts to farm the bog that date back to the early 20th century. Now they are ghost towns surrounded by 200 square miles of wetlands.
Tiffany Tarrolly and Pageant Police
Former Northland’s NewsCenter reporter Tiffany Tarrolly’s new project is called “Pageant Police,” a video series critiquing the physical beauty of contestants in the 2013 Miss USA pageant.
(This post originally contained an embedded video of the “Miss Maryland USA 2013 Critique.” We have removed the video in the interest of not giving it any more attention.)
The concept of the series is essentially to say mean things about the physical appearance of women who are in pageants. So anyone annoyed by women who are in pageants can experience something worse: women who say mean things about women who are in pageants.
The only thing more annoying would be me, for posting this, but I’ll soon be eclipsed in the annoying rankings by everyone who watches this video and then comments on it.
Holiday Signs: Public Enemy #1
It has been mentioned on this site before how awful that Holiday sign is on I-35 at 27th Avenue West, but it bears repeating since it is pretty much the worst thing about Duluth, coming in just ahead of the Honking House and the fact that liquor stores can’t sell on Sundays (which is statewide, but so are the Holiday signs).
Well, I just noticed that the agenda for the Jan. 14 Duluth City Council meeting mentions that Councilor Jim Stauber will be introducing an ordinance regarding sign regulations that would seem, if I’m reading it right, to ban the Holiday sign.
[UPDATE: A closer reading of the resolution reveals that “legal, non-conforming signs are allowed to continue.” So Holiday couldn’t put up more signs with bright outlines at its stores in Duluth that don’t have them, but the ones that do have them could keep them.]
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The old Zippys Pizza Express
I was asked recently via e-mail what the name was of the pizza joint at 1830 E. Eighth St. before it was Vintage Italian Pizza (as seen in the modern photo above).
Since I spent no time at all in that neighborhood in my youth, I looked it up. (more…)
Retribution B Side
Here’s a track from, or a side of, the upcoming Retribution Gospel Choir record, titled 3. It’s a “two-song full-length” album scheduled for release by Chaperone Records on Jan. 22. The songs were tracked live in one take, with the band playing together in the same room, and featuring guest guitarist Nels Cline of Wilco.
Retribution Gospel Choir is playing the Red Star Lounge every Tuesday night this month and also will play Tycoons on Jan. 31.
Assignment: Have a PDD
I’m trying to decide if I should: a) wander around Rice’s and Connors points in search of the elusive snowy owl, b) ice skate up the St. Louis River, or c) visit the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center. Or maybe you have a better idea. I await your recommendation.
We’re feeling used
Perfect Duluth Day hit a seemingly significant, though maybe not legitimately significant, milestone recently when it crossed the threshold of having 2,000 registered users.
Registered users, of course, are the people who have created an account on this site and are able to create posts and comment on posts. (Anyone can read PDD, but in order to be involved in discussions here you must create an account and log in.)
In recognition of 2,000+ users, we present a bunch of yammering, er, useful information, about PDD user accounts. Call it answers to frequently or not-so-frequently asked questions.
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Casket Quarry | Duluth Crushed Stone Co.
According to the 1943 book Mineral Resources of Minnesota, edited by William H. Emmons and Frank F. Grout, “the Duluth Crushed Stone Company quarried gabbro at Duluth for road stone, railroad ballast, concrete aggregate, rubble for retaining walls, and riprap (large fragments for piers, breakwaters, etc.).” (more…)
Where in Duluth?
Time once again for the exciting quiz sensation in which you try to guess where in Duluth a photo was taken.
Nicholas David’s performances on The Voice
Eagan native Nicholas David (whose real name is David Mrozinski) has played Duluth a few times with Teague Alexy, and his aunt and uncle own the Duluth Grill.
Above he performs a medley of Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” during the Dec. 17 broadcast.
The winner of The Voice will be announced tonight during a two-hour broadcast on KBJR-TV channel 6.1. The prize is a recording contract with Universal Music Group. (more…)
Duluth Album Releases in 2012
Compiled here is an incomplete list of Duluth-related music releases from 2012. (more…)
Duluth Meatballs
Have we mentioned yet that there is a Duluth pennant in the 1979 film Meatballs? It’s on the wall inside Tripper’s cabin.
Prøve Gallery open call for art
Prøve Gallery is seeking artwork for its “Fragility” exhibition, opening Jan. 11. The show is focusing on the beauty, uncertainty and fragility of winter.
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Casting call for Duluth film
Minneapolis-based director/producer Michael Forstein and his production crew will be in Duluth from Dec. 7-10 to shoot a film written by Duluth East alum Colin Thomsen.
The principle cast is comprised of actors based out of the Twin Cities and Los Angeles, but there is a casting call for Duluthians interested in playing roles that fit the following descriptions:
Very old lady
Mom and small child
Boy age 6-13
Teenage girl
Man age 40-60 with mustache
Middle-aged man
Bartender
Older woman with two small children
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Matt O., Brian P. and Brad N.
I used to think comedian Brian Posehn (center) would be the perfect actor to play the role of local musician/tattoo artist Matt Osterlund (left), but now I’m seeing a resemblance to local musician/restaurant propagandist Brad Nelson (right).
Duluth’s 1937 West End Baseball Team
Brian Bécotte of Edgartown, Mass., shared this 1937 photo with PDD on Facebook. His father, John Bécotte is standing, second from the left.
If anyone knows additional names of players on the team or anything about the team in general, well, that’s what blog comments are for.
Low — The Invisible Way album trailer
There’s a new Low album coming out on March 19. It’s not titled Exceptional Peaches, and it’s hard to know how they resisted that urge and went with The Invisible Way, but that’s really no matter.
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Van Halen at Duluth Arena, 1978 and ’79
A while back we started a master list of concerts at the DECC (formerly Duluth Arena) to help people sort out their fuzzy memories of rocking out back in the day. Since the list is kind of a slap together of info submitted to PDD in comments, it contains some incomplete and inaccurate information. (We would like it to be complete and accurate, but that would require a level of diligence we are unwilling to accept.)
We received a note over the weekend from PDD user “duluthyouth” pointing out that “Eddie Money opened for Van Halen in 1979, not who you had listed.”
A search through newspaper microfilm found no review of the 1979 concert, but the advertisement above (from the Duluth News Tribune) indicates “special guests” and specifically notes the band Screams is on the bill. (more…)
Duluth RecyclaBell
For the sake of Duluth music history, and inspired by a reunion show, we take a look back at the RecyclaBell and the mid-1990s Duluth music scene. (more…)
Thankful in Duluth — 2012 Edition
Not that we aren’t generally grateful at Perfect Duluth Day, but, well … there is a category of posts called “Bitching” and not one called “Jubilant Praise” (although maybe “Recommendations” covers that). Anyway, at least once a year we do throw things open for folks to comment about what they are thankful for in this world (or Duluth specifically).
To start things off, on behalf of the PDD staff, I’d like to thank the nearly 2,000 people who have blogging accounts on PDD and keep the online Duluthist banter going day after day — not to mention the thousands more who lurk on the site, read it regularly, but keep their thoughts to themselves.
We should all be thankful for zero losses of human life during the Historic Summer Solstice Flood Disaster of 2012, although quite a few homes and possessions were wrecked and a few critters met their unpleasant demise. And we should all be thankful the Leap Day 2012 Snowmageddon happened or it pretty much would have been a snowless winter.
But it’s good to be thankful for the little things, too, so I’m going to focus on Goo Goo Cluster pie.
(Here’s what folks on PDD were thankful for in 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2003.)
Duluth-area Restaurants Serving Thanksgiving Dinner: 2012 Edition
Based on grabbing information from previous posts on this subject rather than actually performing due diligence and calling the restaurants to confirm, here’s this year’s list:
Buffalo House (Midway Township)
Captain Barker’s Restaurant & Lounge (Superior)
Black Woods (Duluth, Proctor, Two Harbors)
Dreamland Supper Club (South Range)
Dry Dock Bar & Restaurant (Midway Township)
Foster’s Sports Bar & Grill (Hermantown)
JJ Astor (Duluth)
Ledge Rock Grille (Larsmont)
Midi Restaurant (Duluth)
Old Town Bar & Restaurant in Superior
Pickwick (Duluth)
The Shack Smokehouse & Grille (Superior)
Upper Deck Restaurant (Superior)
And, of course, there’s always a free Thanksgiving dinner at the DECC.
Anyone with further information, additions or corrections to this list may, as always, comment on this post or e-mail factcheck @ perfectduluthday.com.