PDDTV
Video Archive: Benaszeski Brothers Polka Band in 1983
Time for yet another classic from the collection of the late Emil Praslowicz, digitized by his grandson, Kip Praslowicz. In this edition a dance frenzy ensues at Chet & Emil’s in Birnamwood, Wis. as the Benaszeski Brothers bring the rock-infused polka action.
Are we going to let the blades of perpendicular platitudes cut through the footwear applications?
Toby Thomas Churchill summits all over the now.
Video Montage: UW-Superior Spring Commencement 2017
The University of Wisconsin-Superior conducted its 121st Spring Commencement on May 20. Carl Crawford, a 2008 graduate who serves as the human rights officer for the city of Duluth, delivered the keynote address. The student speaker was Anthony “Scott” McNorton.
Piedmont Plunge
Often helmet-cam videos of mountain bike runs have a music soundtrack. This one by Baylor Litsey, shot on the Piedmont Mountain Bike Trails in Duluth, sticks with the natural sounds for a more realistic glimpse of the trail-riding experience.
Gaelynn Lea on The PlayList
The May 25 episode of WDSE-TV‘s The Playlist is a documentary about Duluth musician Gaelynn Lea, with performance segments shot at the Red Herring Lounge and First Avenue’s 7th St. Entry.
Memorial Day Northern Lights Real Time Video
Richard Hoeg captures the sights of the Northern Lights and sounds of loons in the distance in this video shot over Little Stone Lake, about 40 miles northeast of Duluth. The video was taken on Hoeg’s Sony A6000 with an ISO setting of 3,200.
Reflectivore – “Ticonderoga” (Live at Homegrown 2017)
“Ticonderoga” is the opening track of Washburn-based Reflectivore‘s self-titled debut album. The band has worked with director by Kjell Kvanbeck of True Norse Films on several videos. The latest uses footage from a live performance at the Red Herring Lounge during the Homegrown Music Festival. It’s the band and director’s “introduction to the live show being a multimedia/multidisciplinary performance.”
Video: Maria Bamford’s U of M Commencement Address
A self-proclaimed “crass, money-grubbing comedian from Duluth” gave the commencement address at the University of Minnesota on Sunday at Mariucci Arena. During the speech, Maria Bamford outlined her negotiation process with the university for her appearance fee, then donated half of it to a theater arts grad, Alyse Moné. The $5,000 check was made out to Sallie Mae, which holds one of Moné’s loan accounts. In a separate speech Bamford donated the other half of her fee to another student with loan debt.
The video is courtesy of the U of M, via City Pages.
Damage Boardshop Showdown Video
Duluth’s Damage Boardshop is one of 16 shops in the United States competing in the TransWorld Skateboarding Shop Showdown video contest on skateboarding.com. Over the past three weeks, TWS has posted videos by four shops each week. Damage’s video is part of round four.
The videos are bracketed against each other until the final four videos are determined through a blend of audience voting and analysis by TWS staff and pros from the sponsoring Mountain Dew skate team. To vote go to …
skateboarding.transworld.net/shop-showdown.
Ingeborg von Agassiz launches Kickstarter to fund debut album
Duluth’s Emma Rustan has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise funds for a debut album under her musical pseudonym Ingeborg von Agassiz.
The song used in the video is “Oh, What a Morning,” one of ten tracks to be featured on the album. The music has already been recorded by Rustan and mixed by Adam Krinsky at Bellows Studio in St. Paul. The $6,000 Kickstarter campaign seeks to fund the mixing, mastering, artwork and replication.
Duluth Folk School on The PlayList
The May 4 episode of WDSE-TV‘s The Playlist featured this segment about Duluth Folk School and how it plans to teach skills in the community. Co-founder Bryan French explains the purpose and many options for students in this interview with Karen Sunderman.
North Country from Above
Brooklyn, N.Y.-based filmmaker and cinematographer Andrew Cagle recently shot this aerial footage in the Duluth area and along the North Shore of Lake Superior. He’s working on a documentary project, but compiled some of his favorite shots for this video, with Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash singing “Girl From the North Country” as the soundbed.
Video Montage: Homegrown Music Festival 2017
Clips from Duluth’s 19th annual Homegrown Music Festival, featuring Kat Fox, the Latelys, the Unlikelys, the Black-eyed Snakes, the Social Disaster, Low Forms, Father Hennepin, Robot Rickshaw, Willie Diction, the Gentlemen’s Anti-Temperance League and Fred Tyson.
The Making of “Your Unknown”
In this 10-minute video, director Shane Rock Nelson documents Duluth band Glen’s Neighbor recording its second album, Your Unknown. The album was recorded at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls in October and released in April.
Glen’s Neighbor plays Saturday night at 11 p.m. at Blacklist Artisan Ales during the Homegrown Music Festival.
Duluth’s Mark Sertich: World’s Oldest Hockey Player
Duluth’s Mark Sertich has no intention of slowing down at age 95. He still plays hockey several times a week in a league consisting mostly of firefighters. This video is part of the Really Great Big Stories series — a yearlong celebration of storytelling and documentary film.
The Dames – “Head of State”
Here’s another selection from this year’s Homegrown Music Video Festival. The song is from an upcoming release of rarities by the Dames, scheduled to drop with the fall leaves. The video is by Brian Barber.
Tour Duluth MakerSpace with The PlayList
The April 27 episode of WDSE-TV‘s The PlayList features this segment with host Karen Sunderman getting a guided tour of Duluth MakerSpace from Miranda Durbin, a shop manager.
The Black Labels – “Sex Train”
One of the seven videos in the Homegrown Music Video Festival is this piece featuring archival footage of the Black Labels performing at Duluth’s Red Lion Lounge at least 10 years ago. The bar closed in 2007 and the space was repurposed for the Zeitgeist Arts Café. The video was edited by Emily Norton.
Video Archive: Paul Connolly cuts a 2007 Homegrown promo
Ten years ago the Homegrown Music Festival was in its ninth year — second year as a nonprofit. Don Ness was festival director at the time, but steering committee member Paul Connolly was called on to make an appearance on WDSE-TV’s Almanac North to talk with hosts Julie Zenner and Eric Olson. Connolly went on to serve as festival director for the 2008 and 2009 festivals.
Following the conversation, the band Cars & Trucks performs “Over the Moon.”
A Spring Dance on the Pier in Duluth
Dancer Logan Moniot of Lake Nebagamon is featured in this new music video shot by Jasper Meddock Productions. The song is “Die Trying” by Michl. In the video, Moniot dances along the lighthouse pier in Duluth as if it’s not even cold out.
A double dose of the Little Black Books
Former Duluth rawk and/or roller Mark Lindquist has released two new videos — “They’re Never Wrong” and “Fading Captain” — to promote his band the Little Black Books‘ midnight gig on May 5 at Rex Bar during the Homegrown Music Festival. In recent years Lindquist has lived in Crow Wing County, near the geographical center of Minnesota, so Duluth gigs have been rare. He plans to reunite with drummer Jim Hagstrom and guitarist Bob Olson for this year’s Homegrown show.
Creamy Stouts on the Brule
Clint Massey plunges down the Brule River in this short video by Brian Robin and Jesse Credille, shot April 22.
Welty hints at seeking another term with “this shaky video”
At-large Duluth School Board member Harry Welty wrote on his Lincoln Democrat blog about digging into a box of thank yous last night and spreading them on his office floor “to make a little campaign video for a campaign webpage.” And then he posted “this shaky video.”
Welty’s term ends Jan. 8; Duluth candidates officially file to seek school board positions between July 5 and July 18.
“Years ago I attended some session during which a presenter made a good suggestion,” Welty wrote. “She warned her listeners that it was easy to get discouraged and she suggested that we all collect thank yous and such. She thought that when we got down we could look in the old thank yous and remind ourselves that we weren’t such bad folks.
“Until I got on the School Board in 1996 my little sunshine folder wasn’t very big. Then I started reading to classrooms.”
Lake Superior Surfing at Stoney Point
Yes, this is the third time in two weeks that Perfect Duluth Day has featured a Lake Superior surfing video. It just happens to be what people are making good videos about these days. This one is the second surf video by Jasper Meddock Productions, shot on April 20 at Stoney Point, about seven miles north of Duluth in Duluth Township. The music is “Quick Musical Doodles” by Two Feet.


