Music
New Seed Math album “Four Three Five”
Attenzione!
Ten years back, I put out four albums of electronic-type stuff as “Seed Math,” and, today, I’m releasing the fifth album by that project. It’s available as a pay-what-you-want deal over at Bandcamp. Click the link to acquire!
Duluth Band Profile: Wolf Blood
Duluth’s Wolf Blood combines heavy riffs with thrashy doom. Consisting of bassist Brian Wells, guitarists Mike Messina and Mindy Johnson, and drummer Jake Paulsrud, the band has just released a 7-track cassette. With songs ranging from “Witch” to “Dancing on Your Grave,” listeners should be prepared for a wall of sound.
Click the image above to hear an exclusive interview with Wolf Blood members as they describe the band’s sound.
Toby Thomas Churchill’s second solo album trapped in future
Duluth’s Toby Thomas Churchill plans to record his next album with Ben Durrant at Crazy Beast studio in Minneapolis. You can help fund it by contributing to the Kickstarter campaign. His first solo album, Death, came out in 2011. (more…)
Homegrown 300
Thank you to all of the performers who registered for the 2014 Homegrown Music Festival. Even with the earlier registration window, it was a banner year, reaching 317 total submissions. Band selection starts this weekend, and scheduling begins next week (and will take 20+ versions and the entire month of February). Hold tight. More details when we have ’em. Happy Homegrown!
Duluth Album Releases in 2014
Charlie Parr
Hollandale
Chaperone Records (Jan. 25)
Dave Simonett
Razor Pony
(Jan. 29)
Available on Bandcamp
Dirty Knobs
I Want to Live Inside the Sun
Xero Music (Jan. 29)
Available on Bandcamp
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Dylan Super Bowl Commercial
I was probably one of the few who enjoyed seeing Dylan in the Super Bowl commercial last weekend. That being said, I was a little confused about the song choice, “Things Have Changed.” For an advertisement that was supposed to spark renewed faith in the American auto industry, Chrysler picked a song that is clearly about not giving a sh*t anymore. Also, last night the Northland’s NewsCenter mis-reported that this commercial was set to “I Want You,” which was actually featured in a yogurt commercial in 1996, not the Super Bowl commercial.
DSSO’s Bright Approach: First Minnesota orchestra to use interest-based bargaining process
As a kid, I took it for granted that my tiny hometown high school had an orchestra program and lots of community support. So it is not hard to agree with Duluth Mayor Don Ness when he says that “the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra continues to brighten the arts landscape of the Twin Ports.” A healthy community orchestra is a great thing!
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NorShor: Duluth’s big bet on Old Downtown
“Ghosts and spirits make the place. So when you sit down and play a place like the NorShor, not only do you have a group of people sitting around you, but you have another community of history sitting around you, too.” — Charlie Parr
Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Stage set for restoration of NorShor Theatre in Duluth“
Wicked Divas
So I walked, as apparently hundreds do, across the skywalk over I35 from Downtown Duluth to see the DSSO tonight. The “Wicked Divas” program featured Julie Reiber and Laura Woyasz, two vocalists who have performed in “Wicked” on Broadway, along with selections from Carmen and from Gloria Estefan, for example, by the Orchestra sans vocalists.
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Video Archive: Christopher Halverson – “Brave Captain”
“Brave Captain” is an old Firehose song.
The Halverson version was recorded by UWS Studio II at R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon on Sept. 16, 1995. Produced by Brandon Leno. Edited by Brandon Leno and Margo Abramson. Audio engineering by Eric Swanson. Production assistance by Renee Hudacek, Melissa Long, Paul Lundgren, Dinelli Seneviratne and Nathan Steigman.
Set lists for Low @ Brewhouse
While I’d be very happy to get to the Brewhouse every Thursday for Low’s play-it-all sessions, I just can’t do it … but it would be great to know what they played so far. Any fans out there who happened to record the set list from 1.16.14? If you’d care to share it (maybe even each week?), I’d guess that there is more than one fan in PDD-Land who would appreciate your effort. Thanks!
Duluth Spotify
I made a Spotify list with Duluth bands. Check it out if you want and let me know of any bands that I may have missed. Hope you enjoy!
Perfect Album of 2013: Ryan Van Slooten’s Victory March
With at least 50 albums released by Duluth-area musicians in 2013 — including Low, Retribution Gospel Choir, Trampled by Turtles and Charlie Parr — Ryan Van Slooten’s third solo work had to be considered a long shot in a poll to choose the best local album of the year.
Well, Van Slooten can begin his Victory March; the upset is complete.
Poll: Best Album of 2013 (Final Ballot)
According to previous PDD polls, the top three Duluth-related albums of 2013 are: Christoph Bruhn’s Weekends on the Frontier, Southwire’s self-titled debut and Ryan Van Slooten’s Victory March. The voting so far has been close, so we’ve set up this final showdown. Follow the text links above to listen to the albums on Bandcamp, then make your choice below.
[poll id=”62″]
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Ryan Van Slooten’s Victory March – 45 percent
Southwire’s self-titled debut – 31.9 percent
Christoph Bruhn’s Weekends on the Frontier – 23.1 percent
The 4ontheFloor – Enough
Shot at Target Field and featuring Miss Sarah Krueger.
This clip is from next week’s episode of MNOriginal, which airs Monday night at 7 p.m. in the Duluth market on the Minnesota Channel 8.1. Also in the episode: Artaria String Quartet preserves and performs classical chamber repertoire, Robert Bly shares three of his poems and Judy Onofrio creates sculptures from animal bones.
Poll: Best Album of 2013 (The Final Six)
The people have spoken, and now it’s time for them to speak again. According to our previous poll, the top six Duluth-related albums of 2013 are: Cars & Trucks’ Theatre Stardusk, Christoph Bruhn’s Weekends on the Frontier, Tim Kaiser’s Microphone Obscura, Low’s The Invisible Way, Southwire’s self-titled debut and Ryan Van Slooten’s Victory March. Now it’s time to pick the winner, so again we ask …
[poll id=”61″]
This poll is now closed. Christoph Bruhn, Southwire and Ryan Van Slooten have advanced to the final poll.
The Best of Live from Studio A
On New Year’s Day KUMD 103.3 will be airing the Best of Live from Studio A from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It features portions of the more than 70 in-studio sessions we did in 2013 with artists including Southwire, Cars & Trucks, Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles, Father Hennepin, Jeremy Messersmith, Freedy Johnston, and many more.
Down on Raleigh Street
Slideshow by Roger Nesje with music by Steve Johnson, paying tribute to old Two Street in West Duluth.
Poll: Best Local Album of 2013
Among the roughly four-dozen albums released by Duluth-area musicians in the past 12 months, 19 received mention in our call for nominations for Best Local Album of 2013. So now we attempt to identify the strongest in the field and ask you, dear reader …
[poll id=”60″]
This poll is now closed. These six albums advance to the final poll.
Cars & Trucks – Theatre Stardusk
Christoph Bruhn – Weekends on the Frontier
Tim Kaiser – Microphone Obscura
Low – The Invisible Way
Southwire – Southwire
Ryan Van Slooten – Victory March
2013: The Year in Duluth Gig Posters
Click on any thumbnail to see the full-size image.
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The Boomchucks – “When I’m Missing You”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMuDZuQqR-U
New video for a song from their 2010 self-titled album.
Favorite Duluth Albums of 2013
Oh, isn’t it just so typical to ask a question like this at the end of the year? Well, with something like four-dozen albums released by local musicians in 2013 it’s hard to keep up. Someone has to inform the general public of what’s essential. And that someone is you. Let your preferences be known in the comments.
And yes, this is leading into a poll.
All your band wants for Christmas is a Homegrown gig
Band registration for the 2014 Homegrown Music Festival opens Christmas Day. Performers interested in playing the festival, which runs April 27 to May 4, must complete the online registration before Jan. 31.
This year’s Homegrown Winter Fiasco will take place Jan. 17 and will feature nine Homegrown artists playing at three Duluth music venues. The Winter Fiasco is a pre-festival showcase celebrating Homegrown volunteer sign-up and band registration. The Winter Fiasco shows are all free events and will feature volunteer sign-up stations and festival staff on site to answer Homegrown inquiries.
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Manheat Eats Low Breaker
Rough video from the Duluth Does Low concert — Dec. 12, 2013.
Merry Christmas.
