Homegrown Music Festival Field Guide 2013
Homegrown Music Festival 2013
Festival Director
Walter Raschick
Assistant Director
Jake Larson
Volunteer Coordinator
Melissa La Tour
Venue/Sponsor Coordinator
Adam Guggemos
Board of Directors
Mary Bue, Pete Dingels, Jesse Hoheisel, Jonathan Lee (President), Hattie Peterson
Steering Committee
Brennan Atchison, Mary Bue, Adam Depre, Jesse Gangi, Todd Gremmels, Adam Guggemos, Jesse Hoheisel, Jonathan Lee, Glenn Maloney, Angela Milinkovich, Ryan Nelson
Rick Boo Committee
Rick Boo
Field Guide produced by
Adam Guggemos and Paul Lundgren
Cover art
Jay Whitcomb
Contributing writers
Jenny Ahern, Brittany Berrens, Amy Clark, Christine Dean, Tony Derrick, Carina Mikulich Ellis, Tyler Gilbertson, Chris Godsey, Emily Haavik, Richard Hackler, Jesse Hoheisel, Joe Iannazzo, Erik Kalstrom, Mark Lindquist, Paul Lundgren, Stephanie Lundgren, Israel Malachi, Bridgit Maruska, Margie Nelson, Jamie Ness, Michael Novitzki, Walter Raschick, Abigail Schoenecker, Ben Torgerson
The Homegrown Music Festival, Inc., is a Minnesota nonprofit under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. No chickens were harmed in the production of this Field Guide.
Homegrown Music Festival
P.O. Box 16505, Duluth MN 55816
www.duluthhomegrown.com
[email protected]
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Happy 45th birthday, Starfire
Notes from the 2013 Homegrown Committee
Right up front we need to point out what a miracle it is that the Homegrown Music Festival still manages to be moderately cool. The people who started it are middle-aged, the fucking mayor keeps showing up, and local businesses, civic groups and city commissions are actually supportive of the event. It seems like a recipe for boring.
Fortunately, there are still plenty of teenagers, hippies and creeps with spikes driven through the tattoos on their foreheads to keep things interesting around Duluth. More importantly, the creative energy of local musicians has never been stronger. There just might be two or three good years of Homegrown left before the squares wreck it.
So here we are, celebrating 15 years of the festival that serves as the annual apex of both quality and quantity of local music. It’s an eight-day blitzkrieg of rock, rap, country, hip-hop, blues, jazz – shit, there’s even a chick who plays solo ukulele. On top of the 186 or so bands, there are poets, photographers, music-video makers, fire spinners, trolley troubadours, puppet operators and practical jokers leaving dirty underwear on the sidewalk.
With a decade-and-a-half of successful years behind us – “success” being a subjective term – it’s really important to let everyone know who to blame for Homegrown. An obnoxiously detailed three-part history article starts on page 12 of this publication, but we’ll offer a few abridged acknowledgements here as well.
Sure, it was Scott Lunt’s birthday that started it all, but Rick Boo said Lunt could have the party at the NorShor Theatre, which led to people wrecking the place every year until it was shut down and needed like $18 million in work done to it.
As the festival grew, people started asking “Who is Starfire?” and “When is Homegrown?” That’s when Tim and Brad Nelson took over and let Lunt go safely into hiding.
Out of control and consuming everything in its path, Homegrown needed a new structure after the 2005 edition, so in stepped a fellow by the name of Don Ness (maybe you’ve heard of him) and a mysterious entity known as the Bridge Syndicate to give the festival the form it needed to provide the function it was created for: to rawk and/or roll.
Now, all grown up and looking smart in a tie, the Homegrown Music Festival, Inc., a 501(c)(3), is poised to bring you 15 more wildly unique opportunities to celebrate Duluth’s music, art and everything scene.
Back again for his second year as Homegrown’s director is Walter Raschick. That’s his hoity-toity professional-sounding birth name, anyway. You can shout your praises to the name “Walt Dizzo” when you lift him up on your shoulders during Homegrown to thank him for his hard work. (Don’t drop him; we need him for next year.)
And, because we ought to, it is important to thank the incredible folks at the Duluth Public Arts Commission. Their dedication to the people of Duluth and public art is helping us bring this festival to more people now than ever before.
Things to keep in mind while attending Homegrown:
1. Have fun without wrecking things. 2. Do not drive while under the influence of alcohol, narcotics or mood-altering bathroom supplies. 3. Tip the servers. 4. Give your love freely to the bands, the sponsors and the volunteers, because without them it would be like the 1990s around here.
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Sunday, April 28
Day-to-day stories by Emily Haavik
Homegrown is back and it’s as eight-days-long as ever. The trick here, for even the hardiest debauchers, is pacing yourself. This day-by-day breakdown is designed to get you all the way through to day eight without missing any of those you-should-have-been-there moments.
The music part of the festival starts at 7:30 p.m. with Yester at Teatro Zuccone, but for political purposes, Homegrown starts when Duluth Mayor Don Ness says it starts – at Tycoons Alehouse, 7 p.m., with his proclamation and the uncasking of the Homegrown Hempen Ale.
“We’ll hold off on it until the mayor makes his speech/proclamation/toast and then we’ll start pouring hempen ales like crazy,” says Brad Nelson of Star Creative, the marketing arm of Tycoons. Normally you would be warned not to drink more than a couple, but everything Sunday night is in walking distance. Go nuts.
Once drunk, you’ll have your first opportunity to exercise some Homegrown decision making. You can stay at Tycoons for Tangier 57, go to Lucé for the new-band showcase (new projects, but from Duluth music staples like Ben Butter, Brian Ring, Steve Sola and various members of the Keep Aways and Dirty Horse), or head to Carmody for the pub quiz.
Although the role of quizmaster is changing hands this year from Carmody bartender Devin McKinnon to the chair of Homegrown’s board of directors, Jon Lee, the prizes will faithfully remain the same dollar-store crap.
Monday, April 29
Monday’s events start off with the Homegrown Photo Show in the atrium of the Zeitgeist Arts Building. The Duluth Photographers Guild, and Laramie Carlson in particular, have coordinated the show, which consists of photos from Homegrowns past.
The Homegrown Music Video Festival will take place at Zinema 2 at 6 p.m. Eighteen videographers were assigned songs on March 1, each charged with the task of creating an original music video. The screening of the finished products has become so popular that encore showings have been added in recent years to accommodate the growing audience.
The videographers have been getting more time each year to produce their videos, but coordinator Annie Dugan says it doesn’t necessarily make a difference.
“There are some videos that are still my favorites from the very first year, when they only had a weekend to make them, and some from last year when they had a month,” Dugan says.
The Homegrown Poetry Showcase has been moved to Fitger’s Spirit of the North Theater this year to make more room for all the beatniks and saps. Organized lovingly by Kyle Elden, this event pulls out a diverse selection of literary voices, from well-established, published poets to punks who scribble on crumpled paper. Their words are accompanied by improvisational music by Jesse Hoheisel, Kathy McTavish and Richie Townsend.
As always, music will rage into the night, but this year the venues will be contained to a walking-friendly quadrant of East Superior Street.
Tuesday, April 30
You can still call it Experimental Tuesday if you want, but any night that features Trampled by Turtles is no longer experimental in the Homegrown book. Don’t worry, there will be the usual number of goofballs out. Tuesday is just no longer exclusively dedicated to them – it’s all about West Duluth and the friendly West End.
Clyde Iron Works will be the busiest venue schedule-wise, with two stages rocking upstairs and down. The first mezzanine show starts at 6 p.m. with Aurora & Her Good Intentions. Move into the main room from 7 to 10 p.m. for Jason Wussow & Friends, the Keep Aways and Trampled by Turtles. The lineup features mainstays of the Duluth music scene who helped to build it to the monstrosity it is today.
“We’re looking back at the people who’ve been really active in the Duluth music scene and kind of acknowledging their dedication and perseverance by putting them on the big stage,” says Festival Director Walter Raschick. “We love Jason Wussow for supporting both the established and up and coming musicians tirelessly at Beaner’s, as well as playing music himself … and then obviously the Keep Aways, who have been playing and organizing shows for over a decade.”
Two miles west of the 21+ show at Clyde, Beaner’s will offer music open to all ages. The late-night Tuesday shows cover three stages: Mr. D’s, Players and the upstairs mezzanine at Clyde.
Wednesday, May 1
Wednesday starts with an encore of the Homegrown Music Video Festival at Zinema 2. After that, events spread out over a broader area than usual.
Up the hill, the Music Resource Center will hold its Homegrown showcase at Sacred Heart from 6 to 10 p.m. MRC offers free music performance, recording and business lessons to kids in grades 6-12. With the help of Chaperone Records, the center just launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for new equipment. The showcase lineup this year features Jake Vainio, Hannah McDaniel, Curren Effinger and Shortwave.
“They’re nervous; I think mostly they’re excited,” says Darin Bergsven, MRC music instructor and program manager. “It is a higher-profile gig than a 10-minute slot at our monthly open mic.”
Effinger and McDaniel will also be showing music videos they made with the help of UMD professor David Syring and his students.
On the Grandma’s stage in Canal Park this year will be an unlawful amount of talent, including Sarah Krueger, Charlie Parr and Fred Tyson & His Tysonettes. And then the Acceleratii will play.
Elsewhere, Amazing Grace will feature the diverse combination of Bliss (of Kritical Kontact) and Adam Sippola; the Adjustments, Diet Folk and Mikey Talented play at Dubh Linn; and Lake Avenue Restaurant & Bar starts at 10:30 p.m. with Biochemical Characters and Timber & Steel.
Thursday, May 2
This year for Superior night, Homegrown has a special surprise. The steering committee dug 25-foot trenches all along Tower Avenue. OK, that’s a joke, but Tower will indeed be under construction. It’s difficult to predict how treacherous the rubble will be, so be advised, you may have to do some circling to get from place to place.
Superior night starts out at Red Mug with Homegrown newcomers the Anatomy of… (a band that intentionally ends its name with an ellipsis – that wasn’t a pause for effect) followed by Strange Meeting and De Se. Strange Meeting is the third of bassist Matt Mobley’s six Homegrown gigs of the week, which sounds like a lot to anybody but him. His record is something like 11.
“I tried to cut it in half this year,” he says. “I think I only play like three of the nights.”
Wino, WI – a new band with some veteran Twin Ports talent – plays at the Main Club. Norm’s Beer & Brats hosts a diverse roster including Americana, reggae and rock bands. The Farsights, P-gnewmatikz and Indulge play Bev’s, and the Superior Flame is a new venue this year with a lineup of DJs. Acoustic acts Colleen Myhre, Coyote and Lion or Gazelle play the Pagan.
If you live in Duluth and don’t do well with bridges (or if you live in Superior and really love bridges) there will be music at Chester Creek Wine Bar and Burrito Union, with the latter hosting three acts, including the raucous yet sing-a-long friendly men of Gallus.
Friday, May 3
With 46 bands at 15 venues, the bad news is that you’ll inevitably miss something. The good news is that, unless you’re unreasonably picky, you’ll find something you like. Music starts at 6:15 p.m. at Beaner’s with Theft by Swindle and ends god-knows-when at god-knows-where with god-knows-who. Highlights listed here are somewhat arbitrary, as there is just no way to refer to every act.
There’s one themed venue on Friday: synth night at R.T. Quinlan’s, where Bad Miranda, Duck Duck Punch and Bratwurst will all be utilizing synthesizers in very different, and potentially bizarre, ways.
Tycoons will feature a night of legends with Father Hennepin, Sexhawk and Crew Jones. Teatro houses the Bitter Spills, Jack Campbell & the Skeleton Keys and the Boomchucks.
Brad Nelson of the Boomchucks and Father Hennepin is one of the few musicians who has played every Homegrown. Ask him what the festival was like when no one was Instagramming it and rock ‘n’ roll hadn’t died.
Over at Pizza Lucé, Kritical Kontact will be playing its last show as members Jaze, Bliss and Legitimit focus on their solo work.
Make sure to hop on the trolley at some point for whatever impromptu acoustic performances are going on there. And keep your schedule open between about 2:30 a.m. and sunrise, as you will inevitably receive an after-bar invitation from a wreckless homeowner.
Saturday, May 4
Well, this is it: 54 bands and one fire dancing troupe at 19 venues. Your grandmother is hanging off a bridge from a frayed bungee cord and Gandhi is about to eat a Whopper Jr. You can only save one of them.
To prepare for this decision, start the day off with a mimosa and some aspirin at Chester Creek Café. Then make your way to Chester Bowl Park to see kickball played by a bunch of musicians who got stuffed into lockers during gym class. The night’s music starts at 6 p.m., with Fearless Moral Inventory kicking off Beaner’s punk night.
R. T. Quinlan’s is once again a themed night – it’s “P” night with the Pulvermachers, Portrait of a Drowned Man and Portage. The Pulvermachers will be something of a throwback show. They’ve been around since about 1991 and their members have been playing the Twin Ports since ’82 in YRU and Iron Youth, among others. Their first show was in a garage on Arrowhead Road around 1991, after which their guitarist, Jon Berglund, had his last drink ever while talking Bob Olson (of Father Hennepin) out of quitting the music business. Ah, music scene history.
Stumble your way along Superior Street and beyond to catch as much as you can of everything else until the last shows start at 12:30. Southwire and Cars & Trucks, both of which released albums in March, close out Lucé.
Sunday, May 5
If you did Homegrown right, this should be the worst you have felt since Homegrown Sunday a year ago. But if you throw in the towel before the annual Lucé hangover breakfast, you will never forgive yourself. The music at the Looch will be quieter than the previous seven days of ruckus: Gina Lee at 11 a.m. and Wes Hadrich with Greg Tiburzi at noon.
Afterward there is a free, family-friendly show at Sacred Heart, starting at noon with Taste the Feeling (Bradical Boombox’s Brad Fernholz and his kids), Emily Haavik & Friends and the Ever-Changing Grass Band.
For the second year in a row Club Saratoga will also be a Sunday venue. James & Younger and Peter Pain open it up, followed by Dan Anderson and his Silk Sheiks. The Sheiks will be playing the same slot, in the same venue, two years in a row – an unusual Homegrown repetition because it was so damn fun last year.
If you missed the music video festival the first two times, there will be another encore screening at Chester Creek Café at 2 p.m.
And now, congratulations, you’ve made it through eight days of awesome and are free to remain in your homes watching The Walking Dead and Down-town Abbey or whatever-the-crap that show is called.
* * *
Homegrown History
1990s: Incubation and Hatching
By Paul Lundgren
According to the abridged history of Homegrown, generally summarized in a single sentence every year in the festival’s Field Guide: Scott Lunt had five bands play at his 30th birthday party in 1998, then decided to hold a festival in 1999 called Homegrown.
The full story, of course, is much more complicated. Asked about it 15 years later, Lunt sums it up this way: “It’s the guitar, man.”
In the mid-1990s, Lunt spotted a green Guild Starfire guitar in a newspaper ad and bought it, setting off a chain of events that slowly changed Duluth’s music scene in ways few could have imagined.
At the time, most of the bands in Duluth were playing 1980s heavy-metal covers. There were a handful of acts playing original music at R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon and at an underage venue in the old Bell Telephone building, called the RecyclaBell. Other venues, like Le Petit Espresso House in Superior and the Urban Ground Café, hosted periodic shows, but the makings of a viable music scene barely existed. The Fitger’s Brewhouse and Amazing Grace Bakery & Café had just opened.
A new Duluth trio called Low was gaining an international audience, but in the band’s hometown it was a virtual unknown.
Lunt was fairly new to Duluth. An Austin, Minn., native, he arrived by way of Owatonna in 1992. Cloquet native Mark Lindquist graduated from Hamline University that spring and soon found himself in Duluth as well.
Lindquist had begun recording music on a 4-track in his apartment, and eventually met Patrick Nelson to form the beginnings of the band Giljunko. He remembers going to shows at R. T. Quinlan’s to see Minneapolis bands and quickly discovering a small crop of Duluth talent.
“It was a revelation,” he says. “Down in the Twin Cities we all just played really loud and never considered vocal monitors because no one was going to hear your vocals anyway. In Duluth, there were guys like Eric Swanson working the sound.”
Three bands from the era that stuck out for Lindquist were Puddle Wonderful, the Fromundas and Swivelhead.
“I saw Puddle Wonderful and they just sounded so good,” he says. “They walked that fine line of being raw and aggressive, but the guys could play. I did not expect to find that. I thought Duluth just had cover bands and blues bands – which there were a lot of back then.”
Over at J.D.’s Java, a little coffee shop on East Superior Street where Designer Dogs is located today, the house music consisted of mix tapes, many of which were made by Lunt. When Lunt gave a mix tape to his friend John Hartley, Hartley sent Lunt a thank-you note referencing Lunt’s new green guitar and the disc-jockey skills displayed on the tape: “Thanks DJ Starfire.”
“He probably didn’t put too much thought into it, but the name really inspired me,” Lunt says. “And then one thing begat the next.”
In the summer of 1997, “DJ Starfire” took his mix-tape-making skills to the local airwaves, launching Random Radio, a pirate FM station broadcasting 80 to 90 watts of random music from his Central Hillside duplex. Dozens of friends volunteered to take shifts at the station, coming and going at all hours. Bands from around the region would stop by Lunt’s home to guest host Random broadcasts.
“Like the first night he was on I took my truck over there with the Giljunko boys and harassed him for a while,” Lindquist says. “I thought it was one of the coolest things I ever saw. No one had Internet then, so you listened to the radio to get the music you wanted to hear. Starfire was playing stuff that was relevant to people who were really into music. And he took an interest in what other people were up to. In Minneapolis they used to make fun of you if you gave them your demo tapes. Starfire wanted people to give him their demo tapes.”
The “Starfire” moniker started to truly take hold when Lunt came home and found at the top of his stairway a cassette tape Alan Sparhawk of Low had left for him. It had the word “Starfire” written on it, and contained a demo of a song that bore Lunt’s nickname and later appeared on Low’s 1999 album Secret Name.
“I popped that into my stereo and I remember listening to it several times in a row,” Lunt says.
Around the same time, Lunt started regularly spinning music at Fitger’s Brewhouse on Thursday nights. Dubbed the “Starfire Lounge,” the gig lasted six years and gave the name “Starfire” everything it needed to stick.
As Lunt’s 30th birthday approached, his friend Mike Lowe happened to mention how “everybody should have a big 30th birthday party.” Having recently attended an event at Lafeyette Community Center, Lunt thought that would be a suitable venue for a rawk and/or roll bash.
“It’s funny how all these little things fell into place,” Lunt says.
Having assembled his first band, Father Hennepin, he decided to hold the group’s debut performance on his birthday. He also invited Jon Olson, Amy Abts, Mark Lindquist and Gild to perform.
“It was during finals,” Abts remembers. “I was in my second or third year studying theater at UMD. I showed up with my guitar and was like, whoa, it’s a big party for Scott! Lafayette Square was all festive – candles and Christmas lights (in May). Snow drifts were melting down on the sand near the lake.”
Lindquist remembers playing an acoustic set and joining in with other bands, including a song with Father Hennepin that also brought to the stage Lunt’s grandfather.
“I’ve never seen Starfire so happy in his whole life than playing with his grandpa on stage,” Lindquist says. “And Grandpa was good, too.”
The show would be Starfire’s first time playing in front of an audience.
“I had a lot of family there,” he remembers. “People had no idea if I could do it.”
He could do it. Starfire, Father Hennepin and the Duluth music scene were on their way up.
Then came a warning letter from the Federal Communications Commission. Lunt faced fines as high as $100,000 if he continued his Random Radio broadcasts. As it turned out, he was ready to stop anyway.
“I got sick of it being in my house,” he said. “It kind of got out of control.”
There was still the matter of producing a CD of live recordings from the Random Headquarters, however. Setting up the release party meant doing something that terrified Lunt: talking to Rick Boo.
Boo and two partners had taken over management of the NorShor Theatre, which had been an on-again off-again music venue for years. Boo and his partners were focused on showing independent films, with maybe a jazz trio performing here and there. To Lunt’s surprise, Boo was receptive to having the Random Acts of Radio CD release at the NorShor.
By then, Lunt already had designs on making his birthday party an annual music festival. He was sitting at his dining room table with his roommate, Bryan “Lefty” Johnson, drinking coffee and playing cribbage, when the name popped into his head – the Homegrown Music Festival.
“Once I had a good name I just couldn’t not do it,” Lunt said.
The South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, served as Lunt’s model, though the landscape of Duluth would bear a stark contrast. The capital city of Texas has 10 times the population of Duluth and promotes itself as the “live music capital of the world.” While SXSW would feature over 700 bands in 1999, Lunt set his sights at 10.
Tim Nelson, a critical player in developing the first Homegrown, remembers using the Misery Sessions in Houghton, Mich., as a more scaled-down model of how a town with one-tenth the population of Duluth could pull off a music festival.
Meanwhile, Tim’s brother Brad Nelson had started a monthly newspaper with Cord Carbert (better known as ©rd R. Dada) called the Ripsaw, which featured a weekly column about local music titled “the Buzz.”
“I remember sitting down at Uncle Loui’s (a café in Duluth’s Central Hillside) and talking about what Duluth needed to make a cool scene,” Tim Nelson says. He felt Duluth could pull it together if it could get the bands, clubs and an alternative newspaper all working together. The paper was critical, because there were no blogs, no Facebook and no Twitter at the time.
“It was all very intentional,” Brad Nelson says. “We knew that if we were going to build a following for local music, that group would need to be somehow edified, because it’s hard to get interested enough in a band to go out and see a show if you don’t have any inroads to it. That’s what the Ripsaw was for.”
The Nelsons say Lunt was the perfect guy to rally the whole thing together.
“Starfire was the idea guy,” Brad says. “No one had better ideas.”
Brad’s partner in creating the Ripsaw played another critical role in developing Homegrown. Carbert drew the first chicken.
“I wasn’t given any direction,” Carbert says. “The concept was local musicians playing music. I was given the task to find something that was homegrowny.”
He found a sourcebook image of a chicken standing on top of a basket of eggs, and used that as his inspiration.
“It was a photograph and I turned it into an illustration,” he says. “We had a few things we were looking at. Starfire liked the chicken and thought we could use a different farm animal every year, but I got busy doing the Ripsaw and it’s been a chicken ever since.”
1999: Homegrown 1
The venue for the first Homegrown would be the NorShor Theatre, which at the time was unable to open its main theater due to fire code issues. That was fine with Lunt, who wanted to cram as many people as he could into the building’s mezzanine rather than have the crowd seem sparse in a large theater. The smaller space also allowed set designer Doug Odlevek to really make an impact, decorating the space to create a festival atmosphere.
Who was the very first act of Homegrown?
“Amy Abts opened,” Brad Nelson remembers. “People were crowding into the mezzanine, sitting on the stairs and on the floor by the stage. It was a great feeling to know that we were filling that room.”
Although there was some established camaraderie among the musicians, Abts remembers feeling that she didn’t know many people.
“I tried to get my theater friends to come see my set at Homegrown,” she says, “but all they cared about was Crazy Betty,” a band that played the following night.
When she finished her set she went to the bar for a drink and met a guy from New Orleans who asked her to sign his Homegrown poster.
“I was like, ‘what?’ she remembers. “I laughed at him but I signed it. Then some other people followed. I was starting to enjoy myself. I felt part of a community and it was celebratory.”
Abts’ set was followed by a new band, the Black Labels, and a reggae artist who was somewhat new to town, Max Dakota. Then came Giljunko.
“We were used to playing at places like the Pacific Club (in Superior where Centerfold’s is now), where the audience either just wanted to hear the next band or wanted us to stop playing completely,” Lindquist recalls. “Quinlan’s and the NorShor mezzanine – particularly Homegrown – were kind of my first experiences where people wanted to hear what we had to play.”
Starfire’s Father Hennepin closed out the first night.
“It wasn’t just another show,” Lunt says. “Bands picked it up a notch that night. Lots of genres were represented. There was an awesome vibe. Everyone was so happy. It was so affirming. The NorShor mezzanine was just so full of people.”
The lineup for day two consisted of the First Ladies, 2 Sleepy People, Ballyhoo, Crazy Betty and Gild. Although four of those bands would go on to become established local favorites, Lindquist remembers 2 Sleepy People stealing the show.
“They were great,” he says. “It was a really cool mixture of different styles – rock, hip hop, jazz, lounge – all mixed into one. Good performers in that band – people you wanted to watch on stage.”
Over two nights the first Homegrown drew about 700 people. Lunt knew he was on to something, and there would be more Homegrown to come.
“There is something about that weekend that is perfect,” he says. “There’s an energy that first week of May, because summer is right around the corner. Duluth comes out of its hibernation for Homegrown. Everything is lighter. We have this jubilant week together.”
* * *
Homegrown History
2000 to 2005: Halcyon Days to Near Disaster
2000: Homegrown 2
A solid crop of new bands had emerged in Duluth by May 2000, including the Black-eyed Snakes, Both, Accidental Porn and Bone Appetit. Musicians who had left the area were starting to drift back, like Jerree Small, Jamie Ness and the Dames.
One month prior to the second Homegrown, the Ripsaw ramped up to weekly publishing and dedicated a special issue to previewing Duluth’s second-annual music showcase. The issue served as the predecessor to what later became the Homegrown Field Guide (you know, the magazine you are holding in your hands).
The new master brewer at the Brewhouse, Dave Hoops, created a special batch of beer called Homegrown Hempen Ale, a recipe he has revived every year since. Musicians and fans gathered at the Brewhouse on the Thursday before Homegrown to taste the new beer while Lunt spun local music during the Starfire Lounge.
Another tradition begun in 2000 was the kickball game between the bands that play on Friday night and the bands that play on Saturday night. Saturday won by a score of 7-6 in a game that came down to the final kick.
Although there were a number of great Homegrown 2 performances – among them the Black-eyed Snakes performing with Alan Sparhawk’s father sitting in, Bone Appetit cock-rawking the NorShor’s main stage, the First Ladies saving Homegrown from the villain Hu Phlung Pu, and Father Hennepin playing with a 10-member choir – the show that stuck out was Giljunko’s set, which offered no theatrics, but brought the crowd to a frenzy.
“I think that never have so many people freaked out so hard for so long in the NorShor mezzanine,” Ripsaw contributor Barrett Chase wrote of the Giljunko set. “People were even crowded into the bar area to dance, and the wall of mirrors in the lobby actually fogged up like a bathhouse mirror. Everyone was completely soaked through their clothes.”
2001: Homegrown 3
The new crop of acts for the 2001 Homegrown included Mary Bue, Teague Alexy, If Thousands, Lookdown Moon (then known as Mayfly), No Room to Pogo, Charlie Parr and James Moors (then known as Sterling Waters). Two new venues were welcomed into the fold – Beaner’s Central (the West Duluth coffee shop Jason Wussow opened the summer after the first Homegrown) and the Red Lion Bar (where the Black Labels had already served for a year as the resident band on Wednesday nights).
In all, 38 bands were featured, including the first Homegrown appearance by Low (though bassist Zak Sally did not perform with the band; he was in Louisville watching the Kentucky Derby).
Low had just returned from a successful European tour, and the band’s new album Things We Lost in the Fire had hit number one on the College Music Journal‘s chart in February.
Lunt took time off from organizing Homegrown to serve as a nanny on Low’s tour, taking care of Alan and Mimi Sparhawk’s then-1-year-old daughter Hollis. To fill the void, Ripsaw arts page editor Tim Anderson handled the task of coordinating the festival.
“It was already well formed at that point,” Anderson says. “The structure was all there, but that was the year it kind of exploded.”
One of the more significant things that happened in 2001, in terms of the ongoing history of the festival, is that it was the year cartoonist Chris Monroe drew the Homegrown chicken for the cover of the Ripsaw. Although a number of artists have illustrated the plucky cock over the years, Monroe’s rendering has served as the iconic logo of Homegrown ever since.
2002: Homegrown 4
In its fourth year, Homegrown had what could be considered the strongest batch of new bands in its history. Crew Jones, Dukes of Hubbard, Farewell Tour, the Keep Aways, Jackie & the Ripoffs, the State Champs, Stel & Lefty, Malec, the Undesirables and Haley Bonar all played the festival for the first time.
Starfire tapped Giljunko’s Mark Lindquist to create the schedule for Homegrown.
“People forget I booked that thing like a well-run fantasy football team for years.” Lindquist says. “Some of the bands started to get pissed when they weren’t booked at midnight at the NorShor. I always wanted to make sure there was a well-known band at each venue. It’s supposed to be about the bands you haven’t heard of. It’s not supposed to be about the four popular bands.”
The fourth annual Homegrown expanded to include 67 acts playing four nights at eight venues. A change in city law prior to the festival allowed Pizza Lucé to obtain an extended cabaret license, permitting dancing past 2 a.m. This allowed the new restaurant to host shows that didn’t start until the wee hours of the morning – such as Crew Jones on Friday and the Black-eyed Snakes on Saturday.
The capacity crowd for the ‘Snakes performance flowed out into Superior Street and up Lake Avenue, with people watching through the windows, several of them flashers who gave the audience an eye full. Inside the building, what many believe to be the first documented case of crowd surfing at a pizza restaurant occurred.
The Black-eyed Snakes actually played Homegrown twice in 2002. The purpose was to give younger fans a chance to see the band at the all-ages venue, Beaner’s. The ‘Snakes made that a memorable show as well, wearing horse-head masks for the majority of their set.
Those who thought the Black-eyed Snakes couldn’t be upstaged were wrong. The Dames followed them with a set that front man Tony Bennett wasn’t happy with, saying later that he and his band mates “weren’t feeling it that night.” So, how did he compensate for it? He ate a Limp Bizkit poster on stage.
“The bits that I couldn’t get in my mouth went down the back of my pants and marinated in my ass crack,” he told the Ripsaw a year later. “I then pulled those poster pieces out and threw them at people in the crowd, who scrambled with Matrix-like speed to duck out of the way.”
Future Homegrown leader Paul Connolly, attending his first Homegrown, cited the Limp Bizkit poster-eating incident as his introduction to the Duluth music scene.
“I also remember the Black Labels showing up in a limo at Beaner’s to watch the Dames,” Connolly remembers. “I was just a junior in college, damaging my brain cells.”
Lunt remembers Homegrown 4 as the year it started getting difficult to organize. He forgot to reserve Chester Bowl Park for kickball and had to quickly find an alternate location, and amps were blowing out at multiple venues.
“My phone was ringing off the hook,” he says. “I remember playing kickball at Observation Park, talking on the phone under an umbrella while running bases and drinking a beer.”
2003: Homegrown 5
There weren’t a lot of new bands in the 2003 Homegrown, but one of them would later become Homegrown’s biggest draw – Trampled by Turtles. The group was a four-piece at the time and hadn’t come up with its name in time, so the show was listed on the schedule as “Dave Simonette Band.”
Also new at Homegrown in 2003 were the DTs, Words to a Film Score and Boy Girl Boy Girl. The latter band, comprised of Tim and Brad Nelson, Jen Jones and Nikki Moeller, was excited to play its first show during the festival. Unfortunately, the group blew the power out at the Red Lion and spent more time standing in the dark than playing music.
Homegrown expanded to five days for its fifth year, and included 77 acts. Starfire was seemingly in high spirits, having shaved his hair into a chicken-like mohawk. Scene designer Doug Odlevak created a giant replica of the Ariel Lift Bridge over the NorShor’s main stage, which was the last time any serious degree of decorating took place at the festival.
2004: Homegrown 6
In the months leading up to the sixth Homegrown, real adversity began piling up for the first time. Rick Boo had closed the NorShor Theatre in October 2003 because of mounting debt. The Ripsaw was struggling, and at the end of the year switched to a monthly magazine format in an effort to make it profitable.
Then, in March 2004, Lunt sent an e-mail to musicians, friends, press and club owners to inform them he would no longer organize Homegrown.
“I have been pondering ways to scale back the festival and I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer muster the enthusiasm needed to organize an event of this magnitude,” he wrote. “I want to thank everyone who has helped over the years and I hope that out of the ashes of Homegrown can grow something bigger and better. Duluth has so much talent and potential. I have no doubt that brighter days are in the future.”
Darker days would come before the brighter ones, but there would still be highlights along way.
A conversation at the Brewhouse between Lunt, the Nelson brothers, Don Ness and Christopher Halverson led to an agreement in which Lunt would run the festival one more time, as a collaborative effort involving help from the Ripsaw and a new nonprofit all-ages venue Halverson and Ness were working to open on First Avenue West.
The Twin Ports Music and Arts Collective, commonly referred to as “the MAC,” was created as a performance and gallery space, funded by donations and the proceeds from benefit concerts featuring Duluth bands.
The first performances at the MAC were during the 2004 Homegrown, with no fewer than 16 bands playing there over two nights. A memorable show by the Black-eyed Snakes included a crew of men dressed as Denfeld High School basketball players taking the stage to shake maracas and tambourines with the band.
Three of the new bands that played the festival in 2004 – Boku Frequency, the Alrights and Sweetgrass – would each go on to play the next eight years straight (but none of them are together for this year’s Homegrown).
The sixth annual Homegrown would be the last one organized by Lunt. It was also the first year the number of bands decreased, with a roster of 74 acts, down three from the previous year. Lunt lost about $3,000 on the festival, which was about the total cost of paying bands at the time.
“I obviously didn’t get into it to get rich,” Lunt says, “but I sure didn’t want to lose money.”
2005
Following the difficult 2004 Homegrown, a deal was reached where the Ripsaw would take ownership of the festival, buying out Starfire for the sum of $3,000 – roughly what he had lost the year before.
“The Ripsaw was in the tissue with Homegrown anyway, so it seemed natural,” Brad Nelson says. He owned the paper at the time with his brother Tim, who had bought the majority of Cord Carbert’s share in 2001.
“We just didn’t want Homegrown to die,” Tim says.
The Ripsaw‘s experiment with publishing as a monthly magazine ended with its December 2004 issue, and four months passed without a new edition. The Nelsons were planning to bring it back in time to promote Homegrown, with issues occurring every other month thereafter.
Meanwhile, the NorShor transferred management again and the MAC closed its doors in January after failing to raise money or draw crowds.
The Nelsons headed to England during the tail end of the Homegrown planning process, where Brad was playing drums on tour with the Black-eyed Snakes. While overseas Brad got an e-mail from Ripsaw music-section editor Brandy Hoffman indicating bands were upset and pulling out of the festival following the announcement that Homegrown would no longer offer paychecks to its musicians.
“A lot of people assumed we were going to make a lot of money on the festival,” Brad says. “Everything blew up.”
As it turns out, the Nelsons got the idea of not paying bands from a knowledgeable source.
“I suggested not paying bands,” Lunt says. “I could have maybe gotten away with that. It was my fault. The pressure of having to pay for everything just grew every year.”
Although the amount bands had been paid for playing the festival was always the same meager rate – $50 per band or $25 for solo artists – it was something that had come to be expected, though it also took a bigger toll on the budget as the number of bands continued to increase.
“It turned out to be a bad idea,” Brad says in retrospect. “We thought nobody cared about $50. For a lot of bands, that’s $10 per person. We thought, let’s just be honest and say the money isn’t there. We’ll put together packets for the bands with T-shirts and beer tickets and they’ll be happy. It didn’t work out that way.”
At first, the bitterness was mutual.
“We felt burned,” Tim Nelson remembers. “We thought we were part of a movement.”
But when the Nelsons returned from Europe and started talking to musicians, most of them understood, and the festival went on as planned. There were 84 acts at Homegrown 7, including new bands like the Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank, the Little Black Books, Portrait of a Drowned Man, Sleepfarmer and Retribution Gospel Choir (a replacement for Low).
Still, it was Homegrown’s lowest moment. By the end of the year, the Ripsaw was out of business, the NorShor was closed yet again due to fire code violations, and the Nelsons were through with running Homegrown.
Fortunately, Don Ness was ready to roll up his sleeves and turn the festival into a nonprofit. Homegrown’s biggest years were still ahead.
“I do think it belongs in a community group,” Brad Nelson says. “In the long run it makes it sustainable.
Despite the lumps, the Nelsons hold on to fond memories and big expectations for the future.
“Those days in the early 2000s of Homegrown and the Ripsaw defined our present culture and will be part of it for a long time,” Brad says. “We’re honored to have been part of that. Those will always be the wonder years.”
* * *
Homegrown History
2006 to Eternity: Bureaucracy and Mustaches
By the end of 2005 Homegrown had been passed off from private ownership into nonprofit hands – on paper fiscally managed by the Bridge Syndicate and organized by a steering committee comprised of artists, but in reality handed off to Don Ness, who would have to find those committee members and shepherd them.
2006: Homegrown 8
Ness put together a large steering committee, chaired by Alan Sparhawk and Amy Abts, with a variety of subcommittees. By the time the festival was near, the steering committee was down to 10 people and the subcommittees were reduced to two.
“It was critical to start with a broad group,” Ness says. “They were committed to the health of Homegrown. They got a sense of what was going on, took that and went out and told their friends. That built credibility for what the festival was going to be. When it came time to do the work, the group got leaner, but we had to cast a wide net to find those people who were willing to work.”
Ness was bold with his vision, vastly expanding the festival right out of the gate. Under his direction, Homegrown would grow from being a four-day event to an eight-day event, and for the first time include more than 100 bands. There would be poetry, videos and visual arts. The festival would return Superior to the fold, this time significantly. Themed shows like New Band Night and Experimental Tuesday would emerge.
The first Homegrown Field Guide, a 36-page magazine promoting the festival, compensated for the loss of the Ripsaw‘s coverage.
New bands performing in 2006 included Cars & Trucks, the Acceleratii, Batteries, Kritical Kontact and Mr. Kickass – all of which would become Homegrown mainstays and are on the schedule for the 2013 festival.
The NorShor Theatre had been closed for eight months due to fire code violations, but Ness gambled that the issues could be resolved in time for Low to play a show on the main stage during Homegrown. At 9:30 a.m. on the day of the concert, he got the call from then-fire marshal Erik Simonson indicating the show could go on. Over 400 people showed up.
At Bone Appetit’s “Farewell Reunion” at R. T. Quinlan’s (one of the band’s many last shows ever) a character known as “Max Blast” introduced the band wearing a powder-blue suit and sporting a thin, black mustache that was drawn on with a Sharpie marker. That was the moment Chris Whittier unleashed the first Homegrown Sharpie mustache on the world. For some reason, it became a trend.
2007: Homegrown 9
In 2007, the Friday bands finally defeated the Saturday bands at kickball, winning 4-3. Twins Bar became a first-time Homegrown venue hosting a hip-hop showcase that filled it to capacity. The Tap Room had moved out of the Fitger’s Brewery Complex to a spot on Fourth Avenue West above the Duluth Athletic Club Bar & Grill, where Trampled by Turtles played to a packed house.
Ness relinquished his position as festival director following the festival, announcing he was planning a bid for mayor.
“Local music has played a big part in my life,” Ness says looking back. “It kept me grounded in this community in a different way than school did. Without local music I might have moved to the Cities. Meeting those people meant a lot to me during that time in my life.”
The Homegrown steering committee appointed Paul Connolly, guitar player for Portrait of a Drowned Man, to be the next Homegrown director.
“I didn’t play in a popular band,” Connolly says, “but I was willing to do a lot of work for no money, so I was qualified.”
Under his direction, the first CD compilation of Homegrown bands was released at the end of the year. Homegrown Rawk and/or Roll: Starfire’s Mix included 15 tracks by bands that helped make the festival famous.
2008: Homegrown 10
“I pretty much took Don’s model and tried to expand it,” Connolly says. “I didn’t want to make Homegrown bigger; I wanted more quality and to add an extra layer of communication with the bands. I didn’t have ambitions to take on extra stuff. It was a lot to take on.”
The tenth annual Homegrown featured 150 bands at 23 venues. Connolly managed to lead the organization of the festival while holding down a fulltime job as a graphic designer.
“I was running the festival on my lunch breaks and late at night,” he says. “It wasn’t a well-oiled machine by any means. The budget was tight, so when the festival started, the checkbook was pretty much at zero.”
Bone Appetit reunited for a show on the NorShor main stage, and Giljunko returned to Homegrown after a four-year hiatus – six if you consider the fact that Lindquist didn’t show up for his band’s gig in 2004 due to over indulgence in post-kickball intoxicants. The line to see the show at Pizza Lucé extended around the block for the back-to-back lineup of Giljunko and Trampled by Turtles.
Connolly credits his ability to make it through his first year as director to the help of steering committee member Dave Mehling.
“That dude saved my ass,” Connolly says. “At festival time it was pretty much me and him. He knew I needed help, and he was the guy who would do the things that needed getting done, with no glory attached.”
A second Homegrown compilation CD was released late in 2008, Homegrown Rawk and/or Roll: Lindquist’s Mix.
2009: Homegrown 11
Highlights of the 2009 Homegrown include the first-ever Homegrown Pub Quiz, a reunion performance by surf rockers the Hadjis, a logistical nightmare of an attempt to coordinate bus trips from the center of Duluth to the Lakeview Castle for shows, and Retribution Gospel Choir performing an afternoon concert in an Endion-neighborhood living room.
It was also the year Homegrown’s video showcase became the Homegrown Music Video Festival, with a new format of having videographers produce music videos for songs randomly drawn from a hat.
Trampled by Turtles played the last in its series of Pizza Lucé shows at Homegrown. In future years, larger venues would be needed to contain the growing fanfare.
After two successful years running Homegrown, Paul Connolly announced in the summer he would be stepping down.
“Paul was a critical person in the evolution of the festival,” Ness says, noting that Connolly had the perfect demeanor for the job. “He was quiet, unassuming and stayed above the fray, which was something that was needed at the time.”
Above all else, Connolly had brought stability to the festival.
“After Donny gave it up I wasn’t so sure about Homegrown’s future,” Lunt recalls. “I was skeptical it could keep going. After a year of Paul running it I felt reassured.”
In July, the steering committee convened to launch a search for a new director, and four months later, Shana David-Massett was chosen.
Ironically, David-Massett had been nearly cut from the list of performers for the 2009 festival. She was new to town, no one had heard of her and she hadn’t performed much outside of guest vocal slots during Jazz at the Toga. On the strength of the mp3 she submitted, the committee chose her for the last available slot in the 2009 festival. By the end of the year, she was running the whole thing.
2010: Homegrown 12
Among the bands reuniting for Homegrown 12 were the Fromundas and Ballyhoo. Both bands helped transform the local music scene in the late 1990s. The Fromundas had not performed together in 13 years; Ballyhoo had been broken up for eight years.
Bone Appetit played what to this point is considered its final-final show, closing out the Rex Bar.
“There isn’t one fucking person who would deny that we fucking rocked that town over the years,” Cory Ahlm wrote on Perfect Duluth Day after the show. “In the end, I like to think we left a nice big skid mark on certain parts of that music scene that can’t be wiped off.”
Indeed.
The NorShor Theatre, still with a strip club on its mezzanine level, hosted a Saturday show that filled its main theater like never before. Retribution Gospel Choir opened up, expanding its audience from the previous year’s living room show by about 700. Frank Nichols took the stage to say a few words and blast on his mouth harp, then Trampled by Turtles drove it home from there.
2011: Homegrown 13
Homegrown’s first shows at the new Clyde Iron Works were held in 2011, when Charlie Parr, Old Knifey & the Cutthroats and Trampled by Turtles filled the house.
Two legendary bands from before there was a Homegrown played the 13th annual festival. Low returned to Homegrown for the first time in five years, closing out a show at Sacred Heart. Puddle Wonderful reunited at R. T. Quinlan’s for its only show since 1998.
“Puddle Wonderful was a personal highlight for me,” says Walter Raschick, who was a steering committee member at the time. “The band had called it quits before I moved to the area, but after listening to a friend’s cassette for years, I was thrilled to see those songs played live.”
Raschick grew up in rural Wisconsin and came north to finish college at UW-Superior. He started hosting a radio show at the college station in 2004, taking on the persona of Walt Dizzo. By 2007 he was volunteering for Homegrown, and by 2009 he had found a home on the steering committee.
When David-Massett decided after Homegrown 13 to return to Florida and open a movie theater with her husband, Raschick was the steering committee’s clear choice to be her successor.
2012: Homegrown 14
Raschick estimates he was working 78 hours a week while putting together Homegrown 14, between his other four jobs. The festival continued to expand, with 167 bands performing in 2012. New to the festival was a mid-week show at Grandma’s Sports Garden and the addition of a Sunday afternoon show at Club Saratoga.
Clyde Iron Works again hosted Trampled by Turtles, this time with Father Hennepin and Equal Xchange opening.
Raschick is particularly proud that on Saturday night four venues were at capacity simultaneously – Tycoons, the Rex, Pizza Lucé and R. T. Quinlan’s.
“The hardest part of being director is not getting to see the shows I helped book,” he says, “but seeing packed houses and people having ridiculous amounts of fun makes it all worthwhile. Honestly, my real job is to preserve the legacy of the festival and not fuck it up,” he says.
So, whatever happened to the green Guild Starfire guitar that started all this?
“It was stolen a long time ago from Father Hennepin’s old practice space in the Corner of the Lake Building,” Lunt says. “I still kind of expect to see it again at Homegrown … some teenager playing it. I’m sure it’s changed hands a few times.”
If it shows up on stage this year, mark it up as another Homegrown miracle.
* * *
Homegrown Price Guide
Weeklong Pass
All eight days – $25
Single-day Pass
Friday or Saturday – $15
Single-day Weekday Pass
Any weekday – $5 *
* The Trampled by Turtles exception: The $5 single weekday pass does not include the Tuesday night show in the large banquet hall at Clyde Iron Works. To attend that show you must have a weeklong pass and be 21 or older. Wristband sales at Clyde begin at 5 p.m. on the day of the show. There could be limited space at this event, so it would be wise to arrive early; it will be first come, first serve. There will also be no guaranteed reentry if you slip out the door.
During Homegrown shows, admission wristbands can be purchased at any venue that requires them. Advance tickets are available at the Duluth Electric Fetus store and will remain on sale there throughout the week of Homegrown. For more information and schedule updates, check out duluthhomegrown.com.
* * *
The Streetcar to Desire
Homegrown is once again offering free shuttle service via the magic trolley replica bus on Friday and Saturday nights from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m., thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Duluth Transit Authority and Greater Downtown Council.
The Homegrown Trolley will operate in Downtown Duluth on Superior Street between Fourth Avenue West and Eighth Avenue East, serving venue locations every 20 minutes.
The trolley will stop at the Fitger’s Brewery Complex, Carmody Irish Pub, Teatro Zuccone, Tycoons Alehouse, Pizza Lucé, Spurs on First, Roscoe’s Pioneer Bar and R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon.
* * *
Homegrown Venues
Amazing Grace Bakery & Café
394 S. Lake Ave.
(218) 723-0075
amazinggraceduluth.com
Bakery and café in basement of DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace in Duluth’s Canal Park. All ages permitted; free admission.
Beaner’s Central
324 N. Central Ave.
(218) 624-5957
beanerscentral.com
Coffee shop in West Duluth with beer and wine. All ages permitted; paid admission required.
Bev’s Jook Joint
820 Tower Ave.
(715) 392-3580
Drinking establishment in Superior. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required.
Burrito Union
1332 E. Fourth St.
(218) 728-4414
burritounion.com
Burrito joint in Duluth’s East Hillside with award-winning Fitger’s Brewhouse beer. All ages permitted; free admission.
Carmody Irish Pub
308 E. Superior St.
(218) 740-4747
carmodyirishpub.com
Irish-themed brew pub in Downtown Duluth. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required for Monday and weekend events, free admission on Sunday.
Chester Bowl Park
1801 Skyline Parkway
(218) 724-9832
chesterbowl.org
Homegrown Kickball Classic held on large field at end of roadway through park.
Chester Creek Café
1902 E. Eighth St.
(218) 723-8569
astccc.net
Restaurant inside Taran’s Marketplace in Duluth’s Chester Park neighborhood. Hosts Thursday night show in its Wine Bar for people 21 or older. Saturday morning’s show in the restaurant and Sunday’s encore screening of the Homegrown Music Video Festival in a conference room/theater in the basement are open to all ages. Admission is free.
Club Saratoga
331 Canal Park Drive
(218) 722-5577
clubsaratoga.com
Jazz bar in Canal Park. Must be 21 or older; free admission.
Clyde Iron Works
2920 W. Michigan St.
(218) 727-1150
clydeparkduluth.com
Former hoist-and-crane manufacturing plant in Duluth’s friendly West End; now a restaurant, bar and concert venue. Must be 21 or older; weeklong pass required for shows in main hall, but upstairs mezzanine shows are free.
Dubh Linn Irish Pub
109 W. Superior St.
(218) 727-1559
dubhlinnpub.com
Irish-themed pub in Downtown Duluth hosting Homegrown bands on Wednesday night only. Must be 21 or older; free admission.
Duluth Flame Nightclub
28 N. First Ave. W.
(218) 727-2344
duluthflame.com
GLBT-friendly dance club in Downtown Duluth hosting two DJs and an MP3J on Saturday night. Must be 21 or older; free admission.
Fitger’s Brewhouse
600 E. Superior St.
(218) 279-2739
brewhouse.net
Award-winning brew pub and restaurant on eastern edge of Downtown Duluth in Fitger’s Brewery Complex. Must be 21 or older; free admission.
Fitger’s Spirit of the North Theater
600 E. Superior St.
(218) 722-8826
fitgers.com
Theater hosting the annual Homegrown Poetry Showcase, located on the third floor of the Fitger’s Brewery Complex. Find the elevator in the middle of the building, press the “3” button, and when the doors open you should be fine from there. All ages permitted; paid admission required.
Grandma’s Sports Garden
425 S. Lake Ave.
(218) 722-4724
grandmasrestaurants.com
Giant nightclub/restaurant in Canal Park. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required.
Lake Avenue Restaurant and Bar
394 Lake Ave. S.
(218) 722-2355
lakeavenuerestaurantandbar.com
Restaurant and bar in Duluth’s Canal Park. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required.
Legacy Glassworks
30 W. First St.
(218) 720-0747
legacyglassworks.com
Glass-blowing shop in Downtown Duluth. All ages permitted; free admission.
The Main Club
1217 Tower Ave.
(715) 392-1756
mainclubsuperior.com
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, allied, queer and intersex club in Superior. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required.
Minnesota Power Plaza
14 W. Superior St.
Also known as “Lake Superior Plaza” or the “People’s Power Plaza,” the tiny park at the corner of Lake Avenue and Superior Street in Downtown Duluth is the place to see hot fire-spinning action on Saturday night. All ages permitted; free admission.
Mr. D’s Bar & Grill
5622 Grand Ave.
(218) 624-4178
The unofficial city hall of West Duluth hosts music on Tuesday night. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required.
Norm’s Beer & Brats
1901 Broadway Street
(715) 394-9689
normsbeerandbrats.net
Music is upstairs at this two-level bar in Superior. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required.
Pizza Lucé
11 E. Superior St.
(218) 727-7400
pizzaluce.com
Restaurant/bar in Duluth Technology Village. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required on Friday and Saturday; Sunday shows are free.
Players Sports Bar
4024 Grand Ave.
(218) 624-7974
Walk into the front door of this West Duluth bar and you will practically be on stage. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required.
Red Mug Coffeehouse
916 Hammond Ave.
(715) 392-2662
redmugcoffee.com
Coffee shop with beer and wine, located in the Trade and Commerce Marketplace in Superior. All ages permitted; free admission.
Red Star Lounge
600 E. Superior St.
(218) 727-7827
redstarclub.us
Martini bar located in Fitger’s Brewery Complex. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required.
Roscoe’s Pioneer Bar
323 W. First St.
(218) 722-7100
Drinking establishment in Downtown Duluth. Must be 21 or older; free admission.
R. T. Quinlan’s Saloon
220 W. Superior St.
(218) 722-3573
Drinking establishment across from the Holiday Center in Downtown Duluth. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required.
Sacred Heart Music Center
201 W. Fourth St.
(218) 723-1895
sacredheartmusic.org
Former cathedral built in 1896 on Duluth’s Hillside; home of Sacred Heart Recording Studio and historic Felgemaker organ. All ages permitted; paid admission required on Tuesday and Saturday; free admission on Sunday.
Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake
805 E. Superior St.
(218) 728-1192
sirbens.com
Restaurant and bar at the eastern edge of Downtown Duluth. Must be 21 or older; free admission.
Spurs on First
109 W. First St.
Duluth’s only country/western bar hosts Homegrown bands on Saturday and Sunday night. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required.
Superior Flame Nightclub
1612 Tower Ave.
(715) 395-0101
superiorflame.com
Happening little gay bar in Superior hosting three DJs on Thursday night. Must be 21 or older; free admission.
Teatro Zuccone
222 E. Superior St.
(218) 336-1414
teatrozuccone.com
Black-box theater in Zeitgeist Arts Building, Downtown Duluth. All ages permitted; paid admission required for weekend shows; free on Sunday.
Thirsty Pagan Brewing
1623 Broadway St.
(715) 394-2500
thirstypaganbrewing.com
Microbrewery and restaurant in Superior. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required.
Twins Bar
501 E. Fourth St.
(218) 727-3871
Drinking establishment in Duluth’s Central Hillside. Must be 21 or older; paid admission required.
Zeitgeist Arts Building Atrium
222 E. Superior St.
(218) 722-9100
zeitgeistarts.com
The lobby connecting the Zeitgeist Arts Café, Teatro Zuccone and Zinema 2 hosts an art show and music by Tim Kaiser on Monday. All ages permitted; free admission.
Zinema 2
222 E. Superior St.
(218) 722-7300
zinema2.com
Two-screen movie house in Zeitgeist Arts Building, hosting the Homegrown Music Video Festival on Monday. All ages permitted; paid admission required.
* * *
Homegrown 15th Anniversary
Band Biographies
The Acceleratii
11:45pm Wed 5/1 | Grandma’s
Over the past seven-and-a-half years, the terms used to describe the Acceleratii’s music haven’t changed; it’s meth-head police-chase raunchabilly at its drunkest. The hoodlums responsible are Chad “Bo Bandit” Lyons on vocals, Steve “Gomez” Mahlberg on guitar, Ben “Neb” Marsen on bass and Scott “Potsy” Millis on drums. Lyons promises the Acceleratii will soon follow up the 2011 release of its self-titled debut album with a new live album and a Zumba video. Anyone who takes the Zumba comment seriously or is too mature to enjoy a song called “Poop Fight” should maybe look elsewhere for entertainment.
Accipiter, Buteo
9:30pm Thurs 5/2 | Burrito Union
An accipiter is a medium-sized hawk-like bird of prey. A buteo is a similar-sized breed of hawk that eats pigeons (yes!). Accipiter and Buteo together, separated by comma, is the name of Raphael Tiller’s indie-folk project. What do his guitar and vocal works have to do with birds? It’s hard to say, but his sound does gracefully flutter about the air. It often harkens back to the heady days of Drag City and K Record compilations in the early 1990s, when a barely-in-tune guitar, good lyrics and a cassette four-track meant something, damn it.
Actual Wolf
10pm Fri 5/3 | Fitger’s Brewhouse
Eric Pollard has an impressive history under his belt as a sideman for Retribution Gospel Choir and Low, among others. He has since moved on, though, to establish his own project and his own sound as Actual Wolf. His second EP, Lightning & the Wolf, came out on Chaperone Records in October, earning significant buzz, including a No. 6 “Picked to Click” finish and a Q&A profile in City Pages. The full band includes Jacob Hanson, Jeremy Hanson and Steve Garrington, but Pollard says he will play Homegrown solo.
The Adjustments
9:15pm Wed 5/1 | Dubh Linn
Alex Nelson, Justin Lofquist and Tim Nelson started playing music together in 1999 in the Iron Range city of Virginia. They went their separate ways in 2006, but found each other in Duluth in 2011. Upon meeting bassist Ian Kvale, they further developed their blues/folk/rock sound and set about gigging regularly at Carmody, Tycoons, Sir Ben’s, the Copasetic Lounge and Fitger’s Brewhouse. In August, they finished recording their debut album, Music For Everyone.
Teague Alexy
11:30pm Monday 4/29 | Fitger’s Brewhouse
Teague Alexy plays in the self-proclaimed genre of original, poetic roots rock, and “poetic” should be stretched to include its rap-music connotation. Alexy’s folk-rock with drummer Eric Pollard of Low and Retribution Gospel Choir, multi-instrumentalist Marc Gartman, and whoever else plays with him on a given night, is funky. His rap stuff, which he’s re-focusing on after starting there as a younger man, will sound credible to hip-hop heads and be accessible to roots-rock folks unfamiliar with rhymes that are spoken instead of sung. Alexy released his latest roots-rock record, The Dance, in 2012. Three albums with his rap crew Actionslave are coming out soon.
American Rebels
11:30pm Sunday 4/28 | Tycoons
As a three-piece group, this band rocked. Hard. Since adding guitarist Bob Olson to the lineup last year, American Rebels rocks so hard you don’t even know, man. Olson’s sonic effect serves as the perfect complement to Kyle Maclean’s distinct rhythm and passionate vocals. The combination of Heather Dean and Scott Millis’ gigantic bass and drums plays its own game of back-and-forth to complete the wall of sound. After releasing a monster five-song EP in August, the Rebels went to work on the live circuit, playing a ton of shows between Duluth and Minneapolis.
The Anatomy of…
6pm Thurs 5/2 | Red Mug
After spending time “Googling anatomical pictures,” singer/guitar player Dan Smith connected with the title of one, “The Anatomy of…,” and had himself a band name. Nick Glass joined him in the musical venture, creating a laid-back, smooth, acoustic-folk sound. They have been playing venues not limited to UMD, Beaner’s and Amazing Grace with a repertoire of original pieces, and plan to release a self-titled album soon.
Aurora & Her Good Intentions
6pm Tues 4/30 | Clyde Iron Works
Don’t think for a minute that Aurora Baer can’t hold her own with just a guitar and a microphone. She can definitely play solo, and often does at some pretty roughneck gigs like R. T. Quinlan’s on a weekday afternoon. Yikes. For Homegrown, she’ll be joined by the capable backing band known as Her Good Intentions. Mark Glen on bass, Derek Rolando on drums, and Andy Lipke on lead guitar have given Baer enough musical resources to move into a more solid and fleshed out alt-country groove.
Bad Miranda
10:30pm Fri 5/3 | R. T. Quinlan’s
Wanting to expound on the synthetic drug epidemic haunting Duluth, Sullie J. Fields took to developing an audio/video soubrette under the guise of Bad Miranda. Part experimental electronica, part mash-ups of provocative visuals, and part an excuse to wear pink wigs on stage, Fields’ finished project is a mixed-media presentation called Betty Went to D-Town. Though it looks and sounds like a cool outtake from a Warped record-label compilation, its aim is more heartfelt than art-felt and hopes to shed perspective on “that thing downtown” no one talks about.
A Band Called Truman
8:45pm Sat 5/4 | Amazing Grace
“Ain’t nobody getting famous in this band,” says singer, guitar player and 17-year Duluth music-scene veteran Leon Rohrbaugh. “We’re just going to have the most fun.” This is A Band Called Truman’s third Homegrown and Rohrbaugh’s 14th out of 15. He says the group plays “original rock-and-roll with a big sound,” and a new organ player and horn section make it even bigger, funkier and funner. Tom Wilkowske plays bass and sings back-up. Kelly Lussier drums and sings. Jim Pospisil plays piano and organ and sings. Jessica Olson and Kirby Wood play trumpet. Mina Hubert plays baritone saxophone. Dale Shimmin plays trombone. Half their set is four-piece, guitar-driven rock. Half includes the horns and some funk.
Big Wave Dave and the Ripples
11:45pm Tues 4/30 | Mr. D’s
Ray-Bans? Check. Horns? Check. Dancing shoes? Check, check. This eight-piece soul band, widely known for its Thursday gigs at the Rex, brings a variety of soul and funk songs, both originals and covers. Big Wave Dave Adams leads the group in a powerful way, with Alex Piazza on bass guitar, Peter Knutson on guitar and Dave Mennes playing drums. The horn section – composed of David Rode, Alex Nordehn, Steve Rogers and Matt Wasmund – packs a soulful punch.
Bill Bastian and Israel Malachi
8pm Sat 5/4 | Teatro Zuccone
This blues duo includes two veteran Duluth musicians with a combined 28 years of experience playing locally. Since they joined forces last summer, Bastian and Malachi have already played at venues throughout Duluth and Superior. “I met him at an open mic that I hosted at Beaner’s,” Malachi says. “I knew who he was and he didn’t know who I was, and I said, ‘Sometime we should play together.'” In addition to some 1920s blues, you can expect to hear a variety of styles from these two – anything from operatic numbers to Malachi’s originals. “Our styles really complement each other,” Malachi says. “He knows like a thousand different songs and I mostly write my own stuff.”
Batteries
11:30pm Tues 4/30 | Players
“Against our better judgment, we play a kind of dark guitar-rock ill-suited to the modern temperament,” says singer, guitar player and Duluth music-scene veteran Dave Frankenfeld of Batteries. The roster of the band has changed often since Frankenfeld formed it in 2006, but Greg Cougar Conley has been sharing vocal and guitar duties for at least five of those seven years. Newer to the band are drummer Scott Millis and bassist Heather Dean. “Unburdened by the pressure to rock out, we tend to play more of our slower numbers these days,” Frankenfeld says, although they did cover Coolio’s “Gangster’s Paradise” as a treat for Homegrown 2012.
Jay Benson
9:30pm Sat 5/4 | Sir Benedict’s
Jay Benson says he plays a mix of folk-pop and blues that sounds like it’s performed by a punk. “I at some point started to feel that blues was my outlet to be ’emo’ (which I am) and still appear to be an adult,” Benson says. “It really is therapy.” Benson was 16 when he played his first Homegrown, a gig with his band Sirus Minor at the Red Lion in 2003. Since then he’s participated with at least five other bands and as a poet. “Homegrown,” he says, is a “great opportunity to speak your mind, perform your art, try new things and unearth old things.”
Billy Southern
10:15pm Sat 5/4 | Tycoons
Watch out for William Soderlind; his music career as Billy Southern is about to enter its teen years. What began in 2002 as a no-frills acoustic duo has matured into a genuine roots rock band with a brand new album called Road to Sturgis, due out before Homegrown. Inspiration for his newest songs came from a recent motorcycle trip he took to the famous South Dakota landmark following a chain of adult life struggles. Joining Soderlind on guitar is Andy Lipke, with Karl Anderson and Greg Tiburzi holding down the rhythm section. Jillian Rae fills in occasionally on fiddle.
The Biochemical Characters
10:30pm Wed 5/1 | Lake Avenue
From out of the creeks of Duluth – the secret swimming hole on Chester, the ice-covered rock faces of Amity, the flood-damaged hockey rink along Keene – comes a Homegrown hidden treasure: the Biochemical Characters. The aggressive-Americana-playing trio of Jaywa “Phatfingers” Walker (drums), Jay “S. Borealis” Sandal (guitar) and Michael “Soultrain” Gabler (bass/squeezebox) are still putting together limited-release cassette tapes and making music videos in church basements, just as Sieur Duluth would have wanted.
The Bitter Spills
7pm Fri 5/3 | Teatro Zuccone
Minneapolis native Grant Johnson and Iron Range native Rich Mattson have been performing in the Duluth area since the late 1980s. They formed their duo in 2006, and have released four full-length albums since then, the most recent being 2009’s The Bitter Spills Sing Folk Songs, Vol. 4. Their emphasis on both original and traditional folksongs lends for a rousing performance with rich harmony vocals and inventive guitar work. Tours around the country and regular performances in Duluth and the Iron Range have prepped this duo for a show full of energetic folk rawk.
Black River Revue
11pm Fri 5/3 | Fitger’s Brewhouse
Started by Adam Stariha (vocals, guitar, harmonica) and Ryan Le Bard (banjo) in 2010, this Superior group plays a foot-stompin’ mixture of folk, rock and string-band music. After honing its sound with shows at Bev’s Jook Joint and Beaner’s Central, the band went through some lineup changes; in addition to Stariha, the current roster includes Nate Hynum on mandolin and vocals, Ian Kvale on bass and vocals, Kailyn Spencer on fiddle and Joe Berg on spoons. Their debut album, Garbage Pickin’, is due for release at any moment.
The Blasphemists
9:45pm Fri 5/3 | Carmody
What other band could bring gutter punk and trashcan blues to the Karpeles Manuscript Library quite like the Blasphemists? Yes, in addition to their official Homegrown performance last year, the boys in the band booked a mid-afternoon gig at Duluth’s venerable museum of historic documents. Perhaps that’s what led readers of the Perfect Duluth Day blog to rank the Blasphemists in fourth place in the 2012 “Who Won Homegrown?” poll. The band was formed three years ago by Joshua “Mohawk Schmekel” Herbert, Steve “Zeeter” Hamlin and Adam “Doc Slide” Sundberg. In the past year they became a quartet, adding Anthony “Keebler” Schaeffer to the lineup. Their music incorporates glassware destruction via smashing it into a trashcan, maintaining a slightly weird, usually loud and always enthusiastic sound. A three-song EP, Death Camp, is available for download on Bandcamp.
Bliss
6:30pm Wed 5/1 | Amazing Grace
Over the years, David Kittelson has been the MC for several Twin Ports groups: Kritical Kontact, Modern Gentlemen and Bliss & Sitter. This is his eighth appearance at Homegrown, though it’s his first time appearing solo. In 2012, he released Curiosity is Bliss, available for free at his shows or as a download on his website. “I mix all of my past experiences into various forms of creative expression,” he says, “which makes my live performance more than just a regular hip-hop show.”
The Boomchucks
9pm Fri 5/3 | Teatro Zuccone
The Boomchucks play high-speed train beats with vocal harmonies, keeping things simple and upbeat. The core duo of Jamie Ness (formerly of A.T.F. and Taconite) on guitar and drummer Brad Nelson (currently of Father Hennepin and the Black-eyed Snakes) have worked together on and off since 2000, and played the Fitger’s Brewhouse more than 100 times when they had a weekly residence there from 2008 to 2010. Since then, gigs have been less frequent, but the addition of multi-instrumentalist Russ Sackett on bass has really opened up the band’s sound.
Bradical Boombox
10:30pm Fri 5/3 | Pizza Lucé
Bradical Boombox is Brad Fernholz’s lo-fi, indie-rock project that frequently includes other local musicians. Fernholz writes, performs, records and produces his songs himself in his on-farm studio. Ryan Nelson and Brynn Sias have become stalwarts in live performances over the years, but Fernholz likes to showcase his many talented friends and the side projects he has going with them. For this Homegrown gig, he’ll also be joined by Jerree Small and Sean Beaverson. Other possible special guests will be Marshal Tofte and Tony Derrick. The follow up to the 2009 Bradical Boombox album, Fern Avenue, is in the works for release this fall.
The Branditos
9:15pm Monday 4/29 | Carmody
Bruce Rosera, Jason Wussow and Brandon Swanson form the fastest growing cow-punk band west of 8th Street Video and Ice Cream Station on 9th Street (which is now Mean Bean’s Espresso and Creams, thanks for asking). There is nothing artistically revolutionary about their straight-ahead approach: a small drum kit; one-two, one-two bass; fuzzed-out guitar; songs about booze and rocking and boozy rocking. And they should be commended for that.
Bratwurst
12:30am Fri 5/3 | R. T. Quinlan’s
True to its name, Bratwurst puts on a spectacle that is for meat-eaters only. Seriously, if you’re a vegetarian, you might not even want to walk outside R. T. Quinlan’s during this show. Among the searing sounds of metal on metal, the 2.3-horsepower skill saw, garbage cans, shopping carts and sewage pipes, will probably be flying steaks and bloody chef’s coats. “There are too many bands playing music,” says Tyler Scouton, who takes care of the power tools and the meat. “More bands need to play shows.” Playing a combination of electronica and industrial noise, this foursome includes Scouton, Brennan Atchison on drums, and Jason Ratajek and Ben Tryon on guitar. Bring a George Foreman grill if you want to get the most bang for your buck.
Brotherman
11pm Sat 5/4 | Duluth Flame
The multitalented Paul Broman likes to occasionally trade in his keytar and don the hat of MP3J (not to be confused with DJ). His Brotherman project can usually be seen at the Red Star Lounge, but he has also brought his big club-style Euro-dance-party music to international venues. If his six-minute, extended-mix single of Hall & Oates “I Can’t Go For That” doesn’t pull people onto the dance floor, there is little hope for mankind.
The Brothers Burn Mountain
7:45pm Fri 5/3 | Amazing Grace
Brothers Jesse and Ryan Dermody are enigmatic, to say the least. Their energy fills up even the quantum spaces of any room they play. That room is typically the Fitger’s Brewhouse, where they hold a Thursday residency, but they also tour the region constantly. Their recent album, When You Crave a Sweetness, explores the boundaries between sweet and bitter, lows and highs, through Jesse’s drumming, Ryan’s guitar and co-written vocal harmonies. No distinct style pins them down, though it might be fair to say they rock, roll and swell like Lake Superior.
Mary Bue
11:15pm Sat 5/4 | Tycoons
Mary Bue’s music has been given so many accolades over the years that it seems an injustice to sum everything up in 100 words or less. But we’ll choose three quickies to give you a taste of the caliber of Bue’s songwriting and piano work. City Pages called Boat With No Oars “intimate yet intimidating.” Pulse has described East to the Sea as “great weekend-breakfast-making music.” And howwastheshow.com reviewed her live performance as “a must-see talent.” For Homegrown, she’ll be joined by Sean Roderick on bass, Adam Patterson on drums, and Kyle Maclean on guitar.
Jack Campbell and the Skeleton Keys
8pm Fri 5/3 | Teatro Zuccone
For the past seven years, Jack Campbell has been rocking the Twin Ports with his bands, Completely Random, Excuse Me Princess and Shortwave, which is remarkable since he is still a senior in high school. His sound has evolved from basic punk with emo overtones into appealing, listenable music that would not be out of place on the hit-radio stations that dominate the airwaves. There are elements of 1960s British invasion (think Justin Hayward) along with a modern sense of humor. Campbell is joined by Nate Rendulich on drums and Jimmy Arroyo-Roppo on bass.
Cars & Trucks
12:30am Sat 5/4 | Pizza Lucé
Cars & Trucks has the longest rider of any band playing Homegrown this year, including the necessities of “a case of Leinie’s Honey Weiss, three oversized foam cowboy hats and a blow up sheep with a picture of Cory Ahlm’s face pasted over the sheep’s face.” In their six years together, the rock trio of Tony Bennett, Mat Milinkovich and Matt Osterlund have completed three albums; the most recent, Theatre Stardusk, was released in March.
Hanna Cesario
9pm Thurs 5/2 | Chester Creek Café
Hanna Cesario plays her own simple yet delightful ukulele arrangements of jazz standards, goofy popular tunes and, she says, “whatever else catches my ear.” A 2012 UMD music graduate, she is active in the Duluth jazz scene, having sung with the Aaron Hallsten trio at Bowery Brothers, Keith Yanis at Black Water, the Monday Night Players Club at the Brewhouse, and the Club Saratoga jazz crew. She has also played solo gigs at Beaner’s, Amazing Grace, Carmody, Sir Benedict’s and Lake Avenue Restaurant and Bar.
Toby Thomas Churchill
11:45pm Sat 5/4 | Spurs
Toby Thomas Churchill makes high-quality, smart music. For evidence, check out his 2011 album Death or watch the music video for his former band the Alrights’ song “Happy Birthday Universe” on YouTube. As a solo artist, he plays with a backing band made up of his longtime cohort Danny Cosgrove and the former rhythm section of late Minneapolis favorites Roma di Luna – Ben Durrant, James Everest, Ryan Lovanmade. The music is melancholy, melodic, droll and fantastical. A new album is planned for 2013.
Chris Clemens and Company
11:45pm Sat 5/4 | Carmody
Singer/guitarist Chris Clemens has put in four years of gigging around the acoustic stages of the Twin Ports to earn his place as a Homegrown neophyte. Highlights include performing every Tuesday at Thirsty Pagan Brewing, participating in the annual songwriting competition at Beaner’s, and playing in Fond du Lac’s Phoebe Fest. His sets are usually a mix of tasteful covers and earthy originals. Percussionist Mark Macham often joins him on stage to provide lively djembe rhythms.
The Cold Starts
8:30pm Sun 4/28 | Teatro Zuccone
They’re young, they’re loud, they’re loaded up on energy drinks and they’re the refreshing face of North Shore Hardcore. Even though most of these boys were mere infants when Homegrown first started, they sure don’t act or sound like rookies. Ned Wretched, Jake Wynn and Casey Corcoran build intricate webs of scream-speak over tight, speedy guitar work while drummer Neil Vaidynathan adeptly keeps the chaos in line. While most young punk bands harbor more art-class sneer than well-rehearsed ability, the Cold Starts thankfully can do both and regularly hit the road all over the Midwest.
Cowboy
10:45pm Sat 5/4 | Spurs
Cowboy is a new three-piece old-style country band featuring former Azure du Jour members Jim Hall and Joe Lindzius, along with Mike Thureen on bass. Hall sings and plays guitar while Lindzius drums, roles they held together in Azure du Jour for 17 years. Hall is also known for his solo work and stints with the bands Spotted Mule, Wet Dog and Lo-Fi. Lindzius drummed for the country band Molly and the Heymakers in the early 1990s.
Coyote
11:45pm Thurs 5/2 | Thirsty Pagan
Coyote’s brand of folk music combines the shared talents of Marc Gartman, Jerree Small and Matt Mobley; all of whom play(ed) roles in other popular groups like Too Many Banjos, Southwire and Lion or Gazelle respectively. While those other ensembles offer more fleshed-out interpretations of the genre, Coyote stays closer to the core of Bleecker Street circa 1962. Last June the band released its third studio album, All I Feel is Night.
Crew Jones
12:15am Fri 5/3 | Tycoons
Crew Jones has been getting it done as a local hip-hop act since 2001. The album Who’s Beach might be the most listened to local album of the century so far, playing on car stereos on the Hillside, on the jukebox at Pizza Lucé and frequently from the sound booth before other band’s shows. The song “Banjones” is a local classic, with its mix of backwoods instruments and big beats. Made up of Ben “Burly Burlesque” Larson and Sean “Mic Trout” Elmquist, Crew Jones holds a unique place in local music.
The Crunchy Bunch
12am Thurs 5/2 | Superior Flame
The four DJs/producers known as the Crunchy Bunch aim to create dance mixes full of smart fun in the guise of dance tracks. Chris LeBlanc, Jack Hazelton, Dan Branovan and Alexis LeBlanc make for more of a co-op of electronic artists than a band, but the results still sound live and unpredictable in the form of the mix tapes, singles and performances.
Danecdote
10:30pm Fri 5/3 | Sir Benedict’s
Daniel Nelson’s unique approach to electronica continues to push the envelope, creating new styles and, as he says, “varying from fast/uptempo breakcore to slow, chill and pretty.” In the past year he released an EP of remixes and two full-length collections – Ect. 2.0 and The Departure while also collaborating with other recording artists such as Lion or Gazelle and Nonfic.
Dead End Friends
11pm Fri 5/3 | Lake Avenue
The guitar-driven rock-and-roll provided by Dead End Friends is more like an open road to who-knows-where than a dark alley of no return. In other words, the future is bright for this group. Since forming the band in 2011, Phil McLoughlin, Joey Warttman and Ben Anderson have continuously sharpened their licks and hooks in front of the solid syncopation of drummer Pete Hennegraf. Their songwriting has progressed from simple homages to axe heroes Neil Young and Dave Grohl to heartfelt, personal anthems that seem mature beyond this young group’s years.
Dead Guys
11:15pm Fri 5/3 | Pioneer Bar
If a movie about the steampunk movement ever gets made, it will need a soundtrack full of anvil-pounding blues with gadgetry in tow. Dead Guys would be a good candidate for this sound and sight. The band dons the look like a yellow-faded, turn-of-the-century photograph, suspenders and wool whites included. Jake Scott and Zac Roorda’s old-timey radio shouts are amplified along with blazing guitar work while the beat is kept with some sort of standing pedal and skin contraption. Bassist Josiah Early provides additional thump to this drumless trio of blues-rock time travelers.
Dead Sexy
11pm Thurs 5/2 | Superior Flame
Separately, DJ Path Annu (Pat Hannu) and DJ Breaks (Ryan Matheson) have spent a lifetime spinning records on stages, in clubs, in basements, at parties, between sets and with bands. So it just makes sense that, at some point, these two veterans of the local DJ scene would end up on the same table to mix killer dance tunes as a team. Though they had experimented as duo before, they made it official two years ago by calling their project Dead Sexy. They plan to drop some brand spanking new original arrangements on Homegrown this year. Boom!
Déjà vu Drifters
10:15pm 4/28 Sun | Carmody
This quartet’s roots run deep in Duluth’s music community, originating in 1977 with bluegrass band the Sawtooth Mountain Boys. When that group split, guitarist and dobro player Mike Mattson and guitarist Rick Olson went on to play in the Busters and Spotted Mule, while fiddle and mandolin player Steve “Chief” Johnson landed in Sweetgrass. The three regrouped in 2010 and, with the addition of drummer Greg Tiburzi, the Déjà vu Drifters were born. Last year the band brought its mix of acoustic, bluesy rock to Homegrown for the first time, although band members have played many previous Homegrowns in other projects.
De Se
8:30pm Thurs 5/2 | Red Mug
For a music scene to thrive, there have to be people willing to work outside the spotlight. Things like offering a couch to touring bands, putting up flyers, setting up sound systems and filling in as a session player – the little stuff the crowd or critics never appreciate. Enter the last seven years of Ben Butter’s life in the Twin Ports, where his résumé includes all of the above plus playing in a wide variety of original bands. For De Se, Butter steps out from behind the curtain as a solo musician, sounding as polished and crisp as any veteran songwriter.
Diet Folk
10:15pm Wed 5/1 | Dubh Linn
Diet Folk touches on classic folk and bluegrass sounds with purity and originality. Dedric Clark’s voice and guitar playing have soul, but touch on pop, while Tony Petersen adds vocal harmonies and spot-on banjo work. Boyd Smith catches the wave and keeps the energy going with the percussive side of the equation. If bluegrass-inflected soulful folk is what you thirst for, then Diet Folk is it. The trio released the album Cold in June.
Dirty Horse
12:30am Fri 5/3 | Pizza Lucé
Rowdy “pontoon rock,” whatever image that may conjure up, is how vocalist Ryan Tyrrell describes his band’s sound. Guitarists Nate Case and Andy Olmstead, along with bassist Brian Wells, have been on that nautical anomaly for three years now. Drummer Jake Paulsrud, along with Tyrrell, have received permission to come aboard, and they’ve set off to bring the party to the seedy sides of Duluth, Minneapolis, Eau Claire and other locales. A bit of Neil Young, some My Morning Jacket influence and pieces of 1970s rock show up in their jams. This band started out at a house party, and that vibe has never been lost.
DJ Delgado
12:15am Sat 5/4 | Red Star
Since 2001 this funk-step merchant has spilled his beats everywhere from basement house parties to sharing the stage with Vanilla Ice, RuPaul, Afroman and places in between. Homegrown will always reserve a soft spot in its heart for Delgado due to his turn-of-the-century contributions to the original local hip-hop Mecca known as RoundAbout Records, where he helped provide dance mixes for a long list of “remember when” shows.
DJ Dyami Tsunami
10:15pm Fri 5/3 | Red Star
Dyami Quast has worked as an organizer, promoter and advocate for local electronic music since the early 1990s. He has had success in both the film and music production industry, and (how many can say this?) started a “think tank” for his medium called Telepathy Entertainment – all the while creating his own popular brand of sophisticated dance music. You’d think two-plus decades of deep immersion into the post-rave world would make a DJ a little bitter or cynical. Not so with Quast. His art continues to set a high standard of spiritual optimism throughout the genre.
DJ Horsefist
10pm Thurs 5/2 | Superior Flame
Kevin Craig has spun records on boats, beaches, warehouses, tents, basements, block parties, airplane hangars, parks, community centers, shrine temples, house parties, roller rinks, barns, nightclubs, dive bars, pizza restaurants and one video arcade in Siren. He has held residencies in Duluth, Minneapolis and Chicago. For Homegrown, expect bass-heavy talkbox funk and face-smashing floor bangers. Come to his set or he’ll peek in your windows.
DJ J. J. Lawrence
12am Sat 5/4 | Duluth Flame
In the late 1990s, Jason Holmes frequently mixed techno music at house parties in the Twin Cities. After a brief hiatus from DJing to raise a family in Duluth, he played the 2004 all-ages Witches’ Ball at the Woodland Community Center and got the itch to start spinning records again. From there, he has taken his electronic dance music into the working world by producing popular advertisements, dropping beats for Grandma’s Marathon parties, and helping make soundtracks for school fundraisers. He and his wife, Shauna, have also started their own DJ service called Bring the Noise Entertainment.
DJ Nola
10pm Sat 5/4 | Duluth Flame
Nola Wick has been DJing for a full decade, gaining renown in Duluth and Minneapolis for her passion for spinning rare disco/funk and deep house music. Her mixing skills, track selection and vast knowledge of old-school originals have made her a favorite at venues like the Red Star Lounge and special house party events at R. T. Quinlan’s and the Main Club.
DJ Risky Fingers
11:45pm Mon 4/29 | Red Star
Benjamin Jorgenson has been DJing since he was 16. Now 24, he has an immense background in hip-hop DJing and turntablism, and has recently made breakthroughs in club and rave as well. The UMD grad has been spinning in the Twin Ports and Minneapolis for the past five years. Several tracks showcasing his talents in mixing different styles of hip-hop are available on SoundCloud. For Homegrown, he says he expects to play a more experimental set than usual.
Drohm
9:30pm Fri 5/3 | Sir Benedict’s
Instrumentalists Tobin Dack and Phil Tyson probably dream about floor-to-ceiling warehouses full of vintage synthesizers and electronic music gear. These friends have taken their years of experience working behind sound and light boards, gigging as solo DJs, and playing in bands to form the drone duo known as Drohm. Using multiple styles of keyboards and looping devices, they set about making extended-play atmospheric soundscapes that seem as much at home in an obscure 1970s sci-fi flick as they do on the club stage.
The DTs
10:15pm Thurs 5/2 | The Main Club
Before describing what they are, let’s make a list of what they are not. They don’t wear sunglasses on stage or invent fake nicknames for each member. Jed Olsen does not use his guitar to “space jam.” Seth Gronli does not play ten-minute drum solos. Ryan Nielson does not “thumb slap” his bass strings. They don’t waste time bantering with the audience or each other. They don’t incorporate banjos, fiddles, didgeridoo, loop pedals, stage painters or go-go dancers. What the DTs have become is one of Duluth’s definitive punk bands: unpretentious and entertaining as hell.
Duck Duck Punch
11:30pm Fri 5/3 | R. T. Quinlan’s
The synthpop trio comprising Duck Duck Punch is “the ‘odd duck’ to emerge from the Twin Ports music scene.” Vocalist and soldier of the “army of analog synthesizers” Bryan Rudell explains the sound as a “stylistic homage to the synthpop classics while aiming contemporary … a little old, a little new, and a little grunge thrown in for good measure.” Trent Waterman of Portage joins the army as a vocalist and synth soldier, while Twin Ports drummer Ethan Skelton rounds out the trio, which is fresh off its debut album, Human Chemistry. Although the group resides in Minneapolis, it attributes its strong roots to Duluth.
Todd Eckart
10pm Thurs 5/2 | Norm’s
The artist formerly known as Hot Toddy returns for his first Homegrown appearance since 2008. After a five-year stint on the Los Angeles music scene, Todd Eckart is back in his hometown with his old-time beat. At Homegrown he’ll be backed by members of the Fractals – Jimi Cooper, Darryn Wallace and Marvin Pomeroy. His country twang and rockabilly influence fit right in at such venues as the Powerhouse Bar, Spurs on First, Players Sports Bar, Third Base Bar, T-Bonz and the like, where he’s been playing frequently since he moved back to town in October.
Curren Effinger
8pm Wed 5/1 | Sacred Heart
The old saying might be “youth is wasted on the young,” but it’s certainly not in the case of Curren Effinger. At 17, he’s already entering his second year as a Homegrown performer. When his “old” band, Presently Skyward, called it quits, Effinger decided to take his indie-jazz guitar style and start work as a solo artist. He’s already built a repertoire of 30 original songs and has a growing back catalog of demos, bootlegs and videos that will hopefully lead to a debut album. He’s recently added Dave Johnson’s savvy stick work to accompany him on stage.
Electric Graveyard Afterlife
10:15pm Fri 5/3 | Pioneer Bar
Last year Electric Graveyard Afterlife played Homegrown with three different replacement drummers. This year things are a bit more together, and the sound has progressed beyond the three-piece space thrash they’ve thrown at the Twin Ports over the past several years. Joining Paul Whyte on a second guitar is Jim Conner. Bassist Nick Deluca has a new drummer in Dean Walczynski, and the group has turned a corner by incorporating keyboardist Tina Luanna Fox’s vocals on newer compositions.
Equal Xchange
10:45pm Fri 5/3 | Twins Bar
Throw together some funk, hip-hop and rock, make it all live, add a dash of Duluth influence, and you get Equal Xchange. Rain “Ray the Wolf” Elfvin, formerly an MC in Crew Jones, raps in front of the melodies put down by guitarist Jesse Hoheisel, bassist Jason “Kokes” Kokal and drummer Mat Milinkovich. Rounding off the live experience, and this group of local music-scene veterans, are Aaron Hoffmeister and Brad Fernholz blasting on their saxophones. The group released its second album, Fair Game, in September.
The Ever-Changing Grass Band
2pm Sun 5/5 | Sacred Heart
It’s hard to categorize the music style of the Ever-Changing Grass Band – and not because it’s ever-changing, as the name suggests. Instead, Haley Lawson and Logan Amys’ guitar-based arrangements move like haunting love stories under a cold and heavy weight, sometimes following the traditions of the blues, and sometimes going in unpredictable, yet patient, places. Helped by Sadie Sigford’s diligent cello work, the band’s 2012 EP Birds showcased an ability to compose accessible folk music without sounding too calculated. The band recently added the percussive talents of Mike Lueck, and has plans to record an album soon.
Exiles
12:15am Sat 5/4 | Pioneer Bar
If guitarist/vocalist Flip Arkulary has heavy-metal dreams, odds are it involves Judas Priest’s Rob Halford taking over singing duties for the noise-math of Helmet. Lucky for him, that dream can be lived out through his band Exiles, a psychedelic hard-rock group featuring Eric Pollard on drums, Robert Cox on bass and Sean Chaucer on guitar. Dark and full of fuzzy axe work, the band can easily rotate between retro-metal and art-school feedback, as showcased on their Bandcamp recording “Trust” and crazy-go-nuts cover of the Magnetic Fields’ “King Koudoir.”
The Farsights
9:30pm Thurs 5/2 | Bev’s
Electric bass lines, punk beats and folk-song storytelling make up at least part of the Farsights. The rest is somewhere between melodical and maniacal, but always fresh and full of energy. Vocalist/guitarist Phil Jents and drummer Ryan Nelson holed up together one winter to make music and happened upon a young lady bass player (Brynn Sias) at Fitger’s Brewhouse. A basement ruckus ensued, and a band was formed. After their first Homegrown performance, they were aptly named the Farsights; see, because they all wear glasses. (You’re laughing on the inside.) Despite the group’s cliché movie-script beginnings, they promise the music is everything but.
Father Hennepin
10:15pm Fri 5/3 | Tycoons
Father Hennepin is a good-time Americana/country band from Duluth, featuring Homegrown founder Scott “Starfire” Lunt and Ted Anderson on guitars and vocals, Bob Olson on bass, Brad Nelson on drums, and the incomparable Susie Ludwig on accordion and keyboards. The band carries the fundamental feeling of camaraderie that makes Duluth music what it is. Affable, funny and with a lot of heart, the Fat Hens have been playing original and classic country music since back when Starfire was 30. The album Crooked with Gin is a local classic.
Fearless Moral Inventory
6pm Sat 5/4 | Beaner’s
As Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill W. said, “Without a searching and fearless moral inventory, most of us have found that the faith which really works in daily living is out of reach.” You may not feel as strongly about this band as Bill W., but these rock introspectives are driven by their music. Andrew Stern sings and shouts and speaks and sings lyrics about being young in a grubby city by the lake, where going dancing is always a way out. This veteran band now has Steve Karels on bass and has started gigging again after a hiatus. Corey Gice on guitar and Kai Bowen on drums complete this fearless rock crew.
Fever Dream
10:15pm Sat 5/4 | Pioneer Bar
What started off as lazy tinkering with synthesizers and a drum machine has developed into a semi-serious art project for Marc Gartman. Ironic or not, Gartman, known more for his banjos and songwriting, began mixing his newfound appreciation for early 1980s kraut-core groups like Kraftwerk with the pop-sensibilities of Hall and Oates and … voila: Fever Dream. This experimentation may find a better home in art-studio lofts on the Lower East Side than beer-soaked bar stages in Duluth, but the seeds of his strange hobby have definitely sprouted as he plans to release a debut album in 2013.
500 Million Society
10:30pm Sun 4/28 | Tycoons
With deep roots in Duluth’s music scene, members of 500 Million Society join darkness with darkness, yet make it bouncy, deep, epic and fuzzy, like any good art-punk rocker would. Featuring Zeppelinesque guitar and burbling synth and organ, Tim Nelson (guitar/vocals), Dicky Brooks (bass/vocals), Jim Hagstrom (drums) and Russ Sackett (keyboard/vocals) are a band of men who acknowledge the futility of resistance, yet are calling for perseverance through art. “Come hear the music play. Life is a cabaret, old chum. Come to the cabaret.”
5 Pints of Rye
12am Sat 5/4 | Lake Avenue
Guitarists Adam Stariha and Andy Lipke share songwriting duties for this folk-blues quartet, which also includes bassist Andy Bergstrom and drummer John Lamar. The band has gigged monthly around Minnesota and Wisconsin over the past year, becoming a festival regular for Bigfoot Productions shows. Stariha and Lipke’s work in other bands has kept the crew from gigging more often, but summer 2013 might see them become more frequent music-calendar denizens.
Bill Flannagan
10:30pm Sat 5/4 | Sir Benedict’s
Bill Flannagan has played everywhere in the Twin Ports, from the Choo-Choo Bar to Sir Ben’s, for the better part of the past two decades. Expect a set of “rockin’ honky-tonkin’ blues.” He says he’ll deliver a good mix of covers and originals, accompanied by harmonica player Paul Vogel. Flannagan says they are no “wallpaper” act. Expect them to play a healthy dose of acoustic-electric rock-and-roll, with influences such as Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead and Buddy Holly.
The Fontanelles
8:15pm Sat 5/4 | Sacred Heart
Minneapolis-based rock group the Fontanelles is no stranger to the vibrant Duluth music scene. In addition to frequent Twin Ports appearances, singer/songwriter Dave Mehling hails from the city on the hill and continues to join other local artists at a variety of venues. He describes the band’s show as “high energy … with songs in a wide variety of rock stylings.” Joined by Darin Rieland on guitar, Beau Jeffrey on bass guitar and Jason McGlone on drums, the rock quartet creates this elevated vigor with uptempo variations of Mehling originals.
The Formal Age
11:15pm Mon 4/29 | Carmody
The Formal Age is bringing its hook-heavy, anthemic brand of rock music to Homegrown for the third time. Guitarists Ryan Wiisanen and Jacob Jonker (whom you may recognize from Ryan Van Slooten’s backing band) along with Phil McGrath on keyboards provide the sharp melodies featuring flavors of surf and psychedelia. The low end is held down by Adam Helbach on drums and Jason Rahman (whom you may recognize from the Undesirables) on bass. They sustain hard-driving rhythms to complete the proverbial rock ‘n’ roll equation. With a handful of live cuts recorded in Duluth already available online, the Formal Age hopes to have a proper EP recorded before the festival.
Four Mile Portage
9pm Mon 4/29 | Sir Benedict’s
For more than five years, Tom Maloney and Brandy Forsman have been performing old-time fiddle and banjo dance music as Four Mile Portage. Although they play a variety of venues, they are perhaps best known for regular gigs at Tamarack Dance Association events and at the Duluth Farmers’ Market. Their sound is influenced by Appalachian dance music and bluegrass gospel harmonies. Striking three-part harmonies are imminent as vocalist Bonnie Hundrieser will accompany the band on stage. Note to attendees: Maloney and Forsman say they are at their best while performing in the company of dancers.
Frances & Luke
10:30pm Tues 4/30 | Players
Stephanie Longstreet has been a Homegrown veteran with the Brushstrokes and Three Song Sunday. Eight months ago, though, she decided it was time to step out and perform more of her originals. Now she teams up with her husband, Andrew Longstreet, of Three Cowboys & an Indian, for a new folk/blues collaboration. “I wanted to start my own project, that’s my own songs,” Stephanie says. Frances & Luke had their debut show at the Gunflint Tavern and have been playing around the Twin Ports since. Their Homegrown performance will feature Stephanie on rhythm guitar and vocals, Andrew on lead guitar and Chad Erlemeier on drums.
Aaron Gall and the Likely Story
11:30pm Sat 5/4 | Twins Bar
Aaron Gall and the Likely Story is a lot of band. Playing a mix of punk/rock/ska performance art, there is Aaron Gall on accordion, guitar and other things, Alex Bowser on trombone, Brandon Eugene on bass, Ryan Nelson on drums, Brad Fernholz on sax and bass, Lane Prekker on washboard, Amy Kozak and Ian Koivisto. Come for energy, teamwork and the possibility of calls to the cops for being too raucous if they do a basement show. The signature song is “White Boy Drunk,” a sloppy little anthem that excites 30 percent of the audience and bewilders the rest.
Gallus
11:30pm Thurs 5/2 | Burrito Union
Frontman Chris Kelly formed Gallus with the premise of playing simple pop songs with a rock edge. The band had a busy 2012, playing more than 70 shows (including its first Homegrown and an eight-month residency at the Rex) and putting out a debut album, The Sparta Tapes. Since the disc’s release, the group revamped its lineup; joining Kelly and saxophone and keyboard player Sean Mahoney are new band mates Kent Paulsen on drums, Dicky Brooks on bass and Steven James Carlson on guitar. The revised band plans to release an EP, recorded at Sacred Heart, in time for Homegrown, with a full-length following later this year.
Germaine Gemberling
6:45pm Sat 5/4 | Amazing Grace
Germaine Gemberling is a singer/songwriter from Sparta. She is accompanied by Rich Mattson (of the Glenrustles, Old Yeller, the Tisdales and the Bitter Spills) on guitar and background vocals. Gemberling started out in the early 1990s with her all-girl punk band Smut in Minneapolis. In 1998 she moved to Ely and began writing songs with her acoustic guitar. Her album Generator is scheduled for release on Chaperone Records one week before Homegrown.
The Getarounds
11:45pm Sat 5/4 | Carmody
The tail end of 2012 saw the genesis of folk band the Getarounds, a project of Dan Dresser (guitar, vocals) and Gaelynn Lea (violin, vocal harmonies). While Dresser and Lea originally planned on only playing a one-off gig, local interest and their musical chemistry led them to play more shows, do some recording and eventually adopt a band name. In addition to more local shows being booked for the spring, the Getarounds hope to release a five-track EP in May. Joining Dan and Gaelynn on stage will be Tyler Dubla on drums and Mark Glen on bass.
Gina Lee
11am Sun 5/5 | Pizza Lucé
In 1979 Terry Bradshaw quarterbacked the Steelers, the Knack just released “My Sharona,” The Muppet Movie, played at the drive-in, and Duluth’s original folk maiden Gina Lee Welsh-Rabold began her professional music career. For the next decade, she gigged in rock and country outfits, and then things like family and work took precedent. Now she’s back playing regular solo shows at Quinlan’s, Beaner’s, and Amazing Grace, to name a few. Her delicate vocals haven’t aged a day. Her 12-string guitar sounds as bright as ever, and while her songwriting has matured, her subject matter remains light and optimistic.
Golden
8:45pm Fri 5/3 | Amazing Grace
Golden might be three guys in skinny jeans with nice hair, but those guys have a big, cutting sound. With members formerly of Take Cover and Quietdrive, this rock band knows when to stretch its voices out, when to pluck, and when to slam out some chords. Ryan Wickard, Will Caesar and Derek Johnson play a lyrically powered music reflecting their lives in the lake city, having bounced around within the local music scene for years. Their debut EP was released in December.
Good Knight
7:15pm Sat 5/4 | Legacy Glassworks
Hip-hop artist Alex Knight of Good Knight lives in Minneapolis, but his roots are strong in Duluth. Many of his lyrics are flavored with his experiences growing up in West Duluth and he often returns to his hometown to play shows. Since transplanting to the Twin Cities, Knight has found some success opening for major touring acts, headlining local shows, and tying for first place in the University of Minnesota’s 2008 Battle of the Bands contest. Knight describes his musical style as “reminiscent of the 1990s golden age of the hip-hop era, with a twist of new, creative styles.”
Todd Gremmels
11:15pm Sun 4/28 | Carmody
Todd Gremmels is a band geek at heart, learning to read sheet music at age two and going on to be in as many bands as is presumably humanly possible since 1975. At last year’s Homegrown he performed the overture to his indie opera Giaha with an ensemble that may not have been full in the traditional sense, but was certainly full of music and heart. This year he will be accompanied by Deborah JS Collins and special guests of a presently unknown arrangement.
Grounds for Dismissal
11:15pm Thurs 5/2 | The Main Club
It seems safe to proclaim that Grounds for Dismissal is Two Harbors’ heaviest sounding band. Since 2008, this four-piece goth-shock-rock group has made no apologies for its guttural music, which alarms as much as it tranquilizes fans of the darker side of metal. Karen McTavish’s low vocals offset her frenzied stage presence while Connor Glenn’s torrential guitar provides the group with sonic measure. The rhythm section of drummer Dan Krause and bassist Kevin Malec adeptly pounds out the razor-like tempos for deep set lists of original material.
Preston Gunderson
11pm Sat 5/4 | Fitger’s Brewhouse
The strength of acoustic singer/songwriter Preston Gunderson’s original albums (The Recluse and While I Was Gone) has led him to perform in four different countries and in several cities throughout the United States. He has played music in Duluth for the past five years since taking courses at the College of St. Scholastica. Gunderson’s acoustic performance will be augmented by friend Craig Skalko on keys at this year’s Homegrown. With the help of some extra musicians and a successful Kickstarter campaign, Gunderson plans to record his new album, Getting Good at Starting Over, this summer at the Terrarium Recording Studio in Minneapolis.
Emily Haavik & Friends
1pm Sun 5/5 | Sacred Heart
Singer, keyboardist and songwriter Emily Haavik has played in the past two Homegrown Music Festivals. You may have also seen her performing at different open mic and community events. Having recently graduated from UMD, she now hopes to devote more time to her music. She will be joined on stage at Homegrown with friends to play some of her original songs, with the possible addition of some covers. Her friends include Bryan Wentworth and Noah Penn on guitars, Beau Walsh on cello and Lisa Wentworth on vocals.
Wes Hadrich with Greg Tiburzi
12pm Sun 5/5 | Pizza Lucé
Drawing influence from artists like Bruce Springsteen and Ryan Adams, Wes Hadrich has been writing songs and playing the Duluth area for about a decade. In recent years he’s been teaming up with drummer Greg Tiburzi to round out his alt-country sound. The duo plays frequently at Fitger’s Brewhouse, Thirsty Pagan Brewing and Beaner’s Central. Hadrich released his second album Portland Rain in July 2011.
Jim Hall
6:15pm Sat 5/4 | Sacred Heart
What would Homegrown be without Jim Hall? Well, it would be the very first Homegrown, which was the only time in 14 years he didn’t play the event. For that matter, where would the Twin Ports be without Jim Hall’s brand of traditional folk music? Well, it would be back in1966, the year before he began his 47-year artistic journey. Though he is well known as a multi-instrumentalist for a wide range of regional groups, Hall is at his best when he sits alone under a single blue spot, guitar in hand, with his enduring repertoire at his disposal.
Hannah Rey
10:30pm Thurs 5/2 | Burrito Union
Two Harbors native Hannah Rey Dunda has technically been playing the area since she was in her first band in elementary school, Forever Tuning, which played a gig at the Depot. (Cuuute.) She cut her teeth for about five years in the cover band Wildwood before going solo just over a year ago. Since playing her first Homegrown in 2012, she has played the Bayfront stage thrice, was featured on WDSE-TV’s The Playlist and joined a new cover band, South of Superior. Her solo work is acoustic indie-folk, and sometimes not-so solo, with Andy Hauswirth occasionally joining on vocals and guitar.
The Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank
12:15am Sat 5/4 | Tycoons
Everyone knows of the Hobo Nephews, jam-band balladeers. The Alexy brothers, Teague and Ian, make good roots music, the kind that gets people together both to dance and to listen. They combine their songwriting talents to create a deep and wide range of stories in their music – stories of working people and sorrowful people and traveling people. Their new album, Number One Contender, continues their tradition of carefully weaving stories about moving, living and loving into a thick tapestry of grassy sound.
The Horror
11:15pm Sat 5/4 | Red Star Lounge
If bands judge success by how loud they play and how much fun they have getting weird, the Horror is as big as Justin Timberlake. Jozef Conaway (guitar), Billy Wagness (synth) and Anders Lundahl (drums) launched their band in 2011, playing their second show during Homegrown’s New Band Night. Since then they’d continued to pump out the strange, despite Conaway and Lundahl relocating to Northeast Minneapolis, leaving Northland’s NewsCenter reporter Billy Wagness as the sole remaining local member. There was also a brief hiatus due to lack of a practice space, but now the trio is back and ready to aurally roast hippies once more. When a sequel to the science fiction film Phase IV finally gets green-lighted, consider the Horror’s digital album Diction the soundtrack.
Charity Huot and the Shitz
10pm Sat 5/4 | Fitger’s Brewhouse
Give the Duluth public school system some credit for this strong contribution to our music scene. A decade-plus ago, Woodland Middle School paired the acoustic guitar folkstress Charity Huot with current accompanying vocalist Jocelyn Richter for student choral performances. While at Central High, lead guitarist Pete Singler and Huot shared many a stage only to be joined again at UMD for Vocal Jazz Ensemble. From there she’s made two original albums, become a music festival veteran, and was featured on WDSE’s The PlayList. She’ll be joined by Jesse Weibel on percussion and Denise Braus on violin for Homegrown.
Indulge
11:30pm Thurs 5/2 | Bev’s
Back with full force for this year’s Homegrown is the only group that likely fits in the category of “powerviolence” – a subgenre that guitar player Mike Wilson spells as one word, apparently because it’s more powerful and violent that way. Wilson is joined in the band by vocalist Kyle O’Leary and drummer Ryan Sinz, along with new bassist Kyle Ollah. They are finishing up recording their first full-length album and a split release with the St. Louis, Mo., band Overdoser. Expect to need earplugs, a solid sense of empowerment, and to witness a true performance, completely free of the fire-breathing theatrics that got the band in trouble in 2011.
Ire Wolves
9:30pm Sat 5/4 | Twins Bar
Ire Wolves is a conglomerate of musicians hailing from the metal bands Bury the Sun and Portraits for Judith. Drummer Tim Simmons and guitarist/vocalist Michael Trepanier met up with bassist/vocalist Dustin Fennessey and started coming up with ideas immediately. The group has been showing off its work in the metal arts around the area and is now writing and recording for a debut release.
Iron Range Outlaw Brigade
10:45pm Tues 4/30 | Mr. D’s
Drunkenness has its fun moments mixed in with the shame, and the Iron Range Outlaw Brigade is a band that revels in both. “Wild whiskey-bent backwoods police-chase music” is the phrase they use to describe the sound, and they’re pretty much spot on. It’s fast, it’s rock-a-hillbilly, they’re drunk and maybe you are too. Freddy Handon leans over his bass, looking up only to yell out song lyrics during the chorus, while vocalist Kirk Kjenaas strums his guitar upside the strings like he’s trying to pick a fight with it. Glen Mattson inexplicably keeps them all in time with each other while John Peterson makes it pretty with his pedal steel guitar. In October they released the band’s second album Backwoods Hellride.
Rory Isakson
10pm Sat 5/4 | Lake Avenue
Rory Isakson may be the first representative of the next generation of Homegrown, as he is now playing on his own terms after having been a drummer for his father, Steve Isakson. A dedicated songwriter, Rory has been overseas in Iraq in the National Guard working on his new songs during his down time, and is back in the States, recording his first album at Beaner’s Central Studio with Dan Dresser. He is backed up by his dad and Tyler Dubla.
James and Younger
1:30pm Sun 5/5 | Club Saratoga
Though structurally similar to pop music, the songs of James and Younger are heavily informed by soul and funk, as evidenced especially by versatile vocalist Rochelle Luoma’s delivery. Bassist Ethan Thompson says, “We have a very vast group of individual influences to grab from. As we move forward, these influences will work their way into the music in both subtle and obvious ways.” Filling out the band’s eclectic sound are Nate Mattson on guitar, Jeramie Olson on drums and George Ellsworth on keyboards. James and Younger released its first album Sleep in the Sea last summer, and plans to begin the writing process for a new album this spring.
Jaze
7:15pm Fri 5/3 | Beaner’s
When not spending the past decade promoting local hip hop, helping reunite iconic underground hip-hop crews like Rhymesayers’ Headshots, or hosting the popular Mic Check Mondays at Sir Benedict’s, Jesse Unger has dropped his own lyrical bombs as a member of Kritical Kontact and as the individual rap artist known as Jaze. This pioneer b-boy will play his last show along side his friends in Kontact at this year’s festival and then plans to extend his reach as a solo performer. With DJ Derek Delgado, he has released multiple digital mix tapes since 2009 and has an official full-length scheduled for completion in 2013.
Baby Grant Johnson
9:45pm Sat 5/4 | Carmody
Grant Johnson sounds like Leo Kottke and Charlie Parr had a lovechild. A blues-playing, ragtime-strumming lovechild, specializing in 12-string, six-string and bottleneck style acoustic. He has been playing on his own since 1996 but has also collaborated with Rich Mattson to form the Bitter Spills. Compared to his band work, his solo repertoire is more on the bluesy side, with many original tunes.
Steve Johnson
11pm Sat 5/4 | Lake Avenue
Former Sight Like December front man Steve Johnson is a dedicated folk singer, a true compatriot to the acoustic guitar. With a subtle voice possessing a confident and earthy core, he plays some good ole music, earnestly giving out sounds of another era. His meticulous chords and thoughtful lyrics speak of the difficulty and reliefs of being awake in the world and the subtle twists of human relationships. His voice provides good accompaniment to the stories of his lyrics, twisting and feathering around them with emotion.
Tim Kaiser
5pm Mon 4/29 | Zeitgeist
Duluth’s raison d’être for musical exploration and all-around tinkering with instruments, Tim Kaiser commands his creations with simple sweeps of his hands, willing sounds into existence. He has scored movies, been featured on television shows as well as magazines, and has toured extensively. How he gets by airport security with his devices is anyone’s guess, but his homemade instruments are as alluring as the sounds they make. Kaiser has been a champion of Duluth’s musical weirdness for more than twice the age of the Homegrown festival itself. He began recording in February for a new album, Microphone Obscura, which he intends to release on cassette.
The Keep Aways
8pm Tues 4/30 | Clyde Iron Works
Recently shows have been sparse for these punk stalwarts, but they can always be counted on to deliver a blistering Homegrown set, as they have for the past 11 years. Bassist Nikki Moeller and guitarist and lead singer Mindy Johnson were founding members of the band in 2001; Chris “C Dubz” Warne joined on drums five years later. The group has released two full-length albums (most recently 2008’s Decay), two EPs, a variety of songs on compilations, and has been nominated twice for a Minnesota Music Award. Johnson also performs with a new band, Wolf Blood.
Kritical Kontact
11:30pm Fri 5/3 | Pizza Lucé
After ten years, three CDs, multiple tours, and an endless list of contributions to the area’s hip-hop scene, Kritical Kontact has decided to put this baby to bed. Jaze, Bliss and Legitimit recently announced that Homegrown 2013 will mark the final performance of the crew that started busting out intelligent and edgy rhymes back in the early aughts. The boys began churning out solo releases in 2009; and though the group is calling it quits, their future projects will play a part in Homegrown for years to come.
Sarah Krueger
8:45pm Wed 5/1 | Grandma’s
This inviting singer-songwriter admits she can’t shake Duluth’s spirit from influencing her music. Sarah Krueger’s earlier work, the six-song Running EP, took on a minimalist folkish approach to match the Twin Port’s stark seasons. More recently, she surrounded herself with pretty much a who’s-who list of local talent to expand that sound into a fuller Midwest-Americana mix on the full-length Dancing with Phantoms. Kyle Keegan (drums), Brian Wells (bass), Nate Case (guitar), and a rotating cast of neighborhood minstrels often back up this emerging songstress.
La Foret
9:15pm Fri 5/3 | Legacy Glassworks
Following their graduation from high school, members of the rock group La Foret took three years off from Homegrown for traveling and to focus on post-secondary academic affairs. Now they are reentering the music scene with gusto. Guitarist/vocalist Daniel Rosen reminisces, “La Foret grew from boys to young men in the Twin Ports music scene,” but asserts that unlike other groups, this band “was born into … reverb-drenched echoes.” La Foret is comprised of Rosen, Jonathan Halquist on keys, Guthrie Cunningham on drums and Jon Anderson on bass guitar.
Legitimit
8:15pm Fri 5/3 | Legacy Glassworks
Rapper Lawrence LeTourneau describes his music as conscious hip-hop, but he’s not about limits. “I try to range from happy dance songs to detailed stories to sentimental songs to political rants and songs to freestyles and high energy.” And he takes Homegrown seriously: “Lots of practice hours go into this show. It’s one of the most important events of my life every year.” He’s put in a lot of work during 11 years of creating music in Duluth. Three records with the group Kritical Kontact. Two solo albums and another on the way. Shows all throughout the Twin Ports.
Lion or Gazelle
11:45pm Thurs 5/2 | Thirsty Pagan
Lion or Gazelle has been working hard, releasing dozens of songs online with relentless experimentation. This folk-pop project headed by Brian Ring includes vocalist Sophie Turk and ubiquitous bassist Matt Mobley. Lion or Gazelle has an organic sound with vocal harmonies, guitar and bass. The new release on Chaperone Records, Blood in Fire sounds like a cross between Elliott Smith and Brian Wilson, and was recorded with help from Mickey Pearson, Jake Willis, Sean Elmquist and others. Brian Ring seems to be trying to write better and better love songs – and that’s a good thing.
Lookdown Moon
10pm Fri 5/3 | Lake Avenue
Lookdown Moon has been together for almost a decade, and the band has refined its music such that notes go between members like a conversation between good friends. A diverse quartet with an acoustic founding, Lookdown Moon’s music is soulfully vocalized by Ann Forsman Loop with Jason Loop on guitar. This duo formerly went as the band Mayfly, but they have added on Steve Isakson on lead guitar and Dan Westholm on drums to complete their alternative down-low styling, where spare arrangements are tied together by Forsman Loop’s voice shifting from strong to diaphanous.
Lorenzo’s Tractor
12:15am Fri 5/3 | Roscoe’s
Before Tycoons, Teatro and Clyde Iron, there was the Urban Ground, the RecylaBell, and the Electric Fetus dance studio. These places hosted all-ages, three-dollar D.I.Y. shows featuring the handful of non-cover bands that existed around Duluth in the early 1990s. Those places and bands may have faded to memory, but one of the very original groups remains. Rob Fernquist’s industrial sound-scape known as Lorenzo’s Tractor used to hand out large doses of shoe gazing back in the day, and can still bring it as serious as a heart attack in 2013. Adding accompanying brushstrokes of noise are Luke Olson, John Stone and Tara Stone.
Loup-Garou
9:30pm Fri 5/3 | Spurs
The members of Loup-Garou describe their genre of music as “math-folk or indie rock or something,” which is accurate enough. The sound is fresh at the same time that it’s familiar. After a year on hiatus, Loup-Garou has returned to bring its alternative sound to Homegrown with new music and a new lineup. The folk outfit is comprised of Lee Petersen and Gabriel Moll on mic and guitar, Sam Hagen on bass, Chad Erlemeier on drums and Alex Galle smoothing it out on viola. The band’s debut EP I am Blind was released in 2011, and three new tracks were released on Bandcamp this past winter.
Low Forms
9:45pm Fri 5/3 | Twins Bar
This punk trio has been gigging around the Twin Ports and other Midwest towns since 2010. Pete Biasi, Jeremy Ehlert and Dave Frankenfeld deliver catchy pop-punk tunes à la Hüsker Dü and the Wipers. Be on the lookout for Low Forms members in other Homegrown acts: Frankenfeld plays with Batteries and Ehlert is in Strange Meeting and Total Freedom Rock.
Malec
10:15pm Fri 5/3 | Legacy Glassworks
This hard rock/metal band got its start a dozen years ago, with Shawn Burr on guitar, Kevin Malec on bass and vocals and Will Stensby on drums. Josh White joined on guitar about seven years ago, and in recent years Samantha Burr has added depth and harmony with her vocals. Gigs at the River Inn, the Bedrock Bar and Norm’s Beer & Brats have been keeping them busy, but they hope to release their long-planned second album this year.
Manheat
7:15pm Fri 5/3 Legacy Glassworks
Manheat is a quintessential Duluth band. The tempos are fast. The melodies ache. One gets the sense when listening to the band that everyone playing has been drinking and that each song could fall apart at any moment. Jay Whitcomb plays bass and sings in a strained, Westerbergian yowl, guitarist Jake Larson plays quickly and messily, and drummer Brennan Atchison staggers to keep up. Fans of the Replacements or early Soul Asylum should dig it.
Breanne Marie and the Front Porch Sinners
12am Fri 5/3 | Fitger’s Brewhouse
Country singer/songwriter Breanne Marie is hot off the release of her debut album Six Strings of Peace and Sanity. The sweet-voiced songstress began playing the guitar in 2007 and, drawing from the untimely losses of her father and brother, she developed a collection of original tunes. Having joined the music scene in 2010, Breanne has cooperated with a number of local and Minneapolis-based musicians. Joining her for this year’s festival is her husband, guitarist Evan Tepler, who lent songwriting skills to the debut album. Other “Front Porch Sinners” include Tim Cheesebrow on mandolin and Matt Sjelin on piano.
Markus J. Dandy and the Complete Lack Thereof
11:15pm Tuesday 4/30 | Clyde Iron Works
Markus J. Dandy and the Complete Lack Thereof is songwriter Mark Blom’s vehicle for eclectic, acoustic-folk anthems influenced by everyone from Radiohead to the Dead Kennedys. Joining Blom for this year’s Homegrown are drummer Tyler Dubla and bassist Mark Glen. Listeners can expect some new songs to accompany the band’s usual arsenal of shout-along folk stompers.
Hannah McDaniel
7pm Wed 5/1 | Sacred Heart
Eighteen-year-old Hannah McDaniel’s songs are personal stories that feature her sage-like guitar chops along with a voice that hangs over the arrangements with airy dissonance. While many young acoustic songwriters try to impress with dark, mumbled poetry accompanied by elementary strumming, McDaniel’s lyrics are refreshingly clear in meaning, and her guitar work weaves intricate arpeggios and classical-style melodies. She has recorded a full-length demo at Sacred Heart and has announced plans for a video from the same venue.
Mikey Talented
11:15pm Wed 5/1 | Dubh Linn
Duluth can’t seem to get rid of Mikey Talented. After seven years and three “last shows ever” they’re still alive, kicking and back for another round. The most recent last show was an end-of-the-world bash back in December. “We had a great time and we were like, ‘Should we do this again?'” said bassist Keir Gellatly. So it was decided, and Homegrown was chosen as Mikey Talented’s welcome back. Gellatly, along with guitarist Matt Stroozas, vocalist Dann Fuhs and drummer Joe Buchanan will be performing the “upbeat happy ska punk” and the wide variety of covers fans have been missing since the end of the world.
Mr. Kickass
9:45pm Tues 4/30 | Mr. D’s
As the name suggests, the guys in Mr. Kickass like to present themselves as high-decibel, high-energy, high-on-humor punchy punk rockers. But after 11 years of line-up changes, beer-soaked shows in cramped bars, and ripped T-shirts, the slaphappy ethos of bassist- vocalist Mike Fradenburgh and guitarist Jed Olson has changed. Matured might not be the right word, but even a simple listen to the cassette demos of their forthcoming album suggests a more introspective take on the punk genre. It might not be as sweaty, but it sure has bigger teeth. Helping the cause is new drummer Jake Daire.
Colleen Myhre
9:45pm Thurs 5/2 | Thirsty Pagan
Local stalwart Colleen Myhre has kept up her version of folky country blues for years, playing everywhere from townie bars to coffee shops and brewpubs. She has two albums to her name, both recorded in rural locales, which is fitting to the style of music she plays. After taking in Myhre’s Homegrown performance last year, music reporter Andrea Swensson wrote for MPR’s Local Current Blog: “Myhre has a low, full voice that is similar in timbre to Lucinda Williams’, and she harnessed it and released it with ease, accompanied only by her acoustic guitar and the stomp of her cowboy boot heel.”
Paul Newberg
11am Sat 5/4 | Chester Creek Café
Twelve years ago, a blues bug bit Paul Newberg. By 2005, the rock guitarist for Blameless Days and the What Four realized he couldn’t shake the itch and began to perform solo stomp-box shows. Now the infection is full blown as Newberg recently announced a fulltime dedication to the 12-bar art form. Though he uses some harmonica and traditional structure in his songs, don’t be surprised if a small dose of grungy distortion creeps into his repertoire. As much as the blues inspired his previous projects, rock riffs now add a fuller sound to his new pathos.
Next of Kin
12am Sat 5/4 | Brewhouse
Next of Kin is the latest evolution of the Sonja Bjordal and Lee Martin musical partnership. In this incarnation, Marios Glistos and Walter Wedan contribute their talents on bass and drums, respectively, to augment Bjordal and Martin’s vocal and guitar work. The music you will hear will transport you back to the early days of country-folk-rock, when Stephen Stills, Joni Mitchell, Richie Furay and Emmylou Harris dominated the airwaves. The band released its first album, Out West, in March.
Nonfic and Danecdote
8:15pm Sat 5/4 | Legacy Glassworks
Nonfic is Dan Vezina, an emcee who has loved hip-hop most of his life. Danecdote is Daniel Nelson, a “self proclaimed audio production ninja-mayhem extraordinaire” who has been soundscaping and beat making at Homegrowns since 2011 (and who also plays fullish-time with local collective Strictly Hammers). The two connected one night at a show, and have been working on a project ever since.
Nur Jehan Chishti
9pm Sat 5/4 | Teatro Zuccone
Kristy Marie O’Neill has played numerous solo shows over the past six years, known simply as Kristy Marie. She formed Nur Jehan Chishti with Ian Kimmer and Marc Gartman, but will play Homegrown with new members Bryce Kastining on drums and Eric Bong on bass. O’Neill handles the vocals, pump organ and guitar. The band apparently gets its name from Nur Jehan, empress of the Mughal Empire roughly 400 years ago. Leave it to a new-age band to pull out an old-school history reference and rework ancient chants and lyrics to create “love-abiding music for the rocking open heartfolk.”
Old Knifey and the Cutthroats
11:30pm Fri 5/3 | Spurs
Since opening for Trampled by Turtles at the 2011 Homegrown, Old Knifey and the Cutthroats have been on hiatus … well, they broke up. A modified version of the often modified band played the 2012 Homegrown as simply the Cutthroats, but now the original crew is back together again for a one-time jam to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Homegrown. This lineup features “Old Knifey” Adam Depre, Caleb Anderson, Chris Kelly, Ben Berg and Dano Sauter bringing their brand of swinging honky-tonk and country rock back to the Twin Ports.
Jeffrey James O’Loughlin Band
11:30pm Sat 5/4 | Sir Benedict’s
Folk musician Jeffrey James O’Loughlin has been rounding venues and sitting in with various bands in the Twin Ports for years now, and can often be seen busking it up for the tourists and handing out free CDs down on the Lakewalk in the summer. He’ll be back at Homegrown this year for the first time since his 2010 onstage proposal to his now-wife and occasional bassist Janeice Prestidge. She will be joining him along with a few other last-minute surprises.
Charlie Parr
9:45pm Wed 5/1 | Grandma’s
Charlie Parr is a busy man. Following the February release of his album Barnswallow, he took his folk blues and foot-stomping spirituals on the road, touring across the United States. This summer, he’ll be hitting up the United Kingdom with his traditional and original tunes. Parr plays six-string, 12-string, and steel guitar while usually stomping out a beat to go along with his gravelly, heartfelt vocals. He is sometimes joined by Lane Prekker on the washboard and Dave Hundrieser on harmonica.
Peer Precious
7pm Sat 5/4 | Beaner’s
Singer/guitarist Mike Wilson and drummer Kyle O’Leary have added a new bassist to their three-and-a-half-year-old punk trio. Britt Collis, a Tennessee transplant, recently has joined the band in preparation for recording the follow up to its debut album Bless this Mess. Peer Precious has toured the country a bunch, offering a classic pop-punk sound and songs with a touch of humor. Their lyrics are filled with surliness and angst, but they have a catchy, classic pop punk sound, and you might find their frequent sarcasm amusing.
The People Say Fox
6:45pm Fri 5/3 | Amazing Grace
Can a relatively young band write intricate song structures and still sound catchy? Can music revolve around dark personal themes and still be accessible to a wide audience? It can if you’ve listened to the People Say Fox. This byzantine-style rock band formed in the halls of Duluth East High School in 2008 when vocalist/guitarist Nate Holte and bassist Mike Billig started playing together as students. Since then they’ve toured alongside the wildly popular Cloud Cult and Motion City Soundtrack while releasing two acclaimed albums. Guitarist Nate Adelson and drummer Rio Daugherty have joined the group on the more recent album, 2012’s Glowcap.
Peter Pain
2:30pm Sun 5/5 | Club Saratoga
Bob Monahan might have started off as a man of erudite words, but he has transformed into a man beyond musical measure. From poet to literary advocate to electronic musician to record label CEO to future restaurateur, Monahan somehow finds the energy to enthusiastically wear a dozen different hats and be a dad (not to mention a decent basketball player) to boot. When he’s not putting out other people’s records on his Chaperone label, he mixes his past and present as Peter Pain: a one-man hypnotic dance machine that spits out humorous poetry.
Hattie Peterson
7:15pm Sat 5/4 | Sacred Heart
Hattie Peterson will be diving into dark waters this Homegrown, going it solo this year. She’s leaving her Man Band at home and bringing out a slower, acoustic style perfect for exploring lyrically murky depths. With a guitar and a strong voice, Peterson supports soulful lyrics with the edge of experience. At the end of 2012 she released her second album Fend for Yourself. Peterson is a familiar and well-loved figure on the Duluth scene, often playing Beaner’s and other singer-songwriter haunts.
P-gnewmatikz
10:30pm Thurs 5/2 | Bev’s Jook Joint
Bassist/vocalist Jozef Conaway and guitarist Dave Marcaccini formed P-gnewmatikz a good seven years ago with Codie Leseman. The trio released a split EP with Sunburnt Soles in 2008, but eventually Leseman gave in to the call of foreign lands and was replaced by drummer Curtis Mattson of the Good Colonels. These hard-working lads have done their share of musical heavy lifting in the area, and continue to with P-gnewmatikz and its crazy mix-heavy indie rock and flashes of Tom Waits.
Phantom Ship
10:15pm Sat 5/4 | Red Star Lounge
Scott Gusts has been doing electronic-based music in the area for nearly a decade. In Phantom Ship, he is on a mission to create music to listen to along the length of the album rather than as singles in this age of YouTube. It’s chillwave-esque electronica formed from analog synth sounds and relaxed, simple drum beats. Samples of human voices dot the soundscapes, which add an air of mystery to the music.
Phillip of Nazareth
8pm Sat 5/4 | Beaner’s
After six years of chaotic shows and two albums worth of sloppy thrash, the young punks in Phillip of Nazareth have started taking inspiration from … jazz? Yes, jazz, and its wider range of instrumentation. Don’t put away your ripped T-shirts and Chucky Taylors quite yet. The sonic scorch of Josh Mutchler and Andy Pletcher’s guitars along with Cory Coffman’s double-time drums still presides, but the 10-minute punk jams from last year’s Live at Beaner’s definitely showed a newer, broader approach to music. Paralleling this growth, rumor has it they’ve moved out of mom’s basement and into a “real” rehearsal space.
Planemo
10:45pm Mon 4/29 | Red Star
Planemo was formed in 2011, when three co-workers at an upstart medical company realized each others’ side passion for music. With influences stemming mostly from indie pop and grunge, front man and guitarist Jacob Swanson is backed by the bass stylings of Matt Donoghue and Zach Anderson on the drums. They return for their second consecutive Homegrown Music Festival after being a hit at last year’s “New Band Night.” This year they welcome special guest guitarist Jesse Hoheisel of Equal Xchange and Portrait of a Drowned Man.
Portage
12:30am Sat 5/4 | R. T. Quinlan’s
Portage started as a group of UMD students recording albums in an attic overlooking Lake Superior. Their sound, according to singer and guitarist Trent Waterman, ranges from atmospheric, acoustic sing-alongs to all-out rock-and-roll. “Even when we play our softer songs, people still seem to dance,” he says. The rest of the group includes Jason Hildebrandt on bass, Dave Mehling on keys, Nate Case on guitar and Adam Rosenthal and Ben Kuehn sharing the drums.
Portrait of a Drowned Man
11:30pm Sat 5/4 | R. T. Quinlan’s
For about a decade Portrait of a Drowned Man has been releasing records and playing live, showcasing unique instrumental arrangements. The three-guitar attack of Paul Connolly, Jesse Hoheisel and Justin Kervina can take you from a rolling stream to the heart of chaos in the same breath. They describe their music as “post-rock” with “towering arrangements.” New drummer Ken Nyberg completes the quartet. Since last Homegrown, PoaDM had its music featured in the documentary film Wild Bill’s Run which has been featured at many film festivals across the country and abroad.
Prince Paul and the Conscious Party
11pm Thurs 5/2 | Norm’s
“Prince” Paul Robinson’s roots-reggae ensemble has been bringing big, low grooves, conceptual lyrics and ripping horns to Homegrown since 2006. Robinson resonates energy-filled, soulful lyrics to the subsidiary beats provided by new drummer Harvey Hanson and percussionist Bryan “Lefty” Johnson. Rounding out this rhythmic powerhouse are Rob Jones on keyboard, Pat Powers on guitar, Sphen Berg on bass, Matt Livingston on saxophone and Leo “Psycho Capone” on trombone. The band has recorded two albums – Live at the Nomad World (2005) and One Drop in the Water (2008).
The Pulvermachers
10:30pm Sat 5/4 | R T. Quinlan’s
The Pulvermachers play alternative rock with subject matter ranging from fish, donut imperialism and sasquatches to Iowa cheerleaders. Its members have played in the Twin Ports since 1982 in such bands as YRU, the Xceptions, Iron Youth, DeMonkie, the Earthworms and the Julie Zacharias Band. Len Fox’s bass playing is outstanding, but the rest of the band pulls its weight as well, with Mark Wallin and John Berglund on guitars, Geoff Fox on drums and Mark Webster belting out the vocals like a low-key Joey Ramone. The Pulvermachers recorded the EP Yeti in 1995.
Punch the Driver
10pm Sun 4/28 | Pizza Lucé
What better exemplifies the Duluth music scene than a “Frankenband” comprised of the used parts of a bunch of other bands? With Homegrown veterans Ben Butter, Brian Ring and Steve Sola, Punch the Driver is a roots band with a hint of Lion or Gazelle, a touch of Wyatt Famous, a dash of Ty Cobb and just a pinch of Auruphis for electronic flavor. They say they’ll be putting a new spin on public domain music with the incorporation of drone elements.
Red Mountain
11pm Sun 4/28 | Pizza Lucé
From the red tent of Chaperone Records comes Red Mountain. Led by mutli-media artist Anton Jimenez-Kloeckl (on the keys), this ensemble has a rotating cast of musicians that occupy various caves and caverns in the cliffside of Duluth. Jimenez-Kloeckl says the band began as a “wilderness journal” in 2009 and has “transformed into an expansive interpretation of love poems and night jitters, performed by a revolving eight-piece band.” Sound travelers include Matt Mobley on bass; Gus Ekstrand, Erin Tope and Charlotte Montgomery on various percussion tools; a horn section (Grace Holden and Soren Dietzel) and a symphony of surprises. Expect their first full-length album, Scowl Lightly, to be released this May.
Bill Reichelt
11:30pm Fri 5/3 | Sir Benedict’s
Bill Reichelt is a longtime performer, experimenter and tinkerer who has been playing music since the late 1980s. He played four Homegrowns with the band Dog Pookah and two with Cheer Up Poems before going solo. Having already transitioned from folk to ambient, Reichelt now says he has set aside his synthesizers and iPad applications to focus on prewar jazz-standards played on a parlor guitar. And everyone saw it coming.
The Resonance
10:15pm Mon 4/29 | Carmody
The Resonance is a group with a sound that is rare in the Twin Ports. While many rockers in the area like to play in the style of the Replacements or Neil Young, the Resonance produces music that recalls the 1990s and quiet-to-loud bands of the past decade. Guitarist and vocalist Dan Munthe leads this alternative rock quartet with guitarist Cliff LaVigne, forming a two-pronged guitar front not unlike Smashing Pumpkins or Pearl Jam. Bassist Charlie Milkey and drummer Allen DeTray make up the rhythm section.
RoofTop Fable
7:30pm Tues 4/30 | Beaner’s
RoofTop Fable is a quirky modern rock band fronted by Suzy Anderson, who also gigs separately as the solo pop artist Suzy Q. At the end of 2012 she joined up with former Number One Common guitarist Mikey Trifilette, bassist Brandon Maki and drummer Faye Baron. “So far we’ve rocked Beaner’s, Bev’s Jook Joint, random house parties, Norm’s, R. T. Quinlan’s, the Rex and Players,” Anderson says.
Saint Anyway
9:45pm Sat 5/4 | Spurs
Are these well-dressed, handsome alt-grassers trying to make the rest of Duluth look bad or what? Young but tour savvy, the folk trio of Tony Peterson, Jamie Kallestad and Dane Levinski has quickly gone from playing the back of rural greasy spoons in northern Minnesota to gigging at hip venues in Minneapolis and along the East Coast. They’re making cool videos; they’re releasing their fourth album titled Behemoth; they’re getting awesome reviews from online magazines; they run a first-class web page. What gives?
Kyle Scherz Band
9:15pm Sat 5/4 | Legacy Glassworks
Oh, sure, a lot of Homegrown acts can play a little acoustic guitar and hold a tune. And there are a few acts that feature a human beatbox. But how many Homegrown performers can do the singer/songwriter thing and beatbox and loop it all together live at the same time with no assistance from a sound tech? Just one; and his name is Kyle Scherz. Since 2009 he has gigged at local watering holes, played several benefit concerts and run a recording/lesson studio called Musicality.
Sexhawk
11:15pm Fri 5/3 | Tycoons
For rambunctious, rattling, reflexive rock and roll, it is difficult to set the bar higher than Sexhawk. Comprised of legends of local liquor-joint riot bands, such as guitar-slayer Aaron Ashley, drum-dismantler Shanna Willie and microphone blow-jobber Cory “Hotrod” Ahlm, along with Chris Whittier and Jeff Foline, playing bass and guitar, respectively, this band is just about the perfect Homegrown ensemble. This summer, after the June flood, Sexhawk released the single, “Duluth is Still Afloat (In Our Hearts).” The lyric, “Together forever, united we stand, believe in hope, just take my hand. We won’t let these waters tear us apart because Duluth is still afloat in our hearts,” says it all.
Shortwave
9pm Wed 5/1 | Sacred Heart
Shortwave was born out of a jazz quartet made up of four Duluth East High School students. The group brings together guitarist J. J. Sivak and pianist Peter Brown with Excuse Me, Princess members Jack Campbell and Ben Ouellette. Shortwave makes a point of looking for more unusual venues for shows, such as parking lots, church basements, triathlons and old-people conventions at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, along with occasional shows at Beaner’s Central. The band has been around for only a few months and shifts between playing jazz, rock and reggae, depending on the event.
The Silk Sheiks
3:30pm Sun 5/5 | Club Saratoga
Get ready for more sophisticated instrumental music in a sophisticated setting as the Silk Sheiks return for another Sunday Homegrown performance around the shiny pole at the Club Saratoga. Guitar player Ben Marsen mines his vast record collection to find most of the cool, forgotten material for the band to revive. Dan Anderson provides the melodies on organ, along with the occasional vocals and quips. The rhythm section features Ryan Jazdzewski on drums and Ethan Thompson on bass.
Silverback Colony
12am Thurs 5/2 | Norm’s
Silverback Colony has left its mark all across the region with its long-legged, striding, twangy, aquatic rock. As the band has grown and changed, its lineup has become quite extensive, both in its repertoire and its members. The extensively bearded Gabriel Douglas does the talking, yelling, guitaring and shamanic duties, with Nate Case on vocals and guitar, Matt Donoghue on vocals and bass, Kyle Keegan on drums, Woodrow Stulberg on percussion, Don House on guitar and whale sounds, Marc Gartman on the lap steel, Shawn Neary on banjo and vocals, and Arlen Peiffer on drums. They plan to have a new album out come summer.
Sing! A Women’s Chorus
7pm Sat 5/4 | Teatro Zuccone
Together now for 14 years, Sing! specializes in folk music from around the world, including traditional music from West Africa, along with plenty of originals. Highlights of this year’s set will be arrangements by Director Mags David of songs such as “How Can I Keep from Singing?” and “Hard Times.” Singers in the chorus include Ami Stenseth, Bev Berntson, Cyndy Klinksiek, Debbie Renier, Deborah Faul, Diane Daniels, Emme Sjoberg, Georgann Petrich, Hella Wartman, Holly Fearn, Jeanne Filiatrault Laine, Jenny Koczur, Jessica Roskoski, JoAnn Stanley, Joyce Parker, Judy Ilse, Julie Peterson, Kathy Maki, Katrina Viegas, Lorraine Turner, Lynette Wolenetz, Mary-B Newcomb, Mitra Emad, Molly Benson, Nancy Aldridge, Renay Boggie, Sally Grames, Samiha Dib, Sandra Caywood, Sorina Larson, Sue Doering, Susan Spaeth and Theresa Neo.
Adam Sippola
7:30pm Wed 5/1 | Amazing Grace
Adam Sippola began his artistic journey at age 5, playing classical cello for the Suzuki Institute. From there the world beat aficionado studied everything from rock and roll and theater production to chanting and didgeridoos. His musical undertakings often involve loops of primal sonority that strike a delicate balance between the modern and the aboriginal. When not building his own compositions, Sippola serves the Duluth art community as a board member for the new Underground theater at the Depot and working for the Twin Ports Choral Project.
Snöbarn
10:30pm Fri 5/3 | Spurs
Ariane Norrgard and Gaelynn Lea White are more than just band mates, they are roommates and close friends. The two “snow children” met at a farmer’s market two years ago and have been making music and mischief ever since. Their “eclectic-folk” duo has turned into a full ensemble since last year’s Homegrown, with the additions of drummer Chad Erlemeier, percussionist Bryan “Lefty” Johnson and bassist George Ellsworth. Expect a more electrified version of last year’s mellow performance, with Norrgard alternately plugged in or at the piano, and Lea belting out high-powered harmonies as well as possibly breaking strings on her fiddle. The group’s first album, tentatively titled Hand by Hand, is planned for release this summer.
Somewhere but Who
7:45pm Sat 5/4 | Amazing Grace
The guys in Somewhere but Who have been playing together in the Duluth area for about six years, playing local bars and basements blending their musical influences of folk, blues, jazz and soul into what they describe as “desert rock, or something like that.” The lineup features Bryce Willet on guitars and vocals, Andy Lipke on lead guitar and Guy Merolle on drums. They released their self-titled debut album in 2012.
Southwire
11:30pm Sat 5/4 | Pizza Lucé
Recipe for a Twin Ports supergroup: Take one-part singer-songwriter, mix with two-parts Crew Jones, and add a dash of bass. When forming a group of such proportions, Duluth music scene veterans Jerree Small, Ben Larson, Sean Elmquist and Matt Mobley are the perfect ingredients. Fresh off the March release of their self-titled, full-length album, this four-piece band delivers a haunting mix of vocals, piano, guitar, drums and bass. You’ll notice elements of each member’s respective band – Ben Larson’s spoken word skills, for instance – but together, these musicians form something entirely new.
The Spin Collective
9pm Sat 5/4 | Minnesota Power Plaza
Fire dancers Gina Doller, Jillian Forte, Shaunna Heckman, Aleasha Hladilek, Denise Hooper and Jayme Hudson have been spinning flaming hoops, fans, poi, various staffs and sticks, and other apparatuses as a collective for five years in Duluth, Superior and beyond. For this year’s Homegrown, they’ll perform to deep beats dropped by DJs Kevin Craig (an official member of the Universal Zulu Nation) and Paul Broman, and guitarist Chris Hogan.
Stel and Chad
10:30pm Mon 4/29 | Fitger’s Brewhouse
You might recognize guitarist and vocalist Brian “Stel” Stelmaszewski of Stel & Lefty’s “From Hank to Hendrix” theme; a long-time soundtrack to Thirsty Pagan Brewing’s happy hour. This year Stel teams up with percussionist Chad Erlemeier of Snöbarn and Loup Garou for their first Homegrown together. Mixing covers of old favorites with a few of Stel’s originals from over the years, they’ll be bringing to the stage what they call “music without agenda.”
Strange Meeting
7:30pm Thurs 5/2 | Red Mug
What the seminal band the Lounge Lizards represented to the early 1980s no-wave movement in New York City is similar to Strange Meeting’s role in Duluth’s bustling music scene. Both walk that fine line between distinguished jazz players and satirical artistes. Matt Mobley (bass), Matt Wasmund (sax) and Jeremy Ehlert (guitar) pen original compositions mixed with ambiguous interpretations of popular music set to jazz customs they learned while students in the UMD Music Department years ago. They regularly perform at Lake Avenue Restaurant and Bar wearing ties, but can just as easily switch over to play for the beard and flannel crowd.
Strictly Hammers
8:15pm Fri 5/3 | Beaner’s
Matt Ihle (Crimson), Maat Brutger (A Lot) and Nick Pawlenty (MidiEvil) paid three years worth of beat-street dues before releasing their debut album Tempus Fugit. After opening for local rap performers like Jaze, Bliss, and Equal Xchange and wider known acts like Carnage, Toki Right and DJ Abilities, this group of hip-hop storytellers put together 19 tracks of hard-hitting soothsaying mixed with transient loops. At their tightest when they trade lines within faster paced numbers, they still make room for slower introspective soliloquies to give the group a heartbeat behind clenched lyrical fists.
Supreme Rokka Hifi
12:15am Fri 5/3 | Red Star
Kevin Craig started his DJ life at the first Luna party on Wisconsin Point back in the 1990s and these days spins frequently at the Red Star Lounge. As DJ Horsefist he joins DJ Binghi, Brian Tomaino, to form the reggae sound system Supreme Rokka HiFi. The longtime friends from the Hillside went to Central High School together back in the day. With a heavy arsenal of 45s, 12 inches, dubplates and mp3s they come to Homegrown fully prepared to deliver a sonic beatdown. Expect big tunes, big bass and hot fire!
The Surfactants
11:15pm Sat 5/4 | Pioneer Bar
The Surfactants play nervy, hard-driving synth pop, like Devo might make if Devo lived in Hell. Founding member Zac Bentz drums and programs, Greg Couger Conley and Brett Molitor play thick, metalish riffs, Eric Anderson holds things together with bass, Steph Bentz plays keyboards, and Marcus Matthews shouts over all of it. Wear earplugs, and anticipate band-members wearing masks. The band’s second album Our Dead Bodies was released in 2011.
Tangier 57
9:30pm Sun 4/28 | Tycoons
If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a dozen times, “Tangier 57 is the Northland’s nacho cheesiest band.” Saucy (if matching red cardigan sweaters is considered saucy), tasty (if lounge-core is to be considered tasty) and meant for double dipping (each of their four albums requires multiple spins to catch all the spaced-out weirdness). Guitarist Darin Bergsven leads the charge through the jazz tinkerings of the rhythm section made up of Chris Bacigalupo (bass) and Brian Barber (drums). David Syring adds frantic horn parts while Paul Wartman provides squeak-box madness.
Taste the Feeling
12pm Sun 5/5 | Sacred Heart
Using philosopher Marshall McLuhan as a guide, Gavin and Anika Fernholz try to make music that fills audile-tactile space, or the area where all senses are involved. They argue that digital mediums create a strict dependence on the “visual,” whereas music should incorporate sound, touch, sight, intuition, emotion, experience and, of course, taste. Thus the nom de plume. Gavin (11 years old) is schooled in jazz discourse while his younger sister Anika (just turned 8 ) has recently delved into piano music theory to accompany her dynamic range as a singer. Their father, utility saxophonist-for-hire Brad Fernholz, (in his mid-30s) also joins them from time to time.
Thadi P.
11:15pm Fri 5/3 | Red Star
At the impressively young age of 6, Thaddeaus Paul Swint began his journey into the world of music. His first instrument is bass, having learned the ropes playing fusion jazz and blues. He now does hip-hop, but includes his former studies in fusion/blues along with a singer/songwriter perspective.
Theft by Swindle
6:15pm Fri 5/3| Beaner’s
Theft by Swindle is a band comprised of two local music veterans from Eeriearq – Jason Szumowski and Bret Walczynski, guitarist and bassist, respectively – and drummer Thomas Anderson from Portraits for Judith. Butch Greene has been called upon as a second guitarist; and all three guitar players sing. Theft by Swindle is moving forward into the future playing its version of Foo Fighters meets R.E.M. rock-and-roll. It is a band that likes to revel in the moment on stage and get the crowd involved with its fun. Recording has commenced for a debut album.
The 13th Choir
10:30pm Sat 5/4 | Twins Bar
This rock quartet has proclaimed 2013 as the year of the 13th Choir. With the shadowy grunge guitar of Andy Morrow and the angry pocket protector-style vocals of Joel Conley leading the way, it might prove true. If nothing else, the thick drums and bass of Amy Ugstad and Mark Swanson at least provide an excuse for head banging.
Three Song Sunday
10pm Mon 3/29 | Sir Benedict’s
Guitarist/singer Dan Dresser and harmonica player/singer Stephanie Longstreet describe their musical banter as “emotionally unstable pop.” Apropos. Their 2012 release Don’t be Sad on Me is plum full of catchy, guitar-driven songs with harmonies centered around moody character studies. They’ve been at it regionally for ten years in some form, including solo shows, as members of the Brushstrokes, and in the current line-up of Three Song Sunday. The acoustic duo takes full advantage of the folk-rock chops provided by Tyler Dubla on drums and Mark Glen on bass, who bring life to quieter toe-tappers.
3-2-1
9:30pm Sun 4/28 | Teatro Zuccone
All the years rehearsing and practicing for alt-rock band 3-2-1 is starting to pay off. Bassist Kyle Graves and guitarist Cody Schuman first played together six years ago when the two young songwriters were just finishing up middle school at Morgan Park. In 2011 they added Joe Fosel on drums and began stringing together a solid schedule of gigs around town that eventually led them to victory in the 2012 UMD Battle of the Bands. Their forthcoming debut album In My Life is scheduled for release later in 2013.
The Tico Three
12am Fri 5/3 | Lake Avenue
Spacey, heavy-blues jams is what guitarist Israel Malachi specializes in. Making up the “three” in his band’s title are drum machines and synths that Malachi programs himself. A tireless performer, he has played at many different venues throughout the Twin Ports. From a monthly gig at Chester Creek Café to Amsoil Arena, Malachi has the ability to play his guitar rock anywhere with Tico Three.
Timber and Steel
11:30pm Wed 5/1 | Lake Avenue
Songwriter Eric Rhame plants his baritone tongue firmly in cheek when he begins his latest album with the line, “I’m here on the road, thinking about coal, pain and sex.” For most of Ontario: The Lost Songs of Elam Baxter, Rhame employs his unique storytelling skills to make classic Nashville country sound like a church basement hootenanny. Similar to Ween’s 12 Country Greats, Timber and Steel pays tribute to and pokes holes in the genre without so much as a snicker. Steve “Chief” Johnson’s fiddle, John Erickson’s bass and Greg Tiburzi’s percussion add first-rate brushstrokes to this well-kept secret.
Tin Can Gin
10:15pm Tues 4/30 | Clyde Iron Works
Bluegrass music is not strange to Duluth, but these guys crank it out at the speed of sound. The brainchild of mandolin player Bryan Nelson, guitarist/vocalist Trevor Marrin and bassist Greg Schlegel, the band formed in summer of 2011 and has played gigs statewide. Harrison Olk soon joined the jams on banjo and classically trained violinist Jon Choi joined last year. Think bluegrass with a ska beat and an island groove. What the name means is anyone’s guess, but it has a nice ring to it – like a jug of juniper juice while rain falls on the roof? This will be the band’s first Homegrown performance.
The Tisdales
11:45pm Fri 5/3 | Twins Bar
The Tisdales formed out of singer/guitarists’ Rich Mattson and Tony Derrick’s previous projects, Ol’ Yeller and the Hotel Coral Essex. These guys like playing, “da rock and roll like in da old days without no stupid computers and bananas.” Jason Kokal’s rolling bass and Derek Rolando’s drums make the Tisdales “Northern Minnesota’s loudest band.” With three albums in their repertoire, the Tisdales are veterans of local rock.
Total Freedom Rock
9:45pm Mon 4/29 | Red Star
People of Duluth: Join hands and get on the Total Freedom Rock train. And by that we mean party caboose, derailed and sitting in your living room with Bob Monahan and Brian Ring sampling strange sounds on a shag carpet. Add to that Luke Holden on drums, Jeremy Ehlert on psychedelic-electric-jazz guitar and Anton Jimenez-Kloeckl synthesizing it all together and you’ve got yourself a totally freeing sound experience. The group calls its aesthetic “free-form noise composition,” which equates to either a psychological revolution, a mystic transport to an alternate reality, or at the very least a chance to free your toes from the restraints of their SmartWool socks. Just sayin’.
Trampled by Turtles
9pm Tues 4/30 | Clyde Iron Works
The acoustic juggernaut known as TBT marked its 10th anniversary with a concert at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center’s Symphony Hall in April. If it’s not enough that Dave Simonett continues to write epic and totally accessible poetry, the rest of the band (Tim Saxhaug, Dave Carroll, Erik Berry and Ryan Young) can still bring it at break-neck speed or slow it down into emotionally moving ballads. The past year brought TBT into national prominence with television appearances on the talk shows The Late Show with David Letterman, Conan and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, as well as an animated version of the band performing on the Adult Swim series Squidbillies. The band also performed live on the premiere episode of the Twin Cities Public Television program The Lowertown Line.
Triplekoin
8:30pm Tues 4/30 | Beaner’s
Triplekoin has been together for more than 10 years, and the band’s music has developed all along the way. “Style?” guitarist and vocalist Cody Behrends asks. “That’s a good question.” He calls Triplekoin’s sound a mix between rock, punk and new age, with maybe a little blues in there somewhere. The group got its start playing Duluth bars in late 2002. Cody’s brother Brandon Behrends joins him on guitar and vocals, with John Cox on bass and Brett Sundgaard on drums. They play mostly originals at their shows, with a few covers thrown in for good measure. They have released one full-length album, 2005’s Undecided.
Two Beat Band
10:30pm Sat 5/4 | Pizza Lucé
For two years Jordan Taylor, songwriter for the alt-alt-country Two Beat Band, has taken leave, chasing life north of Seattle. Now he’s back, at least for Homegrown. While the band thing subsided, Taylor continued penning tear-stained compositions at home. Years of material have piled up, and 2013 could see its long-awaited release, with Homegrown as the platform for introducing the new songs to the Twin Ports. Joining Taylor on stage will be Eric Pollard on drums, Brian Wells on bass, Nate Case on guitar and Dave Mehling on keyboard.
Fred Tyson & His Tysonettes
10:45pm Wed 5/1 | Grandma’s
Fred Tyson has been gyrating his way through Duluth drinking establishments for over a decade. Although his public outings have decreased of late, rarely is even an appearance of Freddy as a spectator at other bands’ shows met with anything less than an instantaneous dance party. He is backed again this year by musicians Dan Anderson, Eldo Abrahamson, Ben Marsen, Ethan Thompson and Paul Broman, as well as the talented trio of background singers known as the “Tysonettes” – Kelly Foss, Sarah Krueger and Hattie Peterson.
Ultra Day
9pm Sat 5/4 | Beaner’s
Ultra Day started in 2008 as a three-piece Decemberists cover band comprised of Solon Springs triplets Caleb (bass), Cody (guitar) and Corey (drums) Utyro. After a while they added their friend Kyle Rudd on another guitar. They now play original pop-punk with hard-rock underpinnings, three-part-harmony choruses, and occasionally obvious evidence – in a good way – of being influenced by Colin Meloy’s musical and lyrical phrasing.
Uncle Kenny
10am Sat 5/4 | Chester Creek Café
Kenny Kalligher has been spinning his musical yarns for the past nine Homegrown Music Festivals. Born and raised in Duluth, Kalligher is as much a part of this area as goldenrod in the summer and stranded ice fisherman in the spring. His music is original and infectious. Kalligher has hosted several television programs over the years and even made a video documentary about Homegrown. As for the future? Uncle Kenny plans to continue “walking the hills of Duluth.”
The Underwriters
11pm Mon 4/29 | Sir Benedict’s
While most of Homegrown’s bands regularly gig at Duluth and Superior clubs, there are a handful of original bands that bravely venture into the juke joints of rural northwest Wisconsin. Consider the Underwriters as the poster children for this tough-but-rewarding way to spread rock-and-roll joy. Singer/songwriter Lee Martin may have his signature on the band’s original sound, but all members – Russ Sackett (keys), Mike Miller (guitar), Adam Staupe (bass) and Wally Wedan (drums) – share vocal duties when taking pages from their Americana-roots rock songbook. A full-length album is planned for release in 2013.
Uprising
11:45pm Fri 5/3 | Carmody
Jamaican-born vocalist Dexter Baxter epitomizes Caribbean energy via his singing, while Andrew Perfetti blends reggae with his love of good ol’ rock-and-roll in his guitar playing. Janna Dreher plays the keys while Tal Lindblad and Luke Perry back them up on bass and drums, respectively. Fun-loving reggae is how they describe it, though it definitely has a rock edge to it, making Uprising stand out over normal, run-of-the-mill reggae groups.
Jake Vainio
6pm Wed 5/1 | Sacred Heart
Jake Vainio is a freshman at Harbor City International School who plays piano, trombone and guitar. His musical spectrum ranges from ambient to jazz to classical to grunge. Vainio writes songs in his free time, his record completion time being “around 10 minutes.” Currently in the midst of recording a solo concept album, he says the final product “should not be expected to be released for a good long while, but hopefully will be worth the wait.”
Ryan Van Slooten
9pm Thurs 5/2 | Norm’s
Singer/songwriter Ryan Van Slooten cut his teeth on the Duluth scene with sludge rockers Bone Appetit and the SuperTacks. Since the dissolution of those two bands, he has been playing and recording as a solo-artist, and this material is more reflective and folky. Expect chiming guitars, earnest vocals and lyrics Van Slooten hopes anyone can relate to. Joining him will be guitarist Jacob Jonker, guitarist and keyboardist Matt Lebard, bassist Mike Weinandt and drummer Glenn Bayless.
Vintage Val
10pm Thurs 5/2 | Chester Creek Café
Vintage Val is a folk act composed of – you guessed it – Vintage Val. The man behind the music, Val Turcotte, has been playing locally close to 30 years. He started at Sir Benedict’s, and went on to perform at the late NorShor Theatre and Mama Gets, as well as current Twin Ports staples like Carmody, the Red Mug, the UMD and Duluth Farmer’s Markets, and Pizza Lucé. He even opened for Brad Paisley one Fourth of July. Turcotte covers the likes of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Marty Robbins and other artists he acknowledges are mostly dead. “Basically I just strum the thing and I sing a little bit,” Turcotte says.
Wino, WI
12:15am Thurs 5/2 | The Main Club
Last year, Superior natives and long-time musical collaborators Greg Cougar Conley and Marcus Loren Matthews played Homegrown’s New Band Night with a synth-soul project, Bull Feathers. This year they’ve taken a different direction, teaming with raucous rhythm section Heather Dean (bass) and Scott Millis (drums) for this loud rock combo. Conley and Matthews share guitar, vocal and songwriting duties for the band, which takes its name from a previous Conley project that performed at Homegrown in 2006. The group’s current incarnation debuted in January and has played a handful of shows since. They hope to release an album sometime in 2013.
A Winter Downpour
10:45pm Fri 5/3 | Carmody
A Winter Downpour was born from the ashes of a dark winter. Frontman Alberto Serrano Rivera founded the rock band in St. Cloud with an acoustic guitar and a handful of songs. The project grew to a full band before unraveling as each band member moved away. Relocated and reinvigorated in Duluth, Serrano Rivera and former bassist Chris Barnholdt recruited the talents of drummer Ken Nyberg and avant-garde guitarist Paul Connolly. Kevin Zak has recently taken over on bass duties. Their first album, Vandrovec, I Need Help was released in October. It features a collection of moody, introspective tracks that explore surviving the beauties and disappointments of everyday life.
Wolf Blood
12am Sun 4/28 | Pizza Lucé
Claiming the influence of Witchcraft, the back half of Dirty Horse (bassist Brian Wells and drummer Jake Paulsrud) broke off to join guitarist Mike Messina in this thrash metal quartet of debauchery. Heavy riffs and driving beats guide their sound, along with a dose of pure punk from guitarist Mindy Johnson (of the Keep Aways). The group is new together, but all are in other local bands. If the promo posters are any indication, they’re sure to sink their teeth into you like any good carnivore would do. Howling is optional.
Jason Wussow & Friends
7pm Tues 4/30 | Clyde Iron Works
If you own your own music club and play guitar, then you probably can hand pick some darn fine musicians to jam out with you. Enter guitarist Jason Wussow, owner of Beaner’s Central, and his friends Mark Glen (bass), Jimi Cooper (guitar) and Tyler Dubla (drums). Their laid-back ska- and reggae-influenced grooves are the result of the comfort that comes from their easy-going relationship with each other and the Twin Ports in general. Each has countless contributions to the area’s music scene, whether through teaching lessons, studio work or owning one of the friendliest clubs in town.
Xhaust
9:30pm Tues 4/30 | Beaner’s
Since 2006, Dan Krause has been tearing up the sonic pavement with his heavier-than-heavy baby, Xhaust. There is not another band in the Twin Ports that compares to the quality of songwriting and creativity in a metal setting. To label this band “metal,” however, is to overlook the vast flavors and influences at play. One can hear echoes of Brian Connolly and David Bowie, along with modern influences such as Metallica and As I Lay Dying. Krause deftly handles vocals and guitar work, Jake Alvar operates the drums, while Conor Glenn and John Teschner fill in the rest of the sound wall. According to Krause, the band plays “loud, intense, original rock. Enough said.”
Yester
7:30pm Sun 4/28 | Teatro Zuccone
“A train-hopping, hitchhiking, traveling musician collaborates with a full-time-wage-slave DJ” is Chris LeBlanc’s description of the duo that is Yester. Kyle Ollah (the train-hopper) and LeBlanc (the DJ) are the constants on guitar and drums in a project that is decidedly less metal than their previous band, Bear Garden. They’ve had a transient group of supporting musicians around them since starting. “It’s been super ironic,” LeBlanc says. “When Kyle and I recorded the EP it was just him and me. And now we’re recording a full-length and it’s back to just me and Kyle.” For Homegrown, however, they’ll be joined by Matt Mobley on bass and Michael Ami Furo (a.k.a. Waabi) on guitar. Yester’s album is set to be released in June.
* * *
2013 Homegrown Kickball Classic
Saturday, May 4 | High Noon
Chester Bowl Park, 1800 E. Skyline Parkway
Kickball of the Living Dead
2012 Homegrown Kickball Classic Revisited
By Ben Torgerson
The 2012 Homegrown Kickball Classic has been referred to as the “most pathetic in Homegrown history,” and if you were there you would know this as fact. There were beer bongs. There was a full-body chicken suit. There were children who may or may not have been scarred for life. Through it all, Saturday’s team came through with a 6-4 victory, but it wasn’t pretty.
Musicians, groupies, chickens and Duluth Mayor Don Ness flooded the kickball field at Chester Bowl, effectively recreating a scene from a zombie movie before the game even started. A buzz was in the air, as well as in the brains of most players coming straight from a mimosa party.
Chad Lyons took the mound for the Friday Rawkers, heckling each of the players as they stepped up to face him. Bryan “Lefty” Johnson led off the game for Saturday by reaching on an error by Ryan Van Slooten. Lefty’s clever work on the base paths soon produced the game’s first run.
In the bottom of the first, Friday’s Seth Gronli reached on an error and was the first to score for his team, tying things at 1-1.
Saturday regained the lead in the second inning when Tim Curtis and Jacob Swanson each scored during a rally that quickly ended when Bill Meier flew out and Alberto Serrano Rivera was caught attempting to advance to second without tagging up.
By the end of the second inning the chicken had already left, probably to go get more mimosas or something. Tim Curtis of Words to a Film Score got a quick pep talk from trench-coated coach Paul Lundgren, and it seemed to work. Curtis made a series of diving catches throughout the game, including one that brought him into the crowd with no regard for human life. Ryan Nelson proved to be a defensive star for Friday, catching three fly balls to account for every putout in the top of the fifth inning.
Mark Glen got to choose which team to be on, since he played in bands on both Friday and Saturday night – and other nights of the week as well. “I went with Saturday, because I figured it would be the only way to defeat all of Homegrown,” the introspective yet nonsensical Glen said after leading off the sixth inning with a single and scoring. Curtis added his second run of the game a few plays later, increasing Saturday’s lead to 5-1.
There was a seventh-inning stretch in the middle of both the sixth and seventh innings – mostly for Friday’s livers. By now Lyons was sitting down between pitches, mostly as a way of both stretching and creeping out the other team. The highlight of the seventh inning came when a foul ball ended up in the hands of Mayor Ness, who then received “MVP” chants.
By this time every pitch included a beer bong and the crowd had grown restless. No one knew who was up to kick or what the score was, and a controversial call in the top of the eighth inning had tempers flaring.
Derek Delgado led off the ninth inning for Saturday by reaching on a Cory Ahlm error, and later scored to bring the Saturday advantage to 6-1.
Saturday’s lead began to erode in the final inning, however. The bases were loaded for Friday’s Brad Fernholz as he slapped the ball off his foot to drive in three runs. Saturday began to sweat, and held an emergency meeting at the pitcher’s mound to calm down the troops. Coach Lundgren must have had an extremely inspirational speech, because the final out was made at home plate on the very next pitch and Saturday was victorious in what will go down as the most confusing game in kickball history.
Dan Branovan of the Crunchy Bunch was crowned MVP after not making a single play the year before, completing his rags-to-riches story that will surely be made into a Disney movie by 2014. LVP dishonors went to Chad Lyons, who dragged what should have been a two-hour game out into four hours of waiting for him to pitch.
Enthused spectator Steve Wick didn’t mind the length of the game, though, summing it all up by saying, “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Duluth’s community than a bunch of drunk adults playing kickball.”
* * *
Eulogy of a Short-lived Homegrown Band:
The Brief Rise and Fall of Itty Bitty Kitty Committee
By Mark Lindquist
It is with great sadness that I stand before you to remember the brief yet exhilarating existence of a band called Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. The group may have passed, but its music will forever be with us in the form of a poorly recorded three-song demo known as Mice Krispies.
The members are here with us today to also mourn the loss of their endeavor. Sonja, of course, who played ukulele but called it a banjo. Randy, the bassist, who sang beautifully in his cat voice and also yelled things at people. And Beth who, for brevity’s sake, we’ll just call the drummer. We may never know what she did musically for Itty Bitty Kitty Committee, but it was her idea to don “katjamas” (pajamas and novelty cat ears) and compose weird songs mostly about cats.
Like many short-lived bands, their backstory is all too familiar. They get drunk one night and think it would be funny to register for the Homegrown Music Festival as sort of a joke. They write three songs, “Lick My Manvelope,” “My Country, My Home, My Litter Box” and the surprisingly catchy “I’m in the Mewd for Drugs.” They release them as an EP online and suddenly the group gains dozens, if not barely a dozen, fans.
Then one member (namely Randy) begins to overestimate the musical significance of the group ethos. He becomes indignant, which is creepier still, what with his constant scheduling of private rehearsal times in a broken-down van with Sonja. Then Beth. Then Sonja and Beth. Then alone, crying. Then Sonja again.
Someone (we’re guessing Randy) proposes a name change from Itty Bitty Kitty Committee to Giant Pussy for unexplained “political” reasons. Practice sessions become less frequent, and even more creepy. Assumingly, not everyone is on board with the new name of Giant Pussy.
The two other members (probably Beth and Sonja) decide to break up the group before its first show. Was it because Randy embarrassed them with an impromptu and unwelcome performance from the pitcher’s mound during the Saturday kickball game? We’ll never really know, nor can we forget it. But rest assured, it happens every year at Homegrown. We can take some comfort in that.
Weird? Sure, they were. But as they say at the shelter: If it doesn’t incite the dogs, then who cares? And I don’t think Itty Bitty Kitty Committee went around inciting dogs more than once or twice. Three times, tops.
Art for just art’s sake? Critics may argue that in regard to IBKC’s subject matter, but didn’t they say the same thing about Paganini, Talking Heads, and Shaquille O’Neal?
May the good Lord look over these bands as they pass into memory, and remind us that there is a great music festival in the sky full of some pretty awful groups that, sadly, will never be able refund our Kickstarter money.
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