The Rosewood Wonder
Photos by Jamie Merideth
The view from the fourth floor of DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace is amazing. Outside the windows are the icons of Duluth: Lake Superior and the Aerial Lift Bridge. On the inside sits Mike Furo, quietly bringing new life to old musical instruments as the owner of Rosewood Music. (more…)
Duluth up for bike park grant in latest online voting gimmick
Bell Helmets is awarding $100,000 to fund a trail-building project in one of nine U.S. cities in the latest online voting contest involving Duluth. Two cities have already been eliminated in the West Coast voting. Duluth is in the lead in the Central Region, which closes voting on Sunday, May 10. East Coast voting runs May 11-24. Voting in the finals will begin on May 25.
Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores is the nonprofit organization leading the effort to improve trails at Spirit Mountain.
Graffiti Graveyard: Let us in!!!
As a graffiti artist, I feel the city should open up that desolate spot under the bridge again, so artists like myself don’t have to be in constant fear of our police department. I also believe that Duluth should have designated legal graffiti areas, like many other cities around the world. The reason we do what we do is because galleries won’t accept our work as “art.” They never even glance at the little guy. All we’re trying to do is make our mark on the world.
This Week: pancakes, bikes, parties and more
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
The 2015 Homegrown Festival is in the books, but that doesn’t mean there’s any shortage of post-fest activity in the Northland. UMD Dean of Fine Arts Bill Payne will defend a favorite film at the Zinema, the second-annual Veterans Expo is taking place in Superior, the 58th annual Lions Club Pancake Day is happening at the DECC, the Filmed by Bike Festival is at the Zinema, Grandma’s Sports Garden is throwing a party in honor of the end of the school year and Caroline Smith plays the Red Herring.
Mayor Ness hosts his final Bike Luncheon, the YWCA is having its Mother’s Day Walk/Run, the Cat in the Hat opens a month of shows for kids at the Underground, there’s stand-up comedy at Dubh Linn and kids can learn how to draw with Chris Monroe.
Trampled by Turtles – Live at First Avenue
Listen to the Turtles Saturday night show (5/2/15) at First Ave.
01. New Orleans
02. Codeine
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Who won Homegrown 2015?
Photo by Melissa La Tour
Which band altered the most souls, inspired the most hedonism and deserves to wear the championship belt this year?
The poll is now closed. Here are the results:
Bratwurst – 12.7 percent
The Blasphemists – 10.2 percent
The Electric Witch – 6.8 percent
Sweat Equity – 5.1 percent
Various other bands – 65.3 percent
Is it the music, the artistry or the stinky meat? Duluth music fans continue to love Bratwurst … despite, or perhaps more so because of, this year’s controversy. (The band denies any involvement in the Pig Head on Statue Incident. Duluth police and the humane society are apparently investigating.)
Photo by Cory Fechner
Photo by Judy Weber
This is the third time in four years that Bratwurst has won Homegrown. It is also the third time in a row that the Blasphemists have finished second in the voting.
Homegrown Kickball Classic 2015
After sloppy conditions forced the two previous kickball games over to Observation Hill, the 2015 Homegrown Kickball Classic made a triumphant return to its rightful venue on the fields of Chester Bowl Park.
It was a fantastic day for kickball, and the only thing hotter than the midday sun were the zingers lobbed by Friday Rawkers pitcher Chad Lyons in between plays. There was nothing the Saturday Rollers could do to get players across home plate as the Rawkers shut them out by a score of 2-0. (more…)
Danecdote (featuring Brian Ring) – “I’m Gonna Say You Will”
This video by Garrett Tiedemann was part of the 2015 Homegrown Music Video Festival. Click that fancy link to view more videos from this year’s festival.
The Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank – “Old Number Four”
The Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank‘s new album, American Shuffle features the song “Old Number Four,” an ode to retired Packers/Jets/Vikings quarterback Brett Favre. As of this morning, the YouTube upload of the song (embedded above) had reached nearly 30,000 listens.
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Business Analyst Position at St. Scholastica
The College of St. Scholastica has an opening for a technical professional who will provide support and development to projects and process improvement initiatives. The business analyst, technical will join the college’s Business Technologies team of business analysts, project managers and developers that supports administrative, customer relationship management and web systems.
Selective Focus: Last Week
Cheryl Reitan, “Oddio”
Both of this week’s (only) submissions are from Cheryl Reitan; so glad to have met Oddio with her, Hugh Reitan, and Oddio’s brother Dean on Sunday for a genial studio visit. Then on Tuesday I was also there for Tim Kaiser’s Monday Red Herring appearance. I’m fortunate to to have apparently seen all there was to be seen this week in Duluth. (more…)
Thank you, Mayor Ness, from Homegrown
Folks from the Duluth music and arts scene say thanks to the mayor for his role in improving the Homegrown Music Festival in specific and Duluth in general. Video by Dan Branovan.
Three more artists this week … Coldsnap, Koshinski, Dalbec
Three more artists to mention: (more…)
Missing Person: Helge Rohm
Update: The Duluth Police Department reports that Helge Rohm has been located and is safe.
The Duluth Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating 72-year-old Helge Rohm. He is a Duluth resident and was last seen in the area of Second Avenue East and Sixth Street on Saturday, April 19.
Rohm is a 6-ft.-tall, 190-lb. white male with blue eyes and white/grey hair. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the Violent Crimes Unit at 218-730-5050.
Last Week: Living Large, Locally
Avoiding Homegrown until Friday, when I see my friend Emily Jayne play at Sir Ben’s… but still today enjoying Darin Bergsven at Dubh Linn. Time to reflect on the week.
Monday, I spent some time with Tim Jollymore, an author who arrived at UMD because of the hard work of Veronica and Mareesa and the awesome students in the Writing Club. Jollymore talked to the students about his craft as a writer — and it was an amazing afternoon for all of us. (more…)
Mayor Ness “Potholes Song” – 2015 Homegrown Proclamation
Video credit – Melissa Ginger
See the full Duluth Homegrown Music Festival schedule here –> https://goo.gl/svBlGe
The Best of Clyde at the 2014 Homegrown Music Festival
Here are highlights from the big Homegrown 2014 show at Clyde Iron Works, (via The PlayList) featuring Actual Wolf, Southwire and the Black-eyed Snakes with Charlie Parr.
Recommendations on short-term accommodations in Duluth
Perhaps someone can provide a bit of advice on short-term accommodations in our fair city. I’m currently in the process of finishing my thesis and am being seriously handicapped by my roommate situation. There’s no hard feelings, but the scale of work I’ve left to accomplish is simply too grand and requires an environment where I can devote some serious attention to my work. Of course, being a student, money remains a sizable obstacle. I can afford $375 for a month, but finding such a short-term lease has proven impossible. As such, I was wondering if you fine folks would happen to have any creative thoughts on the matter. I am open to just about any solutions.
I appreciate the consideration and a very happy Homegrown to everybody!
R.I.P. Verne Gagne
Wrestling icon Verne Gagne died late Monday night. In recent years he struggled with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Gagne was best known for operating the American Wrestling Association out of the Twin Cities. He was an accomplished amateur wrestler, 10-time AWA World Heavyweight Champion and trained the vast majority of the superstars of the 1980s and ’90s. (more…)
Northern Roots: Growing Food in the Western Lake Superior Region
A student-created documentary profiling regional food production in the Western Lake Superior region that includes a 15-county area in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. Students in an anthropology course called Ethnobotany filmed, wrote and edited four segments on local food producers.
Cabin season approaching– Free ice packs?
We have a massive surplus of ice packs due to our subscription to Plated (highly recommended). Every week we get two “Nordic Ice” packs— they are made out of some starch that you can put down your drain in perfect safety and they seem to stay frozen for almost a week. I’m not kidding. I could throw them out, but cabin and fishing season is upon us and it seems that nobody ever has enough ice packs. Except for us.
I’m going to leave them in a box on the bottom step of our apartment at 517 E 6th St. Please pop by and pick up as many ice packs as you like.
It’s a Little Free Ice Pack Chest.
This Week: the Homegrown Festival and other stuff
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
The Homegrown Music Festival is upon us, and that means that every single day is packed with music.
One could be forgiven to think that there’s nothing much else to point out, this week, but there is. For instance, there’s a ramp closure on the Blatnik Bridge coming up on Wednesday — locals are saying it’s going to be the ramp closing of the season. And, uh, that’s about it.
Just kidding. There’s author Tim Jollymore at UMD, a pow-wow dancers photo exhibit at the Depot, author Linda LeGarde Grover is speaking in Superior, the Kurt Weill opera Street Scene is at Marshall Performing Arts Center, the Zenith Social Media Marketing Conference is happening at Greysolon Plaza, unWINEd ’15 takes place at Duluth International Airport, there’s a Minnesota Ballet wine/cheese benefit at the Depot, May 1 is Law Day in Duluth and there’s stand-up comedy at Dubh Linn.
It’s a veritable smorgasbord for those who like giant music festivals, ramp closings and other things, too.
Homegrown Music Fest Hashtag Feed #hgmf15
Follow the Homegrown hashtag #hgmf15 on Twitter and Instagram.
Homegrown Music Festival 2015 Primer
The eight greasiest days of the year are underway. Here are the various links, hashtags and other tidbits to keep everyone moderately enlightened.
Homegrown website
Event schedule on Homegrown website
PDD Homegrown Chicken App (schedule optimized for smartphones)
Homegrown Facebook page
Homegrown Twitter page
Seasons 1 and 2 of Seth Langreck’s Duluth Band Profiles
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Trailer for Cloud Cult film Unplug
Minnesota band Cloud Cult, founded in Duluth by Craig Minowa, is releasing a video distillation of 12 years of songwriting that features acoustic performances at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis, along with interviews and behind the scenes footage. The movie is the product of an eight-year collaborative relationship between Minowa and co-producer Jeff D. Johnson.
There will be a screening on April 30 at the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis, with the national release on the following day, May 1. No word on a Duluth screening yet.