When the Dames opened for Melvins
On March 19 and 20, 2004, a little Duluth band called the Dames opened for Melvins at Grumpy’s Bar & Grill in Coon Rapids. Unlike a lot of old, abandoned blogs, Tony Bennett’s Journal is still parked on the web with the story of his brush with the influential punk metal band.
They’re my heroes, you know. They’re my band. Just like there are tons of rockers out there with old Metallica or Kiss or Led Zeppelin fixations (me included), the Melvins are up there just like that. They’re an obsession for me. So it’s a little weird suddenly standing there with all three of them, shaking hands and having Buzz say “Yeah, I remember you guys from last year; you were good.” And then following that up with “Did you cut your hair?”
Yes, king Buzzo asked me about my hair. Does it get weirder than that for a Melvins nut from Duluth? I don’t know.
Homegrown 2014 schedule released
The schedule for the 2014 Homegrown Music Festival, April 27 to May 4, is now available on the Homegrown website. PDD’s Homegrown Chick App also has the schedule formatted for easy viewing on smartphones. There are 200 acts in this year’s festival. Plot your future bar hopping, and rest up for now.
Duluth Band Profile: Red Mountain
Red Mountain surrounds listeners with an eclectic blend of sounds and rhythms. In this interview, band members talk about how the song “Chad” began as a friend’s dream. Red Mountain is working on a follow up to its debut album Scowl Lightly. Click on the image above to listen.
This week: green beer, green art and bluegrass
Here’s a sampling of what you have to look forward to this week on the PDD Calendar.
Today is St. Patrick’s Day and to celebrate there’s a Ceili Irish Dance at St. John’s Episcopal Church, a family friendly party at Clyde Iron, a not family friendly party at Dubh Linn and other events. What are you doing today to celebrate? Let everyone know in the comments.
UMD is hosting a free three-part seminar this week on Teaching the Holocaust. This is designed for K-12 teachers and runs Tuesday through Thursday.
Yoga North is starting a bunch of new five and ten week classes this week, including Beginning Yoga starting today and The Chemistry of Joy starting on Wednesday.
Renegade opens its new rock musical, Next to Normal, at the Teatro Zuccone this Thursday and it runs three weekends.
The Cabin Fever Bluegrass Festival is back at the Inn on Lake Superior and runs Friday through Sunday.
Local artists are displaying their earth-friendly wares at the Treasures of the Earth – Green Art Fair at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Saturday.
So what are you doing this week? Can we tag along? Any upcoming events that you want to promote? Let us know.
Duluth’s “Underground Historian”
The SubStreet Underground website released one of it most compelling stories yesterday. It’s about the demolition of a St. Paul power station.
While the story is about St. Paul, the photographer/archivist/storyteller behind the project is Duluthian Dan “Glass.”
Duluth Mystery Photo #9: Father Daughter?
We’ve had some good luck identifying locations and other details of mystery photos, but this one is a doozy. We have no clues at all, other than the assertion that it was shot in Duluth and whatever can be gathered by looking at it. Good luck. It looks like a late winter shot, so it seemed appropriate for this week, as the snow melts.
Harbor City Rollerdames
The Harbor City Rollerdames double-header was intense, tonight — both games at times much closer than I would have expected.
1st Game: Shipwreckers vs. Mankato Area Derby Girls
Shipwreckers 239 to MAD Girls 170
2nd Game: HCRD Nautikills vs. Sioux Falls Roller Dollz
Nautikills 176 to Sioux Falls 170
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Duluth News Tribune website redesign
The DNT’s new website rollout seems to be going exceedingly well. Day three …
Duluth Band Profile: Ryan Van Slooten
Ryan Van Slooten mixes the undertones of rock with the subtle touches of heartland music. In this interview he opens up about how the song “Crazy Earth” connects him to his fans. He is currently writing the follow up to his album Victory March. Click on the image above to listen.
Homegrown 2014 T-Shirts
Pre-sale T-shirts for the 2014 Homegrown Music Festival are now available. Artwork is by the wonderful Heidi Blunt. Be aware: unless you are a volunteer for the festival, this is the only way you can get a shirt this year. Pre-sale closes at the end of March.
Glen Avon outdoor hockey is postcard classic
In an era of kids walking from heated SUV seats to climate-controlled arenas, Duluth is home to one of North America’s last all-outdoor youth hockey leagues. (Story via KARE-11.)
Dad’s Acid – “Red Surf”
This music video from Duluth band Dad’s Acid kicks a reasonable amount of ass. The footage is from the film They Call Her One Eye.
Northern Lights Express Survey
There is a survey listed on the Minnesota Department of Transportation page for the Northern Lights Express(NLX). The Northern Lights Express is a proposed high-speed passenger rail project that would provide rail service between Minneapolis and Duluth. If constructed, NLX will operate on approximately 155 miles of existing Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail corridor.
The survey closes on March 15. It doesn’t take long to fill out.
Wired’s 15 Most Fascinating at SXSW – Duluthian Mike Scholtz
Mike Scholtz and Amy C. Elliott
Wired magazine posted “The 15 Most Fascinating Filmmakers and Stars at SXSW” and right up there with Tilda Swinton, Robert Rodriguez, and Jon Favreau is our very own Mike Scholtz and his partner on Wicker Kittens, Amy C. Elliott.
Wicker Kittens premiered at SXSW, and apparently got great response. Here’s the trailer.
“Plumb” by Caleb Wood
Caleb Wood drew columns of freehand animation directly onto the gallery wall at Duluth’s Prøve Gallery for this snappy little video.
Smokers needed
The School of Medicine at UMD is enrolling smokers for a “quit smoking” research study. All participants will receive one-on-one counseling for smoking cessation and will work with staff to set and prepare for a quit day. Effects of stress and appetite are also evaluated and all participants are compensated for their time. For more information please call 218-726-8896.
This Week in Lake Voice
Catch up on Lake Voice stories about art, the outdoors, and cuddly animals.
A mouthful of ugly: sea lampreys in the Great Lakes
Tour Duluth: How many kilometers can you ski in one day?
Duluth artist sculpts passion into career
Fishing on Superior Ice: Dedicated anglers doing what they love
Animal Allies shelters itself from the winter
Ice caves boost local economy
Lakeside dance studio owner works alongside family
We’d love to hear your lake voice; share your stories by e-mailing lakevoicenews @ gmail.com.
Video Archive: Mötley Crüe at the DECC in 1998
This post originally featured nearly an hour’s worth of amateur video from Nov. 25, 1998, when Mötley Crüe played the DECC Auditorium on its Greatest Hits Tour. Unfortunately, the video has been removed from YouTube.
Local metal band Nobody opened the concert. It was the Crüe’s third performance in Duluth — the band played a sold-out Duluth Arena show in 1985, before the DECC was the DECC, and returned in 1990 to play for over 8,000. By 1998, things were on the downswing for the band. Tommy Lee had been out of jail for two months when this show came to town. His sex tape with Pamela Anderson hit the Internet about a year earlier.
“It’s Not Only Academic” — Conferences in “Social Inquiry” and in Writing
In the last two weeks, I have been to two conferences, one at UW-Superior featuring entirely student presenters, and one at Lake Superior College. In both cases, it was clear: the university is learning to respond to the community, and the faculty and students are committed to making the community a better place.
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Duluth Band Profile: Troy Rogers
Troy Rogers ventures into the future with music-playing robots. In this interview, he talks about the current state of musical robotics and his work with Expressive Machines. He is currently building his musical robotics workshop. Click on the image above to listen.