Video Archive

Video Archive: 1995 TV Mashup

In the fall of 1995 I tossed a tape in the VCR and somewhat indiscriminately recorded while I flipped channels over a few different nights. The above video is the result. Most of it is not locally relevant, but there are a few clips from Duluth Public Access Community Television, including two excerpts from Colleen Shannon’s In My Room.

Some of the transitions are edits I made in 2015 for the purpose of cutting this down to under a half hour, but many of them are just what naturally happened in 1995 when I paused the tape, changed channels and resumed recording.

Yes, I know how geeky this is. Yes, I’m proud of myself.

Video Archive: Paul Hlina on the Superior Hiking Trail in 1995

With a fused spine and partially paralyzed legs, Paul Hlina hiked the entire Superior Hiking Trail on crutches in 1995. He is credited as the first person to through-hike the trail, which at the time spanned almost 200 miles. It’s about a 300-mile trail today.

Video Archive: Saucetown

Video by Barrett Chase from a rainy evening cruise to Twin Ports Brewing Company (now Thirsty Pagan Brewing) circa 2005.

Video Archive: Making Beer with Barrett and Paul

Episode 1: Preparation

Ten years ago video blogs, or “vlogs” became the latest Internet trend, boosted by the launching of YouTube. Back then, the founders of Perfect Duluth Day each had their own separate websites where they showcased videos, which they often cross-posted on PDD. The “Making Beer with Barrett and Paul” series, featuring Barrett Chase and Paul Lundgren, is one example of those early, low-fi productions.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press wrote about the subject in a May 16, 2005 article. The excerpt below is the part that relates to Duluth: (more…)

Video Archive: How to Build an Igloo

Here’s one from the early days of vlogging. Starfire and V-Nick show how to build an igloo in this grainy PDD video from 2005.

Video Archive: Puddle Wonderful and Nobody performing at UWS Rothwell Student Center in 1994

Marcus Mathews laid up in 2014UWS Studio II captured these clips from the Puddle Wonderful and Nobody performances at Rothwell Student Center in early 1994. Somewhere deep in the video vault there is also a Puddle Wonderful interview segment. We’ll find it one day.

A big “get well soon” to Puddle drummer Marcus Mathews, who is recovering from a motorcycle accident. “Broken arm, lacerated liver, broken ribs, punctured lung, ligament damage, and a shitpile of cuts and bruises,” he wrote on Facebook. Ouch. Hopefully laughing at this two-minute blast from the past won’t hurt him too much more.

Video Archive: Low – “Fear”

Ten years ago Starfire posted this video he made for the Low song “Fear,” from the 1994 album I Could Live in Hope. The video was produced as part of the Crash Ballet Contest put on by Coudal Partners, a design, advertising and interactive studio in Chicago. Participants were asked to edit original NASA footage to music. Starfire’s video was named a runner up in the contest.

Video Archive: Homegrown Kickball 2004

Ahhh … the fresh spring air, clogged lungs and diseased livers. Scenes from the Homegrown Music Festival Kickball Classic of a decade ago, and the after-party at the Shaky Ray. The song is Bone Appetit’s “Drive Away.” Video shot and edited by Barrett Chase.

Video Archive: Light Up the NorShor 2004

Here we are, ten years later, and the marquee at the NorShor hasn’t quite been lit up yet … but it seems like we’re getting close.

The “Light Up the NorShor” fashion show fundraiser was held on Feb. 28, 2004. There must be a video of the entire event somewhere; I seem to remember it aired on public access TV. The show was organized by Adeline Wright and Laura Scheu (who became Laura Ness two months later).

Video Archive: How many geeks can you fit into a Kia Rio?

The third iteration of Geek Prom was held in 2004 at the Great Lakes Aquarium. As a publicity stunt, the prom committee decided to find out how many geeks could be crammed into a Kia Rio. Answer: 21. The more important question, however, was: Would the sight of it make WDIO-TV Eyewitness News anchor Dennis Anderson lose his composure? Answer: Yes.

Duluth Man on the Street circa 1994

The low quality of this video is not just because it’s 20 years old; it’s also because I was the camera man and I probably neglected to white balance or something.

The low quality of the content is because it’s all made up on the spot. My then-UWS classmate Trent Jameson simply asked me to go shoot some video of people on Superior Street with him. (more…)

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.

Video Archive: 1989 Denfeld Hockey

It’s been 25 years since Denfeld played in the 1989 Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament. Through the miracle of shaky old VHS tapes, we take a look back. Above is the gloriously cheesy video profiling the school, produced for between-period entertainment.

Below are local TV news highlights of Denfeld’s route to the tournament. (more…)

Video Archive: Christopher Halverson – “Brave Captain”

“Brave Captain” is an old Firehose song.

The Halverson version was recorded by UWS Studio II at R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon on Sept. 16, 1995. Produced by Brandon Leno. Edited by Brandon Leno and Margo Abramson. Audio engineering by Eric Swanson. Production assistance by Renee Hudacek, Melissa Long, Paul Lundgren, Dinelli Seneviratne and Nathan Steigman.

Video Archive: KBJR Topline News and the Cheers party at the Western Tavern in 1993

This is the complete Topline News broadcast from May 20, 1993. You’ll notice it’s pretty short; that’s because from 1992 to 1998 KBJR experimented with an abbreviated 10 p.m. news program that ran about six minutes, not counting commercials, followed by a re-run of Roseanne with sports scores at bottom screen.
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Video Archive: David Lee Roth 1987 Duluth Concert Promo

There’s already a post on PDD about the two Van Halen shows in Duluth, so here’s some love for ol’ Diamond Dave … or as the TV spot says “Dynamite.”

Video Archive: Flipping the bird across Duluth, from east to west, decade to decade

The video above, by Mark Ryan, is a collection of film footage from 1970 of dudes hanging out at the old London Inn and other places in eastern Duluth, flipping off the camera. It first appeared on PDD in 2008.

I brought it back for this post because I just came across some footage I shot in the halls of Denfeld on Oct. 17, 1988, that I hope is of similar quality.

Video Archive: 1988 Denfeld Hockey

Part of the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament experience is the creation of a cheesy music video highlighting the school and the team. The Hunters did not disappoint with this clip. Yes, there are all the mullets and protruding bangs you would expect, along with plenty of guitar air-jamming.
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Video Archive: Christopher Halverson – “Hollywood”

The intro song is Syd Straw’s “Future 40s (String of Pearls).” Then Halverson kicks into his original “Hollywood,” which was a mainstay over the years in his sets with bands such as the Mighty Shock Tower, Sloe Loris, Verona, A Band Called Truman, etc.

This one is from deep in the archives — recorded by UWS Studio II at R.T. Quinlan’s on Sept. 16, 1995. Produced by Brandon Leno. Edited by Brandon Leno and Margo Abramson. The one and only Eric Swanson was on the sound board. Production assistance by Renee Hudacek, Melissa Long, Paul Lundgren, Dinelli Seneviratne and Nathan Steigman.

Video Archive: Low video “Over the Ocean” premiere on MTV from 1996

MTV’s Matt Pinfield introduces the premiere of Low’s “Over the Ocean” video during the program 120 Minutes. The video was directed by Philip Harder; the song is from Low’s album The Curtain Hits the Cast.

Video Archive: Bad Company and Damn Yankees at the DECC Arena in 1991

Bad Company played Grand Casino Hinckley last night with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. Twenty-two years ago, Bad Company toured with Damn Yankees and played the DECC Arena.

The memorable part of the show was that the news came out during the concert that the Gulf War had ended. Ted Nugent celebrated by shooting a cutout of Saddam Hussein with his crossbow. (This seemed spontaneous, but it was actually something he was doing throughout the tour, because he’s Ted Nugent and that’s what he does.)

Video Archive: Duluth Kiss Concert

Yes, it’s the TV ad promoting the Kiss concert at the DECC Arena in 1990, a topic also covered in a post from six years ago.

Video Archive: Homegrown 2003

Here’s a sloppy VHS version of KDLH-TV’s coverage of the 2003 Homegrown Music Festival, including clips from the only Homegrown Kickball Classic ever held at the Wade softball fields — and the only time a TV news personality was invited to participate in the game.

Starfire’s fabulous mohawk appears near the end, although the quality of the video doesn’t do it justice.

Video Archive: 1989 World Series Earthquake

Duluth sports anchors report on the Oct. 17, 1989, Loma Prieta Earthquake that disrupted the World Series at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Featuring WDIO’s Steve LePage and KBJR’s Paul Guggenheimer.

Video Archive: Locker Room gets Blastered

The Third Base Bar on Tower Avenue in Superior used to be the Locker Room Lounge and Grill. Here is pro wrestling’s Gary “The Blaster” Lindgren extolling the virtues of the Locker Room, circa 1989.