” … And I’m still waiting for a Dylanographer …”

Posted on July 16, 2010 by fun

From Jon Bream’s story on folky Ramblin’ Jack Elliott in Thursday’s Star Tribune Variety section: 

ON THE LAST TIME HE TALKED TO BOB DYLAN
"I saw him about three years ago at a concert in Oakland. He waved to me as he ran in front of the bus, because his bus driver told him that I’d be waiting. I don’t think he saw me wave back because he was moving so fast.

"The time before that was a year or two previous to that. Bog saw me and he said [immitating Dylan], ‘What’s in yoru life, Ramblin’? I repeated the question. Then I said ‘I got a new Ford truck and I drove it here from Colorado just to see you. Took me four days. Fed the cats and got a little sleep and here I am.’ And he must have thought I was reciting haiku because he had a very appreciative giggle and he said ‘Fed the cats. got to feed them cats.’ That’s all he said. And I’m still waiting for a Dylanographer to explain what he meant." 

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Sound Unseen kickoff

Posted on June 3, 2010 by fun

I took in a gawker-eye view of last night’s opening of the Sound Unseen Duluth Film Festival, which opened with a screening of "Feed the Fish," the Minnesota premiere of Wisconsin native Michael Matzdorff’s story of a burned-out children’s author, which was shot in Door County. (By "gawker-eye view" I mean that I had a reporter’s notebook in my purse, but didn’t whip it out. This was more of a "How is this event being received" venture than anything else).

Before the main event, there was a screening of the oh-so controversial "Google Goes to Twin Ports," which got a good response. Laughs and claps and a hoot here and there. There was a from a moderate-sized crowd — better than  you’d guess for a Wednesday night, unless that Wednesday night includes Henry Rollins and his spoken word whatevers. And at 7 p.m., folks were lined up outside Sacred Heart — kind of like patrons at an exclusive club. Although No velvet rope; No bouncers. No beer, either, for that matter — which was kind of a surprise. Anyone know why there wasn’t any beer?

I didn’t stick around for the full flick, so I can’t speak to the amount of stars "Feed the Fish" earned as a feature film. I also didn’t attend the gala, but judging from the number of and frequency of text messages I got from people who were there, I’d say it was a success.

One friend raved about the music from Minneapolis buzz band Solid Gold. Another friend raved about the music and how pretty people from Los Angeles are.

Have you noticed that with technology it is possible to be involved, and blog about, events you weren’t even at? 

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Homegrown Day 5: Feeling Superior

Posted on May 7, 2010 by fun

So … wow. Superior night is still in my hair, 14 hours after the microphone practically had to be ripped from Chad Lyons’ clutches at the end of Acceleratii’s set at Norms Beer & Brats. This was the show that would not end, and nobody really wanted it to. The entire band was decked out in full body blue collar jump suits, Lyons accentuated his with mirrored sunglasses, PBR, and a T-shirt celebrating a piece of anatomy. The PBR flowed like sweat. When he said he was playing the last song, fans wouldn’t hear it. Lyons asked the sound guy how much time they had left and was told 10 minutes. I think he played about five more of their original rockabilly tunes with raunchy lyrics. (Raunch-abilly?)

Best. Show. Ever. Seriously. This just lends evidence to my theory that bands should be hilarious.

At one point it seemed like Lyons would never relingquish that microphone. It was like the Oscars, before they figured out a way to cut off award-winners. Except you didn’t want this award-winner to get cut off.

It is just impossible to hit everything you might want to see during Homegrown. It is with deep regret that I couldn’t get to Bratwurst’s show at the Main. Do they really throw raw meat into the audience? I certainly hope so.

Earlier in the night I caught Healthy Band Music Club at the Main. This band is trippy, with a saucy young singer with great stage presense, a keyboardist, a trumpet player, a guitar player and a drummer. They all sing. It kind of felt like being at a 1970s Twister party. I wish this band would write a rock opera.

Happy Homegrown Friday.

* What happened to Homegrown Day 4, you ask? This lady called "uncle." The surface tension on TiVo was threatening to bust, and my sweatpants were losing their muscle memory.

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Homegrown Day 3: How do you define ‘Experimental’?

Posted on May 5, 2010 by fun

I could pretend to wax thoughtful on Experimental Tuesday, but truth be told I went to Twins Bar for Experimental Tuesday, skulked around the edges for awhile, then bolted — as to be fresh faced for Part II of an 8 a.m. root canal. Holla, Northern Endodontic Associates!

Caught about two songs by Words to a Film Score, solid. Then stayed for the entire Atlas Mts. set. Also nice. I ditched out before Canine Heart Sounds blew up Twitter with a quote-worth intro that, for delicate ears, loosely translates to: "Alright, people in the audience. Let us break some stuff." 

A friend brought up a good point: What does it take to be considered "Experimental" ?? Anyone, anyone, anyone?

Here is some other Homegrown Jibber Jabber: 

* Lineup changes, as seen on PDD.

* Last year I wrote a feature about Jason Cork, a Homegrown Hero who has gone to unusual lengths to get to the festival every year. This year he’s just driving super far in the middle of the night, which is relatively tame. But, in something akin to 24-hours of back-to-back episodes of "A Christmas Story," I’m reposting it here. Maybe I’ll repost it here every year: From April 29, 2009: 

 

Jason Cork ’s wristband from the 2008 Homegrown Music Festival fell off about three weeks ago when he reached into a file cabinet. Never fear; he was able to patch together the paper bracelet with a little tape.

“The question I got the most …” Cork said of people’s response to his arm band: “ ‘Did you just get out of the hospital?’ or ‘Did you just get out of the loony bin?’ ”

Cork, 32, isn’t the official Homegrown mascot. That would be a white cartoon chicken. But he might be the festival’s most extreme fan. Cork arrived in Duluth on Monday in time for the Duluth Photographer’s Guild exhibit at Harbor City International School.

That makes him 11-for-11 in Homegrown Music Festival appearances.

The Homegrown Music Festival kicked off Sunday night at Pizza Luce with New Band Night. The festival continues through brunch Sunday. The intensity ramps up over the weekend, with live music at more than a dozen venues and free trolley rides shuttling music fans between sites.

Cork hasn’t been a Duluth resident for six years, which means he has had to take some extreme measures to get to town for the annual music festival. His trips have taken on an urban legend proportion:

* No, Cork never spent $2,000 on a plane ticket to get here.

* Yes, he did drop out of college to attend in 2002. It was the end of the semester at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. Cork had plans to live in Duluth for the summer, and he thought it would be easier to take his finals early and just make one trip back. This did not work out. “At the time I decided it wasn’t worth it,” Cork said of traveling to Duluth, back to Washington, then back to Duluth. “In retrospect, it might not have been the best way to go about things.” He eventually graduated from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.

“I have a lot of friends in Duluth,” Cork said. “I moved there just before I turned 21 and I was lucky to make a lot of friends there through skiing. For me, [Homegrown] is Christmas and New Year’s and my birthday. It’s sweet. I get to go and hang out with my people.”

Paul Lundgren of the Homegrown Steering Committee can’t think of another Homegrown fan with this level of commitment.

“I don’t think anyone has traveled as frequently as he has,” Lundgren said. “There are people who drive up from the Twin Cities. There aren’t many people who fly into town every year for Homegrown. And drop out of college, for example.”

But, as Cork wrote in an essay in the 2006 Homegrown Field Guide: “Under no circumstances will I miss Homegrown weekend.”

This year he has it easy. Cork is in his first year as an assistant track, cross country and ski coach at Michigan Tech in Houghton, Mich. Getting to Duluth simply meant renting a car. He is, however, missing the team’s outdoor conference track and field meet.

The car rental is good news for Deacceleratii co-front man Cory Ahlm, Cork’s friend and the former lead singer for the band Bone Appetit — a band Cork covered when he was working for the now-defunct Ripsaw.

“Actually, for about four or five years straight, I was the one who had to pick him up at the [gosh darn] airport,” Ahlm said. “He can thank me for that.”

And with that treat, happy Lakewalk Wednesday!

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Homegrown Day 2: A kite and a boy

Posted on May 4, 2010 by fun

This is Jason Page and Erin McConnell’s entry in the Homegrown Music Video Festival, a video for The Moon Is Down song "My Amazing Kite," and it is really is one of those things that needs more viewing, less chatter from me. But the gist is this: Abe Curran in a red unitard, as a kite personified — sword fights, ice cream cones, skateboarding; Braxton Baker, most-recently from the Playhouse’s production of "The Secret Garden," (who looks like a young Dave Mehling … I mean it’s uncanny); And is that Luke Holden? hopping the rocks in a pair of shiny hot pink drawers.

You’ll cry.

The music video festival featured 14 entries that the video artists had 2 weeks to complete. Songs were taken from previous Festival experiences. And there were some doozies. Other highlights include: 

* Josh Carlon’s animated take on The Bitter Spills "The Old Clyde Road," a grisly and hilarious look at animal decapitation.

* Brian Barber as a mad scientist musician in a video for Indulge’s "Mastadulge." This one looked like he was hanging out in Tim Kaiser’s workshop.

* Rich Narum got some good yuks on his photo animation of Jamie Ness and Brad Nelson in his video for "Good/Bad" by BoomChucks.

I bet if you keep your eyes on the internet, you’ll see some of these videos floating around as the week goes on.

Monday night, Day 2 of 8, was Arts Night and included a poetry reading and a spattering of bands. We also hit Renegade Theater Company’s improv show at Teatro Zuccone and I laughed myself silly. The six actors competed to be funniest with audience-interactive games. Jody Kujawa won it, but I think Scott Mallace deserves a strong, strong Honorable Mention. It was, to use a phrase I was once asked not to use, "high energy." 

Is it just me, or is this year’s Homegrown ramping up more quickly than in previous years? Hit Carmody Irish Pub last night for the end of Temporary Service’s set and the place was loco. It looked like the last scene of "Footloose."

Happy Experimental Tuesday.

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Homegrown Day 1: Wait. Is this Sunday?

Posted on May 3, 2010 by fun

Musicians scheduled for the rest of Homegrown Music Festival have a tough job: Can they match or exceed what happened on Sunday’s kickoff, New Band Night? My iPhone said it was Sunday, but inside Pizza Luce it was more like one of those spring Thursdays in college when you don’t have class on Friday. In other words: Nice turnout, barefoot dancing, music heads blowing bubbles at the stage.

I was reminded last night of what makes Homegrown so great. The Frito Lay snack pack model, where you get to sample just a taste with plenty of variety. And as for the New Band Night name: This was no "Hey, I’ve got a uke and some friends from Craig’s List, lets make a band!" 

I caught the second half of High Volt Rustler, and wowsee-wow-wow that Pauline Russell is so, so cool. She’s got the kind of voice you want to crank up on a rainy day of spring cleaning. She doesn’t sound like Lucinda Williams, per se, but its that same feel. A totally chill band that was just good good good. Bandmates include her husband Allen Klingsporn on guitar, Rich Taylor on bass and Christopher Modec-Halvorson on drums. Their first album "No Longer Blue," was recorded at Sacred Heart and is available at the usual places: iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby. Go to their Web site for links.

When A Winter Downpour started, I was standing in the bar area. "Is this Radiohead?" I asked my partner in New Band Night festivities. We high-tailed it to a spot near the stage. Blurbbed in the HG Field Guide, the band describes its sound as "A force of sad-bastardness," which is probably a clever way to say "Influenced by 80s and 90s shoegazers." Alberto Serrano Rivera has a truly unusual (and awesome) voice. For my own taste (which leans toward the Cure, Smiths, Depeche Mode, and current-wise, toward Swedish pop duos) this band won new band night. I would totally download their MP3s. Other band members include Chris Barnholdt, Jesse Hoheisel and Paul Connolly.

But holy cats, Martha, things really got crazy with Poor Howard — Vincent Cadillac, Howlin’ Andy Hound, Jamie Ness and Matt Livingston. So freakin’ fun. "Finally, some rock and roll," my date said. Totally. The place was nuts. They probably actually won new band night.* HG Field Guide reports that they started as a busking duo before adding Livingston and Ness. These guys are so punk rock that I can’t even find their Web site.

NOTE
Perfect Duluth Day is reminding Tweeters to tag tweets with #HGMF10. Last year I skipped Friday’s shows and just watched the night unfold on Twitter. That was actually pretty fun. And the recommended tag for Flickr is homegrownmusicfestival2010.

*There isn’t actually a new band night winner. Although at some point later in the week, Bone Appetit will claim to "win" Homegrown, and give themselves a trophy.

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Billy Crudup’s remote connection to

Posted on April 7, 2010 by fun

One of Sheryl Jensen’s "break a leg" voicemails was definitely worth keeping: Actor Billy Cruddup heard she was directing the Duluth Playhouse’s production of "Rent" and wanted to pass along his well wishes.

Billy Crudup? What the what? 

Turns out the actor who played Russell Hammond in "Almost Famous" – not his only role, obvs, but my personal favorite — was in Minneapolis with a few other heavies like Greg Kinnear and Alan Arkin working on a film called "The Convincer." The film, listed as "in production" on IMDB with a tentative 2011 release date, is about a salesman’s search for a rare instrument.

Incidentally, Jensen’s sister and her husband own Dahl Violin Shop in Minneapolis where some scenes were shot. With rehearsals for "Rent" going on, Jensen wasn’t able to get to the shop to watch them film, but her sister Debbie Black told the actors about how much Jensen would enjoy this, how she’s really into theater, and how right now she’s directing "Rent."

So Crudup gave her a call. And lest there is any question that it is actually him, Jensen also received a photograph of Crudup on the phone with her. She also got a note from Kinnear wishing her good luck.

So that’s pretty cool.

PS: Since we’re here: Here is the story I wrote about "The Convincer" when they scouring Minnesota for locations in October.

***

Northland boosters hope region’s charms, financial incentives lure filmmakers

A production company is scouting areas in Northeastern Minnesota as possible locations for a film about a salesman’s scheme to get hold of a rare violin.

“ The Convincer ,” a drama-with-a-twist set in the Midwest, was written by Jill and Karen Sprecher. Locations being considered include Duluth, Cloquet, Carlton and the Iron Range, as well as other towns in Minnesota and Illinois, said Riki McManus, the director of the Upper Minnesota Film Office. The site is expected to be selected in December, with filming beginning early in 2010.

The film will be produced and financed by the young Minneapolis-based company Werc Werk Works, which recently released a feature film by Todd Solondz, “Life During Wartime.” “ The Convincer ” will be the company’s fifth film.

McManus said she recently took crews around to tourist sites in the area. The script also calls for an isolated farmhouse, a lake, an insurance office and a bank. She said she has seen the script, but couldn’t reveal too much.

“I can tell you that it is fabulous,” McManus said. “It’s a brilliant script by the two writers. You get very involved in the story line. It was one of those things that was hard to put down when I started.”

The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board approved an incentive rebate for the film last week, if the film is produced within the Taconite Assistance Area. Werc Werk Works would be reimbursed for 10 percent of the money spent on the film within the area — including paying laborers, tradespeople and extras — with a cap of $150,000.

The Taconite Assistance Area does not include Duluth, but McManus said other incentives such as free production offices could be offered.

The local rebate could help sweeten the pot for the film producers. Minnesota competes for films against states such as Michigan, where filmmakers get a 40 percent rebate on production costs, and Illinois, where filmmakers get a 30 percent rebate.

In Minnesota, the film production rebate — referred to as a snowbate — is 15 percent up to $5 million, and 20 percent over that.

According to a story in the New Ulm Journal, film and production scouts visited that area at the end of September.

Jill and Karen Sprecher have written indie films including the 2001 movie “Thirteen Conversations About One Thing,” starring Matthew McConaughey, Alan Arkin and John Turturro and the 1997 office comedy drama “Clockwatchers” starring Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow and Toni Collette.

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Homegrown Music Festival Schedule

Posted on March 30, 2010 by fun

NOTE: This schedule is guarenteed to change, but not a lot, according to Paul Lundgren, the chair of the Homegrown Music Festival Steering Committee.

ANOTHER NOTE: I’m just going to be okay with any weird gaps in spacing. This isn’t a fashion show.

May 2
Sunday

NEW BAND NIGHT

Pizza Luce
9 p.m. DJ J. Peach
10 p.m. High Volt Rustler
11 p.m. A Winter Downpour
12 a.m. Poor Howard

Carmody Irish Pub
9 p.m. Homegrown Pub Quiz
10 p.m. DJ J.J. Lawrence
11 p.m. DJ Arsenal


May 3
Monday

ANCILLARY ARTS NIGHT

Harbor City Int’l School Theater
6:30 p.m. Homegrown Photography
and Art Exhibit opening
reception (with live music
by Mark Anderson Trio)
7 p.m. Homegrown Music
Video Festival
8 p.m. 2009 Duluth Homegrown
Music Festival: The Movie

Teatro Zuccone
8 p.m. Poetry Showcase
10 p.m. Renegade Theater Co.
Improv

Carmody Irish Pub
9 p.m. Teague Alexy Trio
10 p.m. Temporary Service
11 p.m. The Antmen

Fitger’s Brewhouse
10 p.m. DJ R spins local music

 

 

May 4
Tuesday

EXPERIMENTAL TUESDAY

Sacred Heart Music Center
7 p.m. Sing! A Women’s Chorus
8 p.m. Total Freedom Rock
9 p.m. Southwire

Chester Creek Café Wine Bar
9 p.m. Bill Meier & Poetry Motel
10 p.m. Rory James
11 p.m. The Tico Three

Burrito Union
10 p.m. Vintage Val
11 p.m. Jesse Luoma

Twins Bar
10 p.m. Words to a Film Score
11 p.m. Atlas Mts.
12 a.m. Canine Heart Sounds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 5
Wednesday

LAKEWALK NIGHT

Pizza Luce
7 p.m. Homegrown Roasts Rick Boo

Amazing Grace Bakery & Cafe
7 p.m. Hattie Peterson
8 p.m. Coyote
9 p.m. Shaunna Heckman

Lake Avenue Café
8 p.m. Ryan Van Slooten
9 p.m. Tangier 57
10 p.m. Dewskiwater Grooves

Hell Burgers
9:30 p.m. Turbo Rathvon
10:30 p.m. The Tisdales
11:30 p.m. Rock Brigade

Fitger’s Brewhouse
10 p.m. Kip Jones
11 p.m. Charlie Parr

Rex Bar at Fitger’s
10 p.m. Dan Anderson & His Silk
Sheiks
11 p.m. Fred Tyson
12 a.m. Kritical Kontact

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 6
Thursday

SOUP TOWN NIGHT

Red Mug Coffeehouse
7:30 p.m. Group Too
8:30 p.m. Sarah Krueger

Pizza Lucé
8 p.m. Matt Stengl Photography
Exhibit opening reception

Bev’s Jook Joint
9 p.m. Spotted Mule
10 p.m. The Rez
11 p.m. Two Many Banjos

Norm’s Beer & Brats
9:30 p.m. Circadian Nations
10:30 p.m. Eeriearq
11:30 p.m. Pennies for a Dime
12:30 a.m. The Acceleratii

Thirsty Pagan Brewing
10 p.m. A.M. Herculis
11 p.m. North Shore Trio
12 a.m. The Boomchucks

The Main Club
10:30 p.m. Healthy Band Music Club
11:30 p.m. The Tinsel Fairies
12:30 a.m. Bratwurst

Fitger’s Brewhouse
10 p.m. Wyatt Famous
11 p.m. The Fractals

 

 

 

 

 

May 7
Friday

Harbor City Int’l School Theater
6:15 p.m. Ariane Norrgard
7:15 p.m. James Moors
8:15 p.m. Somewhere But Who
9:15 p.m. The Plow Boys

Teatro Zuccone
6:45 p.m. Bill Reichelt
7:45 p.m. Rusty Borealis
8:45 p.m. Old Knifey & the Cutthroats
9:45 p.m. The Bitter Spills

Beaner’s Central
7 p.m. Peer Precious
8 p.m. The Brothers Band
9 p.m. Wurm
10 p.m. Voyages

The Play Ground
7:30 p.m. Sitter
8:30 p.m. First Class Failure
9:30 p.m. Phillip of Nazareth

Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake
9 p.m. Duray and Green
10 p.m. The Fish Heads
11 p.m. Ashley Northey

Red Star Lounge
9 p.m. Shana David
10 p.m. Filthy Hippie Cock
12 p.m. DJ Scott Gusts

Twins Bar
9 p.m. The Keep Aways
10 p.m. Dead Man Winter
11 p.m. Rocketship to Nowhere
12 a.m. Circa A.M.
1 a.m. Xhaust

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carmody Irish Pub
9:15 p.m. Yeltzi
10:15 p.m. Jeffrey James O’loughlin
11:15 p.m. Three Song Sunday

R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon
9:30 p.m. 500 Million Society
10:30 p.m. Coal Car Caboose
11:30 p.m. Theft by Swindle
12:30 a.m. The Alrights

Rex Bar at Fitger’s
9:45 p.m. Bradical Boombox
10:45 p.m. The Hotel Coral Essex
11:45 p.m. Cars & Trucks
12:45 a.m. Bone Appetit

Burrito Union
10 p.m. Leif Acoustic
11 p.m. Clyde Iron

Roscoe’s Pioneer Bar
10 p.m. The Biochemical Characters
11 p.m. The What Four
12 p.m. Thunder Brothers

Fitger’s Brewhouse
10 p.m. Cellodreams
11 p.m. Lisa Kane
12 a.m. Sweetgrass

Pizza Luce
10 p.m. Manheat
11 p.m. Sports!
12 a.m. The Moon is Down
1 a.m. Dios Mio
2 a.m. The Undesirables

 

 

 

 


May 8
Saturday

Pre-Kickball Mimosa Party at Chester Creek Café Wine Bar
10:30 a.m. Stel and Lefty

Chester Bowl Park
12 p.m. Homegrown Kickball Classic

The Play Ground
6:30 p.m. Excuse Me Princess
7:30 p.m. The People Say Fox
8:30 p.m. Duck Duck Punch
9:30 p.m. The Bricks

Teatro Zuccone
6:45 p.m. Tim Kaiser
7:45 p.m. Batteries
8:45 p.m. Blue Water Dance
9:45 p.m. The Surfactants

Norshor Orpheum Theater
7 p.m. Retribution Gospel Choir
8 p.m. Trampled by Turtles

Beaner’s Central
7 p.m. Paradigm Collapse
8 p.m. The Good Colonels
9 p.m. Die[ode]
10 p.m. Boku Frequency

Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake
9 p.m. Two Beat Band
10 p.m. Eric Rhame’s Timber
& Steel Band
11 p.m. Uncle Kenny

Twins Bar
9 p.m. Aurora Baer
10 p.m. Cancer Romancer and
the Fortune Friends
11 p.m. MC1980
12 a.m. Nobuddie with
Nimo the Hooligan
1 a.m. This is Now

Minnesota Power Plaza
9:15 p.m. The Spin Collective

 

 

 

Carmody Irish Pub
9:15 p.m. The K-Tones
10:15 p.m. Humanoid
11:15 p.m. Iron Range Outlaw
Brigade
12:15 a.m. Mikey Talented

R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon
9:30 p.m. Ballyhoo
10:30 p.m. The Fromundas
11:30 p.m. The Little Black Books
12:30 a.m. Father Hennepin

Rex Bar at Fitger’s
9:45 p.m. The DTs
10:45 p.m. Equal Xchange
11:45 p.m. Portraits for Judith
12:45 a.m. Malec

Burrito Union
10 p.m. Steve Isakson
11 p.m. Charity Huot

Red Star Lounge
10 p.m. DJ Drewcifer
12 p.m. DJ Path Annu

Roscoe’s Pioneer Bar
10 p.m. Uprising
11 p.m. Tryke
12 p.m. Rosebud Social

Fitger’s Brewhouse
10 p.m. Bill Flannagan
11 p.m. Matt Ray and Those
Damn Horses
12 a.m. North

Pizza Luce
10 p.m. Road Warrior
11 p.m. Indulge
12 a.m. Mr. Kickass
1 a.m. The Fontanelles
2 a.m. Crew Jones

 

 

May 9
Sunday

SUNDAY BRUNCH AND
SHOWS FOR THE KIDDIES

Pizza Luce
10 a.m. Lookdown Moon
11 a.m. James and Younger
12 p.m. Wes Hadrich & Greg Tiburzi

Sacred Heart
1 p.m. Robi Meyerson
2 p.m. Hidden Roots
3 p.m. Rachael Kilgour
 

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More from Cloud Cult

Posted on March 25, 2010 by fun

Cloud Cult plays at 9 p.m. Friday at the Kirby Ballroom at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Tickets are $10 and available at here.

There is a lot that is new in the Cloud Cult family: Craig and Connie Minowa packed up the farm near Sandstone, Minn., and moved to 15 acres outside of Madison. Some of the experimental band’s hard-to-find music was re-mastered and re-released. An album slated for a summer release is in the works, there is a countdown to a national tour, and they added another multi-instrumentalist to the band’s already sensory-packed stage.
Much of this is directly related to Nova Minowa — the baby boy who was born in October.
When it comes to science, a nova is a new star that shines brighter pulling from the chaos around it. There is no mistaking the metaphor. In 2002, the Minowa’s 2-year-old son Kaidin died in his sleep. Nova is the couple’s second child.
“We waited a really long time to work through a lot of the loss that we had from before to rebuild our lives together, and we just count our blessings every day,” Craig Minowa said in a phone interview. “It’s wonderful to hold life in our arms today. It’s brought light to Connie’s paintings, and to the music we’re working on.”

Here are the outtakes from Thursday’s story on the band. Craig Minowa on …

SCORING MUSIC FOR NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTARIES
“The producer of one of the documentaries, a special on the grizzly bear, was a Cloud Cult fan. He emailed and asked if it would be possible to score something for the documentary. It was the most amazing email I received in a long time. In high school, I wanted to study music composition and score for National Georgraphic.
My teacher told me to focus on instrument repair instead. I focused on playing in a band.
[National Geographic] liked the music and they offerend me six more. … I really enjoy doing it. It’s nice because they want it in the style that I typically write.”

THE GENESIS OF THE SLEEP MASK HE WEARS ON STAGE
“I’ve always had pretty significant performance anxiety – an intense amount of anxiety before shows. I have weeks of unhealthy anxiety, and it was enough so that, the reason Cloud Cult was a studio band strictly was I couldn’t imagine making a livelihood of going on stage. At times I couldn’t perform. My hands were locking up. The mask was something where I was getting in the habit of meditating or taking a nap before show time to put me in a state of dreaming, and remind me of what the music was about, why I was there, and putting my priorities straight. I was wearing the maks and forgot to take it off. When I realized it was still up there, it felt ritualistic – somewhere between sleeping and being conscious. For me, as a ritual before the show to put me in the mindset of where I need to be.

ON MY RESPONSE TO ‘WELL, IT LOOKS COOL’
“My mom would beg to differ.”

ON HAVING A CARTOON LIKENESS OF CLOUD CULT IN THE ESURANCE COMMERCIAL
“It was pretty neat. It felt like in some alternate universe out there, there was a form of ourselves. So I always wondered what the E-Surance Craig was doing out there. It didn’t feel like us. Once you see yourself acting out in cartoon form, you wonder what kind of life their having.”

ON HOW THE BAND WANTS TO HAVE A PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TOUR
“We’re still working on that for the fall national tour we’ll be on to promote the new album. Right now we’re working on the complexities of having our first national tour with a baby, and being in cities where you have to load onto Amtrak at 3 a.m. It might be something we do when we feel more stable traveling with the new baby. We’re super sensitive parents. We don’t like to be away long, or upset his schedule. It could be in the fall.”

ON MOVING TO NEAR MADISON
“There are multiple reasons. When we lived in Duluth, when we had Kaidin, we were four hours from the town we grew up in. We didn’t get back to see the grandparents as frequently as we liked. We wanted them to have a bigger role in our lives. Duluth is really the city both Connie and I feel most connected with. It feels most like home. WE needed to be closer to the family. We searched for quite awhile for a city with the same feel of sustainability and arts and music.”
 

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Bamford: May Kadoody today

Posted on February 26, 2010 by fun
The Sarah Silverman Program Thursday, 10:30pm / 9:30c
May Kadoody Today!
www.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

 

Our girl Maria Bamford was on "The Sarah Silverman Program" on Comedy Central last night wearing a pair of granny panties, playing the ill-named May Kadoody. [Tee hee].

On this episode, Silverman defaces mayoral candidate Grossnickel’s campaign sign, gets cuffed and taken to jail. In the aftermath, she makes fun of Grossnickel’s name, and tries to come up a fake write-in candidate with an even funnier name: May Kadoody. Get it?

The slogan: "May Kadoody today." 

Of course, May Kadoody wins the election. AND THEN! A real May Kadoody comes forward — former Duluthian Maria Bamford. Chaos insues, and really gets Silverman in a tizzy when Kadoody bans brunch — "the mixing of eggs and 11 o’clock." 

Silverman hires an Ace Ventura impersonator to find out Kadoody’s deepest and darkest. This all ends, of course, with Kadoody in a seedy motel in a compromising position that includes eating eggs off her own chest beneath a Southern Belle’s very grand skirt. Kadoody is stripped of her mayorhood, but not before running from the motel in a flappy pair of oversized granny panties.

Anyway. Comedy Central has some clips.

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