September 2007

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Metric Take the Measure of the Mainroom

Filed under: Concert Review

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Metric at the First Ave Mainroom
Review By Amber Schadewald

Better Than: Hearing Metric on the radio while stuck in rush hour, in
the rain, in August.

Good lord, Emily Haines is one blessed individual: she's a stunner, and
wins over crowds like the Teddy Bear Band wins over kindergarteners. In
contrast to her solo shows, while performing with Metric, Haines has the
energy of a sugar-doped kid, awing the packed Mainroom as she dances in
shimmering tights, itty-bitty dress, and scaled ankle-boots.

She took a minute to gush about her love of Minneapolis and promised the
band would "rock your faces off." And they followed through, playing a
variety of their old and new material. The crowd took awhile to warm-up,
but hits such as "Combat Baby" and "Dead Disco" from their first record
inspired the most movement. Haines was great about prompting the crowd
to sing-along and clap, and she definitely did her share of flattering
the rowdier fans in the front. "Why do y'all look so good? Do you always
look this good on Wednesday?" she said to the mostly 20-something gals
sardined in the front. "I'm lovin' you," she told them.

I'm guessing the guys in Metric got used to jamming out a little harder
in their instrumental group, Band Lime, while their main lady went off
alone on her solo tour last year. While the guitars squealed out solos
and the drums hit home, Haines did her share of high stepping and
kicking, still playing the board. During the song "Empty," with hands on
her hips, she repeatedly shook her head back and forth between lyrics,
sending her scraggly blonde locks in all directions.

"Rock Me Now," became an organically eerie masterpiece as the lights
stayed low and a golden fog hung in the air. Guitarist James Shaw sang
the chorus, while Haines story-told the rest of the lyrics in her smooth
voice. The crowd eventually joined the tapping drums and patient
keyboard with soft ahhs, all conducted by bassist Josh Winstead.

Personal Bias: I want to bring Emily Haines home and keep her as my own.

Random Deatil: Haines did this twirling thing on stage completely
reminiscent of Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon at Pitchfork.
By the Way: Mid-show, a girl trying to rush her way to the front got her
hair yanked!

Posted by Nick PapaGiorgio at September 27, 2007 1:00 PM | Comments (0)

 

The Craig Finn Master Class

Filed under: Local Music

In 2005 a New Yorker piece about Craig Finn of The Hold Steady (and the sorely missed Lifter Puller) singled him out for writing songs "as though the point of making music is to communicate." It's a skill for which he has absorbed no shortage of recognition.

He traded verses with Bruce Springsteen at Carnegie Hall over the summer. And in recent weeks The Hold Steady has opened for the Rolling Stones, Iggy and The Stooges, Sonic Youth and the New York Dolls. This week Finn was the subject of a "Master Class" at his alma matter Boston College. Think the Twin Cities can't claim this guy anymore? Think again. Keep an eye out over at Kent Hrbeck Outdoors. Finn'll be showing up there soon. There has been some fishing and some taping with Herbie--because Springsteen isn't the only Boss.

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at September 27, 2007 10:36 AM | Comments (0)

 

Viva Third Ear

Filed under: Music

This week's CP contains an elegy for Third Ear Recording Studio, which is slated to shut down at the end of this month. As longtime proprietor Tom Herbers cleans house, he's been posting photos taken at the studio over the years on Third Ear's web site. Here's a favorite featuring Joanna James and Chris Koza from 2004:

Posted by Paul Demko at September 26, 2007 1:23 PM | Comments (0)

 

MacArthur genius grants are a fraud

The MacArthur Foundation announced this year's round of "genius" grants today--and I have once again been overlooked. Apparently the 17 letters of supplication I directed towards foundation president Jonathan Fanton were not persuasive. My daily improvisational works involving box wine, panty hose and Garcia Vega cigars simply won't be able to continue without independent funding.

Posted by Paul Demko at September 25, 2007 1:54 PM | Comments (0)

 

Yes, Your Majesties!

Filed under: Concert Review

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Yo Majesty Kill It at the Entry, September 20, 2007
Review by Amber Schadewald

Better Than: Jock Jams at middle school dances.

Glowing like Christmas trees, the hardcore lady rappers of Yo Majesty
traded the usual bling 'round their necks for blinking holiday lights
and took the stage with fierce confidence. A long drive from their zip
code, Tampa residents Jwl B. and Shunda managed to look at home and
fresh, sporting their boy shorts with a peeks of flannel boxers poking
out the back.

The set was fast, loud and way hot. Shunda asked the crowd "Is Yo
Majesty getting you all hot?" The answer was definitely yes. The
combination of Shunda's slick spits, Jwl B.'s barks and their bass
busting beats was perfectly intense. The crowd was small and quiet at
first, but by the end, even the creepy man in the corner experimented
with a few shoulder rolls. One guy who looked like he was wearing PJs
seemed to dance harder than anyone in the room.

The set was filled with audience participation opportunities, but for
the most part people pumped fists and shouted back obscenities when
prompted. When Jwl B. asked you to clap, you clapped- mostly in fear
that if you didn't obey she'd leap into the crowd and force the sound
out of you. A feisty mix between James Brown and Lil' John, Jwl B.'s
soulful screams are a hearing aid company's dream come true.

Mid-show, Shunda asked who in the audience owned a leather jacket. After
a few people raised hands, the duo abruptly jumped into their song about
the clothing article, singing, "You think you're all that in your
leather jacket....you have no money in your leather pocket." She even
pointed to a girl and told her, "You're a loser in you leather jacket."

Fortunately everyone was in good spirits. No feelings were hurt.

In their hour performance, the ladies of Yo Majesty never held back,
continually slicing through their beats with variations of their own
voices. These women fed every inch of air to the mic, and yet Jwl B
found a minute to shake her baby maker to a song with the lyrics, "I
want you rubbin' on my monkey." Crowd favorites included the obvious
"Kryptonite Pussy" and "Club Action," but their newer and more
electronic tracks were far from disappointing. Their EP is expected this
November.

Personal Bias: I swear Shunda winked at me- you can ask my friend.

Random Detail: These crazy ladies often take off their shirts during
shows.

By the Way: Before leaving stage, Shunda gave a shout out to Jesus and
left the audience with a variety of positive thoughts to live by.

Posted by Nick PapaGiorgio at September 21, 2007 9:34 PM | Comments (0)

 

Wimbledon Calling

Filed under: Concert Review

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Jamie T and the Pacemakers at the 7th Street Entry
Review by Sarah Askari

Jamie T is this kid from Wimbledon who can't yet grow facial hair but who last month put out a brilliant disc called Panic Prevention, a combination of Mike Skinner-style narrations of nights on the town and ska-exploding, dj-finessed rock songs.

"This song is about being drunk," says Jamie. Um, all of Jamie T's songs are about being drunk--you being drunk, a girl you know being drunk, your mates being drunk, your mum being drunk...I think it's a British working-class thing, no?

The crowd's energy wasn't up to the songs at first--hell, the band opened with "Pacemaker," one the most dancable tracks on the disc--but hands went ceiling-ward at a respectable four numbers in.

The band is actually called the Pacemakers, and they seemed both wiped and jolly from touring. I thought they'd need a laptop to recreate all the odd samples and beats on Panic Prevention, but their keyboardist had it all covered.

"OK, this song's about circumcision. I hear it's quite popular here. I was circumcised at the age of 7, so I can remember losing half of nothing," he informs us before playing "Northern Line" (a song about being drunk).

Locals probably wouldn't tread on sacred ground, but Jamie T asked, "Do you want to hear his cover of "Purple Rain?" and when the crowd cheered, his guitar player dove right in. "I never meant to cause you any sorrow," the guitarist sang, sounding like a sheep with throat cancer. Meanwhile, Jamie T put his arms around the bassist and the two swayed back and forth.

"We've made some mixtapes, and if you want one, just ask," J had promised earlier. Sure enough, at the end of the night, the band got out a box of cassettes and threw them out to anyone with an outstretched hand. Lots of people grabbed one, but I call bullshit because do you live next to Salvation Army? How else are you going to get a tape player? Souvenir hunters.

Posted by Nick PapaGiorgio at September 21, 2007 9:23 PM | Comments (0)

 

Super-Extended MC/VL Interview Transcript

Filed under: Music

Mighty Clyde, The Vicious Lee, Professor BX, and Steve McPherson for City Pages discuss fast food, honor among music thieves, and their place in the local scene.

Vicious Lee: This has pickle and onion, so these ones are yours. The blue ones are mine, and let's just make sure they didn't fuck it up. And you'll be interested to know, White Castle uses the highest grade ingredients of all fast food chains.

City Pages: Really? Where does that come from?

VL: It comes from this guy that told me this thing. He also told me that Parliaments were created so World War II machine gunners could bite down.

Mighty Clyde: And we all know how true that was.

CP: So does this guy have any cred?

VL: None. I'm just saying this is just something I overheard at a bar somewhere and I just decided to adopt it as the truth.

CP: Now, I've had—

MC: I said cheeseburger, dammit.

VL: No cheese?

MC: No! I'll be right back ... uh, I didn't get charged for the cheese.

VL: Then you got no beef, man.

MC:[Gesturing to burger] I've got this very small amount of beef.

CP: So, I've had the frozen kind.

MC: That's a totally different thing.

CP: OK. Now, I was talking to David about this: Onion comes in a ring shape. Chicken does not.

VL: There's definitely some real work that has to be done.

CP: Now, are we sure it's not chicken butt?

[laughs]

VL: Wait, didn't you get any honey mustard for the man?

MC: No man, I roll with ketchup.

VL [disgusted]: We have to wine and dine this man!

CP: So, you guys seem to know a lot about fast food.

VL: It's basically our life's passion.

CP: Because I heard recommendations about [national chain of Southern-style fast food restaurants] and [national chain of Mexican-style fast food restaurants].

Professor BX: Actually, I can tell you [national chain of Mexican-style fast food restaurants]: No.

CP: [National chain of Mexican-style fast food restaurants] is a no for you?

BX: My brother went dumpster diving in high school, because he was known to do that, and he actually found boxes that actually said "Grade D: Unsuitable for Human Consumption." Basically there's two levels of Grade D: There's Grade D Human and Grade D Animal Only and this was Grade D Animal Only.

VL: I dispute that claim. I'm sorry, I dispute that claim.

BX: Are you calling my brother a liar? I think you are.

MC: Now [a second national chain of Mexican-style fast food restaurants]. Anybody worth their salt knows [a second national chain of Mexican-style fast food restaurants] blows [previously-mentioned national chain of Mexican-style fast food restaurants] out of the water. Incredible.

CP: Now that's another place I have not been. I did see a sign for a burrito that had tater tots in it, which seemed like a good idea.

CP: But what makes White Castle so awesome? Other than what I'm eating right now.

MC: It's like fast food but it's—it's ... it's like when Ritz came out with Ritz Bitz. This is the Ritz Bitz of fast food. It's like, "I'm on the go. One bite." You don't have to think about it until a couple hours later.

CP: If you're lucky.

BX: It's also a value, too. It's like 3 o'clock in the morning, you're driving home, it's like, "Hey, you know what? Instead of getting two hamburgers at McDonald's which I think will make me sick, I can get like 10 tiny ones."

VL: A lot of it has to do with four little chores is way easier than one big chore. It's task management. It's just fooling yourself. The same amount of work is involved in eating.

CP: I feel like there's less meat and more bread.

VL: It's definitely bread-centric.

MC: It works out really well, because another perk to White Castle is the hours of operation.

CP: Is it basically 24 hours?

MC: For the most part.

VL: And I've heard that they make a phenomenal breakfast. I've heard that their breakfast menu is phenomenal. Yeah, that they use real toast.

BX: As opposed to plastic toast?

VL: No, they actually cut bread and toast it in a skillet. They crack eggs and they make a real breakfast.

CP: That seems ironic, given how not real most of this seems. But I like crinkly fries.

VL: I know! And look how they serve it to you! It's like a high school cafeteria. It's like I'm in a ma and pa joint.

BX: I'm stuck on this real breakfast as opposed to fake breakfast idea. I'm just imagining going in and getting that plastic kitchen food that you used to play with as a child.

VL: Hey! Here's something really weird: Do you know what they use in restaurants when you see display versions of food?

CP: Is this from the same guy?

VL: This is from a different guy—this guy has slightly more cred. This is true, because I have friends who work in restaurants, but when you see display versions of what they offer for dessert, and they have a scoop of what appears to be ice cream, do you know what that is?

CP: Crisco?

VL: Yes! Shortening!

CP: And also I heard Elmer's glue for cereal when they're doing photo shoots. Because it's super white. Because I've taken some photos of food, and it's hard to make it look good. Even good looking food, you take a photo of it and it looks terrible.

VL: The thing that blows my mind is that [chain of fast food sandwich restaurants] —they don't even make an attempt to make that food look edible in their commercials. You see the commercials, and you're like, oh my god.

BX: Emily—one of her best friends works for [meat company name redacted] or whatever company they get meat from and to save money they were actually asking to add more water to their meat (VL: [noise of disgust]). And the guy replied, "You do realize, if we add any more water to the meat, it won't actually stay cohesive."

MC: On my lunch break today, I had to rattle off all the fast food restaurants I've decided for whatever reason to boycott now. [Redacted], I'm not going back to: I'm not eating [redacted] it's making me ill. I had [redacted] a couple days ago—I had [redacted chicken sandwich] for a dollar.

VL: That's safe. That's the healthy option. That's the heart-conscious menu choice.

MC: But I brought up my whole [No] thing, which I still have the pictures on my phone of my screwed up order that I called and chewed out the manager over. I was on my lunch break, and I only have a half-hour. I get something as far from what I ordered as possible. OK. I got a hamburger, instead of the hot ham and cheese, which I ordered. And I was like, "Listen, I understand that ham is in the name hamburger, but they are different, sir." And he personally drove over my corrected order.

VL: I never would have done that. If I was the manager of a fast food joint, I would have hung that phone up.

MC: It was the worst hamburger I ever had. And I like [No No No]. [We have to redact these names or we are going to get sued or something. REDACTED!] has awesome hamburgers. Their cheeseburgers are really good. Like, they have the six dollar burger which is five dollars.

VL: How avant-garde.

CP: It's like performance art.

MC: Their hamburgers are awesome. When Carl's Jr. bought it—I am a wealth of knowledge on fast food—Carl's Jr. bought it—the burger that, if it doesn't drip, you can get your money back. And Carl's Jr. is awesome: West Coast, delicious. Carl's Jr. bought Hardee's, and Hardee's totally revamped and got their shit together and instead of being the butt of a Chris Rock joke, they redeemed themselves.

CP: But they're on your shitlist now because ...

MC: Like, four times in a row, they screwed up my order and I would be with other people. They would get everyone else's order perfect.

VL: Maybe they just weren't complaining. Maybe the other people were like, "I don't want to rock the boat. I'll just eat this."

CP: OK. So, what are the ones you're boycotting?

MC: [Sandwich chain]—that's what made me think of it.

VL: [Sandwich chain]'s trying to be health conscious—that's my problem with it. They're trying to make fast food healthy and it's not going to work.

MC: They have to try a little harder: Have you seen their tomatoes? Disgusting!

VL: There was a commercial—[former Saturday Night Live castmember] is now a spokesman for them—they had a commercial for some Angus steak thing, and the narrator describes the sandwich ingredients. He says, "Juicy, center-cut Angus steak topped with bubbly cheese." Bubbly cheese. This is how he describes the sandwich he's trying to sell me.

BX: So it's cheese with Pop Rocks in the center of it?

VL: No it really is. They show it and it's this simmering cheese sauce that is bubbling. If I hadn't been paying attention, I would have been like, "Oh yeah, bubbly cheese."

BX: Also available: The bubbly cheese soda.

CP: I want my beverage to be bubbly, not my cheese. Plus they don't do any favors for themselves with how you can see them do everything. So when you say, "I'll get the chicken," and they pull out the chicken and take the Saran wrap off and put it in the microwave, you think, I could do this at home. So [sandwich chain] is on the shitlist. What else?

MC: [Second sandwich chain. Sigh]. I'm really low on sandwich places, which sucks, because sandwiches? Delicious. I got food poisoning at [second sandwich chain].

BX: [Second sandwich chain], though, they don't wear gloves.

MC: And I'm all about stoners in the workforce. Get them doing something. Keep them off the streets and out of trouble. They're cordial enough, but handling coldcuts with no gloves? That's where I draw the line, sir.

CP: So, Potbelly? Have you had Potbelly sandwiches? You have not experienced? It's a chain. There's one in Dinkytown.

VL: That's where the Purple Onion was.

CP: They have good sandwiches. I don't know about their glove policy.

VL: You know what? I think I've been drinking your Coke. I taste some Diet.

CP: Uh oh. Did we switch?

VL: We might have.

[uncomfortable pause]

CP: Should we just kiss now?

MC: I was about to say, "You know what? You're looking good, Steve. You can handle a regular Coke."

CP: I don't know, I feel like I'm getting Diet here, too.

VL: This is definitely Diet. Goddammit. This interview is over. I would like it if everything was about fast food. I don't want any mention of anything else.

CP: I've already written many things about you. I'll just mine that, and then we'll talk about fast food.

MC: As long as we have this on: We have never sampled Led Zeppelin. Ever.

CP: Did I say you did?

VL: Twice.

CP: Then why is it called "Moby Dick"?

MC: 'Cause Moby Dick's a good book.

VL: We worked on that beat for like six or seven months trying to get it right and trying to get lyrics to it, so it was kind of our white whale. And it was also the hardest song to mix on the album.

CP: So what is that sample then?

VL: It's a really obscure jazz sample of a song that's fucking amazing. It's called "Moon Germs"—no, it's called "Great Gorge." It's by Joe Farrell, and I believe Herbie Hancock actually plays Rhodes on it. You can download "Great Gorge." That's a fucking amazing album.

CP: You know, I'll let you in on a little secret of writing: Sometimes, it just kind of sounds like something and you can't go the whole nine to find the song and check it out.

MC: I mean, it makes sense. It starts with a very long drum intro.

CP: I'm not as familiar as I should be with Led Zeppelin either.

VL: I honestly don't know if I've ever heard the song "Moby Dick" by Led Zeppelin.

CP: I know I've heard it—I thought I heard it on your record.

VL: We're really getting our skeletons out of the closet. I'm not really a big Led Zeppelin fan. I haven't heard that song. I don't know what Potbelly is. I've never eaten White Castle. I hit a guy in my car and just drove on; I don't know whether he lived or died.

CP: But you did sample AC/DC.

MC: Yes. It's actually cross-layered with "For Those About to Rock."

VL: There's another riff from something off of Back in Black that I isolated. A guitar hit.

VL: You know, I went and bought some Mac and Cheese the other day. When did it go up to a dollar-fifty? I remember when that shit was 65 cents.

MC: Well, did you get Scooby-Do shape?

VL: No!

MC: Kraft?

VL: Kraft! Elbow macaroni.

MC: Maybe it was the elbow macaroni shape that bumped up the price.

CP: As opposed to just the straight?

VL: There's a guy who has to bend each one as it comes along. You have to go to trade school for that.

CP: Wait, I wanted to talk more about sampling.

MC: It's all totally cleared.

VL: Yup, it's all on the up and up. We had to pay Angus Young $40,000.

CP: Really.

VL: For "Thunderstruck." He was really nice about it though.

CP: Did you get to meet him in person?

VL: No, no. This was all by proxy.

CP: I thought maybe it was exchanged in a back alley.

MC: He didn't even let us bring the money to the guy that we had to bring the money to. We had to hire somebody—a bagman.

BX: We actually hired Dee Snider.

MC: He was happy to get the work.

CP: Did you make him wear the schoolboy shorts and suspenders?

BX: Actually we had him wear the pink-striped tights and the pink wig.

CP: So ... none of it's cleared.

VL: Absolutely not.

MC: Everyone we've sampled has become really rich. Because we sampled them.

VL: Retroactively. They actually got big because they knew we were going to sample them.

MC: That's how Run DMC started.

VL: Did my guy tell you this?

MC: Which guy?

VL: The second guy. The guy with the cred.

MC: Yeah, yeah, yeah ... the guy with the curlicue mustache?

VL: No, that's the first guy.

MC: Oh, it was the first guy.

VL: Well then that's shit. That's not true.

MC: I love this beef that Girl Talk is having with Kanye West, because, uh ...

VL: Here's what happened: Girl Talk opened up for Kanye West seven or eight months ago and then what happened is they didn't talk, they didn't talk and all of a sudden, "Stronger" comes out and what happened is Girl Talk, at the show, had actually done a mashup of a Kanye West song and Daft Punk. So now Kanye's making big bucks off of the single where he samples Daft Punk and Girl Talk is like, "Hey." But Girl Talk doesn't have a fucking leg to stand on! Can he really act indignant and say this music is my property?

BX: Well, that's the thing because after a certain point you stop trading in music and start trading in ideas. Even though he didn't create any of the music, he's the one who made the idea.

VL: Girl Talk does not have any leg to stand on.

MC: It's like borrowing money from a bank robber and him demanding, "When are you gonna pay me back?"

CP: Intellectual property gets real dicey in this day and age.

MC: That's why we approach it as unintellectually as possible.

CP: Is that even a word?

MC: It is now, sucka! That new word is my intellectual property.

CP: So you guys didn't go out on tour, though.

MC: No.

VL: We are reviving some short term tour plans with Vampire Hands for the winter and just hit the Midwest. Because one of the things that really hurt us was that we decided to go out with Vampire Hands, but it turns out it's their first tour, too. So not a big priority for out-of-town booking people to give up two spots on a bill for two bands that haven't toured. So by the time we go out in the winter, it won't be any big thing, just spots they will have hit on their tour with Thunder in the Valley, because they're going on tour with them soon.

Drew [assembling a structure out of empty slider boxes]: Hey, check it out: Golden arches.

MC: Be careful what you say.

VL: Have you done this before?

BX: No.

VL: Wow. This is quite something.

CP: He's forging new ground right now.

VL: Wait, now you've gotta look up and go, "This means something."

CP: OK, you're flying too close to the sun now.

VL: Yeah, come on.

MC: I'm actually impressed.

CP: I'm going to slowly move my tape recorder out of the way of the ketchup.

VL: That's it.

BX: You're done.

CP: I was going to ask you about tour ... no, I was going to ask you about "Get Up!", that song that's on Twin Town High, because when you gave me the track, you said how you namecheck all these local bands, but they're not hip-hop bands, and it seems like in a lot of ways, you guys fit more in with Vampire Hands, Birthday Suits, that kind of scene. I guess this is almost a slightly weighty question, but do you feel yourselves connected to hip-hop in the Twin Cities or do you just feel like you're a band and this is what you do?

VL: I don't know, I personally feel much more connected to rock. And that's just how I've always felt.

MC: I never imagined that I would rap to people. Rap at people. I've always listened to punk rock and rock and roll and that's always been my cup of tea and I like hip-hop and I like my old school jams. And I never imagined that of all the musical endeavors I've ever entered into, that old school hip-hop would be the one that I'd start performing instead of just practicing for two weeks and then breaking up.

VL: And then playing on a bill where the headliner is country punk and the opener is psychedelic, '60s Swans post-punk. It's the weirdest time for music in this town because people are being so imaginative with the bills they put together. I'm not kidding you—it's the only way we can survive: that there are bands who are willing to put together bills that don't make sense on paper and all the kids come out and they love it. Just look at the show at The Entry last night: P.O.S., Digitata, Millionth Word—these are bands that don't have any business being on the same bill and it works and people are receptive.

BX: The funny thing is: I never thought that I would be DJing for a group again. Just because I got so sick of being part of hip-hop groups so I figured it would just be in my bedroom, because I hadn't listened to hip-hop in so long. Frankly, you guys have given me an excuse to wheel out my turntables.

CP: I feel like in the Twin Cities it's always been open-minded in terms of some of that stuff, but you see it even more.

MC: The last two years, the bands that have been coming together are pulling so many different areas and different parts of the spectrum of music, that it's just a really, really exciting time for local music right now.

VL: I remember just in the course of ten years when I was going to shows at a 16-year-old kid, the bills were so much more homogeneous than they are now. And a lot of those bands I listened to are still together, but the way shows are being put together is really good, especially for us. We don't really fit. We are equally, uh, what's the word ...

CP: Unintellectual?

VL: No, don't hijack my brain, man. I think on paper we fit just as poorly in the hip-hop scene as we do in the rock scene.

MC: I mean, we've talked about trying to segue into getting more shows that are all hip-hop bills, but we don't know anybody.

VL: But we're playing that show with Yo Majesty, which I'm excited about. We're gonna put on a wild show.

CP: I feel like you guys—and it's not a knock—like you guys are very tongue-in-cheek and also likable. And I feel like those two things are not things you often hear with regards to—

MC [mock offended]: What do you mean likable?

CP: But I mean there's something nice about that old school—and I mean old school including Native Tongues stuff like De La Soul or Tribe Called Quest—where it's not just really serious or really underground or anything. It's just kind of fun.

VL: I think the one thing that we've always battled is: yeah, of course we're cracking jokes. We're not making any grand political statement and we are having fun, but fun is worth something too. And tongue-in-cheek, that has its own meaning. That is something that has worked against us, is that the word "goofy" and the word "ironic" comes up a lot, both of which I take some mild umbrage to.

CP: I don't think I've used either of those words.

VL: You haven't. That's why we're talking to you [laughs]. I've got a list of words you did use, though. But the words goofy and ironic pop up a lot and I think that's unfortunately–well, I don't have a big problem with it, but if something is fun, it tends to be sort of demeaning.

CP: You never see comedies win Best Picture.

VL: That's exactly it. I think one in the history of film. That's interesting: people's relation to things—

MC: Porkie's?

VL: Uh, no. I think it was Weekend at Bernie's 2.

MC: That one is good.

VL: It swept.

CP: Well, it was because they got robbed on the first one.

MC: I mean, the special effects in it, too. They had to find a guy—a dead guy!

CP: They actually kept him refrigerated that whole time.

BX: The other thing is that if you look at a lot of the best hip-hop, it ends up being a response to not having fun.

MC: When we sat around and talked about starting this group, we wanted to make hip-hop music like the stuff that I really grew up listening to, which wasn't a whole lot of hip-hop. Raising Hell was my first hip-hop album and from that point forward I listened to a fair amount, but we wanted to make hip-hop for boomboxes, not headphones. And I'm getting a little tired of that segment of the indie hip-hop scene. I listen to a lot of music. We were just talking in the parking lot how—working at a record store—I have stacks of CDs that I haven't even listened to.

VL: And to be honest with you, hip-hop comprises probably about 15 percent of what I listen to. It's not my main—

BX: That's a really small amount considering that you hate all music.

VL: Yeah, I want a shirt that says "Hate All Music." What's 15 percent of nothing?

BX: I think it's negative 15 percent. That's really small.

Posted by Sarah Askari at September 21, 2007 12:44 PM | Comments (0)

 

Picked to Click XVII: complete links

Filed under: Local Music

Our 2007 best-new-band poll is live. Read the intro, then check out articles on the winners (linked below individually), along with a sobering and insightful piece on the Picked to Click Curse. (For reference, see all previous Picked to Click issues). The numbers following the band names represents how many points each got from the 84 voters (see our complete list of ballots). Thanks to all who participated, and help them spread the word on all the groups named in the ballots. Here's the final tally:

1. Mouthful of Bees, 68
2. Gay Witch Abortion, 34
3. First Communion Afterparty, 29.5
4. Skoal Kodiak, 28
5. Roma di Luna, 27
6. Dance Band, 26
7. MC/VL, 23
8. Baby Guts, 20.5
9. M.anifest, 18
10. His Mischief 17.5

Other artists that received 6 or more points:

Weaver at the Loom, 17
Black Audience, 16
City on the Make, 15
Jeremy Messersmith, 15
Private Dancer, 15
Big Quarters, 13
Pandemonium, 13
Mystery Palace, 12
Now, Now Every Children, 12
A Night in the Box, 11
Dark Dark Dark, 11
Switzerlind, 11
Bastard Saint, 10
The Evening Rig, 10
Beatrix Jar, 9
Dessa, 8
France Has the Bomb, 8
Ghost in the Water, 8
Joanna James, 8
To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie, 8
The Chosen Few, 7
City of Sound, 7
Death to our Enemies, 7
Sarah Johnson, 7
Togetherness, 7
Red Fox Grey Fox, 7
We All Have Hooks for Hands, 7
Abzorbr, 6
Meg Ashling, 6
Daughters of the Sun, 6
The Great Physician, 6
Murzik, 6
Painted Saints, 6
Rivet, 6
Ruby Isle, 6
X-Ray Hip, 6
ZibraZibra, 6

For reference, here's a complete list of artists named by voters in this year's poll, our favorite band names from this year's poll, the 2006 incarnation of this poll, the 2005 version, and links to (or results from) all previous Picked to Clicks, going back to 1991, when this madness began.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at September 18, 2007 10:31 PM | Comments (0)

 

Picked to Click XVII: complete ballots

Filed under: Local Music

Here are the 84 ballots counted in this year's Picked to Click poll, alphabatized by the voters' names. Ballots without numbers attached, or without otherwise specifying an order of preference, were counted "in no particular order," with each choice getting 3 points. (First choices got 5 points, second choices 4, etc.) This year, we also accepted dual ties for 5th place, giving each choice .5 points. Spellings have been (mostly) corrected, and notes are in brackets. Thanks to all the voters! Add your own Top 5s in the comments:

Ian Anderson, Afternoon Records

1. Now, Now Every Children
2. Best Friends Forever
3. Tarlton
4. Rob Skoro
5. Kill the Vultures

Matt Axelson, booker for The Firewall venue in Stillwater

1. Cloud Cult
2. Red Fox Grey Fox
3. Weaver at the Loom
4. City of Sound
5. Now, Now Every Children

Chris Bahn, city editor, The Onion A.V. Club

(no particular order)
Mouthful Of Bees
International Espionage!
Big Quarters
Switzerlind
Pictures of Then

Jackie Becker, MN Soundtrack on KFAI-FM 90.3.

(no particular order)
Akai
Mouthful of Bees
Murzik
Baby Guts
Building Better Bombs

Eric Billiet, manager, the Garage

1. City of Sound
2. Sing It Loud
3. Now, Now Every Children
4. Ronny Cary
5. Joyce Ernst

Daniel Black, Say & Stay Said label owner, Everybell & Whistle musician, Landland graphic designer/illustrator

1. Skoal Kodiak
2. Les Ourses
3. Synchrocyclotron
4. The Yoleus
5. Charles de Gaulle

Jason Brazil, co-owner, Eclipse Records

(no particular order)
They The Down Low
Company Incorporated
Battle Royale
The Deaf
Brother Ali

David Campbell, temporary host of The Local Show /89.3. FM The Current, clerk at the Electric Fetus, "beardist" in E.L.nO.

1. Jeremy Messersmith
2. A Night in the Box
3. Daughters of the Sun
4. Roma di Luna
5. MC/VL

Tim Campbell, senior arts and entertainment editor, Star Tribune

1. First Communion Afterparty
2. Mouthful of Bees
3. Roma di Luna
4. Orange Mighty Trio
5. Baby Guts

Ron Carlson, president, Classic's Studio

(no particular order)
Mayhem
Gotti the Governor
Little Enfy
Swift
Unknown MC

Adam Case, consignment director at Cheapo

1. MC/VL
2. Pretty Boy Thorsen
3. His Mischief
4. France Has the Bomb
5. First Communion After Party

Cyn Collins, author of West Bank Boogie and freelance music writer

1. Black Audience
2. Nikki Matteson and Her Ruemates
3. Cadillac Kolstad Band
4. Dreamland Faces
5. Chokecherry

Brian Corner, publicist, Cedar Cultural Center

(no particular order)
Orange Mighty Trio
Roma Di Luna
The Pines
The Brass Kings
Ben Glaros

Daniel Corrigan, photographer

(no particular order)
Three Inches of Blood
Nap Nap
Failed Heroes
Baby Guts
The Rockford Mules

David de Young, founder, Howwastheshow.com

1. Mouthful of Bees
2. First Communion Afterparty
3. Dance Band
4. MC/VL
5. City on The Make

Desdamona, musician and promoter

1. M.anifest
2. Molly Dean
3. Just Live
4. Pavielle French
5. Ashley Gold

Ben Durrant, producer/engineer, Crazy Beast Studio, musician

1. Roma di Luna
2. Alpha Consumer
3. Mouthful of Bees
4. Night in the Box
5. Eliza Blue

Rainer Fronz, Learning Curve Records

1. Private Dancer
2. Death to Our Enemies
3. Holy Ghost Riders
4. Bastard Saint
5. Pretty Boy Thorson & the Falling Angels

Lisa Ganser, Homocore Minneapolis

1. Tough Tough Skin
2. Kitten Forever
3. Everybell and Whistle
4. Dark Dark Dark
[not counted: 5. Dark Dark Dark]

Michael Gaughan, promoter and performer

1. Rivet
2. Men of Leisure
3. The Chosen Few
4. bRat
5. Mux Mool

Sonia Grover, booker, First Avenue and 7th St. Entry

1. Gay Witch Abortion
2. Dark Dark Dark
3. Mouthful of Bees
4. Meg Ashling
5. (tie) His Mishief, Baby Guts [each given .5 points]

Tom Hallett, writer, Reveille Magazine

1. The Capitol Sons
2. The Red Flags
3. Hojas Rojas
4. Carp 18
5. Jim Soule

Daniel Henry, host, MN Soundtrack on KFAI-FM 90.3

(no particular order)
Straight A's
Gay Witch Abortion
Ghost In The Water
Baby Guts
DJ Snuggles

Joe Holland, Big V's booking/sound

1. Gay Witch Abortion

Christy Hunt, Stasiu's, Ouija Radio
1. Gay Witch Abortion
2. Dessa
3. Murzik
4. City on the Make
5. (tie) The Blackthorns, First Communion Afterparty [each given .5 points]

Christopher Matthew Jensen, writer, engineer, musician, radio personality

1. To Kill A Petty Bourgeosie
2. Skoal Kodiak
3. Gay Witch Abortion
4. Pandemonium
5. Sarah Johnson

Grant Johnson, musician and promoter

1. The Western Fifth
2. Bluebird
3. Norsemen
4. Calamity Jean
5. The Hard Left

Brian Kasoro, editor, Liberator Magazine

1. Sara White (solo)
2. Ceewhy
3. M.anifest
4. Quilombolas
5. Sha Cage

Kimberly King, the Fine Line

(no particular order)
The 757's
X-Ray Hip
The Great Physician

Kandis "Kandiapolis" Knight, journalist/publicist, Indie Street Magazine, Game Sports Magazine, Trendsetter Urban Monthly, Grip Magazine

1. Muja Messiah
2. I-Self Devine
3. Omaur Bliss
4. Chosen Few
5. Mercies May

Lars J. Larson, Fifth Element online manager

1. M.anifest
2. Knonam
3. Plain Ole Bill & Jimmy2Times
4. The Chosen Few
5. Ill Chemistry

Tom Loftus, Modern Radio

1. His Mischief
2. Private Dancer
3. Knife World
4. Togetherness (a.k.a. Bro Vs. Wade)
5. Sarah Johnson

Ted Lowell, booker, Acadia Cafe

(no particular order)
A Night in the Box
Gay Beast
Brent Floren
Painted Saints
Japhlet Bire Attias

Paul Lundrgren, writer, Duluth

1. Nordic Waste
2. The Bitter Spills
3. Southwire
4. Taconite
5. Haus Meeting

James "Taco" Martin, E Company Productions

(no particular order)
Dance Band
The Debu
The Great Physician
Wanttobe Hasbeens
X Ray Hip

Kyle Matteson, More Cowbell, Reveille Magazine

1. First Communion Afterparty
2. Mouthful of Bees
3. Seymore Saves The World
4. Spiritual Mansions
5. Jeremy Messersmith

Steve McPherson, associate editor, Reveille Magazine

1. Mouthful of Bees
2. Roma di Luna
3. City on the Make
4. MC/VL
5. Switzerlind

Jim Meyer, Minnesota Monthly

1. Weaver at the Loom
2. The Fantastic Merlins
3. Oondas Extra
4. Jay Walker and the Misdemeanors
5. The Soviet Machines

Peter Mielech, co-owner, Modern Radio

1. His Mischief
2. Skoal Kodiak
3. Private Dancer
4. Sarah Johnson
5. White Jazz

Keith Moran, Guilt Ridden Pop

1. Togetherness (body language)
2. MC/VL
3. First Communion Afterparty
4. White Nazz
5. (tie) The Vignettes, Finger Pressure [each given .5 points]

Andrea Myers, writer Howwastheshow.com, Managing Editor, Reveille Magazine

1. Mouthful of Bees
2. City on the Make
3. Abzorbr
4. Ladyslipper
5. Rivet

Mark Nelson, volunteer, Extreme Noise Records

1. Pandemonium
2. Bastard Saint
3. Question
4. Complete Waste
5. Loaded First

Tim Nelson, Spinout Records, Fitger's Brewhouse

(no particular order)
Charlie Parr
Sara Softich
Painted Saints
Sam Miltich and the Clear Water Hot Club
40 Watt Bulb

Pat O'Brien, writer

1. Mouthful of Bees
2. Dance Band
3. Estate
4. We All Have Hooks for Hands
5. SKIRT

Todd O'Dowd, publicist, Varsity Theater

1. Joanna James
2. Jeremy Messersmith
3. Sika
4. Alison Scott [written as tie with above; counted as #4]
5. First Communion Afterparty

Bobby Olson, The Vault

1. After the Burial
2. Write This Down
3. Moven' like the mountains
4. Gloria
5. Sing it Loud

Chris Olson, Triple Rock Social Club

1. The Evening Rig
2. Bastard Saint
3. The Blackthorns
4. Mouthful of Bees
5. (tie) Prairie Sons, Shoveldance [each given .5 points]

Neil Olstad, writer, Howwastheshow.com

1. Jayber Crow
2. Dessa
3. Sing It Loud
4. Zibra Zibra
5. Building Better Bombs

Nate Patrin, writer, City Pages

(no particular order)
Abzorbr
Big Quarters
Gay Witch Abortion
Mazta I
Sovietpanda

Jen Paulson, writer, HowWasTheShow.com & Reveille Magazine

1. Dance Band
2. MC/VL
3. Zibra Zibra
4. City on the Make
5. Best Friends Forever

Matt Perkins, Nomad World Pub booking manager

(no particular order)
Ice Palace
City on the Make
Mystery Palace
Black Audience
Mouthful of Bees

Ross Raihala, pop music critic, Pioneer Press

(no particular order)
Dance Band
First Communion Afterparty
Mother Banjo
Mouthful of Bees
Spiritual Mansions

Cory Ramsey, promoter

(no particular order)
Dead Dreams Awakening
Emiliana
Death Sentence
Venia
Charis

Ian Rans, host of TV's Drinking With Ian

1. Beatrix*Jar
2. France Has the Bomb
3. Parts For All Makes
4. the Jacobins
5. the Debut

Tommy Rehbein, promoter, musician

(no particular order)
Go Nutz!
Get Young
Sing It Loud!
Red Fox Grey Fox
Chris Shotlisf

Chris Riemenschneider, music critic, Star Tribune

1. Mouthful of Bees
2. First Communion After-Party
3. Roma di Luna
4. M.anifest
5. Baby Guts

Earl Root, host of KFAI-FM's Root of All Evil (90.3), guitarist for Aesma Daeva

(no particular order)
For Blood
Build or Burn
The Body Beneath
Sirens of Titan
K.U.R.T.

Amber Schadewald, music writer

1. Ghost in the Water
2. Baby Guts
3. Big Quarters
4. Indigo
5. Zibra Zibra

Scheduletwo.com

1. The Evening Rig
2. His Mischief
3. Skoal Kodiak
4. Total Fucking Blood
5. Breanne Durenberger

Christina Schmitt, Minnesota Public Radio

1. In Defense
2. The Sinks
3. Pandemonium
4. France Has the Bomb
5. Dance Band

Peter S. Scholtes, staff writer, City Pages

1. Isis
2. Big Quarters
3. Children 18:3
4. Baby Guts
5. Gumbi

Stacy Schwartz, photo editor, Howwastheshow.com

1. We All Have Hooks for Hands
2. A Night in the Box
3. Dance Band
4. Jonathan Delehanty
5. Estate

Jon Jon Scott, Black Corners Entertainment

(no particular order)
M.anifest
Mystery Palace
Indigo
Sha Cage
Hips Don't Lie

Danny Sigelman, DJ, the Current 89.3 FM

1. Dark Dark Dark
2. Gay Witch Abortion
3. Ponytails and Ivory
4. Poutums
5. Ari Robinson

Clint Simonson, Destijl Records

(no particular order)
Skoal Kodiak
Shahs
Vampire Hands
P Metzger
Old Colon

Rod Smith, writer

1. Mystery Palace
2. Dance Band
3. Skoal Kodiak
4. Black Days Down
5. Meg Ashling

Special Dark, host of The Session on KFAI-FM 90.3

1. New Congress

Jerry Steller, president, Vitriol Radio Promotion

1. Mouthful of Bees
2. Weaver at the Loom
3. We Became Actors

Jesse Stensby, vice president, Vitriol Radio Promotion

1. Weaver at the Loom
2. Elk
3. Mouthful of Bees
4. Spirit of '76
5. Boys and Girls

Alison Stolpa, ex-co-host Off the Record, Electric Fetus clerk

(no particular order)
Pandemonium
Gay Witch Abortion
Skoal Kodiak
To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie
Teenage Remains

Ollie Stench, Radio Riot on KFAI-FM 90.3, TV's Drinking With Ian

1. MC/VL
2. Beatrix Jar
3. Ruby Isle

Chris Strouth, Allied Chemical

1. HOF/Haze XXL-
2. Switzerland
3. Moon Maan
4. Gospel Gossip
5. The Nightinghales

Tom Sullivan, 400 Bar

(no particular order)
Nick Africano
Caroline Smith
Loud + 2
Andy Ulseth
Accelerated Love Affair

Chuck Terhark, writer

(no particular order)
Roma di Luna
Rope Trick
Mouthful of Bees
Seawhores
Tay Zonday

Rayna Terror, Palmfest coordinator

1. Black Audience
2. The Brass Kings
3. Hex
4. Thieves

Heidi Vader, board member, DEMO

(no particular order)
Mayda Miller
Skoal Kodiak
Roma di Luna
Charlz Newman
Jupiter/In/January

Rob van Alstyne, journalist, METRO, Reveille Magazine

1. Jeremy Messersmith
2. Mouthful of Bees
3. Mary Bue
4. Ice palace
5. Roma di Luna

Karrie Vrabel, SRO Productions

(no particular order)
Ruby Isle
Meg Ashling
Boys And Girls
Switzerlind
Now, Now Every Children

Jacques Wait, producer, engineer, musician

(no particular order)
The Haves Have It
National Bird
Eric & the Savages
Kill to Kill
Death to our Enemies

Jim Walsh, writer, columnist, Reveille magazine and the Southwest Journal

(no particular order)
Joanna James
Jonathan Delehanty
Brianna Lane
Stook! & The Jukes
Allison Rae

Scott Watson, live sound engineer

(no particular order)
First Communion Afterparty
Black Audience
Gay Witch Abortion
Daughters of the Sun
Sarah Johnson

Neil Weir, The Old Blackberry Way

(no particular order)
Private Dancer
Finger Pressure
The Sleaze
Baby Guts
The Talkers

Tim Wilson, owner, Urban Lights Music

1. Auburn

Toki Wright, president, Yo! the Movement

1. Toki Wright
2. Slim of G.O.B. (St. Paul Slim)
3. Mavin MC
4. FranzDiego.com
5. Trama

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at September 18, 2007 10:29 PM | Comments (7)

 

New publication: 'Twin Cities Radio Magazine'

Filed under: Local Music

Spreading its text thinly and in large type over 68 pages, the glossy debut issue of Twin Cities Radio Magazine is heavy with ads, and articles that look and read like ads, balancing puff pieces on local radio personalities such as Mary Lucia with celebrity Q&As featuring Carrie Underwood and Brother Ali. There's a news item or two here, but don't expect a critical word about the local airwaves--there's nothing that couldn't have been written by the station owners themselves. Sample sentence: "102.9 Lite FM brings you the Most Music all day every day including commercial free hours."

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at September 18, 2007 1:00 PM | Comments (1)

 

This year's Picked to Click winners!

Filed under: Local Music

In alphabetical order, here's a complete list of bands that showed up on ballots submitted to this year's City Pages Picked to Click "best new band" poll, which will be published this week:

40 Watt Bulb
A Night in the Box
Abzorbr
Accelerated Love Affair
After the Burial
Akai
Alison Scott
Allison Rae
Alpha Consumer
Andy Ulseth
Ari Robinson
Ashley Gold
Auburn

Baby Guts
Bastard Saint
Battle Royale
Beatrix Jar
Ben Glaros
Best Friends Forever
Big Quarters
Black Audience
Black Days Down
Bluebird
Boys and Girls
bRat
Breanne Durenberger
Brent Floren
Brianna Lane
Brother Ali
Build or Burn
Building Better Bombs
Cadillac Kolstad Band
Calamity Jean
Caroline Smith
Carp 18
Ceewhy
Charis
Charles de Gaulle
Charlie Parr
Charlz Newman
Children 18:3
Chokecherry
Chris Shotlisf
City of Sound
City on the Make
Cloud Cult
Company Incorporated
Complete Waste
Dance Band
Dark Dark Dark
Daughters of the Sun
Dead Dreams Awakening
Death Sentence
Death to our Enemies
Dessa
DJ Snuggles
Dreamland Faces
Eliza Blue
Elk
Emiliana
Eric & the Savages
Estate
Everybell and Whistle
Failed Heroes
Finger Pressure
First Communion Afterparty
For Blood
France Has the Bomb
FranzDiego.com
Gay Beast
Gay Witch Abortion
Get Young
Ghost In The Water
Gloria
Go Nutz!
Gospel Gossip
Gotti the Governor
Gumbi
Haus Meeting
Hex
Hips Don't Lie
His Mishief
HOF/Haze XXL
Hojas Rojas
Holy Ghost Riders
Ice Palace
Ill Chemistry
In Defense
Indigo
International Espionage!
I-Self Devine
Isis
Japhlet Bire Attias
Jay Walker and the Misdemeanors
Jayber Crow
Jeremy Messersmith
Jim Soule
Joanna James
Jonathan Delehanty
Joyce Ernst
Jupiter/In/January
Just Live
K.U.R.T.
Kill the Vultures
Kill to Kill
Kitten Forever
Knife World
Knonam
Ladyslipper
Les Ourses
Little Enfy
Loaded First
Loud + 2
M.anifest
Mary Bue
Mavin MC
Mayda Miller
Mayhem
Mazta I
MC/VL
Meg Ashling
Men of Leisure
Mercies May
Molly Dean
Moon Maan
Mother Banjo
Mouthful of Bees
Moven' like the Mountains
Muja Messiah
Murzik
Mux Mool
Mystery Palace
Nap Nap
National Bird
New Congress
Nick Africano
Nikki Matteson and Her Ruemates
Nordic Waste
Norsemen
Now, Now Every Children
Old Colon
Omaur Bliss
Oondas Extra
Orange Mighty Trio
P Metzger
Painted Saints
Pandemonium
Parts For All Makes
Pavielle French
Pictures of Then
Plain Ole Bill & Jimmy2Times
Ponytails and Ivory
Poutums
Prairie Sons
Pretty Boy Thorson & the Falling Angels
Private Dancer
Question
Quilombolas
Red Fox Grey Fox
Rivet
Rob Skoro
Roma di Luna
Ronny Cary
Rope Trick
Ruby Isle
Sam Miltich and the Clear Water Hot Club
Sara Softich
Sara White (solo)
Sarah Johnson
Scheduletwo.com
Seawhores
Seymore Saves The World
Sha Cage
Shahs
Shoveldance
Sika
Sing It Loud!
Sirens of Titan
SKIRT
Skoal Kodiak
Slim of G.O.B. (St. Paul Slim)
Southwire
Sovietpanda
Spirit of '76
Spiritual Mansions
Stook! & The Jukes
Straight A's
Swift
Switzerlind
Synchrocyclotron
Taconite
Tarlton
Tay Zonday
Teenage Remains
The 757's
The Bitter Spills
The Blackthorns
The Body Beneath
The Brass Kings
The Capitol Sons
The Chosen Few
The Deaf
The Debut
The Evening Rig
The Fantastic Merlins
The Great Physician
The Hard Left
The Haves Have It
The Jacobins
The Nightinghales
The Pines
The Red Flags
The Rockford Mules
The Sinks
The Sleaze
The Soviet Machines
The Talkers
The Vignettes
The Western Fifth
The Yoleus
They the Down Low
Thieves
To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie
Togetherness (a.k.a. Bro Vs. Wade)/Togetherness (body language)
Toki Wright
Total Fucking Blood
Tough Tough Skin
Trama
Unknown MC
Vampire Hands
Venia
Wanttobe Hasbeens
We All Have Hooks for Hands
We Became Actors
Weaver at the Loom
White Jazz
Write This Down
X-Ray Hip
ZibraZibra

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at September 17, 2007 2:52 PM | Comments (8)

 

Auburn listening party Saturday

Filed under: Local Music

Fresh off a tour supporting Keyshia Cole, local teenage R&B upstart Auburn Williams hosts a free listening party tomorrow (Saturday) from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Bellanote in Minneapolis, with music provided by DJ Youngstar. Click the above for her video: Can you name that "hood"?

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at September 14, 2007 10:39 PM | Comments (0)

 

Best New Band Names

Filed under: Local Music

We can't reveal the winners of this year's City Pages Picked to Click "best new band" poll until the issue goes online next week. We can, however, list some of our favorite new band names, many of which rank with such all-time classics as Bone Appetit and the Fuckin' Shit Biscuits. What are your favorite local band names? Here's our list:

To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie (pictured)
France Has the Bomb

Gay Witch Abortion
Bro Vs. Wade/Body Language/Togetherness
We All Have Hooks for Hands
We Became Actors
Hips Don't Lie
The Great Physician
Dark Dark Dark
Knife World
Alpha Consumer
Complete Waste

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at September 14, 2007 10:11 PM | Comments (2)

 

Michael Yonkers at the Turf Tonight

Filed under: Local Music

Local cult-rock legend Michael Yonkers performs a rare show tonight (Tuesday, 9/11) at the Turf Club, with the Blind Shake and solo, for the "Grimwood reissue party," which also celebrates an avalanche of new and old music releases by Yonkers this year. Christopher Bahn has a wonderful interview with the man in the print edition of this week's Onion (can't find it online), but due to medical issues Yonkers wasn't really sure until more recently that he'd even be able to perform, hence the show's otherwise low profile. (Click here, here, here, here, here, and here, for more background on Yonkers.) Openers include the Plastic Crimewave Sound and Neglected Receptors. This might well be the last time he ever plays. Only $5. Spread the word. Cool photo here, posted here.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at September 11, 2007 5:10 PM | Comments (0)

 

This year's La Crosse Storytelling Festival a hit

Filed under: Concert Review

This past Saturday morning found me basking in warm weather at Myrick Park in La Crosse Wisconsin; a bit of a jaunt from the Cities but well worth the trip, because it was the main day of the La Crosse Storytelling Festival. The event is in its fifth year, and based on this year's festival, hopefully many more are to follow.

The three featured tellers this year were well chosen and speak to the festival's growing success. Hans Mayer is a nationally-recognized kid's teller and musician from the La Crosse area; his easy smile, silly songs, and googly-eyed faces had the kids instantly howling with laughter.

Flame-haired Celia Farran showed her breadth of talent with a combination of traditional Irish folk tales and persona-driven humor (her Russian-accented, coke-bottle-spectacled nose flautist's rendition of the 1812 Overture a highlight of her performances).

Minneapolis' Kevin Kling has reached significant national success as a playwright and actor; he contributes stories frequently to NPR's All Things Considered. At the festival, many audience-members around me complained of jaws and bellies aching from laughter after his stories of boy scout taxidermy and being struck by lightning.

Several other guest tellers brought their talents to the festival. Debra Morningstar, a former social worker and a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, told traditional stories she used during her work dealing with alcoholism and abuse in Native American homes. Phyllis Blackstone had the audience in stitches with her hilarious account of checking into the psych ward during a depression meltdown. Sara Slayton, one of the event's organizers, spoke of her experiences as a two-time cancer survivor in a manner that moved smoothly between somber and lighthearted tones.

Early evening found the main tent host to stories of the Mississippi River's history from Ken and Terry Visger. Especially striking was Ken's haunting tale of the 1940 Armistice Day blizzard from the perspective of duck hunters trapped in the river bottoms during probably the worst snowstorm of the last century.

The crescendo of the festival, however, came in the evening, when the show turned 18+, beer (good beer!) and wine were made available, and the stories moved to adult themes of death, sin, and sex. Terry Visger told a dirty tale of mistaken de-testiculation in the Irish tradition, and retired English professor August Rubrecht (in the interest of full disclosure, my dad) re-imagined Geoffery Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale" as told by a 50's radio preacher.

Mayer, Farran, and Kling rotated onto the stage round-robin style several times, each bringing a new story or song that, though seemingly incongruous, would work perfectly with the last. Mayer's melancholy songs of love and possibility moved abruptly into Farran's Tresslefoot Fairy persona singing "Dr. Bronner's Make Your Hoo Hoo Tingle," and then on to Kling speaking movingly of his experiences after his devastating 2001 motorcycle accident(link requires RealPlayer).

Posted by Ward Rubrecht at September 11, 2007 1:34 PM | Comments (1)

 

Jenna Fischer stars in new Willie Wisely video

Filed under: Local Music

Here's longtime Twin Cities-L.A. musician Willie Wisely's new video for "Through Any Window," starring Jenna Fischer of NBC's The Office.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at September 10, 2007 10:48 AM | Comments (0)

 

Tribute/Benefit in Memory of Eric Lappegard

Filed under: General Archive

Comic artist, bike advocate, vegan, barista and bike messenger-- Eric Lappegard was an active member of many communities around the Twin Cities. Unfortunately, the 28-year-old's life came to a tragic end July 23 following complications from an automobile accident.

This Saturday friends and family can pay tribute with two events honoring his spirit and memory. Things start up at 2:00 p.m. with an alley cat bike race beginning at Behind Bars Bicycle Shop (208 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis). From 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Altered Esthetics (1224 Quincy St. NE, Minneapolis) hosts an art show and auction featuring work by Lappegard, local comics, and members of the International Cartoonist Conspiracy, a group that Lappegard was an active member of. A raffle, vegan bake sale, and live music by the Roe Family Singers round out the evening. Proceeds from the event benefit Lappegard's family, aiding in expenses incurred from the tragic accident.

Eric's contribution to City Pages comics issue can be found here. An archive of his ongoing strip, Schmapples, is located on his personal site here.

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at September 7, 2007 5:32 PM | Comments (1)

 

My (Very Good) Life as a Dog

Filed under: Pop Culture

Local pet stores have inevitably joined restaurants, clothiers, and clubs in catering to the new rich. Bonejour (at stopdoggynudity.com) in Edina offers designer clothing lines for dogs (Downtown Doggy, London Dog), while LuLu & Luigi in St. Louis Park and Wayzata recently sponsored a canine version of TV's The Bachelor outdoors, selecting bride Pepper Von Cutie Pie from among 100 contestants and wedding her to starring "bachelor" Tony in a formal ceremony followed by a "ruffception." Until funding was pulled, a development at 925 N. 5th Street was slated to house Minneapolis K-9 Condos, a luxury dogcare complex complete with "dog exercise pool" and grooming area. (There are so many other high-end pet services that Minnesota Monthly recently listed the best: including parties, psychiatry, natural food, grooming, mobile grooming, behavior consultation, and photography.)

Until they get their condo, dogs will have to settle for the new PetsHotel, opened by national pet store chain PetsMart on July 31 in Eden Prairie. The care center offers a "Bone Booth" for animals to hear the voices of their vacationing owners. "Just call during lobby hours and we'll bring your pet to the phone if you want to chat," touts the website. Downtown Dogs in Minneapolis, meanwhile, offers a webcam (for you to watch your dog, not the other way around). Unfortunately, neither facility offers pet massage: For that, pooches and their indulgent owners will have to visit St. Louis Park's K9 Hydrotherapy.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at September 7, 2007 4:07 PM | Comments (0)

 

MF Doom just isn't himself lately

As reported here in today's City Pages, "The internet is abuzz with accusations that masked rapper MF Doom, who is on local hip-hop label Rhymesayers, enlisted an imposter to pose as himself and lip-synch recent performances in L.A. and San Francisco." According to the Village Voice's in-depth report, "[Patrons of the San Francisco club the Independent] aren't getting refunds, and neither is the club--absent any proof that he wasn't actually there, a lip-synching Doom wouldn't have violated the terms of his contract, [club co-owner Allen] Scott says, adding that attendees can exchange their stubs for another performance, or return for the rescheduled Doom show on September 18." Here's some background on Doom, plus more at Wired, DJ Enki's blog, two posts in the SF Weekly, Wikipedia, and DUNation.

Note: In other Rhymesayers news, the label is donating a dollar from every presale ticket for Atmosphere's upcoming "Everybody Loves A Clown" tour to a relief fund for victims of the 35W bridge collapse.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at September 5, 2007 5:47 PM | Comments (2)

 

Concert Review--Etta, Al, and BB at the Fair

Filed under: Music

Review by Ken Phillips
On Thursday night at the State Fair, Etta James made the wooing ritual of Larry Craig into a new dance move. After introducing it during "I wanna ta-ta you, baby" she rarely encountered a person, place or thing on the grandstand stage without trying to gauge its interest in the manner of a horny senator.
Etta's voice is as powerful as ever, but she could have let it rip a little more often. It seems unreasonable to complain that a cover of "Piece of My Heart" wasn't as raw or loud as Janice's version, but when Etta James is singing it, it really ought to be. She gave us a strong "I'd Rather Go Blind" and a sweet "At Last." But she also gave us "You Can Leave Your Hat On."

Al Green really likes to hear his songs. It would be better if he liked to sing them. At the fair, he held his hand to his ear far too many times. During "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart," he said "Sounds just like the record, don't it?" But I don't remember him saying that on the record. And I do remember him singing a lot more of the song. He's an infectiously happy performer, and no one could dance around and throw roses with more charm. The falsetto's still amazing, too. But why won't he stop goofing off and sing? Before he left, he recited a list of hits he wished he'd had time to sing. That hurt-- especially after watching him giggle through something that seemed to be called "Everything's Gonna Be Alright."

When B.B. King came onstage, everything was alright. The King of the Blues put more feeling into every one of his lines than the Reverend had put into any. Did you know that "You are My Sunshine" is a beautiful song? It was on Thursday night. And so was everything else that B.B. sang, and played, and perhaps most notably, said. He's 81, and he knows how tell a story. He made us laugh with one about segregation, then thanked us for making the world such a better place than it used to be. And it was all like that. Whether he was singing "Nobody loves me but my mother... and she could be jivin' too," advising the ladies that the men in "that fabulous group of U2" are handsome and rich, or joking about life as an old man ("When a shark breaks off a tooth, it grows back. At my age, when you break something, it's finished. And some things are finished even if you don't break 'em off,") he did it all with charm and love and beauty. "People talk about 'B.B.'s Last Concert,'" he told us, "Nobody told me." Then he asked us whether, if fate would allow him to come back, we would allow him, too. Our response was as heartfelt as B.B.'s singing.

Posted by Sarah Askari at September 4, 2007 12:46 PM | Comments (0)

 

Velvet Revolver Are An Awesome Cover Band

Filed under: Music

Show Review by Pat O'Brien
The Xcel Center crowd was only about 6,000 strong last night--just more than half empty--and maybe that should have been a bit of a clue. Velvet Revolver, a band whose members used to be in Guns 'N' Roses (guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum) and Stone Temple Pilots (vocalist Scott Weiland) were exactly who they appeared to be: guys from other, more successful bands. There wasn't much cohesiveness onstage, with Weiland seemingly disengaged from all of the other band members and the rest of them basically phoning it in. Even so, there were a few bright spots. "Fall To Pieces" seems destined to become an anthem of sorts and the set closer "Slither" really jolted everyone to life, though it was at the end of the show and seemed out of place. Most telling, however, was the fact that the show's brightest spots were when VR were playing the hit songs from their previous bands (STP's "Interstate Love Song" and GnR's "It's So Easy" were particularly excellent, though Weiland is no Axl Rose, vocally) and the fact that those songs took up nearly one-third of the setlist indicated that they have some idea about this, too.

The ideas for a big arena-show were there (mid-show acoustic set, Pink Floyd cover during the encore, etc.) but the follow-through was anemic. They resembled an incredibly expensive cover band whose original material is hackneyed, cliched (rain and/or tears washed things away in at least three songs) and just plain bland. If they can play a ton of old material that the fans devour, write a couple of ok songs, and a lot of filler to push the record they can just treat VR like a quick-fix project to keep the money flowing in until something better comes along. The problem with all of that, of course, is if they aren't fully engaged in the band, how is the band supposed to fully engage it's audience?

Posted by Sarah Askari at September 1, 2007 2:16 PM | Comments (1)

 

The 'Gentle Jailer' on the myths of prostitution

Filed under: Q&A

Bill Nelson is the Director of Correctional Services for Volunteers of America, Minnesota and Founding Director of the Women’s Recovery Center, a residential program for women in the process of leaving prostitution. Nelson is also the founder of the anti-violence agency La Oportunidad, Minneapolis, and adjunct faculty at Brown College. As if that weren’t enough, he farms 150 acres. He was recently featured in a television documentary Prostitution: Beyond the Myths and managed to carve out a few minutes to talk to City Pages.

City Pages: What is the Women’s Recovery Center?

Bill Nelson: I ran into two former prostitutes who were echoing an idea about what women need to get out of prostitution. I’m also a jailer and everybody knows prostitution is a revolving door offense. So I hired them. We formed what’s called a “skunk works” -- it’s a term patented by Lockheed Aircraft and it’s a basis for thinking with no particular agenda. We took that approach. And they told me, “What we need is a recovery center, and we need to go to the MN legislature and ask for a million dollars.” I said, “You gotta be kidding! Nobody cares about prostitution. The legislature is never going to approve that.” We went there anyway. We didn’t get a million, but we got $600,000. Jesse Ventura signed off on it, which is ironic because of his stance on prostitution. Next question: where do you put it? Who wants a residential facility housing 24 ex-prostitutes in their neighborhood? We put it in North Oaks, which is a very wealthy neighborhood. We’re on the grounds of the Home of the Good Shepherd. Word started to spread about what we were doing, literally worldwide.

For a period of time, I was getting a lot of inquiries from Madrid, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Scandinavia, Sweden. I actually went to Sweden and lectured on it. A year ago I went back to the University of Stockholm and delivered an outcome paper. It showed 89 percent success (measured by conviction records) one year following discharge. The women in the documentary were out of the program for six years and it illustrates the permanency of the program. They represent over five hundred women.

CP: How did you come to start working with prostitutes and former prostitutes?

BN: It all started when I started a private jail 22 years ago for Ramsey County. I guess I would describe myself as a compassionate person. It just became so evident that women in jail in so many ways are victims of all kinds of abuse. I know I’m talking like a liberal and I’m really not-- I’m talking very pragmatically. I just know what I see. Out of this, I got the nickname ‘the gentle jailer’ because I really believed that when women go to jail, they should go there for a purpose other than punishment. They should actually have an uplifting experience. And so we started to see women in prostitution going to jail cumulatively for five to six years, costing ninety to a hundred thirty thousand dollars just for incarceration and we put that together with health consequences. So on one hand what we do in addressing prostitution is expensive and it does not succeed without the right kind of intervention. And the right kind of intervention really involves addressing issues that we learned from the Vietnam War, known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Prostitution hurts women and children in terms of emotions, psychologically, and it leads to early death. Our whole focus is very pragmatic. Philosophically we assert that prostitution is wrong because it hurts women and children. Number two it is costly to society. Number three there is really no consistent integrated approach in our metropolitan area to effectively address prostitution.

CP: In your experience, why do women become prostitutes?

BN: It’s actually almost all the time related to some form of abuse at a young age and if you watch the documentary you’ll see that home life is impossible and girls and women leave and pick up with the wrong individuals, and then the phenomenon persists because of the brain washing that’s involved: dependency, disability, and dread.

CP: What does the Women’s Recovery Center do to help women leave prostitution?

BN: I was the architect to put together what is already known about women and healing. It was really the whole package that has made it effective. That includes a chemical dependency treatment specific to women, mental health services specifically addressing PTSD and other psychologically crippling effects, and an emphasis on building self-esteem. Women do well by supporting one other-- that’s called the relational approach. Women heal with other women. The background essentially is about isolation and the program focuses on restoring relationships, building relationships. Now by contrast, if women and men are in group-counseling, you will find, typically, that the men do the talking and the women shut down.

CP: How widespread is prostitution in the Twin Cities?

BN: Everybody has their own statistics and estimates, partly having to with how they define prostitution. We incorporate stripping as concomitant with prostitution because the two go together in many-- if not most-- cases. Some people have said seven to nine thousand. The irony is that in some point in their career, women want to get out, but they’re trapped in it.

CP: What are the biggest misconceptions that people have about prostitutes and prostitution?

BN: One is they’re in it for the money. Number two, they enjoy sex. Number three, if two consenting adults want to engage in sexual behavior why should we, the state, interfere with that? That’s assuming that we’re talking about consent, and the consent is not really there. If you’re supporting a drug habit, you’re driven, you’re not consenting.

CP: Would legalizing prostitution solve the problem?

BN: No. It’s legal in New Zealand, Amsterdam, Germany, and it’s legal in five or seven counties in Nevada. In Sweden it is decriminalized for women, but illegal for men. We can’t do that, of course, because of constitutional protections. Amsterdam liberalized drugs and everything and they created a red zone. They have now cut that back by one third. And do you know why it doesn’t work? Sexual predators-- male “Johns” are always looking for younger meat, and so that creates a market for trafficking of children. In Africa, there are beliefs that if you don’t want to get HIV, you have sex with a child, the likelihood is that she is clean. Or if you want to get rid of your HIV, have sex with a child. There are countries that want to tax it-- that in turn encourages people to continue with illegal prostitution. That’s another trend they’re seeing [in countries where prostitution is legal] -- illegal prostitution because if you’re a pimp, what’s left of your job? The government has taken over and become the pimp. When we put together our mission statement, it ends by saying, “and with a life without prostitution as an outcome.” The problem we have in society and with social problems is that we tend to define the problem from its symptoms. Gangs, for example, are bad. Gangs hurt people. But the focus is not gangs. You have to go deeper. Drill down. You have to drill down if you really want to do something about it. They’ll be one bust after another, and you put the bad guys away, end of problem. That’s not so because there’s always the new recruits and you can put them away for only so long. You have not solved the problem unless you’ve drilled down to get right to its origin.

CP: Why not go after the pimps and the “Johns” -- the men who solicit sex from these women?

BN: They’ve run and established “John schools” around the country. The rate of recidivism is 2% or less and they attribute this to John schools. However, a government study determined that application of the justice model for “Johns” leads to the same results. Whatever that punishment is, the result is 2% or less recidivism. So anything they do by shaming or photos, is fine, I guess. But I don’t support putting up photos of women who have been arrested for prostitution. It’s like putting out a Sear’s catalogue. The world sex network at one point listed the St. Paul Police Department’s prostitution photo practice as ‘Check this out.’ You’ve got your pictures, you’ve got your general location. It’s like shopping out of a catalogue.

And it’s based on shame and guilt. Women have an easier time talking about their involvement with prostitution with me, a male, than with another woman. Do you know why? They’re reading into that other woman saying, “How could you be doing this to yourself?” There’s a perverse mutual understanding between a current or former prostitute and a male. One of our subjects in the documentary was willing to talk about her massive drug habit with the female producer, but would not say much about her involvement in prostitution.

CP: What are the main challenges that a woman leaving prostitution faces?

BN: All the practical things you can imagine. For example, housing. Where can she really live? She already has a record. Employment. She has no job history. Education. She may have no education to speak of. And she has this terrible dependency she�