October 2007

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Afrika Bambaataa Review by Geoff Cannon

Filed under: Music

Foundation's Saturday night crowd got a chance to hear a hip-hop luminary spin. Afrika Bambaataa, the man behind the deathless electro-funk of Planet Rock, did a set as part of the standing "Party and Bullshit" night in the basement club. Those with visions of the costumed Soulsonic Force shows of yesteryear in their heads might have been a little disappointed: Bam eschewed the Mad Max tribal gear in favor of an unassuming red t-shirt, and perched above the crowd behind a Mac. This being Halloween, however, there was plenty of costumery around. And this being a downtown nightclub, plenty of the "sexy [service occupation]" theme. (I wear my "sexy freelancer" getup 24/7.)

Bam's selection was primarily funk and soul, tipped more towards beat-heavy '70s classicism than '80s futurism, with an occasional nod to Jamaica. This was more of a trip down his memory lane than ours. Truth be told, it sounded like just another old-school hip-hop night, but it was a charge hearing it spun by a guy who was in on the ground floor, who lifted from "funky German boys" Kraftwerk when "miscegenation" wasn't a music-blogger buzzword, and dressed like a post-nuke warlord in a time when swathes of NYC really did look like they'd been bombed.

No matter what else, it's always a pleasure to hear bass through Foundation's soundsystem. It's funny to think that something as elemental to American life as the head-nodding hip-hop beat had to be invented and refined. It's a well-worn saw now, thirty years later, but let's say it again: out of bits and pieces of dancehall, funk, synth-pop and disco, artists in tough circumstances came up with something new. If you squinted your ears and tried to forget that you and the "sexy cop" next to you had heard the "Funky Drummer" break a bajillion times, you could almost hear how it happened.

Posted by Sarah Askari at October 30, 2007 3:32 PM | Comments (0)

 

MMAs Have Moved to March

Filed under: Local Music

Hey, what happened to the 2007 Minnesota Music Awards? Last year's were held on October 1, and hosted by Brian Oake and Mary Lucia at First avenue, when the whole shebang seemed to have regained what cred it lost from previous years' balloting mishaps and far-flung venues. Turns out the 27th Annual MMA's have moved to March of 2008--March 2, tentatively--under new Minnesota Music Academy president Lance Cunningham, a former VP for the academy who runs the Minneapolis-based Somnio Artist Group label (Far From Falling, A Verse Unsung).

"We moved back the award show to be more in sync with the calendar year," says Cunningham, who adds that nominations will be taken for anything Minnesotan from between mid-August of last year through December 2007. The only probable losers in this scenario, considering timetable confusion: Bands that released albums in mid-August of last year. Does Mark Mallman's last one count? Reached for comment, Mallman couldn't remember what month it was released.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at October 26, 2007 11:36 AM | Comments (0)

 

It's Minnesota Beer Time!

Filed under: Food , Food , Food , Food , Food

It's no shocker that the Midwest, often referred to as the Grain Belt, makes great beer. And though lately Minnesota has experienced a beer renaissance of sorts with brands such as Surly and Summit, as well as notable brewpubs like Town Hall, Minnesotans have been producing beer as far back as colonization. Doug Hoverson, a beer judge, teacher, and drink enthusiast, has meticulously reconstructed the history of Minnesota beer, from homebrews to Hamms to the present, in Amber Water: The History of Brewing in Minnesota. He took a moment in his busy schedule to chat with City Pages.

CP: What originally peaked your interest in Minnesota beer and its history?

DH: When I was at college I had some friends that got me interested in beer other than the readily available, heavily advertised, light beers, and when I came back to Minnesota it was just as Summit and James Page was starting to bring out their new beers. From there I started experimenting with different types of beers to see what was out there. I didn’t really have the idea for writing a book for another 10 years— I was looking at some old newspapers from Morehead back in the 1880s to for a paper I was writing on the Northern Pacific Railroad, and I came across some ads from old breweries I had never heard of. At that point I started to look around to see if there was a book on MN breweries There wasn’t. I thought it might be a fun book to write so I got started.

CP: I see that you’re a beer judge. How does one become an expert in the subject? What are some of things you look for during competition?

DH: The process for training is basically, local homebrew clubs put on a 40-hour class usually 3 hours a night over 12 to13 weeks. At the end you take a three, three and a half, hour and a half test where you describe beer styles, write sample ballots on mystery beers, and describe the brewing process. It’s a fairly tough test. You have to know a lot of trivia about types of ingredients and particular styles. Judging it, it’s really more like a dog show than anything else— it might be the cutest dog ever, but if it doesn’t look like what that particular type of dog is supposed to look like, it can’t win. With beer it’s the same thing—it might be your absolute favorite beer, but if they’re claiming it’s a pilsner, and it doesn’t have the right characteristics, it’s not a winner.

CP: Have you found you have a greater understanding and appreciation of chemistry through your beer research?

DH: Definitely! When I was working on the book, as well as training to be a beer judge, I had to learn things about amino acids and temperatures of reactions—things that I paid no attention to when I was doing chemistry in high school and college.

CP: What are some common misperceptions about beer—be it historical inaccuracies, or just general beer misperceptions that irk you?

DH: One of theories that comes up is what exactly bock beer is. There seems to be a perception that bock beer, because it’s much darker, is whatever is left in the tank at the end of the year, and they scrape that out and turn it into bock. There’s never anything left in the tank at the end of the brewing cycle, it’s absolutely clean afterwards. Bock is simply made stronger, with a darker grain mix. It would be like saying you made a pot of tea, and whatever you scrape at the bottom is coffee— you have to make coffee, and bock is an intentional product.

CP: It’s curious that the beverage industry often reflects trends in society more so than many other products. Why do you think that is?

DH: Beer is ultimately a luxury product. I think because of that it is more sensitive to trends. You don’t have to have it, so you’re going to choose it for enjoyment and the types of things that cause enjoyment change with the culture. There’s a big move with organic beers for example, because that has become important to people. For some, being accepted by a big group is what’s important, so Miller Lite, Bud Lite, and Coors is what you are looking for in a luxury product.

CP: It sometimes seems like we are moving away from local and independent businesses—bookstores being an obvious example. Yet the exact opposite seems to be happening with beers—Surly, for one, has become quite a local superstar.

DH: I think one difference, especially in the case of bookstores or small independent newspapers, is that it's hard to enjoy beer over the internet. There's something about the place where you're enjoying the beer. A lot of the enjoyment is the setting. One of the reasons Coors was so popular in Minnesota in the '70s, and Fat Tire is so popular now, is that it's a beer that people had out West on vacation, and so it has a good association.

CP: Are there any recent local beer developments that have you excited?

DH: Surly brewing is one that has to be mentioned. They’re products are always creative. I think it’s interesting that they decided to start canning instead of bottling. That way, it also finds a different customer group—people that play ultimate Frisbee or take it to the beach— the outdoorsy set The scene around the Twin Cities is quite active with Surly, Flat Earth, and the old standbys. There’s a lot of good beer being made—raising the standards so hopefully we can get away from people having to have 12 Miller Lites to have a good time, how about 3 or 4 nice beers. We’re not quite Milwaukee or Denver, bu we do have a lot of good people. It seems like all of the brewers really get along. There’s competitiveness at tasting events and festivals, but they’re all friendly and complimenting each other.

CP: I’ve noticed a certain stigma amongst beer snobs with canned beer…

DH: Which is another misconception. Let’s face it—the inside of a keg is an aluminum can. Most of the negative association comes from that when people drink straiggt from the can, they can taste whatever was on the top of the can. Plus, the beer hasn’t had a chance to get rid of the excess carbon dioxide from being poured into a glass.

CP: Amber Waters lays out a timeline of beer brewing and consumption in Minnesota that actually predates Minnesota as a state. What were some of the methods you used to reconstruct this history?

DH: There were a fair number of limitations because a number of the documents from the time are long gone. Sometimes I knew a brewery was in a town before the town had a newspaper, sometimes I would discover just by luck that someone else had recorded it and that info made it into a history book. Sometimes I would find references in family histories to someone starting a brewery. A lot of the earliest material was really tough to find. Once we're into the 1850s, almost every town had a newspaper, and at that point I could track info on a much more reliable basis. By 1862, the excise taxes were collected by the federal government, so I had incredible details on who brewed how much and when because the government needed their money.

CP: What are some of the more interesting examples of breweriana you came across in your research?

DH: I hadn’t realized that some of the first beer had been packaged in stoneware bottles. There were a number of early brewerina (items produced with beer logos on it)— and really early, it’s few and far between, but by the 1880s, breweries were buying taverns and stocking them with extremely fancy signs, and furniture with the logo on it.

CP: Do you keep a hefty collection yourself? I noticed that a lot of the pictures in the book are credited to your collection.

DH: Not particularly. Most of my stuff is fairly cheap. I collected mostly because I knew I would need them for the book.

CP: Do you anticipate another bust in small, local breweries in the future? Do you view the new era of microbreweries and smaller brewers as a progressive success, or is the industry cyclical?

DH: In this particular case, if there's a bust it will be a long ways away. There was a little bit of a shake-out in the craft breweries in the mid-1990s, but there weren't too many Minnesota breweries affected by it since there weren't too many at the time. Minnesota breweries have been creative and smart about making sure that they aren't duplicating each other's product. Schell is famous for their pilsners, wheat beer, and Octoberfest. Summit is more famous for their pale ale and porter. Surly makes beers that defy style guidelines.

CP: What do you think have been the strengths and weaknesses of MN beers, both past and present?

DH: Well, I think the brewers that function in Minnesota are as good as any in the country. We have some really top-notch people doing really creative work. One of the limitations of Minnesota brewing is that some of the laws are more restrictive than in other states. So, some people interested in starting a brewery somewhere might not pick Minnesota because of the tangled laws that they have top cut through, and there are a few that were interested in Minnesota, and they just discovered that Wisconsin was easier to deal with.

CP: Any tips for people interested in getting into homebrew?

DH: The best tip would be to check in with people at homebrew stores, and join a club. We have an upcoming event—on Saturday November 3, a bunch of homebrew clubs will be meeting outside at Barley John’s Brewpub in New Brighton. We’ll be encouraging anyone interested to watch ask questions and watch a series of batches being brewed.

Come see Doug discuss all things beer in Minnesota at several lectures through the city, including one at the Summit Brewing Company (be sure to get there early). Free. 7:00 p.m. 910 Montreal Cir., St. Paul, 651.265.7800. Also 5:00 p.m. Sunday at Magers & Quinn Booksellers (3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612.822.4611). Check out calendar for other related readings and talks.

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at October 25, 2007 1:08 PM | Comments (0)

 

Haunting the Loch Ness

Filed under: Q&A

As a paranormal investigator, Chad Lewis has, over the years, tracked the elusive chupacabra, toured the infamous Loch Ness, hunted vampires in Transylvania, and visited the standard haunted house. He organizes the Unexplained Conferences and is the host of The Unexplained TV and radio shows. He found a moment in this busy Halloween season to talk to City Pages.

City Pages: How did you first become interested in the paranormal?

Chad Lewis: I was studying psychology at the University of Wisconsin—Stout. I was really interested in the paranormal for years before that but I was interested at that point why people were believing or why they didn’t believe in the paranormal. What was it about our human belief systems or our perception that made some people believe and others not believe. This was back when the UFO phenomenon was huge. You couldn’t go anywhere without somebody wearing an alien on their shirt, things of that nature. So I started presenting this research at symposiums and people would come up to me and tell me, “I know this isn’t really what you’re doing right now, but I think my home may be haunted.” Or, “You know what? I saw something in my backyard that I can’t explain. It looked like a Bigfoot creature. Could you help me investigate it?” And it really blossomed from there and it led to crop circle research, vampires, UFPs, alien abductions, werewolves, hauntings, ESP-- you name it. If it’s weird, I’ve investigated it.

CP: Do you use your Master’s Degree in Applied Psychology?

CL: Yeah, I think I use it quite a bit and probably more than a lot of my colleagues that were in the same program that I was in, because the paranormal really is dealing with people. A lot of the cases that we get, whether it’s UFO, whether it’s Bigfoot, whether it’s haunted locations, what you get are eyewitness reports from people. So dealing with people, knowing how to interview people, looking for people that might be trying to pull a hoax or might not be telling the absolute truth, or just learning how to ask a question without it being a leading question. So I think I use psychology in every case. Even though I didn’t plan to set out doing this, I think psychology is one of the best backgrounds you can have for this type of work.

CP: What’s a day in the life of a paranormal investigator like?

CL: It varies, but I’ll give you a typical day. Obviously October’s a little different than every other day or month or year. But what usually happens is, you know, I wake up like everyone else and start on some work, usually doing some research about a case that I had heard of. For instance, let’s say it’s a ghost case. I’ll go to the historical society, try to dig up some information about it, visit some of the locals of that area, talk to people, try to get more information. The day consists of speaking to the media, especially this time of year, I probably speak with fifteen different media people a day during October. But then some of the day I have set aside for emails. I receive probably two to three hundreds emails a week from people around the US. And then I try to squeeze in some time to actually write and put this research into a new book project. So it’s a combination of doing the research, talking with people, doing the promotion for the research and then the actual writing up of the research.

CP: Are you funded by private people or mostly from grants?

CL: Neither, actually. Both my research partner [Terry Fisk] and I do not charge for any type of investigation that we do. People who do charge, I would be very skeptical of those people because when somebody says that their home may be haunted and they want us to come investigate, what service are we really doing for them? We might try and find out what’s happening, see if there’s a logical or normal explanation. But in the end, what service are we really providing? I just wouldn’t feel right about charging for something like that. All of our research is funded by our books and our speaking engagements. Up to about a year ago, both my research partner and I were working in “real” careers, if you will. You know, real jobs, not this. But it got to be so much that we just couldn’t do both things any more and we had to go full time doing this.

CP: Honestly, Chad, do you really believe in ghosts?

CL: Well, that’s a very interesting question and probably the question that I get asked most often. And I’m going to give you an answer, I’m not going to side-step that question. I do. Here’s the kicker, I believe that people are seeing these things, whether they’re the spirits of their deceased relatives, whether it’s some type of hallucination, whether it’s the memory of the earth that’s being re-played over much like if you were watching a video, it’s just something that’s happened in the past. I think something’s happening but I don’t know what that is. But I’ve talked to too many intelligent, down to earth people that have had something happen to them, that I’m firmly convinced that something’s happening. But after fourteen years of doing this, I don’t know what that is. And that’s part of what keeps me moving and keeps me interested in this field is that I still don’t know what happens when we die. I don’t know if we’re alone in the universe and I certainly don’t know if we’ve captured every animal here on the planet. So I think like most of your readers, I’m still curious. But I certainly do believe these things are happening and I’m looking to try to find out, well, what exactly are these things?

CP: What do you think ghosts haunt a certain location? Why don’t these spirits or whatever they are just move on?

CL: Well, the short answer for that is I don’t know. I don’t have the answer to that. I’ll certainly speculate on some theories for you. One being that when someone passes on, whether it was a natural death or a murder or suicide or untimely death, one of the theories is that for some reason they have some unfinished business here and that in order for them to move on to wherever it is we move on, if we do, they have to finish that. Others in the area throw out the theory that ghosts do not know that they’re deceased, that they’re just continuing to do the daily things that they’d done while they were alive and at some level not really knowing or not really accepting that they’re no longer among the living. And then there’s the other theory that when you’re seeing these things, it’s not actually the spirit of someone who has deceased, but it is, like I mentioned, it’s just a replay of an event that has happened before. Oftentimes when there are ghost sightings where there’s no interaction between the ghost and the witness and the ghost appears to be doing the same thing over and over and over, that is what is called a residual haunting, meaning that it’s a replay of something that has happened in the past and not really the evidence of the afterlife. I should leave out the theory that it’s nothing more than a hallucination or mass hysteria that when people are seeing these things, it’s just a misfiring of the brain or that they want to see and believe so bad that they’re almost creating this type of apparition or paranormal activity. So there are a number of theories and I really don’t know.

CP: Are you ever involved in the cleansing of the area or trying to get an area rid of a ghost?

CL: Yeah, we do. Now, we don’t normally do it ourselves, but we’ve got so many contacts that we’ll put somebody in touch with someone who does that. And we always like to go along on these things because it’s really fun and it’s very interesting to see all these psychics or these intuitives work and a lot of the times that’s what people are looking for. They want somebody to come and cleanse their house or get rid of the spirit. And if there was a list of psychic ability, I’d probably be last on that list. So I have to put people in contact with those that we think are reputable people in that field. And again there’s no charge on that because I just don’t think it would be ethical to charge somebody for something like that.

CP: What do you say to skeptics to debunkers?

CL: I would say, “I know exactly how you feel. I don’t know whether or not some of these stories I believe.” What I always state in my presentations and in the book is that we’re going to provide the best research that we can. We’re going to try to sort fact from fiction, give you an accurate history about the place, give you the best eye witness reports we can and then let the person make up their own minds. If you read the book or come to a presentation or our website or whatever and you leave there thinking ghosts or UFOs or crop circles don’t exist, that’s fine. If you think that they do exist, that’s fine as well. We never try to shape somebody’s beliefs because we certainly don’t have all of the answers and I think a lot of the people who come to these things or pick up the book, may not even necessarily be believers, but they’re curious. And they might say to themselves, I don’t know if ghosts exist or haunted locations are out there, but you know what? Especially this time of year, I’m curious and I want to see what this is all about. So when people, especially debunkers and skeptics come up to me, they’re often surprised when they tell me about some of their hesitation that I don’t want to argue with them, that I understand exactly where they’re coming from. And I think for some people that’s disappointing because they want me to try to convince them which I’m still working on figuring out my own theories and beliefs so I certainly couldn’t tell somebody else.

CP: What’s the strangest or scariest incident that you’ve investigated?

CL: That was actually in the country of Belize. We were searching for this creature of the jungles and the forests. The only way we could get a night tour of the river of this place was to hire a guide in a make-shift canoe. And it was labeled as a crocodile tour because the river that you’re in is infested with gators and crocodiles all over. And it was in the middle of Belize which is very rural, very poor, there’s no streetlights, there’s no other lights out there, it’s dark, black. And we show up at the river – it was just my wife and myself and this guide – and he brings out the canoe. And you sit in this canoe and you’re literally right on the water, like if you moved to one side or the other an inch or two, that things gonna tip and water’s gonna come in. And I didn’t think that thing could even hold water, but we were paddling down this river surrounded by crocodiles and I didn’t know if I was more scared of the crocodiles or of this creature called the tata duende that is said to roam the riverbanks. Probably the crocodiles. There was a point when I wanted to say, “I don’t want to do this. I really do not want to be here right now.” I felt scared both physically and psychologically, but somehow I made it through it.

CP: When you die, what location are you going to haunt?

CL: A lot of wonderful places. I’d probably haunt near Lock Ness in Scotland, just the banks of the Loch because it’s just such a beautiful area. But here in the United States, I’d probably haunt a small northern Wisconsin town where a little resort called Little Bohemia is located because that’s the place where John Dillinger is said to haunt with a few of the gangsters. It has a huge history of people in northern Wisconsin gathering there. So I think I would probably haunt someplace like that. You’re out in the country, it’s a beautiful wooded northern Wisconsin town and you couldn’t ask for much more.

CP: What’s the best place in the Twin Cities to go for a ghost sighting?

CL: I would recommend – and I’m biased on this because of the whole Dillinger connection again – but I would recommend the Wabasha Street Caves in St. Paul and not only because it’s deemed to be haunted by several men who were shot to death in there, former gangster that hung out – but you have all these hauntings and a very good possibility that something would happen to you there, but you also have a very unique history. This place started out as a mushroom factory, turned into a glass plant, then it was a speakeasy, a nightclub, and it still continues to live on over all these years. It was a hang out for St. Paul’s gangster element so you have not only the opportunity for a haunting, but you certainly have an opportunity for a very exciting history lesson as well. So I would recommend people travel to the Street Caves there and they actually give tours, which is very unique.

CP: It was nice talking to you.

CL: Well, thank you. And keep an eye out ‘cause you never know when you might see something weird.

Lewis’s book The Minnesota Road Guide to Haunted Locations is a must-read for anyone looking to freak themselves out this Halloween or any time of the year. He will be discussing the books at the Maple Grove Library this Sunday. Free. 2:00 p.m. 8351 Elm Creek Blvd., Brooklyn Park; 952.847.5550.

Posted by Rhena Tantisunthorn at October 19, 2007 2:47 PM | Comments (1)

 

Minnesotans Represent on Conan Tonight

Filed under: Television

It's a Twin Cities bonanza tonight on The Conan O'Brien Show (NBC, 11:30 p.m.). Minnesota native (and rumored resident) Josh Hartnett will be pimping his vampire flick, 30 Days of Night, while local hip hop favorite Brother Ali will be showing up to perform with Mint Condition backing him. Actor Jack McBrayer (30 Rock) will also be talking shop, but whatever— he's from Georgia. Too bad they didn't film the show somewhere local like the Walker...

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at October 19, 2007 2:45 PM | Comments (1)

 

Trick, or Treat?

Filed under: Advertising

Who doesn't want approximately $2.79 worth in candy? This is the logic behind KMart's new seasonal television/internet synergy campaign, which promises free bags of goodies. Last Wednesday the megaconglomerate began airing commercials with a "secret code" on one of the gravestones in the background. Those looking for their free sugar fix simply have to report the code to KMart.com.

The catch?

Think about it: basically KMart wants you to watch their commerical really closely to find the hidden code on a tombstone, then log on to their website and fill out a contact form so they can send you SPAM and snail mail ads. In return, they send you $2.79 worth of sugar. Fair trade?

Are you a sucker? Glue yourself to the TV waiting for the commercial, then check out www.KMart.com if so...

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at October 19, 2007 12:14 PM | Comments (0)

 

Benefit for a rapper who broke his face

Filed under: Local Music

From our email (click image for larger flyer): "Hello everybody. A show this Wednesday at the Dinkytowner is a benefit for New MC. He was involved in a serious accident in which he may never be able to breathe properly again without surgery, which in turn would mean that he would not be able to rap again, something that's he been doing a better part of his life. I'm giving you heads up because this show is filled with Minneapolis hip-hop artists (Big Quarters, Ernie Rhodes, Trama, Ill Chemistry) who Zach Combs has helped throughout the years and will definitely be a show not to miss. It's just pure evidence on how big of an asset Zach Combs is and has been throughout the years.

"His story, in his own words is below and attached is the flyer. This show will probably be one of the most entertaining hip-hop shows this year, and it's for a good cause.

"Just giving you a friendly heads up.

"Zach's story:

"Yo this is kinda odd putting my personal problems on the internet but I just got a call from Unicus (of Kanser) and the Dinkytowner is putting a last minute fundraiser show on for me this Wednesday because I need to have emergency surgery on my face by next weekend, and so I can answer every body in the Hip Hop scenes questions at once I'll right what happend.

"Ya'll all know how I like to woof up stories and tell them at shows, well this one might be the most nuts thing that every happened to me. I would like every one to just laugh (with me or at me) and not feel sorry for me, the shits just life but its pretty funny I guess.

"Yesterday I was biking threw Uptown on some rap shit putting up posters headed to 5th Element to drop Kevin Beachum a CD. I stopped at the Wedge to put up some posters, then I got a phone call. Since I was on the phone I started biking real slow behind two half way homeless looking dudess. They moved to the left side of the side walk and ask me to go by them, I just shook my head at them cause I was on the phone and stayed to the right. So their on the left side and I'm on the right side. We go about 10 feet and looking down I see a bunch of dollar bills in the grass on the right side of the sidewalk. Since I was on the phone I said out loud 'Oh shit I just found a bunch a money!' I snacthed it up and put it in my pocket. The two dudes ahead of me heard me say it turned around and as I picked it up said 'Yo thats our money.' I was like 'Ya right, how it fall out your pocket and float across the side walk?' Neither of these dudes looked like a threat so I was basically like take it from me. They were babblen real fast saying they lost it like a half an hour ago and have been walking down Lyndale looking for it. I didnt believe them but I thought it is only money, these dudes look like they need it more than I do. I said 'If you can tell me how much it was I'll give it to you.'

"They said it was 60$ because they just sold 60$ worth of scrap metal to the junk yard. I pulled it out of my pocket we all looked at it and it was 80$. SO I was like fuck ya'll and just took off on my bike. They yelled 'Stop that guys he just robbed us!!.' and a couple Uptown Wedge shoppers tried to grab me off my bike like I was on some criminal shit. I was on my boy Treys GT bmx bike so I shook everybody quick and bent into the alley with Uptown people yelling at me. I dont think any hippy/hipster person in all of Uptown can accually beat me up but I was thinking this is so weird just get away from here fast. I mwas almost in the clear when this average nerdy white dude accross the street close lined me off my bike going full speed....and broke my nose and shattered my face. In the next 60 seconds the two dudes who tried to rob me, the dude who closed line me and every one else just started appologising as fast as they could, I wanted to fight everyone around me but dude to the fact I was losing blood out my face like a fossit I wasnt in the position to fight anyone.

"This whole event happened in less time than it just took ya'll to read it, like maybe 45-60 seconds tops. The police came, the ambulance came ...long story short I got to the hospital but I dont have medical insurance. My nose bleed all night and at about 8:30am this morning the doctors told me I need 4,000$ plus surgery by next weekend or I will never be able to breath right again .......That means no more rapping. Since my only income is rapping I kinda stuck in a spot. I feel weird asking for hand outs but Shiz & some of the other INTERLOCK homies have scraped up about 2,000$ in a day and are throwing a benefit show this weds oct 17th at the Dinkytowner. I think the DInkytowner has offered to throw in a free drink for anyone who pays. -NEW MC, aka Big Zach of Kanser

"Best,

Chris Cloud"

Discussion thread at DUNation

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at October 16, 2007 7:02 PM | Comments (1)

 

Somali Horror Film Trailer

Filed under: Film

Baraanbur -Curse Of The Demon

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Bored with Iranian cinema? Can't sit through another Russian vampire flick? Well, it's your lucky weekend, 'cause the first-ever Somali horror film is premiering at the Riverview Theatre. Buraanbur and the Curse of the Demon was produced by Liban D.J., the man who brought you Somali-sotan classics such as Flight 13 and Sportsman.45. From what I've heard, the plot revolves around a Somali man's worse nightmare--demonically possessed wives who turn homicidal on their hubbies. The movie screens both Friday and Saturday nights, at midnight.

Posted by Sarah Askari at October 11, 2007 12:27 PM | Comments (2)

 

A more local B96?

Twin Cities R&B/hip-hop station B96 (KTTB 96.3 FM) has been under new, local ownership since September 1, having passed from Washington, D.C.'s Radio One to a new company called Northern Lights Broadcasting, LLC. The business is run by veteran local broadcaster Steve Woodbury, and owned by the Pohlad family (who also own the Twins). "It's just an investment to them," says Woodbury. "They don't look at it in terms of whether they like the format or not."

It's been well publicized already that the format won't change at B96, but we were wondering if the station might not be more open to local music under local ownership. "You gotta be kind of careful, because if you play a lot of unfamiliar music, people aren't going to listen to you," says Woodbury. "But there's things that I can do locally that I probably couldn't do with a national group, because I don't have to go to corporate and have them analyze it. I can't go into specifics, but there's things we're going to be doing that I know Radio One would not have been inclined to let us do."

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at October 5, 2007 3:30 PM | Comments (1)

 

Please buy Clay Eals' wonderful Steve Goodman biography

Filed under: Music

In honor of the Chicago Cubs (undoubtedly shortlived) presence in the playoffs, Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn has declared it Steve Goodman Day. The diminutive Chicago folkie, who penned the best damn baseball song ever written in "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" (listen to it here), died 23 years ago from leukemia at the not-so-ripe age of 36. (The Wrigley faithful naturally prefer Goodman's much sunnier "Go Cubs Go," which apparently is enjoying a Renaissance of sorts this season.)

Goodman's best known for penning "City of New Orleans," which Arlo Guthrie scored a hit with in 1972. Renditions by Judy Collins, John Denver, Willie Nelson, and a slew of others followed. He also wrote "Banana Republics," an acid-tongued paean to American ex-pats living in the Caribbean that's generally associated Jimmy Buffet.

But Goodman was also a virtuoso guitarist (remarkable considering his 5' 2" frame) and a comic imp who could win over the most retractable of audiences. How many folkies, after all, could've survived opening for Steve Martin during the height of the wild-and-crazy-guy years? Armed with a passel of what he dubbed schtick-kicking songs, Goodman disarmed jackasses with arrows in their heads for years.

His studio albums never quite captured Goodman's peculiar genius. Probably the best of the bunch is Somebody Else's Troubles, his second album, which features Bob Dylan on piano on one track. There's also been a slew of swell posthumous live releases. But easily the best means by which to get acquainted with Goodman's music is through No Big Surprise: The Steve Goodman Anthology. Released in 1994, it includes one disc of studio material and another of live cuts. From the lovely spiritual "I'll Fly Away" to the outrageously crass nuclear holocaust number "Watchin' Joey Glow," it's a knee-bucklingly good collection.

All of which is a rather roundabout way of getting to the point of this post: Clay Eals' excellent, exhaustive Goodman biography Facing the Music. Released in May by ECW Press, it's roughly the size of a phone book for a mid-sized American city. Eals interviewed more than 1,000 people in researching the book, from Hillary Clinton (a classmate at Maine East high school in suburban Chicago) to David Allen Coe, the outlaw country singer who scored a hit with "You Never Even Call Me By My Name," the goofy country parody that Goodman wrote with frequent crony John Prine. Adorned with hundreds of photographs from throughout his life, the volume is a sweet valentine.

Eals is particularly adept at describing the burgeoning Chicago folk scene of the 70s that propelled Goodman and Prine to national renown. My favorite anecdote is a late-night gathering at the swank Palmer House hotel in Chicago that involves the unlikely assemblage of Kris Kristofferson, Paul Anka, Donnie Fritts, Lola Falana, Melvin Van Peebles, and a 22-year-old Goodman. The night ends with Anka offering to fly Goodman out to New York and set him up with a recording contract.

This heady start never quite developed into the commercial success that Goodman craved. His albums pretty much bombed. He drew succor from the road, gigging relentlessly even as leukemia sucked the life out of him. And he never lost his wit, dubbing himself Cool Hand Leuk right down to his last days. Eals recounts all of this with intelligence and compassion.

Posted by Paul Demko at October 5, 2007 1:41 PM | Comments (0)

 

Deerhoof at the Walker

Filed under: Concert Review

Click the photo for the slideshow

Review by Christopher Matthew Jensen
Photos by Daniel Corrigan

I feel like I just got beaten up by a fourth grader. San Francisco art-rock darlings Deerhoof just blasted the hell out of any high-art pretensions at a sit-down affair at the Walker Arts Center.

Down to a trio after the 2006 departure of guitarist Chris Cohen, the band was sleek as a jaguar--and equally vicious. Focused more on their rock/pop element than their artsy experimental side, they ran through their set like kids in a candy store, bouncing from one bin to the next, often running strings of songs from the same album together.

Vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki played a bass about as long as she is tall, and danced around as if hop-scotching or performing jumping jacks. Her sugar-sweet voice anchored the music as it ventured into odd melodic blurts and rhythmic pretzels.

Traversing a sonic galaxy, guitarist John Dietereich's sound was huge and epic, at times sounding like other instruments such as trumpets or synthesizers. From bowel-rattling crunch to shrill feedback squeals, the Wisconsin native navigated absurd changes in contour without ever making it look strenuous.

Drummer Greg Saunier displayed the most energy, huffing and puffing and banging his kit like Art Blakey on a furious 'roid rage. Large chunks of wood flew into the air as he shattered sticks and struck harder than his grip could manage. He also attacked the heads directly with his body, using his palms, fists, elbows, wrists, and forearms.

Rampaging through the group's catalog with no apparent desire to focus on their latest release, Friend Opportunity, the band kept their performance to about an hour, including an encore. Befitting their cute yet crazy sound, the show ended with Matsuzaki holding a stuffed bird up to the mic that triggered a squeaky recording when she squeezed it.

Better Than: Shit, you name it!

By the Way: Guitarist John Dietrich used to live in Minnesota, and Deerhoof once released a track on a split 7" for the local label Modern Radio.

Random Detail: While not all that talkative, Matsuzaki did take the time to inform audience members that their friends Old Time Relijun would be playing later in the evening across the river at Big V's.

Personal Bias: I've probably spun Deerhoof's 2005 record, The Runner's Four, more than any other album released in the last three years.

Posted by Nick PapaGiorgio at October 4, 2007 1:00 PM | Comments (0)

 

Anarcho-Hobo Army Takes Downtown

Filed under: Concert Review

Click the Image to Watch the Slideshow

March 4rth at the Foundation - Wednesday, September 26
Review by Sarah Askari
Photos by Tony Nelson

You can take the punk of the gutter-- and put him on stilts, even-- but
you can't take the anarchy out of the punk. The March Fourth marching
band, an outfit hailing from Portland, Oregon, blew through town on tour
this week.

Their gig was scheduled for the Foundation Nightclub, but a marching
band can't really stretch its wings in the basement of the Lumber
Exchange Building, can it? It seemed fitting that they started the
evening with a procession down Hennepin Avenue. It had just rained, and
the sparkles on their costumes reflected the same light that was
bouncing out of puddles.

The band's aesthetic is a mix of burlesque revival, train bum, and
Burning Man. They sport two daring stiltwalkers and two charming dancers
in addition to the 16 members of the brass and percussion section.

They walked so willingly into the dark cage of the Foundation--maybe
they knew the end of the night would be spent stealing Minneapolis's
children. I can see it--they would raise the little waifs to play hot
trombone licks and dirty New Orleans romps, and teach them how to eat
like gourmets from the dumpsters behind Whole Foods stores across the
nation.

Inside the club, there was no arguing with the driving beats of the
marchers. Most everybody danced. That much brass in that little space
means that the nondancing part of your spirit is handily outvoted by the
hip-shakin' part.

And even with all that flashing metal--on the sax, on the trombones, and
the weird welded wings of the snare drummers--there was still more to
look at. The sassy winking and constant capers of the dancers were a
nice compliment to their intergalactic space-hussy outfits. Just because
you believe in brass doesn't mean it has to be your one-and-only.

Posted by Nick PapaGiorgio at October 1, 2007 8:00 PM | Comments (0)

 

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