General Archive

Easy Writer: Minnesotan Richard 'Dead Eye' Hayes lives life on the road

Filed under: Q&A , Q&A , Q&A , Q&A

Photo by Sue Kearns

A one-eyed Buddhist Harley rider and a 70-year-old writing teacher probably seem like an unlikely pairing.

Yet it works for Richard "Dead Eye" Hayes and Mary Gardner. The two formed a friendship after Gardner began researching motorcycles for her fourth novel, infiltrating the biker community with her homemade cookies. With her editing help, Hayes eventually penned his autobiography, Outlaw Biker: My Life at Full Throttle. In it he details years spent in the Twin Cities dealing drugs, helping to run a bike shop, and raising two daughters, plus high-stakes gambling in Vegas and kicking ass in general. Both Mary and Dead Eye took a moment between writing to speak with City Pages.

CP: You and Mary are an unlikely collaborative pair. Can you talk a little bit about how you two became friends?

Dead Eye: About five years ago a friend of mine, Butch, passed away. I met Mary at his funeral. She was an author that had hung around the shop while researching her fourth novel, which had some bikers in it. I ended up meeting her just shortly before it came out. She asked me to do a blurb for the book, which I did. We got to be friends. She suggested I write my life story, and she talked me into giving it a try. So I ended up giving her 30 pages of childhood experiences. That was the start of it.

CP: Did you ever think you would pen your autobiography?

DE: No. I dropped out of school in ninth grade, and I'm a terrible speller. So writing a book was not on my list of things to do. When I did sit down to write it, I really didn't think it would ever get published; I did it more as a cleansing thing. Then all of a sudden we had agents and the manuscript was accepted. I was faced with the realization: Shit, maybe I shouldn't have written a lot of the stuff I had. It was nerve-wracking. I showed the book to my daughters and other family members. Some of them had had some idea that I had been involved in certain things, but some stories were a complete surprise.

CP: Mary, as you were editing did you ever find yourself censoring things from his past?

MG: I think there was a certain amount of self-censorship with Dead Eye. I think the book is amazingly open for a man of that generation who has led that life. To be able to put all those experiences down I think is a tremendous expression of Dead Eye’s nature and to his honesty about himself.

CP: Do you think Dead Eye had any worries about having so much of his life out there?

MG: I think he’s afraid of losing some of his street cred. I think it’s not so much the violent stuff he had done. His concern was that I might be upset. Of course it didn’t upset me at all, because it’s just his life. He also reveals a lot of tenderness about himself. There might be a little concern that he will be seen as too nice.

CP: Mary, what was it like hanging with bikers? Were you ever completely out of your element?

MG: Not at all. I felt honored that I was accepted because it is a very closed community. I always thought they were beyond imaginable fun. I was one of those girls that played cowboys all the time. I'm not a tomboy, but I find that outlaw image very interesting. You have to realize, in biker society, members can be violent with each other and into criminal things, which isn't true so much now as when Dead Eye was young. Bikers are also almost always chivalrous to children and old ladies.

CP: Mary, do you ever get frustrated by negative perception people might have of bikers?

MG: I think a lot of us have trouble imaging how a life that isn’t like our life is a valid life; not just with motorcycle people. I’m not a crusader, I don’t speak for or against bikers, people just have their lives. Obviously, Dead Eye has perceived some things in ways I don’t perceive them. But we aren’t put on this earth to make over other people perceptions. I’m sure Dead Eye finds many things about me different to say the least.

CP: Dead Eye, you've really seen the Twin Cities bike scene come of age. How has it changed over the years? Has it changed at all?

DE: I think it's changed a lot, especially in regards to motor clubs. Thirty years ago a lot of the clubs where just forming. People were fighting for positions, and everyone was building reputations. We were laying the groundwork. The whole atmosphere was different. It was more "wild west." Twenty-five to 30 years ago, there was a lot of conflict between clubs. Now, I am vice president of the Minnesota Motorcycle Club Coalition, which encompasses 20 different motorcycle groups. The lines of communication are now more open between clubs. You can pick up a phone instead of a bat. I think everything has to evolve. Twenty-five years ago it was looser and rougher. I myself was involved in drugs. Now, everyone has moved on from that mentality. People have jobs, we're working, and we have families.

CP: You mention in later chapters that you practice Buddhism. How has that affected your day-to-day life? Many of your past occupations (drug dealing, collections bounty hunter, chef) strike me as a little un-zen.

DE: I try to be more understanding. I’m not quite as quick-tempered as I used to be. I do a little inner searching before I do something. Some old habits are hard to break. I try to be more understanding with people, but sometimes it doesn’t work.

CP: I find it intriguing that it's not entirely uncommon that motorcycle enthusiasts to practice Buddhism. Do you have any theories as to why?

DE: Maybe it’s the openness, the honesty, the inner searching you spend on a motorcycle just thinking. A lot of people turn to inner thoughts when on the road; I know I do a lot. I can be having a terrible day, and every thing is going badly, yet when I jump on a motorcycle, it just blows out all the cobwebs.

CP: Anything upcoming events that you are excited about?

DE: We’re putting on several poker runs this year. The money for one will go to Camp Courage, and another is going to Fishing without Boundaries, which helps handicapped kids. We’re also doing a toy drive around Christmas. We do work to change the biker image. A lot of people are stuck with the 60s mentality of what motorcycle clubs used to be, especially the police.

CP: Why the recent harassment?

DE: They’re looking for guns and drugs. They’re 25 years too late. We’re not really into that anymore.

Hear Dead Eye and Mary discuss Outlaw Biker, which is in its third publication and has recently been published in England, tonight at Magers & Quinn.

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at April 23, 2008 4:20 PM | Comments (2)

 

Marya Horbacher discusses Madness

Filed under: Books , Books , Books

Marya Hornbacher was only 22 when she received critical praise for her bestselling memoir, Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia, which recounted her childhood and teen years spent cycling through health care facilities, state institutions, and family homes in hopes of breaking destructive cycles. The true root of her problem wasn't determined until several years later, when she was diagnosed with Type 1 rapid-cycle bipolar, the most severe and difficult to treat form of the disorder. In Madness: A Bipolar Life she recounts the struggles she's faced in managing the illness with intelligence, honesty, and even humor. The award-winning journalist, lecturer, and author took a moment to chat with City Pages.

City Pages: There are moments early on in Madness where you express embarrassment that you suffer from bipolar. Yet you talk very openly about your experience now. How were you able to become more open?

Marya Hornbacher: I think Wasted was not as difficult because I was a little bit… younger. I think when you’re younger its easier to say, “To hell with it! This is the deal, this is what I have experienced, these are my thoughts on the larger issues, this is the story.” With Madness, I had to suck it up and say, “Alright, I think this is an important issue. I think there are a lot of people that go through this, and are curious about bipolar disorder. This is something I want to write, as a writer.” In the end I wanted to write a book about this, and it’s an important story.

CP: You’ve written two memoirs. Do you ever find it difficult or upsetting that so much of your life is out there?

MH: Yeah. It would be more comfortable if I had never written a book about myself. They’re books about my life, but not so much about me. When you’re writing memoir, it’s a shaped story; not just about my life. My life story would be drastically boring; nothing really happens. Yeah, people have 300 pages about something I know about, and alright, there are some deep, dark secrets. And I don’t exactly come out squeaky clean, but this is just one aspect of a 34-year experience. That fact—that it’s only a segment of my life—makes it a little bit more comfortable.

CP: Due to your illness, you have chronological gaps in memory. Was it hard to write a memoir with missing memories? Or was the experience therapeutic in any way?

MH: For me, writing is not therapeutic. I think most people have this idea about memoir and writing; that you write to get it all off your chest. I wasn’t feeling particularly burdened by the story; it’s just a story. I have a really great therapist who I pay a lot of money to help me. Writing Madness was extremely difficult on a personal level. On a technical level, I did a lot of research. I interviewed family, friends, doctors. I went through everything I could find: photographs, letters, medical records, postcards, journals. When you have a fragmented memory, you use tools and triggers to try to fit the rest of the pieces. There are things that are totally AWOL from my head. I don’t remember my 30th birthday party. There are plenty of stories from the book that are gone. But when you are writing a memoir, you have to edit pretty heavily anyway. What happens with memory loss is that it can be inconvenient for the purposes of writing the book. It was annoying, it was challenging, but it’s also not so different from what you do with any memoir, which is shape your recollection.

CP: Do you ever use the act of writing to gage wellness?

MH: I do a lot of keeping track of what’s going on during the day. When you’re manic, the language part of your brain lights up. You think everything you say is fabulously important. So I find that if at the end of the day I have written half a notebook of really fascinating thoughts, I do begin to wonder. The days when I can’t work, it feels like writer’s block. It’s sort of surreal knowing that the language center of my brain has slowed down. I am directly impacted when I hit a mood cycle that’s going to not allow me to write. When I am high, I write a ton, but when sliding down, the writing slows up. So I am able to gage by whether or not I can write whether or not I am on the verge of losing my mind.

CP: Do you feel your illnesses have improved your writing in any way? Hindered?

MH: One of my favorite subjects! I think people have a very lovely idea that mental illness, or rather the concept of madness aids you. I am willing to entertain the notion that the 8 months a year when I can actually function, that it could be helping, but during the 4 months a year I can’t function, doesn’t help so much. There are a lot of people in the arts with mental illness, and they do know that there is a certain degree of connection. People with mental illness often come from families with high rates of mental illness and high rates of creativity, so there’s a genetic link. But on a day-to-day practical level, I am certainly no better at writing because I have mental illness than I would be if I didn’t.

CP: You write about expressing bipolar symptoms at a very young age. Do you think we need to re-evaluate how we diagnose our kids? Is it possible that mental illness starts younger than previously assumed?

MH: It absolutely does. They’ve known for a while that depression can have a pretty early onset. They’ve known for a shorter while, that there was such as thing as early onset bipolar. There’s this idea that we’re over-diagnosing and under-diagnosing. I think the understanding of bipolar is changing so rapidly that we don’t always know which form we are looking at, we still don’t know how many forms there are, or whether we’re looking at ADD or bipolar or both. It’s very confusing with children because childhood bipolar looks different that adult bipolar. Kids with bipolar often also have ADHD or ADD. More research money needs to be spent on understanding the lifelong development of mental illness. We know what illnesses look like in one form, but we don’t always know what it looks like in children, in the geriatric community, or at other various points in life. This is especially important when dealing with bipolar, which is progressive until it is arrested and managed. We have the capacity to know more. I sincerely hope people start looking into childhood diagnostic.

CP: Do you ever get frustrated with the way mental illness is portrayed in the media?

MH: Yes! I think it's one of those things that gets worse before it gets better. We all jump up down saying, "Oh, we're being so understanding. People are crucifying Britney Spears, but she has bipolar, so doesn't that make us fabulous because we are trying to understand mental illness?" We're not trying to understand living with mental illness; we're trying to entertain ourselves with a thing that is still viewed as freaky. It's sort of talked about, so we think we know what it is. Or, like when I see an episode of Law and Order, and there's a bipolar character. He goes manic and pushes someone in front a train, and then he's immediately sorry. I think that's one of the more pervasive and problematic perceptions: That people with mental illness are more violent, which is not true. There's absolutely no higher rate of violence or violent crime among people with mental illness than those without. The whole perception is that when one has mental illness they are across the board crazy. You're not psychotic all the time, and even when you are, you probably don't look that psychotic, you're often just psychotic quietly.

CP: You talk about the importance of pacing yourself in order to maintain good mental health. How do you integrate a schedule while working in a very unscheduled profession?

MH: I do work in a high pressure job. I am also driven, not because I am bipolar. I love my job, and not because I am bipolar. So there are these things that enable me, as well as things that make it harder. Right now I am on tour. I am running 20 hours a day, which is not ideal. Knowing that living day-to-day this way could cause mania--that’s terrifying. My tendency is to push on through it, but I can’t pretend. Working daily, pacing yourself as much as possible is important. I also know that I can’t go 24-7 anymore just because it’s fun. I have to keep track of every single minute, which is tiresome, but in the long run keeping me sane.

Marya Hornbacher reads Thursday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes & Noble (3225 W. 69th St., Edina; 952.920.0633).

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at April 16, 2008 5:46 PM | 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)

 

Kenyan hip hop and Afrofuturism, plus a rap battle

Filed under: Music , Music , Music , Music , Music , Music , Music , Music , Music , Music , Music , Music , Music

For a $25 entry fee, you can compete tonight in Freestyle Fridays at Digital City Music in North Minneapolis, where a grand prize of $1500 awaits the winner (if I have the rules straight). The rap battle is cheap to watch, in any case ($3), and I'll be there with a camera covering it for City Pages. 905 West Broadway, Minneapolis, MN 55411-2615, 612.588.2000. Registration is at 5:00 p.m., showtime 7:00 p.m. Click photo for more weekend hip hop as part of Saturday's local celebration of Kenyan independence (including a new Kenyan hip-hop documentary and a night of music at the Blue Nile). Also read more on Saturday's finale of the Soap Factory's essential Afrofuturism event, which kind of ties it all together.

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at October 21, 2005 3:06 PM | Comments (0)

 

Batman spanking

Filed under: General Archive

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at June 7, 2005 2:07 PM

 

Ten Best Albums of 1974

Filed under: General Archive

The wait is over, folks:

1. Joni Mitchell, Court and Spark

2. Richard and Linda Thompson, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight

3. John Cale, Fear

4. Big Star, Radio City

5. Steely Dan, Pretzel Logic

6. Bob Marley and the Wailers, Natty Dread

8. New York Dolls, In Too Much Too Soon

9. Jackson Browne, Late for the Sky

10. Millie Jackson, Caught Up

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 7, 2005 12:50 PM | Comments (1)

 

Walker woes

Filed under: General Archive

The art center loses its fourth staff member in two months

Is there quitting juice in the Walker water? Less than two months after the new building opened its doors, four staff members have abruptly thrown in the towel. First, senior curator Philippe Vergne left in May to head up a new museum in Paris. Then, on May 26th, the center's deputy director and chief operating officer, Ann Bitter, announced her resignation. One week later, visual arts curator Douglas Fogle announced he had accepted a position at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh and chief curator Richard Flood said he was leaving after an 11-year tenure for a director position at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. That leaves the Walker with only two curators. Both Flood and Fogle are expected to be replaced next month.

The recent announcements aren't without controversy: The center still is $6 million short of its $92 million goal, and the new Swiss-architect-designed building ended up costing $70 million, $6 million more than budgeted. The additional costs, which Bitter attributed to the building's "experimental design" (its first skin was Teflon), have left the completion of the Walker offices and expanded Sculpture Garden on hold until additional revenue can be generated. The entire project (including garages, land, and the Sculpture Garden that will take over the Guthrie's space) now stands at $130.5 million.

Posted by at June 6, 2005 12:15 AM

 

Cinderella Man 2: Crowe vs. Bierko, Opie vs. Jethro

Filed under: General Archive

Hillbilly no more-- Jethro today

Max Baer, Jr., who stole the show on The Beverly Hillbillies as Jethro Bodine, is fightin' mad at Ron Howard, the director formerly known as Opie. Max claims that Ron's new movie, Cinderella Man, is unfair to his father, boxer Max Baer, who is portrayed in the film as the villain. Meanwhile, after Craig Bierko, who plays Max's dad, said that Russell Crowe never spoke to him during the entire shoot, Crowe replied that Bierko needed so much remedial acting help that there was no time for chit-chat. (Still, Crowe admits that he didn't invite Bierko to his 40th birthday party deliberately.) Don't know what Craig and Russ should do to solve their conflict, but maybe Max and Ron could settle it with a rasslin' match on the next TV-Land awards show -- the winner gets to throw the loser into the cee-ment pond.

Posted by Steve Monaco at June 4, 2005 4:28 AM

 

You're a mid-level corporate drone, Charlie Brown!

Filed under: General Archive

Fans of "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz may wish to check out the bidding going on at the Philip Weiss Auctions website. Rare concept strips of "Hagemeyer," by Schulz and featuring adult characters, are going for an estimated $3,000 to $5,000. Johnny over at the illustration blog Drawn! tipped us off to the auction and reminds us that Mrs. Hagemeyer was the name of Linus's teacher. The style is vintage Schulz and may give one an idea of what Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown would look like middle-aged.

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 3, 2005 9:50 AM

 

Hagemeyer

Filed under: General Archive

Posted by Corey Anderson at June 3, 2005 9:24 AM

 

Fourth Blood: Stallone returns as Rambo in 2006

Filed under: General Archive

It's a busy time for Sylvester Stallone, with not all the activity on the positive side. His boxing-oriented reality show, The Contender, was cancelled last month (although Sly is trying to bring it back), and he's even been accused of being the source of rumors that Arnold Schwarzenegger was (is?) a fan of Adolf Hitler. But apparently the only slings and arrows Stallone's focusing on at the moment are those belonging to his character John Rambo-- he's just signed a deal to star in Rambo 4, which begins shooting early next year and finds the title character (17 years later) menaced by white supremacists. At the same time, Stallone is also setting out on a dream project of his, a biopic about Edgar Allan Poe, which he will write and direct. (He hopes to get Robert Downey, Jr. to play Poe-- talk about type-casting.) While some might think he and EAP don't have much in common, Sly thinks otherwise: "[Poe] once said, 'I am insane with long horrible fits of sanity.' And I feel the same way."

Posted by Steve Monaco at June 3, 2005 2:16 AM

 

Calling aspiring Michael Moores

Filed under: General Archive

Filmmaker Robert Greenwald is looking for photographers, videographers, field producers, and more to contribute to his documentary Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. There's only one downside: Field producers are asked to watch Fox News.

Posted by at June 2, 2005 12:20 PM

 

CouchGate: The never-ending saga of the Oprah sofa

Filed under: General Archive

A Google news search reveals more than 115 news stories on Cruise and the infamous couch-jumping session he had on Oprah last week. Today, stories are surfacing that those who live outside the L.A. bubble think the lil' guy might be a lil' whacky. Wow, this sofa story is almost becoming the next HairGate! Note to Beck: Couches and L. Ron Hubbard are apparently a deadly star cocktail.

Posted by at June 2, 2005 11:40 AM

 

The Lizard King, alive and well?

Filed under: General Archive

Let's just hope he's changed his leather pants since 1971.

Rodeo photographer/filmmaker Gerald Pitts claims that Jim Morrison is alive and living in Oregon.

Here some alleged photos of the surprisingly youthful "Morrison," who coincidentally is now a rodeo enthusiast himself.  Has Mr. Mojo Risin' been ressurected? 

Posted by Diablo Cody at June 2, 2005 10:12 AM | Comments (1)

 

Sixteen Flawless Interview Performances...

Filed under: General Archive

...and I Still Lost Out to Christopher Nelson.

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 1, 2005 4:14 PM

 

May I have this lance?

Filed under: General Archive

Summer TV goes on a killing spree

If you thought primetime TV couldn't get any worse, this summer's schedule of last-ditch-effort reality shows might be what brings you to an early grave. Tonight, ABC premieres Dancing with the Stars, where couples composed of one D-list "celeb" compete in ballroom-dancing competitions. From the commercials, the show looks more excruciating than Fear Factor, According to Jim, and Yes, Dear combined. We could only wish "star" Joey McIntyre grew a beer belly that hung to his knees, married a hot babe with a perpetual vacant gaze, and together they chomped on engorged cow testicles to prove their undying commitment to one another.

Tomorrow night, NBC premieres Hit Me Baby One More Time, where Tiffany, Loverboy, a Flock of Seagulls, Cameo, Vanilla Ice, and others compete for a second chance at flash-in-the-pan status. Even with an egomaniac like The Ice Man on board, this show doesn't even fuel our own sick schadenfreude. (Though it might be more interesting if they added another angle to the competition, like maybe the "Most Bloated Face" category.) But let's be kind. They're competing for "charity."

Posted by at June 1, 2005 11:54 AM | Comments (3)

 

Press release du jour:
Cowboy prosody made easy

Filed under: General Archive

The love song of J. Frederick Millea

"Lyrical poetry, when viewed correctly, is the inevitable creation of the peers of all great prosody: words, thoughts and melody. It is through poetry that thought becomes music?s most elegant benefactor as a song is born."

--"Reclusive" "artist" and former Minneapolis musician LA Cowboy (Millea's nom de plume) explains how a song is birthed, and why his campfire is not necessarily the one you'd want to hunker down beside after a hard day riding the range. 

More great sayings of LA Cowboy

Stop cryin', mister, I'll buy your goddamn CD

Posted by Steve Perry at June 1, 2005 9:56 AM

 

River Deep, Afro High

Filed under: General Archive

Y'all seen Phil Spector lately?

Posted by Dylan Hicks at June 1, 2005 2:29 AM

 

Blues Great Percy Strother Dies at Age 58

Filed under: General Archive

Blues Great Percy Strother Dies at Age 58

Minneapolis, MN, May 31, 2005 - Blues great Percy Strother passed away at his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 29, 2005. With his wife of 35 years Roseanna Strother and his son Percy Strother, Jr. at his side, Percy succumbed to complications from liver cancer and diabetes at age 58. Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 23, 1946, Percy Strother was revered as a gritty and soulful blues singer, an expressive and emotional guitar player and an outstanding songwriter. Percy left Mississippi at age 14 in the wake of family tragedies, eventually settling in the Twin Cities in 1969. His many career highlights included several European tours and constant touring of the U.S., playing premier clubs and festivals. His recordings included the release "A Good Woman Is Hard To Find," written by Percy and selected as Best Blues Song of 1992 in the Living Blues magazine Readers' Award category. In addition to his wife Roseanna Strother and son Percy Strother, Jr., Percy Strother is survived by stepdaughters Anita Higgins and Juliet Higgins, son Tyrone Strother, grandchildren Theresa, Daisha, Eboni and Tyrone Strother, Jr., one sister and four brothers, and countless fans and friends. A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 3, 2005 at 1:00 p.m. at Estes Funeral Chapel, 2210 Plymouth Avenue North in Minneapolis (612-521-6744). Interment at Hillside Cemetery following service. As Percy did not have adequate medical insurance, donations to help pay medical, funeral and family living expenses can be sent to Strother Family, P.O. Box 22193, Robbinsdale Branch, Robbinsdale, MN 55422.

More information on the life of Percy Strother. Percy Strother was born on July 23, 1946 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, located on the banks of the Mississippi River. Percy was one of six brothers and a sister. His father worked as a sharecropper and a porter and his mother was a teacher who supplemented the family income by doing odd jobs. Growing up in a farmhouse with no electricity, Percy's family looked to music for comfort and entertainment. Everyone in the family sang and loved the blues music that was literally born in their region. Percy's father was his earliest influence, teaching Percy his first guitar riffs and blues songs.

When Percy was eight or nine years old, his father was accused of killing a white man and he was hanged. Percy's mother was devastated, and the tragedy took a toll on her from which she would never recover. By the age of 12, Percy was working farm labor from sun up to sun down, using the meager pay to help feed the family. This type of work at such a young age, and under such personal circumstances, could break a person's spirit. Percy endured the struggles, in large part, by singing while he labored. Songs by heroes like Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson would get him through the days.

By his early teens, Percy was singing in clubs in Vicksburg and nearby towns. Always a devoted performer, Percy would walk five miles to one of the rougher clubs just to take the stage.

When Percy was 14 years old, his family lost their farm and his mother lost her battle with grief and alcohol. With no intention of entering a nearby orphanage, Percy took his younger brothers and hitchhiked out of town, staying for a while in Jackson, Mississippi. He soon made his way to North Carolina, where he worked cropping tobacco, and then Florida, where he harvested oranges and other fruit.

By the 1960s, Percy had traveled and worked his way to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As he had in previous locales, Percy sought out chances to hear live music and sit in with bands as a singer. His "day job" was typically grueling, working in a foundry. In 1968, Percy formed his own band with a home-base of Racine, Wisconsin, not far outside of Milwaukee. He then spent about four months living in Chicago, catching live sets by legends like Magic Sam, but not regularly performing himself.

It was around 1969 or 1970 that Percy Strother, along with his brother Max, visited relatives in the Twin Cities. Percy was impressed by the surprisingly rich blues scene in town, and settled in the Twin Cities for the rest of his life. In his early twenties and with plenty of tough life experience behind him, Percy was embraced by the blues community and encouraged and mentored by a new friend, Twin Cities blues legend Lazy Bill Lucas. Lucas, a piano player and singer who hosted house parties that were a focal point of the local scene, was known to exclaim "Have Mercy, Mr. Percy" when Strother stepped forward with his powerful vocals.

It was also during this period, in 1970, that Percy Strother married his wife Roseanna, with whom he would spend the rest of his life. Roseanna inspired Percy in every way, including his music, his songwriting and his focus on family. "Sharing my life with Percy was a gift," says Roseanna Strother. "He was a very loving and protective husband. Percy cherished me, and I cherished him."

Percy built a reputation over the following years as one of the Twin Cities best and most authentic blues vocalists, with a growling, haunting sound in the tradition of Delta-born legends like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. During the 1970s, Percy cut a single on his own P.L.S. label to get on Twin Cities jukeboxes and radio and generate a little more interest in his career. In 1977, a teenage R.J. Mischo encountered Percy's talents in a local music store and sought out his advice for Mischo's new blues band. Always one to help out and teach young, aspiring blues musicians, Percy took the harmonica player under his wing, a kindness that would be appropriately reciprocated by Mischo years later.

Percy performed throughout the 1970s and 1980s as a vocalist in the Twin Cities and other regional locations, but it was not until 1990 that he began playing guitar publicly. Other than early tips from his father and his keen observation of peers, Percy was a self-taught guitarist who decided to focus on the instrument mid-career. According to Twin Cities guitarist Curt Obeda of the Butanes, "One of the things that impressed me most about Percy was his lifelong pursuit of learning more about music and getting better. He could have just gotten up and sang and he would have been fine, but Percy was always trying to improve and find more ways to get his music heard."

In 1992, Percy Strother would finally gain international recognition for his blues vocals, recognition that he had not previously received or sought, for that matter. At the insistence of R.J. Mischo, the blues harmonica player that Percy had mentored years earlier, Percy participated in a recording that would go on to receive critical acclaim and help bring Percy into the spotlight. Ready To Go (1992 Blue Loon Records) by R.J. & Kid Morgan Blues Band Featuring Percy Strother was a recording in the style of 1950s classic Chicago blues. Percy finally had a proper recording to help spread the word.

Buoyed by the warm reception given to Ready To Go, Percy went into the studio in 1992 to record his own album, A Good Woman Is Hard to Find. Released that same year on the Blue Loon label, Percy surprised fans and the blues press by stepping outside 1950s style Chicago blues. With a horn section and tons of soul, the album established Percy as a huge talent in the R&B style of blues associated with the Memphis sound. Living Blues magazine picked the album as a runner-up for Best Blues Album of 1992 in their Critics' Awards, and readers picked the title track "A Good Woman Is Hard To Find" as Best Blues Song of 1992 (in a tie with Robert Cray's "I Was Warned"). The song was written by Percy for his beloved wife Roseanna.

With successful recordings helping pave the way, Percy Strother undertook his first European tour in 1993, including a live show for the national Dutch radio. Percy was so well received by the appreciative European audiences that he would return there to play festivals and clubs throughout his life, the last time in Fall 2004. He tirelessly toured in the U.S. as well, a welcomed regular headliner at clubs like Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago and the Terra Blues club in New York City.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Percy continued to add outstanding recordings to his discography. The Highway is My Home (1995 Black Magic Records), It's My Time (1997 JSP Records) and Home At Last (2001 Black & Tan Records) are the work of a powerhouse singer and versatile artist, whether getting low down with gritty Chicago blues or pumping up some soulful R&B.

Despite battling illness, Percy Strother continued to put on magnificent shows within weeks of his death. His final appearance was at Famous Dave's BBQ & Blues in Minneapolis on April 15, 2005. Percy played solo, and the packed crowd included many members of his family and his band. Percy put on a typically joyous and powerful performance, fielding requests and lifting the spirits of everyone in attendance.

Well loved for his music, Percy Strother the man was equally admired. His kindness and (sometimes disarming) sense of humor touched the lives of innumerable friends and fans. His love of family and the blues were rivaled only by his passion for fishing. "I have heard stories about people spotting Percy out fishing when most people would be sitting by a fire to get warm," said Twin Cities musician Paul Metsa. "Even when he was fishing he had style, dressed like he was ready to go on stage in his ever present hat, cape and snakeskin boots. Percy was the ultimate professional and he'll never be replaced. For my money, Percy's vocals were as deep and powerful as guys like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf." So refined was Percy's fashion sense, he was chosen to act in commercials and model for magazine advertisements that ran in Rolling Stone, GQ and other media outlets.

A true bluesman, singer, songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player and charismatic performer Percy Strother will be greatly missed by the blues world.

Posted by Corey Anderson at May 31, 2005 5:14 PM

 

Who's Robert Crumb?

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The R. Crumb Handbook provides even greater insight into the oft-dissected artist. Thanks to Terry Zwigoff's much-lauded 1994 documentary Crumb, you don't need to be a Zap Comix enthusiast to know who R. Crumb is and why he's so damned special. The priapic cartoonist, chubby-chaser and record collector is ringed by an unlikely aura of intrigue; who knew a googly-eyed old pervert could attract such a vast and worshipful fanbase? That said, The R. Crumb Handbook (MQ Publications, $25) is bound to be a hit with its target demographic. (You know a book ain't aimed at Crumb newbies when it's cross-marketed with a "Win a Date with Aline Crumb!" promotion, though who could pass up the opportunity to wine and dine the artist's equally twisted missus?) Written by Crumb and Peter Poplaski, the Handbook is a loose collection of world-according-to-Crumb essays accompanied by comics both famous and rare. (Angelfood McSpade, Mr. Natural, and the infamous Family That Fucks Together are all present and accounted for.) We also hear more (much more) about how Crumb loves getting sexualized piggyback rides from zaftig women, a subject that may have been exhausted in Zwigoff's documentary. Still, the crotchety screeds from an aging Crumb are worth reading; his philosophies on life are remarkably honest, refreshingly pessimistic, and quite poignant. And then there are those comics--Crumb's drawings crawl with energy, and that slavish attention to detail reveals that those comparisons to the Dutch masters are warranted. This book is a must-have for Crumb junkies, and certainly accessible enough for the Crumb-curious. Plus, the firm yellow binding makes this tome feel like the dirtiest textbook you never read. One caveat: Don't page through this on the bus unless you want your seatmate to get up and move. Crumb, bless him, can even offend from afar.

Posted by Diablo Cody at May 30, 2005 11:28 AM | Comments (1)

 

Bad Bestseller of the Week

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R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton (Berkley, $7.99)

The alphabet isn't going by nearly fast enough in Grafton's tedious series about detective Kinsey Milhone, and now she even seems at a loss for title words that apply to her stories. Ricochet? Only one gun is fired in the whole book, and it misses. There's virtually no violence of any kind, and most of what there is gets done off-stage. Instead, the "action" involves detailed accounts of every time Kinsey eats QPs with cheese, is screwed by a cop buddy of hers (again, off-stage), or gets involved with her 87-year-old landlord's romantic problems. And it's all as gosh-darned cute as it sounds.

Grafton's specialty seems to be mystery-free mysteries, and this one is particularly pristine in that regard. The plot involves a single white-collar crime of the dullest kind, and characters who don't do much and are all too pleased with themselves to be interesting. The dialogue is noteworthy only for how much there is and how little is really said, and Grafton does these scenes like she's being paid by the word and every "Oh?" counts.

Even though Kinsey is 37, the book seems like it's meant for much older folks. Unfortunately, Grafton's next book won't be out in hardcover until the end of the year, so it will still be awhile before Z is for Zzzzzz, when Kinsey Milhone finaly dies in her-- and our-- sleep.

Posted by Steve Monaco at May 29, 2005 3:48 AM

 

I kiss you, crying while eating

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Back in the early days of the good ol' internets, everybody and their mother was obsessed with a Turkish Don Juan who had a hard-on for nude models, ping-pong, and his trusty foto-camera. But Mahir quickly became like the dancing baby: So obnoxiously 1996 they're both bound to be found on an ironic '90s-nostalgia T-Shirt at Urban Outfitters, hanging right next to the "I Love the Backstreet Boys" T-Shirts (wink! wink!). Almost ten years later, their popularity has inspired contests like the Contagious Media Showdown, where goofy Web sites and those intended to look like real advertisements battle it out to pass through the most office cubes and become an internet hit.

Some of them seem lamer than Ally McBeal's biological-clock-inspired apparitions: Blogebrity, for example, focuses on "the celebs" of blogging. (Yes, there's a scene composed of people who have actually never seen each other.) And then there's the hilarious cryingwhileeating.com, where people send in their homemade videos of themselves (what else?) crying while eating. Pringles cascading out of a guy's mouth only gets funnier when you know it's because his girlfriend is making him go to therapy.

Posted by at May 27, 2005 5:22 PM | Comments (1)

 

Watch Where You're Going with that Stereotype

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I got a little steamed this morning reading the following paragraph from Chris Riemenschneider's story about Dessa Darling, MC with local hip-hop collective Doomtree:

"The truth is, Darling, 24, didn't grow up a B-girl. She was a smart kid from Minneapolis Southwest High School who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2002 with a degree in philosophy. That hardly sounds like the background of a rapper."

First off, I don't like how "smart kid" is used in opposition to "B-girl." realize that "smart kid" is probably being used, innocently enough, to mean "nerd" or at least "someone more interested in scholarly pursuits than in outward expressions of cool." But one doesn't have to engage in any in-depth semiotics to find an implication that the average "B-girl" or "B-boy" is a "dumb kid." (Of course, some are -- dumb people are everywhere, as everyone knows.)

As far as Darling's history "hardly sound[ing] like the background of a rapper," well, her background is atypical but not incongruous. Yes, most rappers don't have philosophy degrees. Nor do most popular musicians. Obviously, many of the greatest and most famous rappers grew up very poor and in situations that didn't encourage going to college. And some of the greatest and most famous rappers did go to college, such as Kool Moe Dee (who attended after he had already put out records) and Chuck D.

My personal experience with musicians in general is that most either didn't go to college or didn't finish college. Even musicians in the indie-rock milieu, which tends to attract middle- and upper-middle class partisans and is culturally tied to collegiate life, are largely college dropouts. Now as far as orchestra musicians go, those folks are lucky to make it out of junior high.

Posted by Dylan Hicks at May 27, 2005 10:25 AM

 

I Can't Stop Balling! By Amelia Huff, Age 10 1/2

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I have been balling since last night. I cryed so hard my pillow got wet and so did Bunny and my very special Vermount teddy bear that my Dad got me for Childrens Day last year. (Every day is Childrens day at my dad's house!!! :-) Do you want to know the reason why Im sad? Well Ill tell you. Carrie Underwood (SCARY UNDERWARE) won American Idol last night. Even though her singing is bad and her STUPID LESBAIN SONG stank and her hair looked all tangeled like my Flava doll who's head got stuck in one of the jets in my Dad's hot tub. (My Flava name is "Wonder Boo!") As soon as I found out Carrie won I got on the phone and called my cousin Hannah. We balled together. She said "Amelia I think one day you will marry Bo Bice. You have a Special connection like Trista and Ryan."

I hope it is true. Bo my email address is clay_aiken@huffmail.com. I promise I will always be true to you. I am not like those girls who like one guy on American Idol and then forget all about him next year. I beleive getting married is FOREVER unlike my mom the hore.

Reasons why Bo Bice should have won, by Amelia (me!)

1. I could drownd in his blue eyes.

2. He can sing good even after taking lots of Cocaine.

3. I heard his girlfreind is pregnant. They should do it two more times so they can have triplets!

4. He has the same birthday as my cousin Cassie.

5. He is freinds with a very famous and good musician named Leonard Skinnard.

So you see I am right. I am always right. I hope Carrie becomes very unfamous quick.

Posted by Diablo Cody at May 26, 2005 4:21 PM

 

Local Music-Business Giant Daniel Heilicher Dies at 81

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Daniel Heilicher, a central figure in several of Minnesota's biggest contributions to the music industry, died this week. He and his brother Amos started in business in the '30s, distributing and stocking jukeboxes. In 1954 they founded Soma Records and started producing records out of Kay Bank Studios at 2541 Nicollet. Eventually a number of huge hits would come out of the effort, including the Fendermen's "Muleskinner Blues," Dave Dudley's pioneering truck-driving anthem "Six Days on the Road," the Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird," and the Castaways' "Liar, Liar." Those latter two singles were the biggest hits from Minneapolis's golden, mid-'60s era of teenage rock, and their success and devil-may-care energy inspired countless heartland high schoolers to entertain dreams of one-hit-wonderdom.

The Heilicher brothers also founded Musicland, and later merged with Pickwick International to expand their distribution business. They sold Pickwick and Musicland to American Can Co. in 1977. Daniel also invented a computer-based sales-tracking system, a precursor to today's Soundscan. For more on Heilicher and quotes form Amos, see the Star Tribune's obituary.

Posted by Dylan Hicks at May 26, 2005 12:59 PM

 

Don't say a word

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Why Minnesotans can't find a good bagel, and other bigoted observations on diphthongs gone wrong

Having spent 14 years--that is, my entire adult life--as a resident of the state of Minnesota, I think I can safely say that while I like Minnesotans plenty, I can barely stand the way they talk. Normally I'd say "we": I live here; I work here; I no longer belong anyplace else. I've gotten used to the word "pop," which has the goofy virtue of making everyone seem like a little leaguer. And I recognize that "come with"--like the South's "y'all"--serves an identifiable purpose in human communication.

But I cannot own the awful things you people do to English vowels. The accent?it is either charmless or monstrous. The reason no one in Minnesota has ever eaten a good bagel is because the word itself does not exist. (I have no idea how to format a schwa with this blog software, but I can say definitively that "beggl" is not acceptable.) I suspect the reason Minnesotans, alone among Americans, picked Mondale over Reagan owes to the fact they couldn't pronounce the Gipper's name. (It's more like "Raygun" than "reggn" or "raggn"--where the "a" sound rhymes with "rat." This pronunciation phenomenon is a variant on what linguists term the "northern shift.")

Accents can be a wondrous thing, suggesting the cultural texture of a nation that otherwise seems to have been homogenized by retail chains and monolithic media. I recently returned from a road trip through the Chesapeake, where I encountered one of the most bizarre regional accents I've ever heard. I can barely begin to describe it: Everyday vowel sounds become diphthongs. Diphthongs become time-travel experiments to the Elizabethan age. Try saying the word "water" while making an exaggerated O with your mouth and pronouncing the ska exclamation "Oi!" and you may begin to have a faint idea what's going on.

I suspect this Delmarva accent is dying out, like my grandmother's old-style Bronxese, in which the word "toilet" came out like "terlit." (It's a word I heard too often, as my grandmother held fiercely to the belief that children could not safely flush by themselves.)

Immigrants to Minnesota have an innate sense that something is not OK with the way people here talk. But the results of the Dialect Survey conducted online by professor Bert Vaux (formerly of Harvard, now at Wisconsin) codify what's so offensive to the ear. Native Minnesotans, naturally, will appreciate the opportunity to heap scorn on the linguistic transgressions committed by people on the Eastern seaboard. I don't begrudge them that right, but I do hope in my heart that they know they are wrong, wrong, wrong.

 

Posted by Michael Tortorello at May 25, 2005 3:24 PM | Comments (2)

 

Fart into the same couch cushions as Princess Diana did

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Marshall Field's recently introduced the Althorp-Living History furniture collection, "inspired by the history and grandeur of Althorp, the ancestral home of England's legendary Spencer family." The legend part, to non-Anglophiles, alludes to the late Princess Diana (formerly Lady Diana Spencer) whose brother, Charles, the ninth Earl, will be at the Southdale Home Store on June 3 hawking ottomans and hampers just like the ones at his house... where Princess Diana used to live! For, like, two years!

Posted by Corey Anderson at May 25, 2005 11:53 AM

 

Can't you smell that smell?

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Ronnie VanZant returns from the dead to become the next American Idol

Not even a deadly plane crash can stop a good ol' boy from Jacksonville, Fla. Almost 30 years after his death, the Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman has apparently tunneled his way out of his grave and into the hearts of Simon, Paula, Randy, and millions of Americans to become the mic-stand-slingin' hearttrhob of this season's American Idol. Reliable Sources (TM) say the singer had to change his name to Bo Bice for legal reasons, but otherwise, the formerly dead Southern man has been perfectly preserved by his years spent under America's finest soil. (Lord knows, he can't chaaaaaange.) For proof, click on his before-the-crash picture here, and his back-from-the-grave picture here. Sing it real purdy for Alabamy, Ron...I mean, "Bo Bice."

Update: Ronnie reunites with his band, but the angels weren't listening.

Posted by at May 25, 2005 12:07 AM

 

Jesus to make guest appearance on MTV

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The music channel finds God; heavy-metal band Lamb of God loses its shit

The network that once brought you Boy George and George Michael, and has since become a showcase for frat boys and self-described "future MILFs" attempting to spew more vomit than an elephant, has recently seen the light. And it looks a lot like Jesus Christ in the form of beaucoup bucks from Christian-music labels and "family-friendly" advertisers.

According to an "insider," (we're so Us Weekly!) MTV is planning to dedicate part of its schedule to Christian-music programming. While this means the music channel will start airing videos again (sweet dreams, Meet the Barkers!), it also means dudes who look like Aaron Carter after a whirlwind trip to Hot Topic will have their nightly prayers answered by getting sandwiched between the spoiled rich girls of My Super Sweet 16 and a brawny and emasculated Nick Lachey. (He's the Jamaican hard dough in the fantasy mix.)

For the money-grubbing and power-hungry execs at MTV ready to jump on the bandwagon with the rest of the entertainment industry, Christian-themed programming makes sense: Christian albums accounted for almost 45 million of the 666 million albums sold in 2004. Plus, with the Rapture Index at 147, they might be looking for a way to keep those high-priced Bruno Maglis from melting to their feet like Saran Wrap. And if you've caught two seconds of any of the numerous MTV award shows, you know from the "thank you" speeches that the Lord spends his entire days watching over MTV with a hawk's eye.

Posted by at May 24, 2005 4:10 PM

 

Hufu: The Other White Meat

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Press release of the day: City Pages recently received a press release promoting a new and delicious snack for the "discerning cannibal enthusiast" called Hufu, a "healthy human flesh alternative" made from tofu and flavored to resemble human flesh through "painstaking research and extensive testing."

Odd enough to be intriguing, yet not funny enough to be a spoof, we ventured to www.eathufu.com to get the skinny on Hufu's line of cuisine, including "Dr. Lecter's Favorite Liver." The site features an array of carnivorous DVDs (Sweeney Todd, Alive) and "Eat Hufu" merchandise for sale. The FAQ page features a delightful anecdote on how the "Hufu" name was developed, thanks to "Fifth Element" star and model Milla Jovovich overhearing Hufu associates discussing the product on a Eurostar train. Therein the ruse reveals itself, as everyone knows Milla Jovovich gets sick on trains and flies first class everywhere she goes.

Posted by Corey Anderson at May 23, 2005 1:33 PM

 

Zack is Dana! Dana is Zack! Marcia Cross is still spooky!

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The Desperate Housewives finale was appropriately soapy (and stinging)

So it's settled then: Mary Alice is a big, fat murderer who butchered naive, poker-wielding Deirde in a variation on the old King Solomon two-mommies boondoggle. Too bad, so sad. Any American who names their son "Dana" should be prepared to relinquish their parental rights; was Deirdre a huge fan of "Massive Headwound Harry" or something? "We conceived you during a Church Lady sketch, honey."

Seeing Teri Hatcher held at gunpoint by Mr. Angryglasses was another high point of the hour. (I'm sure Nicollette Sheridan would heartily agree.) Eat lead, Radio Shack! We're left hanging until September, though one can only assume that the star of a show will dodge any errant bullets. Plumber Mike is going to pull through too; you just know it. We're supposed to believe that he and Susan are soulmates, even though they're completely incompatible, don't trust each other, and are an even more awkward pairing than Felicity Huffman and the gay social worker from Melrose Place.

And who can forget Gabrielle informing her he-man husband Carlos that if he wants their child to be breastfed, he'll have to do it himself? Apparently, it's possible. One can just picture Carlos serenely nursing his Jesse Metcalf-faced infant while Gabrielle smugly cruises down Wisteria Lane in her Maserati. Now that's a fair parenting plan!

Posted by Diablo Cody at May 23, 2005 12:47 PM

 

Green Not Golden

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It wasn?t exactly that the notoriously erratic Al Green was going through the motions this past Friday at the State Theater, but he wasn?t exactly singing the songs, either. Or at least not singing them as if they meant anything other than, This was once a bit hit, and you loved it, and you loved me for making it. His megalomania--the constant reminders of how much we loved him and how much he loved us--was a major drag if apparently effective with most of the crowd. A few high points to go with the dazzling high notes, but mostly we got depressing Vegas shtick from a guy who once seemed impervious to such things.

Posted by Dylan Hicks at May 23, 2005 10:30 AM | Comments (1)

 

Eavesdroppings: pew confessions

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Overheard at a party in Minneapolis on Friday night:

Girlfriend: How much have you been sniffing your wrist today? Your wrist is all red!

Boyfriend: (Shrugs) I was bored in church.

Posted by at May 23, 2005 12:20 AM | Comments (4)

 

Bad Bestseller of the Week

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Just One Look by Harlan Coben (Signet, $7.99)

All of Coben's novels have punchy, one-syllable-word titles like the above, but considering the outlandish coincidences this plot-boiler relies on, perhaps a better one would have been Out the Ass. Years after she was almost killed at a concert (which featured the imaginatively-named Jimmy X Band), a woman's husband disappears, leading her to encounters with hit-men, government agents, and mob bosses. By the end, everyone reveals their improbable secrets, and as you read the last few dozens pages, you can almost see Coben pulling it out with both hands. 

(Besides plotting, he also sucks at characterizations-- his heroes come from TV commercials and his bad guys are from direct-to-video movies-- and his dialogue is almost as real-sounding as Dean Koontz's.)

The most striking thing about the book, though, is its almost complete lack of sex and profanity. Last week's Bad Bestseller, Night Time is My Time by Mary Higgins Clark, was also singled out for its G-rated qualities. But Clark writes books like the ones she enjoyed as a girl, over 100 years ago-- chaste who-done-its with virginal heroines. Coben, however, is supposedly writing about grittier stuff, so it seems even odder that the only four-letter word used (once) in the book is spelled "f***ing." Are today's big-selling writers being edited by Wal-Mart? 

Posted by Steve Monaco at May 22, 2005 3:34 AM

 

The house where Surfer Girl was born

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The boyhood home of Brian Wilson and his brothers Dennis and Carl is now a California state landmark-- or it would be if it still existed. Unfortunately, it was torn down and turned into a segment of freeway over 20 years ago, so the state has erected a 15-foot brick wall where it used to be, featuring a picture that recreates the original cover of the Surfer Girl album. The project, proposed by a couple of longtime fans, was paid for in part by donations by Beach Boys admirers who bought the site brick by brick.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by Wilson, who performed for the crowd of 300, as well as original Boys Al Jardine and David Marks. Conspicuous by his welcome absence was the group's resident asshole, Mike Love, who still has nothing but bad things to say about his cousin Brian. (For those unfamiliar with Love's sins, a nice recent overview of one of rock's biggest shitheels can be found here.)

Posted by Steve Monaco at May 22, 2005 1:51 AM

 

Getting Dizzy

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Art-A-Whirl kicks off in NE Mpls. tonight

It's like a word problem only easier: Three days, more than 300 artists, 400 studios, and thousands of people converging for the summer's No.1 art crawl. Some arty equations to solve before you go crawling for art pieces to add to your collection of minimalist pop-cult miscellany, as well as a few inebriant components that should make crawling seem natural:

Fri:

A two-headed squirrel + Grain Belt Beer + a missing thumb - chili at the California Building

A beautifully dark literary group +  a giant bathroom + malt liquor at Creative Electric Studios

Sat:

Sea Whores + Fuck Yeahs + artwork + overhearing the phrase "fuck yeah" at Grumpy's

10 Bands + wine + Kool-Aid - pitcher crashing through walls in Elias Studios' parking lot

+ 21 more events and hundreds more artists...

Posted by at May 20, 2005 1:28 AM

 

For those about to rock, we salute Norm Coleman

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In an effort to divert the public's attention from the upbraiding the junior senator received from British MP George Galloway yesterday, Norm Coleman once again turns his attention toward America's right to rock. Totta's Bluesband, a 1980's Swedish band whose members began playing music in the mid-1960's, will now be able to pay tribute to Bob Dylan during the upcoming Dylan Days 2005 in Hibbing after Norm Coleman helped the band get B-1 visas, which allow international entertainers to visit and perform in the U.S. Last November you may recall, Coleman was also instrumental (no band pun intended) in allowing Canadian rock fossils The Guess Who ("These Eyes") to enter the country when the band discovered its application for P2 visas had not been processed by U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services. Kudos to Norm Coleman, a former roadie for Ten Years After ("Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"), for keeping America free to rock to musical dinosaurs, foreign and domestic.

Posted by Corey Anderson at May 19, 2005 2:17 PM

 

Tournament of semi-champions

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Now's your chance to test those Chess skills you've been bragging about for years. Monday, at 7:00 p.m., the Chess Club in the Hopkins Center for the Arts is letting anyone challenge Russian grandmasters Valerij Filippov and Peter Kiriakov for $10. The two greatest players in the world (Ok, the 72nd and 203rd greatest, respectively) will be competing with players simultaneously. Or, if you really think you have mad Chess skills, you could always try to get into the HB Global Chess Challenge (May 18-22) at the Minneapolis Convention Center. It's your move.

Posted by at May 19, 2005 12:12 PM

 

Lucas Agonistes

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In addition to Jim Ridley's fine coverage of Star Wars Episode III/VI in City Pages, check out Anthony Lane's evisceration of pint-sized turquioise pseudo wise man Yoda in the New Yorker.

Posted by Quinton Skinner at May 19, 2005 11:21 AM

 

Eavesdroppings: Can I get extra funk with that?

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Overheard at noon today in a Warehouse District cafe:

Business Suit 1: Are they opening a Subway?

Business Suit 2: It's a sub shop, but I think it's called Jimmy Jam's.

Business Suit 1: But they sell subs?

Business Suit 2: Yeah, I think it's a Jimmy Jam's.

Posted by Corey Anderson at May 18, 2005 3:29 PM

 

Can You Handle My Truth?

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No I dont think you can handle my truth. Or my contraversy!!! Hee hee, Im just acting like Britney Spears. Thats my very good impresionation of her. Anyway I got to see Britney and Kevin: Chaotic last night even though my mom said I was not aloud to. But I cryed and said that Dad would let me watch it and why did they get a divorce? (Because my mom liked a guy at her bowling leeg and let him touch the inside of her pants.) Then my mom got real quiet and red. She went upstairs and let me watch the show alone!!!!! I love being divorced.

britney was wierd. She kept asking pepole "what is your favorite sexual position?" Now I do know what sex is. (Its when Kevin Federline puts his thing in Britneys NO place. And she doesnt say NO or tell an adult like they say to at shcool.) Their is only 1 position for this: The girl goes on the bottom and the boy goes on the top so his sperms can go in a strait line. Maybe Britney doesnt know that. I think britney needs to take Family Life class like all the fifth graders do at my school.

Britney did not look like a famos person. Her skin looked funny. Her voice sounded kind of like, I dont know, a dumb person? I know she is natrally very smart because she is rich and has a bunch of Kids Choice awards and a probly a mansion with a waterfall and dolphins you can swim with and a refrigerater thats covered in diamonds and jools. So I dont know why she wasnt acting smart on the show. Its silly to play dumb to make a boy like you. Boys should like you for you, even if you are too flat for a bra and have glasses and like Steely Dan and stuff. (Im listening to "Deacon Blues" right now!!!)

Kevin was really cute. Cuter then Constantine Maroulis. Even cuter than Bo Bice. I think Kevin must take