Photo courtesy of the artist

Justin Vernon's Grammy-winning run with Bon Iver has pushed his other side projects and random guest appearances to the forefront. Whether he's recording with Kanye, the Flaming Lips, or P.O.S., Vernon's always seems to add an ethereal indie cache.

Now comes word that Vernon's long-simmering side-project the Shouting Matches, which he formed with Peter Wolf Crier's Brian Moen back in 2008 and now features Megafaun's Phil Cook, will finally release their awesomely titled debut album, Grownass Man, on iTunes tomorrow and in traditional record stores on April 16 via Middle West.

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Aside from an actual victory by the Minnesota-based Okee Dokee Brothers, the 2013 Grammys had a few other moments to amuse Midwestern music fans. The main one, of course, was an appearance by Prince. For those who didn't watch the entire, dragging mess of a hashtag-obsessed show hosted by LL Cool J, these were a few moments that slowed Gimme Noise's rising bile.

After strutting out grandly with his cane in one of the longest introductions of the night, he presented the Grammy for Record of the Year to Gotye and Kimbra -- and then it felt like he was the one receiving the award. In the earlier going, Katy Perry used her moments onstage to give a good-natured jab at Bon Iver.

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Photo By Stacy Schwartz

After a lengthy and highly successful world tour over the past year and a half (including a memorable show at the Orpheum in late 2011), things have finally started to quiet down a bit in the Bon Iver camp. But that doesn't bring an end to the steady stream of accolades and musical achievements that the Eau Claire-based band continues to receive.

Within this past week, it was announced that both Bon Iver records, the 2008 debut For Emma, Forever Ago, and 2011's Grammy winning Bon Iver, Bon Iver, have both been certified as Gold Records by the Recording Industry Association of America.

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When it was announced back in August that Bon Iver was holding a remix contest for the songs featured on the Grammy-award winning Bon Iver, Bon Iver, bedroom musicians and talented musical alchemists from around the globe all had visions of winning the $1,000 prize, as well as having their mix included in the exclusive Spotify compilation.

With nearly 2000 entries, the project not only caught the interest of the music community at large, but generated some truly wonderful reinterpretations of the stirring original material. And now the ten winning remixes have just been announced.

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From Bon Iver's September 21 performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

This was a memorable weekend for our border neighbor folk act Bon Iver. Justin Vernon's band just spent a recent four-night swing performing at Radio City Music Hall in New York -- and if there's not a live album somewhere lurking within all of that, we'll eat our Gimme Noise sunglasses.

Also of note, Vernon's interview with David Campbell on the Current's Local Show aired on Sunday night, and it included -- among several engaging stories about his life in Eau Claire and recording with Kanye West -- a tidbit that suggests that Bon Iver may not be long for this world.

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Justin Vernon's Indaba profile pic.

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Bon Iver announces remix contest

Early this month, Grammy winners Bon Iver decided to harvest the stems to the ten songs on the Bon Iver, Bon Iver and present them to the remixing public for a contest. The creators of the best remix of each song will each bank $1,000 for their efforts and the honor of being featured on Spotify-released compilation. (Although ?uestlove expressed interest in adding his punch to "Perth," this has not yet materialized.)

Now the staggering collection of results is up for voting until September 13, and Gimme Noise wondered if listeners -- even among the most devoted Iver-ites -- will sift through all 1,617 songs to pick the true champs. We headed to the Indaba Music site and began some research, but admittedly haven't listened to every one just yet. If you enjoy Owl City, Chromeo, Laurie Anderson, chillwave, late-'90s drum & bass, and new age, this is a data set for you.
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Photo Courtesy of Bon Iver's Facebook page

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Bon Iver at the Orpheum Theatre, 09/06/11

Bon Iver's richly evocative, Grammy-winning album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver, was a bit of a divisive release in certain music circles. But no matter how you feel about the record, it's become quite clear that those poignant, stirring songs have found their way into the hearts of music fans everywhere.

But for those of you who felt the production could have been more understated, the brass should have been more restrained, or that the vocals were too prominent in the mix (or even that the songs would be better without any vocals at all), now you have your chance to tinker with the songs until your heart is content.

Bon Iver have just announced a remix contest partnership with Spotify and Indaba Music, where fans can download audio stems of each song on Bon Iver, Bon Iver, allowing them to transform each of the tracks into entirely different sonic creations of their own.

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Photo By Stacy Schwartz

Bon Iver have been on quite a never-ending trek since they played the Orpheum Theatre back in September. And Justin Vernon and company are definitely a different band now -- at least in terms of public perception and recognition.

Long-time supporters won't be surprised that their Grammy-winning material is fit for stages both large (Coachella and Bonnaroo) and small (the Zorn Arena in Eau Claire), and big in Europe, too.

But Bon Iver's drawing power just hit a new milestone: One of the most prestigious venues in all of the United States, New York's Radio City Music Hall, is booking them for more dates than most acts get to play there in a lifetime.

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Unlike Justin Vernon's collaborator Kanye West's $350+ (and rare as all hell) Air Yeezy 2, the Bon Iver signature shoe is a more-affordable one. Say hello to the fishbone-emblazoned "The Ramos," developed for Los Angeles-based shoe company Keep. Your cats will love the salmon hue!

Following an Animal Collective-designed sneaker put out last year, part of the proceeds for Vernon's creation will be donated to the Best Friends Animal Society, an animal advocacy group that takes in abused and abandoned creatures. Since he owns two rescued cats himself, this is a charity close to Vernon's own heart.

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This won't be the first or last time that pictures of a famous man are paired with funny captions simulating fantasy situations. Ryan Gosling certainly got his due recently. But is the world really ready for Bon Iver erotic fan fiction on Tumblr?

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