Photo by Erik Hess

Claire de Lune performing with the Chalice at First Avenue's Best New Bands show in January.

The year got off to a rough start for Astronautalis and his roommates in northeast Minneapolis when a fire tore through their home. Not only did the flames damage a lot of their stuff and make the place uninhabitable, but items were stolen after the fact too. All without renter's insurance, the rapper, Claire Monestario/La Manchita, Dirty Donuts' Vicki Seymour, and Jeremy Jetson/Spyder Baybie Raw Dog have plenty of costs to recoup.

It's heartening that a bunch of local friends and musicians are pitching in for the Burning Down the House benefit show to be hosted by Botzy (Culture Cry Wolf, The Best Love is Free) Friday, March 8 at the Sound Gallery in downtown Minneapolis. The full lineup just came out, and it's impressive.

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Photo by Meredith Westin

Well, the Replacements guitarist Slim Dunlap just got a nice early Valentine's Day gift from Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak. In a proclamation circulating today, Thursday, February 14 has been declared Bob "Slim" Dunlap Day.

According to Andy Holmaas in the mayor's office, the proclamation was a response to an online petition circulating in recent days. "It was a simple decision as the mayor (and I) are both huge 'mats fans," he says. "We want to see the best for Slim. He has been such a huge part of Minneapolis music that a proclamation was a great way to say thanks and wish him well as he recovers." It was a year ago this month that Dunlap suffered a debilitating stroke. Since then, there have been many benefit efforts, including the Songs for Slim EP featuring the Replacements, which raised more than $100,000 so far. Read the proclamation below.

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The Replacements' Songs For Slim auction raises over $100,000 for Slim Dunlap
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Dave Wolfe and Eva Strangelove

Without question, this has been one of the worst flu seasons in recent history, with the sickness reaching epidemic proportions throughout most of the United States and beyond. Sadly, former Minneapolis music mainstay Dave Wolfe has found this out firsthand, as his wife, the model/dancer Eva Strangelove, contracted an especially potent strain that has hospitalized her in the ICU for more than two weeks, requiring minor surgeries and constant, 24-hour care.

Wolfe is the former music booker at Lee's Liquor Lounge, and was a member of the celebrated Minneapolis rockabilly band the Vibro Champs (as well as the cow-punk outfit, Reverse Cowgirl). He moved to Austin, Texas a while back, but still returns to the Twin Cities on occasion, and had no doubt left his spirited musical stamp on the local music scene in many ways.

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Photo By Erik Hess

Fresh off of a brief but successful U.S. tour earlier this month, Dessa has announced plans for a special local show at the MIA (not with M.I.A., as I initially, and awesomely, misread the press release). The Doomtree vocalist/MC will be performing at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts' Reception Hall on Thursday, February 28, at an event the museum is billing as "An Evening With Dessa."

In addition to hopefully getting a chance to hear some new songs from Dessa's forthcoming record at the show (alongside her impressive back catalog of hits), this performance will also serve to benefit a new teen scholarship set up by the museum as part of their ongoing commitment to area youth programs.

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With the highly anticipated auction for Songs For Slim now complete, the lucky (and generous) winning bidders for the first new release from the Replacements in 23 years are now left waiting to receive their precious 'Mats vinyl in the post, while the rest of us anxiously await the eventual digital and commercial release of the five-song EP.

The good folks who arranged the benefit have been left humbled and inspired by the staggering amount of money raised from the ten-day-long auction of the 250 limited-edition records. The bidding, which ended on Friday night, raised an impressive total of $105,743.42, funds which will go towards the continued medical care of 'Mats guitarist Slim Dunlap, who continues to recover from a stroke he suffered last year.

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The Replacements' Songs For Slim producer Ed Ackerson shares session details
The Replacements' Songs For Slim EP gets tracklisting and cover art as auction details emerge

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Today is the day that longtime fans of the Replacements have been waiting anxiously for. At 10 a.m. Twin Cities time, 250 limited-edition copies of what the Songs For Slim website is calling "the first new Replacements release since 1990's All Shook Down," goes up for auction. The exclusive 10" vinyl pressings of the Songs For Slim EP are all signed by Paul Westerberg, Tommy Stinson, and Chris Mars, and will also contain rare photos, a print of the EP cover which was painted and designed by Mars, a digital download card for the EP, as well as a poster of Slim Dunlap himself, who is recovering at home after suffering a stroke last year. All the proceeds from the auction will go towards defraying Dunlap's continued medical care.

Westerberg and Stinson were joined by drummer Peter Anderson and guitarist Kevin Bowe, and the group recorded their songs locally at Flowers Studio, which is owned and run by BNLX's Ed Ackerson. Ackerson served as producer for the exclusive recording session, and we were able to ask him a few questions about what the general vibe was like in the studio, as well as how the sessions ended up at Flowers in the first place.

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The Replacements' Songs For Slim EP gets tracklisting and cover art as auction details emerge
Chris Mars records new song to benefit Slim Dunlap

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As the excitement continues to build around the Replacements' new benefit EP, Songs For Slim, more information about the project continues to filter out. In addition to the full track-listing for the EP as well as the Chris Mars designed album art (featured above), details have also emerged about when the auction will begin for the precious 250 limited-edition 10" vinyl copies.

According to a Star Tribune report, Peter Jesperson, the Replacements former manager, says that the auction should start on January 15 and run for ten days. The eBay auction is to take place via the Songs For Slim website. All proceeds from the auction will go towards defraying the medical costs and rehabilitation care for former 'Mats guitarist Slim Dunlap as he continues to recover at home from a stroke he suffered in early 2012.

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More Replacements benefit EP details as Slim Dunlap nears hospital exit
Chris Mars records new song to benefit Slim Dunlap

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Photo by Erik Hess

With the holiday season upon us, if you need a worthwhile distraction from the rampant consumerism and commercialism associated with Christmas, it's best to look for a way to help others in need. And for the fourth year in a row, Minnesota music and charity come together for a good cause on Holiday Lights Vol. 4, a benefit album that serves as the soundtrack for IBEW Holiday Lights in the Park, the annual light display and fundraiser at Lake Phalen in St. Paul.

Local artists like Owl City, Lorie Line, the New Standards, Chris Koza, Alison Scott and many more all recorded holiday favorites that have been compiled on Holiday Lights Vol. 4, sales of which will benefit Second Harvest Heartland, Union Gospel Mission, St. Paul Parks Conservancy, and UnderConstruction. The CD's are available nightly at the lighting event, and at all metro area Kowalski's Markets beginning today, as well as through CD Baby and all major online digital retailers.

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Just because the Presidential Debates are done for 2012 doesn't mean that you should stop being politically active and aware leading up to Election Day. And tonight's Vote No Squared: Turn A Double Negative Into A Positive concert at Varsity Theater has been put together to raise awareness and support for Voting No on both the proposed constitutional amendments regarding Marriage and Voter ID that we will all be voting on in November.

The lineup is truly diverse, and represents the many different factions and facets of the Twin Cities music community. Congressman Keith Ellison will also be stopping by to make a special appearance while lending his support to this truly worthwhile cause. The event is put together by Take Action MN, OutFront MN, and MPIRG, and should be an engaging, informative, and uplifting night of music and togetherness at one of the best venues in town.

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Tonight at the Cedar Cultural Center, Big Cats! (aka Spencer Wirth-Davis) is having a record release party for his highly inventive, and deeply personal, new album, For My Mother. There's a great feature on Wirth-Davis in this week's City Pages, documenting the desperate struggle and ultimate success that Spencer encountered while putting this record together, and tonight's show promises a full rendering of the entire new album with a sprawling 15-piece band that will help bring this heartrending music to life. It should not be missed.

To get more of a sense on the overall sound and structure of the instrumental album, give a look and a listen to this recent Current in-studio performance by Big Cats!, where Wirth-Davis is joined by a tight 11-piece crew who help him craft the intoxicating sounds of "Six."

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Big Cats! creates for a cause: Spencer Wirth-Davis dedicates new release to his mother

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