Video Archive: 1986 Duluth Punks
Does anyone know these punks?
Jaw Knee Vee – “Holiday Romp!”
One-man trash-blues explosion Jaw Knee Vee blasts out this year’s holiday greeting from PDD. Check out more of his lo-fi hijinks at the Jaw Knee Vee Facebook page and Bandcamp page.
A big thank you to the Homegrown Music Festival for sponsoring this video. Music fans hark this: The Homegrown Winter Fiasco will be staged at three West Duluth venues on Jan. 22. Musicians hark this: Homegrown band registration begins Christmas Day and ends Jan. 31.
Also, thanks to real estate developer Aaron Schweiger for letting us into the former Morgan Park School auditorium to shoot this special performance before a capacity crowd.
For more festive PDD video wholesomeness, check out the PDD Holiday Video Showcase.
The Lowertown Line: Cloud Cult
Twin Cities Public Television’s live-performance music show, The Lowertown Line, features Cloud Cult performing on the Minneapolis Convention Center Plaza for the opening of the 2015 Northern Spark art festival. The band’s new album, The Seeker, is scheduled for a Feb. 12 release.
Video Archive: Christopher Halverson – “Come Back Down” / “Walk on the Wild Side”
Christopher Halverson rolls out a medley of Toad the Wet Sprocket and Lou Reed at R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon during an open mic on Sept. 16, 1995.
Lark o’ the Lake Ice Cream Coffee Café open in Greysolon Plaza
The Duluth News Tribune reports the new Lark o’ the Lake Café opened in the Greysolon Plaza on Nov. 27. Owners are Sandra Ettestad, Mark Marino and Don Monaco.
“The menu includes coffee and espresso drinks, smoothies, pastries, deli sandwiches, soups, salads and old-fashioned ice cream desserts,” the DNT article notes. “Prices are affordable, with most lunches less than $10. The cafe has Wi-Fi and is close to getting a wine and beer license.”
Duluth News Tribune: Lark Café opens at Greysolon Plaza in Duluth with a focus on aviation
This Week: fishing, beer, Krayzie Bone and more
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
Amber Burns has an art show at the Zeitgeist building, there’s help available for people wanting more info on MNsure, UWS holds its 18th annual Choral Concert, Fairlawn Mansion is a-twinklin’, Zenith City Cabaret puts on its December show and Santa is making a stop at Mr. D’s.
Krayzie Bone from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (not that other Krayzie Bone you’re thinking of) is playing the Red Herring, there’s a Men as Peacemakers fundraiser featuring several performers, Warm Up to the Brews 2015 is going down (also with bands attached), fans of ice fishing, snowmobiles and holidays should make some time to hit the DECC, the Minnesota Ballet is crackin’ nuts, Rubber Chicken Theater makes with the local holiday yuk-yuks, guitarist Lonnie Knight is in town and the Fractals play a holiday fundraiser for kids.
Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad will run in 2016
Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad, which recently made VacationIdea magazine’s list of the “25 Best Things to See & Do in Duluth, Minnesota,” has been notified that the U.S. Steel clean up on the St. Louis River won’t start until the fall of 2016. So rail tours along the shoreline will return next summer.
Come on out and volunteer. You will meet some great people while having fun along the St. Louis River!
The Ripsaw’s Demise
It was Dec. 6, 2005 when the plug was officially pulled on the Ripsaw, Duluth’s experiment with having a newspaper similar to City Pages or Isthmus. It didn’t last long, but it was good while it lasted. (more…)
Video Archive: Bill Flannagan – “In the Pines”
Yet another clip recorded live at R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon during open mic night on Sept. 16, 1995.
Meet Emily Larson, Duluth’s next mayor
Ever on the lookout to meet interesting people, I reached out to Emily Larson a few days before the election by attempting to invite myself over for dinner with the family. To sweeten the deal, I offered to assist with meal prep and do the dishes. Wishing to protect the privacy of her family, she declined my generous offer. She did, however, carve out nearly two hours from her busy schedule for the sake of an unconventional interview. In the process, I acquired a friend. You can read more from my exclusive interview at Ed’s Big Adventure.
Superior exploring possible “exposition district”
Business North reports an economic development group called Better City Superior intends to seek state permission to create an “exposition district” to attract new developments, such as a 150-room hotel, 20,000-square-foot convention center, 50,000-square-foot water park, a sports field house, a movie theater and a corporate campus.
Business North: “Better City Superior announces growth vision“
Selective Focus: Food
Erin Naughton-Garrison, “Drag Queen Baby Shower Buffet”
Nice. I was expecting perfectly-plated smart phone grabs from local restaurants, and instead received a group of highly original interpretations on this week’s theme. Erin’s da Vinciesque tableau was especially arresting, and I appreciated the subtext of food as a tradition we convey along generations. Staying with the elemental, next week’s theme will be “air.” (more…)
My Time with Arrowhead Regional Arts Council
Joni Van Bockel and a friend during her time in Duluth.
Hi, I’m Joni Van Bockel. In June I left the Twin Cities to work and intern for the wonderful folks at the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council. This internship has been an extremely valuable learning opportunity for me both as a professional seeking a career in the arts and as a young artist. (more…)
Exhibition Drive Holiday Sound & Light Show
The Kern family’s holiday sound and light show at 2725 Exhibition Drive in Duluth runs nightly from 5 to 10 p.m. through Dec. 31. Video by Steven Gold.
Bagley Nature Area Population Boom?
It looks like there is a population explosion in UMD’s Bagley Nature Area! A couple elaborate shelters with exquisite details are inhabited — yet nicely hidden from the prying eyes of neighbors. At the time of my visit, the residents must have been in class but they did leave a fresh deer hide behind to greet me. I give them an A+ in civil engineering!
PDD Video Lab: “Windows” at the Tweed
Sharon Louden’s exhibition is on display at the Tweed Museum of Art through May 29.
Pick your favorite soundtrack from the choices below and play it along with this silent video.
Cornucopia 2015: A Remarkable Harvest!
A week ago we hosted an outstanding event at the Red Herring Lounge: Cornucopia 2015. The evening featured some of the best live music our area has to offer, both Emily Larson and Don Ness, live painting, tap dance, local brews, and more. Unbridled joy, like running with wild horses, marked the evening. A goal was to showcase and celebrate the abundant talent our area produced in 2015. This year’s harvest, if you will. Additionally, we wanted everyone to experience just how accessible these local “celebrities” really are. There are no little people. You can read more about this one-of-a-kind evening, the busiest Tuesday ever at the Red Herring Lounge, at Ed’s Big Adventure.
College of St. Scholastica 2015 Christmas Video
Sledding, sweets and a warm fire. All the good stuff.
Cones
Video by Will Smyth, featuring a bunch of cones. Some are clearly in Duluth. Some are probably not.
Red Fox near Duluth Harbor
Rich Hoeg was out looking for snowy owls on the Duluth waterfront and came up empty … except for this red fox sighting. For more photos check out Hoeg’s 365 Days of Birds blog.
Nathan Gustavsson of Hermantown
Since the shooting in the Twin Cities at the Black Lives Matter protest, it was revealed that one of the suspects is from Hermantown.
Nearly 1,000 people marched to City Hall on Tuesday, less than a day after five protesters were shot near a Black Lives Matter demonstration, an apparently racially motivated attack that pushed Minneapolis into the national spotlight.
Minneapolis police said Tuesday that they have arrested three men in connection with the shooting. Allen Lawrence “Lance” Scarsella III, 23, was arrested in Bloomington. Sources said Nathan Gustavsson, 21, of Hermantown, and Daniel Macey, 26, of Pine City, were taken into custody after they turned themselves in. All three suspects are white. Earlier Tuesday, police arrested a 32-year-old Hispanic man in south Minneapolis, but he was later released because, police said, he was not at the scene of the shooting.
—Minneapolis Star Tribune: 3 men in custody, 1 released in Minneapolis 4th Precinct protest shooting
A friend of mine in the Cities wanted to know how that revelation played out up here. To be honest, his question was the first I’d heard.
Thoughts?
Duluth National Snocross 2015
Video by Max Fierek.
This Week: lots o’ music, whiskey, comedy and more
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
Rockapella 2015 is in the house: Home Free stops at the DECC for some vocal-only action, people can taste a bunch of whiskeys at the Kitch to benefit the DSSO, Superior Siren plays the Red Herring with Coyote and Black Diary, Mary Poppins flies into Duluth, pop-country guy Chris Young comes to the Amsoil and Chris Monroe shows her latest stuff.
Kate Isles releases her first solo album, Rubber Chicken presents its latest Duluth-centric holiday production, Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute comes to Weber Music Hall, Charles Dickens serves up some ghostly justice to the ultimate one-percenter, a bunch of bands comprised of people who didn’t ask to be stuck together perform and Sacred Heart is holding a holiday fundraiser.
Bald eagle stuck in trap rescued by hunters
https://www.facebook.com/michael.fletcher.984/videos/10153767102980948/
Two brothers grouse hunting in Canada rescued a bald eagle with its talon stuck in a trap and then took a selfie with it. They posted video of the rescue on Facebook, the freeing of the talon took about four minutes. (more…)
Video Archive: Fromunda Trio at R.T. Quinlan’s
The trio of Tina Ludwig-Laxen, Jay Johnson and James J. Myers Jr. performing at R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon during an open mic on Sept. 16, 1995.