Centerstage Minnesota
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April 25th, 2013:
Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank
-
Ian Thomas Alexy, and
Teague Alexy migrated west from
The East Coast eventually settling
in
Holyoke, Minnesota around 2005.
They immediately began frequenting
stages around Duluth as individual
acts. Quickly their styles and
talents began to meld into the act
that they named
Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank.
They've logged serious miles
criss-crossing the United States
playing shows. Also publishing an
EP, and four full-length albums,
including their newest release
"Number One Contender," the
Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank are
undoubtedly a central musical entity
these days in Duluth, a town that
has in recent years been producing
as much or more attention grabbing
music as the Twin Cities. Teague and
Ian showed up on a chilly Sunday
morning recently to have this
conversation with Charlie Pulkrabek.
Photo by Joshua Priestley. |
April 18th, 2013:
No Grass Limit
and Morgan's Run This
past winter Northern Community Radio
volunteer programmer and producer
Dave Lathrop showed up on a Saturday
to attend and cover an event put on
by the
Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time
Music Association at the Chief
Theater in Bemidji. Part of their
Community Concert Series, this
concert featured
No Grass Limit, and
Morgan's Run. Taking the
information and audio he gathered
that day, Dave Lathrop crafted this
great piece about the event and both
bluegrass bands. |
April 11th, 2013:
Brothers Burn
Mountain -
Ryan and Jesse Dermody have chosen
to approach life on their own terms.
The specifics of that implication
involve many creative pursuits,
music occupying the top of that
list. It also can mean living in a
cabin in the northern Minnesota
woods without running water or
electricity, the pursuit of
sweetness, I could go on. The
Brothers Burn Mountain are not
so much trying to sell you a record,
or put on a live show from musician
to audience. The
Brothers Burn Mountain, instead,
seem to be pursuing the experience
of making great art together. By
that I mean together with each other
to be shared with those that are
open to it. When they play a show,
it is again about their experience,
and those watching and
listening...experiencing the music
with them could very well be on
stage with them. For in many ways
those sharing that experience become
part of the music. These guys truly
see music as a path to meaningful,
peaceful lives. And that truth adds
a tangible quality to their music
that sets it apart in a way that
eludes language, eludes description.
Produced by Amy Clark. Additional
thanks to sound engineer Keenan
McIntyre-Talbott. |
April 4th, 2013:
Tea and
Sympathy -
Though Alicia Corbett is an
acclaimed musician and songwriter
among the musicians inhabiting the
Twin Cities, her music is a virtual
secret to many music fans when you
compare the quality of her output
over the past twenty-plus years
since she arrived in Minnesota from
Northern Michigan with the general
awareness of her work. Those that
know Alicia Corbett's work with her
band
Tea and Sympathy, or under her
own name, have probably pined for
more. With "Things Like This,"
Tea and Sympathy's new record,
old and new music fans are likely to
be delighted. Old fans finally have
another impressive new record to
sink their teeth into, and new fans
have not only "Things Like This," to
discover, but three more past
releases to indulge in after that.
Here, Alicia Corbett joins Charlie
Pulkrabek on Centerstage Minnesota. |
March 28th, 2013:
Nikki and the
Ruemates - Nikki
Matteson's appearance as a teen on
Prairie Home Companion was only the
beginning. Down the road a ways she
met Rich Rue, and the two have been
partners making music together for
some time now. Very notably,
"Rise and Shine," the 2012
full-length release from
Nikki and the Ruemates is real
statement. Nikki Matteson recently
joined Charlie Pulkrabek on
Centerstage Minnesota. |
March 21st, 2013:
Monroe
Crossing is a
Minnesota Bluegrass band named for
Bill Monroe, "The Father of
Bluegrass Music. 2013 represents the
band's thirteenth year together. And
Monroe Crossing's 2012 release "The
Road Has No End" is the thirteenth
full-length record, and they average
125 live shows per year. Recently
Derek Johnson of
Monroe Crossing recently joined
Northern Community Radio volunteer
programmer and producer Dave Lathrop
and Charlie Pulkrabek on Centerstage
Minnesota.
Photo by Jamey Guy. |
March 7th, 2013:
Mary Bue
has been making music out of the
Duluth music scene since 1998.
Mary Bue released her fourth
full-length record,
"Apple In the Ocean," was
released in 2012. Recently Northern
Community Radio producer Amy Clark
brings us this piece on Mary Bue and
her music.
Photo by Sarah Holden. |
February 21st, 2013:
Shannon
Selberg was the
downright frightening frontman,
vocalist, and part-time bugle player
for eleven years for the legendary
Minneapolis punk/noise band
The Cows. After a move to New
York City in the late 90's, Selberg
put together
The Heroine Sheiks. A version of
that band migrated back to
Minneapolis, disbanding in 2009.
Historical accounts of Twin Cities
music history that are out there
these days seem to feel like they've
covered the heavy, obnoxious,
anticommercial leaning bands once
they've touched on The Replacements
and Husker Du. The truth is many,
many bands of that nature formed the
foundation of the Twin Cities music
scene for roughly 30 years. It was
from that foundation which the
thriving Minnesota music environment
of today has grown. This
conversation between Shannon Selberg
and Charlie Pulkrabek digs into some
of the Twin Cities music history
that is all too overlooked. |
February 14th, 2013:
Breanne Marie
is a relatively new country western
musician who is rapidly becoming
visible, along with her band The
Front Porch Sinners, in Duluth's
music community. Late last year she
released
Six Strings of Peace and Sanity,
her debut full-length release. It's
an album that chronicles Breanne's
struggle to recover from the
gut wrenching tragedy that has been
all to real in her life since 2006.
Northern Community Radio producer
Amy Clark brings us this piece on
the music of
Breanne Marie. Additional thanks
to sound engineer Keenan
McIntyre-Talbott. |
Sam
Miltich Remembers
One of his Mentors,
Croatian-American musician and
instrument maker Sheba Hecimovich of
Coleraine. Sheba died late last year
at the age of 90. |
February 7th, 2013:
Reina del
Cid and the Cidizens
Reina del Cid grew up in Fargo.
She attended the University of
Minnesota on a scholarship awarded
to her by
The Jackie Robinson Foundation.
Despite being tempted by serious
interest from some big shots in the
music industry while she was in
college earning her English degree,
Reina opted to complete her degree
before shifting her focus to music.
Music fans are lucky now, though.
Degree in hand, Reina del Cid is a
musician these days.
Reina del Cid and the Cidizens
recently released "blueprints,
plans," an excellent debut full
length release that has garnered
well deserved attention. On their
way to Duluth one Friday night,
Reina del Cid and Toni Lindgren, the
Cidizens guitar player, detoured
through Grand Rapids to stop at the
Northern Community Radio studios in
Grand Rapids to talk to Charlie
Pulkrabek on Centerstage MInnesota. |
January 31st, 2013:
Dave
King
is a highly
accomplished drummer primarily
working in the Jazz genre, though he
is also in the Minneapolis pop band
Halloween Alaska, and spent a
number of years behind the kit fo
rthe now nonexistent band
12 Rods. During the 1990's an
avante-garde jazz trio emerged
quickly out of the Twin Cities named
Happy Apple, featuring
Dave
King, Eric Fratzke, and Michael
Lewis. Around the turn of the
century
The Bad Plus formed. Nearly as
quickly as music fans became aware
of them they joined the roster of
Columbia Records. The Bad Plus is
Dave King, Ethan Iverson, and Reid
Anderson. Together they are one of
the most important bands working in
contemporary Jazz during the past
ten-plus years. Reid and Ethan
reside in New York City, while Dave
King calls the Twin Cities home. |
An essay from Jon
Dallas - "In the Zone"
Jon Dallas, originally from Ashland,
Ohio, has played trombone, piano,
and bass in hundreds of ensembles
over the past forty years -- from
off-Broadway pit bands, to chamber
groups, to jamming with Dizzy
Gillespie backstage, to backup for
The Temptations. He currently plays
with the IvoTrio and The Big-Time
Jazz Orchestra. Jon lives in Chisolm
and teaches at Hibbing Community
College. In this essay Jon Dallas
talks about experiencing those rare
moments when all the variables in a
live performance come together. |
January 24h, 2013:
Sam and Friends: Peter
Ostroushko
The fifth
installment of "Sam and Friends,"
has Sam Miltich talking with well
known Ukrainian-American mandolin
and fiddle player
Peter Ostroushko.
In this conversation, Peter tells
Sam about his early musical
influences growing up in the
Ukrainian neighborhoods of northeast
Minneapolis. |
January 17th, 2013:
Martin
Zellar
was the
frontman of
The Gear Daddies, a late
80's/early 90's Minneapolis based
band with whose members formed bonds
while living a couple hours south in
Austin. In that band Billy Dankert
and
Martin Zellar wrote great songs
that when brought to life in The
Gear Daddies arrangements were
irresistibly melancholic numbers
that crystallize intimate yet
universal aspects of small town and
rural life. The quality of The Gear
Daddies' first two records adds up
thier worthiness of comparison with
the importance of The Jayhawks
within Minnesota music history.
Martin's solo career has provided
continued creative achievement
including his impressive release
from 2012 called "Rooster's
Crow." He and Nick Ciola
recently stopped into the Northern
Community Radio's studios on their
way to a show at the Reif Center. |
January 10th, 2013:
Bill Bulinski
was born in Chicago and his family
moved to Ely early in his life. At
13 he placed an ad in the paper that
initiated the formation of
The Electras, a band that spent
time on Columbia Records, and is
credited as one of the precursors to
punk rock. Then came The
Greaseballs, a band that feaured
Bulinski's surf style guitar on
their instrumental tracks. Bulinski,
though, is adept at many styles of
guitar. Lately he's been a
Boundary Waters Boy, and has
released a record called "Bare Naked
Guitar," which is just what sounds
like. Bill recently spoke with
Charlie Pulkabek on Centerstage
Minnesota. |
January 3rd, 2013:
The Slamming Doors
Adam
Herman spent years touring around
the southwest United States with
band called James and the Devil.
More recently he moved to
Minnesota's Iron Range where he put
together
The Slamming Doors. With a
strong 2012 EP release, gigs every
weekend, and plans for another
record, this band is has one
mode...full speed ahead. |
December 20th, 2012:
Arcwelder This
week's feature is a conversation
Charlie Pulkrabek recently had with
two members of the mainstay Twin
Cities punk/hard rock band
Arcwelder, Scott Macdonald and
Rob Graber.
Photo by Jesse Keenan |
December 13th, 2012:
Snobarn
This Duluth based band started
as the duo of Gaelynn Lea and Ariane
Norrgard.
Snobarn has recently added three
more members to fill out their
electronic folk/alternative sound.
Northern Community Radio Producer
Amy Clark brings us this feature
piece on this intriguing new band. |
An Essay from Sasha
Mercedes Sasha is a talented
singer/songwriter that grew up in
northern Minnesota, and currently
makes her home in Minneapolis. Sasha
contributed this essay about a
subject that most musicians must
eventually face. Find out more about
Sasha Mercedes
and her music here.
Photo by Rachel Schroeder |
December 6th, 2012:
Sam and Friends: Martha
Larson
In the fourth
installment of "Sam and Friends,"
Minneapolis jazz cellist with one
foot in the Chicago jazz community
and one foot in the Minnesota jazz
community
Martha
Larson talks to Sam Miltich
about her craft. |
Author and Professor of Ojibwe at
Bemidji State University Anton
Treuer
joins
Michelle Martin on National Public
Radio to introduce some of
his favorite musicians and musical
groups. |
November 29th, 2012:
Jazz Guitarist Darin
Bergsven Jazz Guitarist
Darin Bergsven has roots in
Bemidji and currently calls Duluth
home. His 2012 full-length release
"Out of Nowhere" is quite a
statement. Northern Community Radio
Producer Amy Clark presents this
feature piece on Darin and his
music. |
Luke Thompson of Mippey5
talks to Erika Kooda -
When Luke Thompson says of Youtube
"It's
changed my life." he's not kidding.
He and his act known as
Mippey5 have become a Youtube
sensation with their entertaining
and well-crafted parodies. Erika
Kooda recently talked to Luke
Thompson how he got started making
parodies and Mippey5's success. |
November 22nd, 2012:
Booka
Michel
Founder and owner of
Loudhouse Records of Austin,
Texas Booka Michel is a native of
Grand Rapids. He still spends a
couple months during summer at his
cabin on an area lake. Last time
Booka was in the area he came into
Northern Community Radio's studios
in Grand Rapids to talk about his
musical path, and some of his recent
projects. Photo by Jacob Michel. |
November 15th, 2012:
Sean Daley,
AKA MC Slug of Atmosphere
Last winter Charlie Pulkrabek had a
rather long conversation with Sean
Daley, AKA MC Slug of Minneapolis
hip-hop standouts
Atmosphere and a founder of the
Rhymesayers Entertainment record
label. This, the second part of that
conversation, focuses on the
development of hip-hop in Minnesota
and the beginnings of
Rhymesayers Entertainment. |
An essay from Jon
Dallas - "If the Spirit"
Jon Dallas, originally from Ashland,
Ohio, has played trombone, piano,
and bass in hundreds of ensembles
over the past forty years -- from
off-Broadway pit bands, to chamber
groups, to jamming with Dizzy
Gillespie backstage, to backup for
The Temptations. He currently plays
with the IvoTrio and The Big-Time
Jazz Orchestra. Jon lives in Chisolm
and teaches at Hibbing Community
College. |
November 8th, 2012:
The Parlour Suite
are fronted by the married duo Joel
and Inga Roberts. They are referred
to as "Surf Pop" music, though that
term seems too limited for
describing their intelligent pop
sensibilities. Give this feature
interview with Charlie Pulkrabek a
listen and see what you think of
The Parlour Suite. Photo by
LeoGra. |
Kevin Bowe
offers his thoughts on being a
musician and how to deal with the
various inevitable judgements of
your creation, your music, in this
essay. |
November 1st, 2012:
Brothers Burn Mountain are as
interesting and exciting as any band
working in Minnesota today. The band
consists of Ryan and Jesse Dermody,
two brothers who seem as interested
in making great art as a means of
good living as they do about
receiving praise. The result, as
evidenced on their five full-length
releases, is nothing if not worthy
of the highest praise. Northern
Community Radio Producer Amy Clark
presents this feature piece giving
further insight into the entity that
is the
Brothers Burn Mountian.
Additional thanks to sound engineer
Keenan McIntyre-Talbott. |
We Love To Be
Free is a compilation of
songs put out by
Minnesotans United For All Families.
It is a collaboration effort from
Minnesota musicians compelled to
action by the existence of the
Minnesota Same-Sex Marriage
Ammendment on the 2012 ballot.
Recently Co-Producers Dave Alderson
and Nicole Navratil talked to
Charlie Pulkrabek on Centerstage
Minnesota. |
October 25th, 2012:
Sasha Mercedes is a talented
singer/songwriter that grew up in
northern Minnesota, and currently
makes her home in Minneapolis. Her
story is very interesting to say the
least. You heard an essay from
Sasha Mercedes last week. This
week we present a feature interview
recorded when she stopped into our
Bemidji Northern Community Radio
studio and talked with Charlie
Pulkrabek. Photo by Catie Ezati |
October 18th, 2012:
Kevin Bowe
is a veteran of the Minneapolis
music scene. His success has come in
a variety of roles.
Kevin Bowe is a songwriter for
musicians like Kenny Wayne Shepard,
Jonny Lang, Etta James, Alison
Scott, and more. He's producer, and
a hired gun guitarist having worked
with the likes of Freedy Johnston,
and former Replacements frontman
Paul Westerberg. This year he
released a great record with his
band called Kevin Bowe and the
Okemah Prophets called "Natchez
Trace." Charlie Pulkrabek recently
got a chance to talk with Kevin
Bowe, Peter Anderson, and Steve
Price at Northern Community Radio's
studios in Bemidji. |
Sasha
Mercedes is a talented
singer/songwriter that grew up in
northern Minnesota, and currently
makes her home in Minneapolis. Her
story is very interesting to say the
least. Tune in to Centerstage
Minnesota next week to hear a
feature interview with
Sasha Mercedes. This week Sasha
brings us an essay on career choices
and parental concern.
Photo by Rachel Schroeder |
October 11th, 2012:
Ben Kyle is well known for being
the singer/songwriter that has
fronted the Minneapolis band
Romantica for 10 years and three
records. His new self-titled solo
release, to be released nationally
in November, comes to us highly
anticipated. Charlie Pulkrabek
recently caught up with Ben Kyle at
his studio in Minneapolis. |
October 4th, 2012:
In the third
installment of "Sam and Friends,"
Sam Miltich and acclaimed
accordionist
Patrick Harison join Scott Hall
in the Northern Community Radio
studios for a conversation about
Patrick's career, that storied
instrument the accordion, and to
perform some music. |
October 3rd, 2012:
Teague Alexy
has been working hard this past
summer in support of his latest solo
record titled "This Dance." Teague
and his brother Ian front the band
Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank. Teague
Alexy recently joined Travis Ryder
on Currrents to talk about his
carreer and play a few songs. |
September 27th, 2012:
Wookiefoot is a Minnepolis based
entity that most closely resembles a
band. But these guys are hoping to
trancsend what that currently means.
Give this feature interview with
Mark Murphy a listen and see
what I mean. |
September 20th, 2012:
Alison Scott
is a singer songwriter from the Twin
Cities that presents music that
touches on, but is certainly not
limited to Blues, Jazz, and Soul
music. Her stock has been rising
quickly. She recently joined Charlie
Pulkrabek on Centerstage Minnesota. |
September 13th, 2012:
Diet
Folk is a young trio rising
quickly through the Duluth music
scene. Their new record "Cold,"
released in June, is making a splash
for good reason. Northern Community
Radio Producer Amy Clark crafted
this piece on Diet Folk. |
September 6th, 2012:
4OnTheFloor is a band based out
of Minneapolis that humbly say
they're just getting back to basics.
They are doing much more than that,
and quickly garnering well-deserved
attention for their efforts. Gabriel
Douglas of
4OnTheFloor recently talked to
Charlie Pulkrabek on Centerstage
Minnesota. |
August 30th, 2012:
In the second
installment of "Sam and Friends,"
Sam Miltich interviews mainstay Jazz
Vocalist and Hibbing native
Connie Evingson about her career
in Minnesota's music scene. Connie
Evingson's latest release is called
"Sweet Happy Life." |
August 23rd, 2012: Virgil
Caine is band of seasoned musicians
that plays what they call "Roots
rock, R & B, and Butt Shakin'
Blues." Mark Hawley from Virgil
Caine joined Charlie Pulkrabek on
Centerstage Minnesota. |
August 16th, 2012: Alan
Sparhawk is well known for being
central to such acts as
Low,
Black Eyed Snakes, and
Retribution Gospel Choir. His
newest project is new duo called
Murder of Crows featuring
Sparhawk and Gaelynn Lea. Producer
Amy Clark brings us an early look at
this exciting new act. |
August 9th, 2012: Eric
Pollard has played as part of
musical acts like Low, Retribution
Gospel Choir, and the Dukes of
Hubbard. Now this Grand Rapids
native is striking out on his own as
the creative force behind
Actual Wolf. Travis Ryder
recently spoke with Eric Pollard
about his new project and some of
his experiences as a touring
musician. |
August 2nd, 2012: In this,
the debut of a new Centerstage
Minnesota feature called "Sam and
Friends,"
Sam Miltich interviews
Charmin Michelle about her
music, jazz music in Minnesota, and
more. |
July 26th, 2012:
Big Walter Smith passed away on
the morning of Tuesday, July 24th.
Listen here for an intimate
interview that Doug MacRostie
recorded with bluesman Big Walter
Smith in 2010 about such subjects as
his first experience singing, how he
got to Minnesota, what kept him
here, and more.
|
|
July 19th, 2012:
Sena Ehrhardt Band is
making waves with their first record
of a three record deal with
Blind Pig Records titled Leave
the Light On, combined with their
captivating live performances.
Travis Ryder recently produced this
interview with Sena Ehrhardt for
Northern Community Radio's
Centertage Minnesota program. |
July 12th, 2012: Maybe, like
many of us at Northern Community
Radio, you got hooked on
this talented kid performing as part
of the past two editions of the
Great Northern Radio Show. He'll
be on stage again this Saturday at
KAXE's 8th Annual Mississippi River
Festival during the Young
Musician's Showcase.
Listen to this interview Charlie
Pulkrabek recorded recently with
Sonny Johnson. |
July 5th, 2012: Together
Germiane Gemberling and
Rich Mattson are at least
partially responsible for current
musical acts like Junkboat,
The Tisdales,
The Bitter Spills, and their own
solo acts which span a variety of
sounds. Rich also runs Sparta Sound,
a recording studio named for the
town in which it resides. Charlie
Pulkrabek recently sat down with
them at the studios of Northern
Community Radio. |
|
May 31st, 2012: Producer Amy
Clark brings us a profile of Duluth
area musician
Teague Alexy and his new solo
record
titled "This Dance." |
May 19th, 2012:
Trampled By Turtles bassist and
Grand Rapids native Tim Saxhaug
joins Travis Ryder to talk about
their music and the whirlwind of
attention the group has gotten since
the release of the newest
Trampled By Turtles record
titled Stars and Satellites. |
|
May 12th, 2012:
Renowned jazz
guitarists Joan Griffith and Sam
Miltich join Charlie Pulkrabek to
talk about music and what it means
to them. |
|
April 26th, 2012:
Producer Dave Lathrop documents the
"draw band" process at the Cabin
Fever Reliever Bluegrass gathering
in Duluth. Dave follows one of the
draw bands as they pull together a
performance with very limited time
for preparation. |
|
April 19th, 2012: Northern
Community Radio Producer Amy Clark
presents a documentary about Duluth
based musician
Charlie Parr. |
|
April 19th, 2012: Folk
Singer
Jaspar Lepak joins Travis Ryder
to talk about her music and her
nomadic life. |
|
April 12th, 2012:
The Magnolias have a new studio
record out, after a long hiatus,
titled "Pop the Lock." Frontman John
Freeman joins Charlie Pulkrabek to
talk about the historical
significance of The Magnolias and
what they are up to these days. |
|
April 5th, 2012:
Lance Benson
and Mark Bauer join Travis Ryder in
the KBXE studios for a conversation
and live performamce. |
  Producer
Dave Lathrop documents the "draw
band" process at the Cabin Fever
Reliever Bluegrass gathering in
Duluth.
Dave follows one of the draw bands
as they pull together a performance
with very limited time for
preparation. |
|
February 16th, 2012:
Charlie is
joined by Sean Daley, aka MC Slug of
Minneapolis indie Hip-Hop giants
Atmosphere. |
|
Jan. 12, 2012
Travis Ryder talks with veteran folk
musician
Larry Long about his new record,
"Don't Stand Still," activism,
and
Community Celebration, his
nonprofit organization. |
|
Dec. 15, 2011
Charlie Pulkrabek is joined in the
studio by
Paul Metsa to talk about his new
book
Blue Guitar Highway. |
|
Nov. 3, 2011
Brian Miller, originally from
Bemidji, breathes new life into the
Celtic-inspired songs of our
region's lumber camps. |
|
July 28, 2011
Maddi Frick visits with Joey Ryan,
bandleader of Twin Cities-based band
Joey Ryan and the Inks.
They released their second LP,
Dennis Lane, on July
30. |
|
July 14th, 2011 Dave Lathrop
interviews teenage guitar slinger
Trent Romens, a performer at the
KAXE Mississippi River Festival
2011. |
|
May 5th, 2011
Charlie talks
with Alan Sparhawk of
internationally-acclaimed,
Duluth-based band
Low. Their new CD is
entitled C'mon. |
| |