DNT Extra April 2018

20 years of

Homegrown

The Twin Ports’ iconic music festival marks a milestone

It’s spring in Duluth, and music is in the air.

Songbirds in the trees, frogs in the ponds, the horns of freighters passing through the Duluth ship canal — and, for the 20th year, local musicians gathering for the annual Homegrown Music Festival.

For the fourth edition of DNT Extra, we’re taking a look at the festival in its milestone year — its history, the bands and more, along with lots of Homegrown photos from the News Tribune archives.

From a few bands and one night, to now dozens of performances spread across eight days, Homegrown has developed into a must-see music event that draws crowds not just from the Twin Ports, but from across the region. Whether you’re a festival regular, or if you haven’t yet been to a show, we hope you’ll find this section useful and interesting.

This issue of DNT Extra follows our past editions on the Twin Ports’ maritime heritage, the Northland’s craft beer boom, and Northland weather. If you have any ideas for upcoming issues of DNT Extra, please let us know.

Thanks again for reading the Duluth News Tribune and DNT Extra.

Rick Lubbers is the editor of the Duluth News Tribune. Contact him at (218) 723-5301 or rlubbers@duluthnews.com.

4

Homegrown History

A look back at 20 years of the local music festival

20

Venue map

A guide to the sites hosting events during Homegrown

28

Band basics

So you want to start a band? Here’s some advice

10

Homegrown schedule

Who’s playing, when and where for the eight-day event

22 Music memories

Homegrown fans share stories from the past two decades

30

More than music

Homegrown also features poetry, kids’ events and other activities

34

Playing Homegrown

A musician offers his take on what it’s like to play the iconic festival

Cover photo: Alan Sparhawk(from left), Mimi Parker and Steve Garrington of Low perform at Clyde Iron Works in Duluth during the Homegrown Music Festival in May 2016. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

Rick Lubbers

Page design for this section by Renae Ronquist. Editing by Andrew Krueger, Rick Lubbers, Barrett Chase and Beverly Godfrey. Assistance with graphics from Gary Meader.

By Christa Lawler clawler @duluthnews.com

The first official — and that’s an important distinction to purists — Homegrown Music Festival was a two-day, 10-band showcase in the mezzanine at the NorShor Theatre. It was the 31st birthday party for event inventor Scott “Starfire” Lunt, a music-head and fun-maker. And in 1999, the storied old venue was the epicenter for a growing music

From its roots at the NorShor in 1999, annual Duluth music festival has grown to include nearly 200 bands

The lineup included Lunt’s band Father Hennepin, an alt-country group celebrating its first anniversary, as well as Giljunko, Max Dakota, Black Labels, Amy Abts, Gild, Crazy Betty, Ballyhoo, 2 Sleepy People and the First Ladies.

A story that ran in the News Tribune in advance

of the event stopped just short of likening it to Woodstock.

The first of what would become an annual fest drew a reported 400 fans per night.

“I think this thing could grow to be a multi-venue event in the future,” Lunt prophetically told the News

Continued on page 6

Trampled By Turtles plays to a capacity crowd at Clyde Iron Works during the Homegrown Music Festival in May 2012. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com) scene.

Tribune.

And how.

Homegrown Music Festival, in its 20th year, begins April 29 and is an eight-night festival featuring nearly 200 bands and other artthemed events at more than 30 venues in Duluth and Superior — including the NorShor Theatre, which will be the site of the Poetry Showcase and Starfire Tonight: A Homegrown Jam.

In the late 1990s, Duluth was developing a core of local musicians playing original music, recalled Brad Nelson, the drummer for Father Hennepin whose alt-weekly newspaper, the Ripsaw, was simultaneously documenting the scene.

“It just started with that nucleus of musicians hanging at the NorShor who had a collective common vision of local music,” Nelson said.

“That’s what we wanted to hear more than we wanted a cover band that was playing songs that were already on the radio.”

Lunt’s 30th birthday, which served as inspiration for the festival, was a private affair held at the Lafayette Community Center. He invited a handful of bands — which included the first public performance for Father Hennepin.

Nelson recalled it as a mellow night of musicians playing for mostly

Giljunko, including Mark Lindquist of Duluth, was among the acts at the first Homegrown Music Festival in 1999. (2000 file / News Tribune)

other musicians and friends of musicians. A band would play, go grab a beer, and watch the next band play. The lineup, including his own band: Jon Olson, Amy Abts, Mark Lindquist and Gild.

For singer-songwriter Amy Abts, then a student at the University of Minnesota Duluth and a relatively new friend of Lunt’s, it was one of her first gigs. She didn’t have a lot of friends offcampus at the time, she said.

“I couldn’t get anyone to come with me,” she said. Still: “It was really pretty. There were candles everywhere.”

Abts performed first and remembers a cool vibe, with people sitting on stage. They would slowly come into the room, pause, stop and sit down.

“I felt listened to,” she said. “More and more people showed up. Strangers and people I didn’t know. That was maybe the first time I realized strangers were hearing my music for the first time.”

There were posters on a table and a guy asked her to sign one.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” she remembered him telling her.

The festival’s growth came quickly. Bands and venues had at least doubled by the event’s

second official year. In time it had its own signature beer and kickball rivalry. In 2002, then-mayor Gary Doty offered an official proclamation. The Duluth Transit Authority offered up its trolley for the weekend. Art, poetry and film events were added.

Leadership shifted and morphed and what started as one man’s mega-birthday bash

now has a slew of directors, coordinators, a steering committee and volunteers.

“You know what really amazes me is how it has self-perpetuated itself,” Nelson said.

Generations paving the way for generations of music. First there was Low, he said. Then the next generation was Trampled By Turtles. Here comes another wave,

Continued on page 8

“There’s always talent in any town. It’s about showing people where to step and giving them the platforms to step to.”

Mayfly performs during the Homegrown Music Festival at the NorShor Theatre in Duluth in May 2001.

(News Tribune file photo)

Scott Lunt performs with Father Hennepin during a 2012 Homegrown Music Festival show at Clyde Iron Works in Duluth. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

with The Social Animals — a Cloquet-bred group that toured last summer with All-American Rejects, Dashboard Confessional and more.

“It shows what can happen when you have a pipeline for people to follow,” Nelson said. “There’s always talent in any town. It’s about showing people where to step and giving them the platforms to step to.”

Alan Sparhawk of Low described the festival as a yearly checkpoint — a chance to celebrate what people are doing and see how the scene has grown.

“Especially for old people who have seen that arc and know how far it’s come,” he said. u

◆ July 19 TIM HOULIHAN

◆ July 26 LEHTO &WRIGHT

◆ August 2 ROCK-A-BILLYREVUE

◆ August 9 Closing Night

A News Tribune story previewing the first Homegrown Music Festival in Duluth in May 1999.

Alan Sparhawk of the Black Eyed Snakes grits out a tune as Brad Nelson drums in the background during the Duluth Homegrown Music Festival on May 5, 2001. (News Tribune file photo)

2018 HOMEGROWN MUSIC FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker perform with Low at Sacred Heart Music Center during the 2017 Homegrown Music Festival in Duluth. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

Sunday, April 29

Duluth Children’s Museum

Noon World Beat Drummers

12:15 p.m. Teague Alexy & Erik Berry

1 p.m. Dan the Monkey Man

1:15 p.m. Sonja Bjordahl & Lee Martin

2:15 p.m. Zeb or Zeke and the Run Away Screamings

3:15 p.m. The Farsights

Teatro Zuccone

6 p.m. Daniel Oluwaseyi Oyinloye

7 p.m. Allen Killian-Moore Ensemble

8 p.m. Wendy Durrwachter and Adam Sippola

Hoops Brewing

6 p.m. Zenith City Groove Collective

7 p.m. Mayor’s Proclamation

Note to readers

These schedules are subject to change. For updated information, go to duluthhomegrown.org.

7:15 p.m. Holy Hootenanners

8:15 p.m. Teague Alexy & Erik Berry

Pizza Lucé

9 p.m. Elephant Hotel

10 p.m. Dog Talk

11 p.m. JayGee

Midnight Prone

Monday, April 30

Blacklist Artisan Ales

5 p.m. Opening reception for Homegrown Photo Show

Dan Munthe, who is known as Dan the Monkey Man, performs at Beaner’s Central in Duluth in 2017. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

Zinema 2

6 p.m. Homegrown Music Video Festival

NorShor Theatre

7:30 p.m. Homegrown Poetry Showcase

Red Herring Lounge

7:15 p.m. MRS.

8:15 p.m. Jim Hall

9:15 p.m. Nudecolors

10:15 p.m. Monster Mob

Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake

8 p.m. Group Too

9 p.m. Amy Hzl

10 p.m. DJ Path Annu

Rex Bar at Fitger’s

8:45 p.m. Big Science

9:45 p.m. Ricky Sci Fi

10:45 p.m. Hannah Rey

11:45 p.m. Silverback Colony

Tuesday, May 1

Bent Paddle Brewing Co.

6 p.m. Four Mile Portage

7 p.m. Beyondbliss

8 p.m. The Tisdales

Amazing Grace Bakery & Café

6:30 p.m. The Riverside Bogstompers

7:30 p.m. Greg Tiburzi

8:30 p.m. The Trash Cats

Zinema 2

7 p.m. Homegrown Music Video Festival (encore presentation)

Vikre Distillery

7:15 p.m. Bill Bastian

8:15 p.m. The Old Smugglers

9:15 p.m. The True Malarkey

Prøve Gallery

7 p.m. Mama’s Stolen Horses

Homegrown Music Festival concert-goers pose with the festival’s chicken mascot at Clyde Iron Works in Duluth in April 2015. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

8 p.m. Discord at Dawn 9 p.m. Igot#work

The Sports Garden

8:45 p.m. Sam Miltich and the Clearwater Hot Club

9:45 p.m. Woodblind

10:45 p.m. Duluth Dolls Burlesque and Cabaret Dance

11:45 p.m. Black River Revue

Dubh Linn Irish Pub

10 p.m. Kyle Ollah

11 p.m. Modify Midnight Ire Wolves

Continued on page 14

Starri ng Chrystal E Williams as Rosina Norman Shankle

Conducted by Gavriel Heine Directed by Francis X Kuhn

Veda Zuponcic Artistic Director

Gavriel Heine Music Director

as Almaviva Sean Anderson as Figaro

Greg Tiburzi performs during the celebration for Bob Dylan’s 76th birthday at Dylan’s childhood home in Duluth in May 2017. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

Wednesday, May 2

Clyde Iron Works – Mezzanine

6 p.m. Born Too Late

10:15 p.m. Low-Hi Funk

11:15 p.m. Fearless Moral Inventory

Beaner’s Central

6:30 p.m. Kitchen Shoes

7:30 p.m. Bella Larson & the Scene Kids

8:30 p.m. Aimee Tischer

9:30 p.m. The Brothers Burn Mountain

Clyde Iron Works – Main Stage

7 p.m. The Fontanelles

8 p.m. Low

9 p.m. The Dames

Gopher Restaurant & Lounge

9:45 p.m. Doc Hyde

10:45 p.m. The Resonance

11:45 p.m. The Dark Underbelly

12:45 a.m. Mr. Kickass

Kom-on-Inn

10:15 p.m. A Winter Downpour

11:15 p.m. Dance Attic

12:15 a.m. Secret Badass

Mr. D’s Bar & Grill

10:30 p.m. Boku Frequency

11:30 p.m. Ball Slashers

12:30 a.m. Virgil Caine Band

Thursday, May 3

The Spirit Room

6:45 p.m. Morrow

7:45 p.m. Bill & Kate Isles Band

8:45 p.m. Fiasco Brass Co.

The Main Club

8 p.m. Israel

9 p.m. Timbre Ghost

10 p.m. Rick McLean

Suzi Ludwig and Jimi Cooper of Dance Attic play music at Jimi’s home in Duluth in April 2017. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

Izzy’s BBQ Lounge and Grill

8:15 p.m. Robot Rickshaw

9:15 p.m. Gavin St. Clair

10:15 p.m. G’narwals

11:15 p.m. The Farsights

DTA Trolley

8 p.m. Sugar on the Roof

9 p.m. Wes Hadrich

Cedar Lounge

8:45 p.m. Emily Haavik and the 35s

9:45 p.m. WNDY

10:45 p.m. Todd Gremmels

11:45 p.m. The Adjustments

Reef Bar

9:30 p.m. Markus J. Dandy & the Complete Lack

Thereof

Continued on page 16

tickets.umn.edu | 218.726.8877

Tickets for our Fall 2018 events go on sale in August.

The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer

Kate Isles and Bill Isles perform during Fourth Fest at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth in July 2015. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

10:30 p.m. Portrait of a Drowned Man

11:30 p.m. The Fiasco

12:30 a.m. The Bottle Jockeys

Friday, May 4

Beaner’s Central

6 p.m. Gina Lee

7 p.m. The Gentlemen’s Anti-Temperance League

8 p.m. Nopamine

9 p.m. Pale in Comparison

Teatro Zuccone

6:15 p.m. Dan Dresser

7:15 p.m. Iron Range Outlaw Brigade

8:15 p.m. Bill Flannagan’s Blue Cabooze

Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center

6:30 p.m. Sing! A Women’s Chorus

7:30 p.m. #theindanheadband

8:30 p.m. A Band Called Truman

Mary Bue with her guitar at R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon in Duluth in February 2015. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

Gaelynn Lea performs during a “Bring the Sing” event in Duluth in April 2016. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)

Red Mountain performs for a Homegrown Music Festival crowd at Grandma’s Sports Garden in Duluth in 2014. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)

Pizza Lucé

9 p.m. Reflectivore

10 p.m. Darren Sipity

11 p.m. Timothy Martin & the New Norm

Midnight Gaelynn Lea

R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon

9:15 p.m. Travis Hendershot

10:15 p.m. Euclid

11:15 p.m. Ryan Van Slooten

12:15 a.m. Àlamode

Rex Bar at Fitger’s

9:30 p.m. Jazz Time

10:30 p.m. The Latelys

11:30 p.m. Words to a Film Score

12:30 a.m. Mary Bue & the Holy Bones

Saturday, May 5

Chester Bowl Park

10:30 a.m. Rock ’n’ Run

Noon Homegrown Kickball Classic

NorShor Theatre

4:30 p.m. Starfire Tonight: A Homegrown Jam

Beaner’s Central

6 p.m. Lee Jeffrey

7 p.m. Marquis Mark & the Very Mysterious

8 p.m. Lion or Gazelle

9 p.m. Kaylee Matuszak

Teatro Zuccone

6:15 p.m. Jeffrey James O’loughlin

7:15 p.m. Willie Diction

8:15 p.m. The Murder of Crows

Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center

6:30 p.m. Ladyslipper

7:30 p.m. The Formal Age

8:30 p.m. Red Mountain

Amazing Grace Bakery & Café

6:45 p.m. Average Mammals

7:45 p.m. John Agacki

8:45 p.m. Jaw Knee Vee

Laura Sellner performs with Superior Siren at Grandma’s Sports Garden in Duluth during the 2017 Homegrown Music Festival. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

Legacy Glassworks

7:30 p.m. DJ Sox

8:30 p.m. Jacob Mahon Trio

9:30 p.m. Elysian Alps

Minnesota Power Plaza

7:45 p.m. Tribal Alchemie featuring Travis

Hendershot & Yabobo African Drummers

8:45 p.m. Spin Collective

Red Herring Lounge

7:45 p.m. Phantom Tails

8:45 p.m. Sarah Krueger

9:45 p.m. Toby Thomas Churchill

10:45 p.m. Bratwurst

DTA Trolley

8 p.m. Similar Dogs

9 p.m. Ashton George

Blush

8:15 p.m. Ractalfece

9:15 p.m. Southpaw

10:15 p.m. Lesser Planets

11:15 p.m. Heaven’s Gate Away Team

Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake

8:30 p.m. Maintenance Free

9:30 p.m. Northland’s Finest Horn Choir

10:30 p.m. Mint Vintage

11:30 p.m. Nio

Blacklist Artisan Ales

8:30 p.m. Rob May

9:30 p.m. Torment

10:30 p.m. The Electric Witch

11:30 p.m. Ingeborg von Agassiz

Pizza Lucé

9 p.m. Jen West

10 p.m. Low Forms

11 p.m. The Little Black Books

Midnight Chasm of Czar

R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon

9:15 p.m. Father Hennepin

10:15 p.m. Owls Club Big Band

11:15 p.m. Amy Abts

12:15 a.m. Venus de Mars

Rex Bar at Fitger’s 9:30 p.m. Yester

10:30 p.m. T. Dack

11:30 p.m. Actual Wolf

12:30 a.m. Superior Siren

Spurs on First

9:45 p.m. Jaze

10:45 p.m. Steve Sola

11:45 p.m. Rich Mattson & the Northstars

12:45 a.m. Big Wave Dave & the Ripples

Sunday, May 6

Canal Park Brewing Co.

1:30 p.m. Battersea

2:30 p.m. The Lowland Lakers

3:30 p.m. Teague Alexy Band

Red Herring Lounge

2 p.m. Homegrown Music Video Festival (second encore) u

Teague Alexy performs during the 2016 Homegrown Music Festival at Clyde Iron Works in Duluth. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

HOMEGROWN MUSIC FESTIVAL VENUES

Homegrown Music Festival venues

More information

• The 20th annual Duluth Homegrown Music Festival starts April 29 and ends May 6.

• Find more information about the festival, including band information and details about how to volunteer, at duluthhomegrown.org.

• Look for coverage of the festival in the print edition of the News Tribune, and online at duluthnewstribune.com.

All venues in Duluth unless noted

1. Amazing Grace Bakery & Café, 394 S. Lake Ave., amazinggracebakeryandcafe.com

2. Beaner’s Central, 324 N. Central Ave., beanerscentral.com

3. Bent Paddle Brewing Co., 1832 W. Michigan St., bentpaddlebrewing.com

4. Blacklist Artisan Ales, 120 E. Superior St., blacklistbeer.com

5. Blush, 18 N. First Ave W, zenithcitymusiccollective.com/blushvenue

6. Canal Park Brewing Co., 300 Canal Park Drive, canalparkbrewery.com

7. Cedar Lounge, 1715 N. Third St., Superior, cedarlounge.beer

8. Chester Bowl Park, 1801 E. Skyline Parkway, chesterbowl.org

9. Clyde Iron Works, 2920 W. Michigan St., clydeironworks.com

10. Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center, 202 W. Second Street, aicho.org

11. Dubh Linn Irish Pub, 109 W. Superior St, dubhlinnpub.com

12. Duluth Children’s Museum,115 S. 29th Ave. W, duluthchildrensmuseum.org

13. Gopher Restaurant & Lounge, 402 N. Central Ave., facebook.com/GopherBarDuluth

14. Hoops Brewing, 325 S. Lake Ave., hoopsbrewing. com

15. Izzy’s BBQ Lounge and Grill, 1506 N. Third St., Superior, facebook.com/Izzysbbqlounge

16. Kom-on-Inn, 332 N. 57th Ave. W

17. Legacy Glassworks, 32 W. First St., legacyglassworks.com

18. The Main Club, 1217 Tower Ave., Superior, mainclubwi.com

19. Minnesota Power Plaza, corner of Superior Street and Lake Avenue

20. Mr. D’s Bar & Grill, 5622 Grand Ave., mrdsbar. com

21. NorShor Theatre, 211 E. Superior St., norshortheatre.com

22. Pizza Lucé, 11 E. Superior St., pizzaluce.com/ locations/duluth

23. Prøve Gallery, 21 N. Lake Ave., provegallery.com

24. R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon, 220 W. Superior St., quinlansbar.com

25. Red Herring Lounge, 208 E. First St., redherringlounge.com

26. Reef Bar, 2002 London Road, facebook.com/ReefBar-Duluth-702511509844746

27. Rex Bar at Fitger’s, 600 E. Superior St., facebook. com/rex.bar.7

28. Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake, 805 E. Superior St., sirbens.com

29. The Spirit Room, 1323 Broadway, Superior, spiritroom.com

30. The Sports Garden, 425 S. Lake Ave., thesportsgarden.com

31. Spurs on First, 109 W. First St., spurson1st.com

32. Teatro Zuccone, 222 E. Superior St., zeitgeistarts. com/teatro

33. Vikre Distillery, 525 S. Lake Ave., vikredistillery. com

34. Zinema 2, 222 E. Superior St., zeitgeistarts.com/ zinema

CHOOSE

ONE:

Band, Jazz, Choral, Strings, Piano

FACILITIES AND ACTIVITIES

• On-campus residence housing (double occupancy)

Sponsored by UMD Department of Music Camp Director

Dr. Mark Whitlock Director of Bands

• Meals served in the Kirby Student Dining Center

• Around-the-clock counselors

• Daytime health services available

• Planned evening recreational activities

• Closing concert/awards ceremony for students, parents/guardians, counselors, instructors

• Opportunities for private lessons

• Electives offered in:

- Music Theory

- Musicianship

- College Music Preparations

Students enrolling in the Choral, String and Band Camps will be assigned to the various ensembles by age and abilities.

For more information, contact us at nssmecamp@gmail.com or visit z.umn.edu/nssme

TROLLEYS, TACOS, AND STUFFED MONKEYS

Sometimes Homegrown Music Festival is about a singer-songwriter ripping into his guitar as the free trolley bumps along Superior Street. Sometimes it’s about a stranger with a stuffed monkey that will meet its untimely end at a Bratwurst show.

And sometimes it’s about about a rock star, a known crowd-surfer, taking out the News Tribune’s photographer — who didn’t stop clicking until he was knocked flat. But the photo, lo, the photo.

The News Tribune asked Homegrown goers, musicians, colleagues and friends to share their favorite Homegrown stories. Here is what they said:

MEAT CUTE

“Homegrown found me a husband, so there’s that,” wrote Kelly Mullan, who is now married to Tyler Scouton, the industrial musician-performance artist who incorporates chainsaws, body horror and meat play into his shows with Bratwurst.

“Tyler was living in the Cities back in 2011, but was in town to play a Bratwurst show. He’d played R.T.’s Friday night and a shard of metal went into his eye during the show so he was slightly injured but still enjoying Homegrown. I skated in a roller derby bout at the DECC Saturday night and, still dressed in my finest tights and hot pants, hopped the trolley for a solo night out. We wound up hanging out at some shows that night and eventually wound up at the Chicken Shack to close it down. Been together ever since! Homegrown normally steals my birthday week, but in 2011 it gave me the best gift ever.”

O’LOUGHLIN ROCKS THE TROLLEY

Duluth-raised musician Emily Haavik dug into her drop box for a 2015 video of guitar player Jeffrey James O’Loughlin literally rocking the trolley. Her favorite Homegrown memory ever, she said.

By Christa Lawler clawler@duluthnews.com

O’Loughlin stood in the back, ripped at his guitar, and whooped while the trolley bucked along the festival route. Meanwhile, there were co-yelpers and phone flashes from Homegrowners chronicling the action.

“I don’t know why but it so perfectly encapsulated everything I love about

Homegrown Music Festival is about music, or course, but it’s also about Corey Feldman

Homegrown,” Haavik said in an email.

She wasn’t the only one to note the O’Loughlin concert. It was also a favorite of artist Ivy Vainio, who added, “Also, whenever anyone would get on the trolley, the whole trolley full of people would scream and yell in excitement. It was quite the experience. The best Homegrown concert yet.”

It might just be the festival vibe of free transportation: Cathy Podeszwa’s pick was the polka band Dance Attic’s trolley show.

“I don’t know how Suzi (Ludwig) kept playing that accordion as we launched down the avenue to Michigan by the Depot,” she said.

For festival-goer Lynne Williams, the ride itself is a favorite.

“The trolley,” she wrote. “Always the trolley.”

MONKEY BUSINESS

A young woman’s plus-one for the 2013 music festival was a large stuffed monkey, which suffered

Continued on page 24

Christine Dean puts “Wild Animals,” an album by Trampled by Turtles, on a turntable in the KUMD studio in February 2015. Dean created that year’s Homegrown mix tape -- a collection of 16 songs by local bands. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)

a death-by-evisceration by the end of the week. It crowd-surfed while Trampled By Turtles played at Clyde Iron Works. A security guard confiscated it, then succumbed to the booing and propped it against a monitor on stage, Ryan Nelson recalled. It rested on a wet sidewalk during a cigarette break, according to photographic evidence by Eve Uytro. It was finally dismantled during Bratwurst’s set. “Those beads inside of it went from R.T.’s to at least the casino after the show,” Scouton, the band’s frontman recalled.

UNDERAGE BAND, UNDERAGE FANS

In the early-to-mid 2000s, News Tribune outdoors reporter Sam Cook’s son Grant Cook, then a freshman at Duluth East, was in the band La Foret. The new-agey band earned a mid-week slot at the then-Tap Room, which is now Rex Bar, in the lower level of the Fitger’s complex.

“At their ages, 14 or 15, none of them had been in a bar (that I knew of), but it was allowed for Homegrown,” Sam Cook wrote. “The boys’ classmates couldn’t get in because they were underage, but a bunch of them found their way into a back stairway — probably a fire exit. The door to the stairway was

cracked open during the band’s performance, and I remember that several of their friends were sitting there on the steps. I’m not sure they could even see the guys, but they could hear them. I just thought that was sweet. Wish I had a photo of them sitting there, but it’s only in my memory.”

COREY FELDMAN AND THE CASE OF THE FREE TACOS

Eve Utyro was having a hard time after a breakup, she said, and her oldest friend Alyssa decided to cheer her up by making a donation to Corey Feldman’s gofundme.com for the album he planned to release, “Elev8or 2 Ascension.” The donation meant Utyro would get a copy of the record, and that Feldman would do whatever she wanted and post it on Instagram.

Her pick involved the former child star holding a cat and a sign.

So there she was at the Main Club, Homegrown 2016:

“I’m watching Brad Fernholz and Brynn Sias wail and I get an Instagram ding: ‘Hey, it’s Corey. I don’t own a cat. What do you want me to do?’” Utyro wrote.

Jesse Hoheisel (From left), Justin Kervina and Paul Connolly perform with Portrait of A Drowned Man at Beaner’s Central during the Homegrown Music Festival in Duluth in May 2014. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

She and her fellow Homegrown-goer Kip Praslowicz lost it, she said.

Feldman followed through. Rather than a live cat, he drew one — per her request — and held a sign that said “I love Eve Utyro.”

As if that wasn’t enough, later that night a high school student working at Taco John’s thought she was cute and kept giving her free food.

“Girl, it was a night,” she said.

ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC

During one of the early years, Low was on tour in Europe during the annual festival. But they were not forgotten. A bunch of bands added Low covers to their sets, recalled Christine Dean of KUMD-FM, who also dug a 2011 reunion show for the 90s-bred alt rock band Puddle

Wonderful — a band that was born before Homegrown Music Festival was even a twinkle in founder Scott Lunt’s eye.

Jake Larson played alongside If Thousands at a pre-refurbished NorShor Theatre, then watched one of the festival’s naughtier bands do

its destruction.

“(Bone Appetit poured) beer in the monitors and all over the stage while their manager Max Blast threw lit cigarettes at them from the wings,” he wrote.

Amy Abts recalled a Black-Eyed Snakes show at Pizza Luce. The place was packed, and people were climbing on tables to watch.

“I’d never seen Pizza Luce so packed,” she said. “We went outside afterward and some guy was playing flute on the street.”

Alan Sparhawk of Low said that last year he took his brother to the Main Club to see Big Wave Dave & Continued on page 26

Raphael Tiller of Accipiter, Buteo perfoms on the DTA Trolley as it travels on Superior Street in Duluth during the Homegrown Music Festival in May 2015. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

The Ripples close out the night.

“It was like a deeper love, and a sort of deeper glow to the night there for some reason,” he said. “It was full of people that I knew and loved. Just being able to show him my town on that higher level at the same time as I was seeing it. … We were dancing our asses off. It was great.”

THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT AT GRANDMA’S

In 2013, Eldo Abrahamson was going to play the drums for Fred Tyson’s set — but first he was milling around the stage, he wrote, during Charlie Parr’s last song.

“I tripped over one of the many cords crisscrossing the floor and accidentally unplugged all of the stage lights,” he wrote. “Didn’t faze him a

bit. While John Ferrell was angrily scrambling around trying to replenish luminescence, Parr just kept right on plowing as if nothing had happened.”

BLUE EYE SHADOW AND BODY PARTS

For Ashley Neenan’s first Homegrown Music Festival, she landed at the NorShor Theatre to check out her friends’ band Coal Car Caboose. All was well — until she realized that she had to weave her way to the back of the then-strip club upstairs to use a bathroom, which was also where the dancers got ready.

“I was not prepared for this,” Neenan said. “What sticks in my head more were the strippers dancing at the time.”

Blue eye shadow, body parts; she ran into her sister’s high school boyfriend.

“Everything was normal downstairs,” Neenan said. But upstairs: “It had nothing to do with Homegrown.”

BLACK-EYED SNAKED

“Grandma’s Sports Garden. Homegrown. Black-Eyed Snakes,” said News Tribune photographer Clint Austin. “(Alan) Sparhawk is busy being Sparhawk and decides to launch into the crowd.”

Austin was set up in a small barriered space between the stage and the crowd and as the rock ‘n’ roller surfed, he kept clicking.

As the instrumental part of the song wound down, Sparhawk pushed back toward the stage. He didn’t make it. He ended up in the same

Tyler Scouton performs electronic music for riders taking the trolley to the downtown Homegrown Music Festivals venues in May 2016. (Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com)

Zack Cannon, whose rap name is simply “Cannon,” performs early on the morning of May 4, 2007, at Twins Bar in Duluth as part of the Homegrown Music Festival. (News Tribune file photo)

small space as Austin and tumbled toward him.

“I would say it was almost a football player” level of hit, Austin said. “He used me to launch back on stage.”

The show went on, but Austin was bummed. As a photographer, he always tries to get close — but not too close. He had gotten in Sparhawk’s way and he apologized to him after the set.

“I hung my head and said ‘Al, I’m really sorry I got in your way in the pit,’ ” Austin said. “And he said ‘Aw, man. Don’t worry about that. That’s just part of the show.’ ”

The photograph landed on the front page of the next day’s News Tribune.

“It was a sweet photo, so it was so worth it,” Austin said. “I might’ve been sore the next day, but I don’t think that’s out of the ordinary for any Homegrown.”

DAD’S DAY

It’s not unusual for The Farsights to pull a guest artist or two on stage during a set. Brad Fernholz and Tony Derrick once joined them for a mini Hotel Coral Essex reunion, and former Mayor Don Ness was backed by the band for a take on the old Duluth favorite “Mohawks,” called “Potholes.”

For the set in 2017, drummer Ryan Nelson opted for something familial. His dad, Alan Nelson, is a guitar and fiddle player who played in bar bands covering the likes of Bob Seger and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ryan Nelson first played drums on stage with his dad’s band in Cotton when he was 12 years old.

For the show, which was at Dubh Linn Irish Pub, The Farsights ripped through 30 minutes of punk rock, then Nelson — who had brought out his original drum kit — introduced his father. The then-70-yearold made his way from the back of the room and took lead on “You Ain’t Going Nowhere,” “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” and “I Fought the Law.”

“He was worried that these old-timey songs were going to sound wimpy in comparison (to The Farsights) — the juxtaposition,” Nelson said. “The crowd was eating it up. It was a blast. It was a complete trip to do it.” u

Alan Sparhawk crowd surfs during a performance with the Black-eyed Snakes at Grandma’s Sports Garden in Duluth on May 2, 2017, during the Homegrown Music Festival. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

Local musicians share how they got their start

By Tony Bennett For the News Tribune

To a person with an interest in music, the idea of starting a band may seem like a lofty goal. But it happens, sometimes in radically unique ways. Some people form bands when they aren’t motivated to make music so much as they are to make sonic art.

We talked to a few local notables in the field to see what tips, tricks, and advice they had for people who might be looking to get into a group.

“My first band was in the fifth grade. I’m certain it probably had the word ‘rock’ in its name,” says Allen Cragin, who currently plays in the emo-prog act Reflectivore and has made music locally for years. “It was simple blues progressions and sounded terrible. It began how I feel most bands creating original music get started: a small group just hanging out with similar interests and wanting to create something together for fun.”

That’s really the key, for many — just find other people who think like you do, who have similar goals in mind. This can start happening in grade school, like it did for Cragin. Beyond that, he looks for certain traits.

“Creativity, determination, and a realistic focus will usually hold things together,” Cragin says. “Those qualities must be present. I’ve seen and played with many musicians without those attributes, and it doesn’t seem like a fun or fulfilling path. Personality is a huge element. The members of Reflectivore all have the ability to show empathy and see where a song is coming from while we are creating it. I consider that a personality trait that is needed above all.”

“The only advice I could give to a young person thinking they might like to be in a band is to be yourself, challenge yourself, surround yourself with kind people, and, if you can’t find any of those people, go it alone,” Cragin says. “A single person can be a ‘band,’ right?”

He’s got a point: people like Trent Reznor are basically solo artists who hire support musicians. And then, there are people who can summon the sound of a band through overdubbing and looping — like local artist Ingeborg von Agassiz, for example.

Heck, you don’t even have to be a traditional musician to be in a band. Just ask Tyler Scouton of local industrial performance-art act Bratwurst. Rather for being known for any particular musical composition, the group is known for playing arty noise while Scouton flings raw meat around the stage and into the audience.

“Bratwurst was born out of some bored kids that needed something to do,” Scouton says. “We have

been playing around the Twin Ports for nearly 18 years now. We didn’t set out to be artsy — or at least we didn’t think we were doing anything out of the normal. Looking back on old video, we did play some odd shows.”

One that comes to mind: a gig in “a coffee shop at 1 p.m. with a shopping cart, contact microphones, a tiny Pignose amp (and) a cassette player. There wasn’t a person there to see us — just customers that foolishly decided to get coffee at that moment.”

“Over the years, our concerts evolved into a spectacle of meat, sparks, horror, blood and noise,” Scouton says. “The first show we used meat at, I filled a big fluffy white stuffed bear with bags of beef livers and ham spread. Partway through our set, I laid out a white sheet spray-painted with ‘Bratwurst’ across it. I purchased a small novelty Duluth Dukes baseball bat and beat the bear with it until the meat came out all over the sheet. I never once heard someone talk about my band until after that show. Each show since then, we added more things, and it eventually evolved into what it is today.”

“I did want to sing in a band, for sure, but when I moved back from Florida, I didn’t have many friends up here,” says Bottle Jockeys frontman Chad Lyons, talking about the days before his previous group The

Acceleratii came together. A friendship with the Black Labels led to Lyons being surrounded by musicians that he felt a kinship with. When it came time to form a band, “I just chose ringers,” Lyons says, with a laugh.

It’s good advice, though: get around people who can turn on a dime, who can make the right call on the spot, who can make musical decisions without a lot of hand-wringing. But liking your bandmates was key for Lyons, too. “The benefit is, you’re already comfortable with each other,” he says. “It’s just so much easier.”

For Lyons, the “musicians wanted” flyer wasn’t the route to take. “Just go to shows,” he advises. This way, you find yourself meeting like-minded individuals first, and the musical chemistry can come later. “Eventually, you’ll bump into people,” Lyons says.

Lyons also suggests that people be ready to be a team member, in a sense, when they get into a group. “You have an idea, and then there’s gonna be the reality of everyone else’s opinion and what they want to contribute, too,” he says. “But that’s part of being in a band.”

Maybe that’s the best piece of advice: play nice with others. After all, that’s what it’s about, in the end: getting together with like-minded people and trying to create something great together. u

Homegrown is more than music

Poetry, kids’ events among other offerings

By Melinda Lavine mlavine@duluthnews.com

Homegrown is about more than music.

There’s poetry, fire spinning, a monkey man — and Day One of the eight-day festival kicks off with a kiddo-friendly agenda.

The Children’s Music

Showcase is at noon April 29 at the Duluth Children’s Museum. Expect puppets, hula-hooping, face-painting, a maypole and super stretch yoga, “so kids can work their wiggle out,” said coordinator Jesse Dykhuis.

And the children’s showcase is for grown-ups, too.

Along with the World Beat Drummers and Dan the Monkey Man, Teague Alexy and Erik Berry, Sonja Bjordahl and Lee Martin, Zeb or Zeke and the Run Away Screamings will play, with the last performance, by The Farsights, starting at 3:15 p.m.

“That helps it to be a draw for

Hula-hooping, maypole and super stretch yoga are part of the Homegrown Children’s Music Showcase.

(Photo courtesy of Kip Praslowicz)

the parents and adults,” Dykhuis said.

During its first year, the showcase was at the Red Herring, where more people showed up than they expected, she said. This is year three for the showcase, which spiked in attendance to 1,100 last year. And they try to make every nook and cranny of their venue accessible and attractive to kids, she added.

The showcase is a great way for families to continue to connect with the festival. “A lot of the parents of young kids, their relationship to Homegrown has had to change because they have little people at home.

“I like that it gives young families a way to to be in Homegrown,” Dykhuis said.

And: “It’s fun to inject kids with the love of live music.”

The Children’s Music Showcase starts at noon April 29 at the Duluth Children’s Museum. Cost: Free. Poetry showcase

Homegrown also offers something for the spokenword inclined. The Homegrown Poetry Showcase is

slated for 7:30 p.m. April 30 at the NorShor Theatre.

It’s 30 poets reading for two to three minutes with a host and musical accompaniment. The poetry showcase was added as an extension for the appreciation of the arts, said festival director Melissa LaTour.

In the years it’s been a part of Homegrown, the poetry portion has changed locations from Teatro

Continued

Adults and children take part in a maypole dance at the Duluth Children’s Museum last April as part of the first day of the 2017 Homegrown Musical Festival. Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

Zuccone to The Underground to Sacred Heart Music Center. It’s good to have the poetry showcase back at its founding venue, said LaTour by email. “Bigger crowds = bigger venue for poetry.”

A large turnout was Tina Higgins Wussow’s first impression of the poetry programming. “It was packed … I couldn’t really see or hear anything.”

Now the showcase coordinator, Wussow said the need for a bigger event venue is exciting because poetry doesn’t always have that kind of draw. “For Homegrown, it’s this magical thing,” she said.

Wussow didn’t start reading her poems at the showcase right away. It took a couple of years to build the courage and get over stage fright, she said.

She hosts the spoken word open mic nights at Beaner’s Central, and she was invited to take over the Homegrown Poetry Showcase three years ago. “It’s a great honor,” she said.

Her first impressions of Homegrown: “There’s this giant family of people who celebrate this thing together.”

Of her own work, she said she’s known for her humor. “I certainly have a lot more serious poems about relationships and family, but I don’t usually bring them to Homegrown.

Laura Sellner of the band Superior Siren reads during the Homegrown Poetry Showcase on May 1, 2017, at Sacred Heart Music Center. (Photo courtesy of Adam Reinhardt)

Expect the World Beat Drummers at this year’s Homegrown Children’s Music Showcase. (Photo courtesy of Kip Praslowicz)

“Homegrown’s the night you want to wow the crowd and get their attention, and humor usually makes that happen.”

The event vibe is just a big party of writers, she said.

Expect work by Duluth Poet Laureate Ellie Schoenfeld, Julie Gard, Wussow herself and many other area writers. Gaelynn Lea will accompany on the violin.

The Homegrown Poetry Showcase is at 7:30 p.m. April 30 at NorShor Theatre. Wristband required. Other events

Also on the HG agenda: a photo show, a run, a kickball classic and a music video fest (with two encores).

The photo show evolves every year with contributions from veteran and new shutterbugs, said LaTour. The rock ’n’ run is a healthy way to start

Saturday with fresh air and sweat.

Fans and filmmakers get the chance to show off their creativity with the music video fest.

“The participation grows with each year, so we continue to work with the ancillary programming,” she said.

• Music Video Showcase: 6 p.m. April 30 at Zinema 2; 6 p.m. May 1 at Zinema 2; 2 p.m. May 6 at Red Herring Lounge.

• Photo show: opening reception 5 p.m. April 30 at Blacklist Artisan Ales.

• Rock ’n’ run: 10:30 a.m. May 5, Chester Bowl

• Homegrown Kickball Classic: Noon May 5, Chester Bowl. u

The Homegrown Poetry Showcase is a big party of writers, said coordinator Tina Higgins Wussow. This year’s event is slated for the NorShor Theatre. Here Mark Pogorelskin reads during last May’s showcase in Sacred Heart Music Center. (Photo courtesy of Adam Reinhardt)

SMILE:

You’re playing Homegrown Music Festival

By Tom Wilkowske For the News Tribune

On the cusp of playing my 10th Homegrown Music Festival, I’m going to make a promise before God, man and the DNT’s readership:

I will practice more.

See, my bass playing could use more work. Although I’m playing bass in A Band Called Truman now, I’m really a converted guitar player. I feel like an imposter.

And my backing vocals could be better, more consistent. That whole playing-notes-while-singingother-notes thing is not as easy as it looks. I don’t know how Sting does it.

But that’s not really what I’m talking about. The thing I really need to practice the most is smiling.

At least once per gig, Leon Rohrbaugh, Homegrown pioneer and Truman’s frontman, tells me to smile. (Usually I grimace back.) Others have described my playing look as pained or angry. My family has even given it a name: my “bass face,” a sort of pursed lips grimace.

What can I say? I’m enjoying myself, really I am. I think music is a gift from the universe and playing the Duluth Homegrown Music Festival is a blast, even though:

• Sometimes the venue isn’t a great fit for your band (a nine-piece band on a singer-songwriter stage, for example).

• Sometimes the time slot is too early or too late for your crowd.

• Sometimes your gear craps out two minutes before showtime, or your hand cramps up in the third song.

• Sometimes your band, which plays six to nine local gigs a year, is up against the worldtouring, huge-drawing Black-Eyed Snakes. In the same time slot, two blocks away.

Ultimately, that stuff melts away. You set aside what could go wrong, get tuned up, and start rocking. People show up and cheer. Once the music starts flowing, you take a deep breath or three. You tell yourself to be here now. You feel the bass, in your hands and in your feet, and lock in with the kick drum.

Sometimes you even notice yourself smiling.

Here are some times that others may have noticed me smiling as well:

• 2003: My first Homegrown was as guitar player for Hobo Alley, a post-Ballyhoo spinoff project. About the only thing I remember from the gig was my attire: purple wind pants and a huge black windbreaker.

Tom Wilkowske

Hilarious!

• 2006: I played Lakeview Coffee with Steve Horner in our folk-pop duo, Bare Common. It would turn out to be our last gig. I did remember to smile when someone snapped a picture. We got a one-line mention in the DNT (“like Simon and Garfunkel, but less whiny”).

• 2011: Truman, as a four-piece rock band, played the first Sunday night of Homegrown at Lake Avenue Cafe at a kickoff/ thank-you event for volunteers. The Crunchy Bunch opened and the crowd, while not huge, was uberenthusiastic. They took over the mics partway through our “Whole Lotta Love” cover.

• 2012: Truman played Carmody Irish Pub on a Monday night. Not one of the coveted big nights/ big stages, but then again, we were one of only a few acts playing. The place was at capacity and so packed, the crowd was pushing right up against us. We barely had room to swing a guitar neck without bashing someone in the head or spilling a drink (both happened). The highlight: our cover of the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” with Sarah Krueger belting out the “war, children” chorus. Photo evidence shows two things: I am smiling, and Leon is wearing his tie as a headband.

• 2013 (maybe): Truman plays Amazing Grace, a venue best suited for solo singer-songwriters, maybe duos. We’d ballooned to eight members by then, including a four-piece horn section, and stuck out at odd angles from the little stage. Multi-keyboardist

Jim Pospisil stacked his gear sideways on top of an upright piano. A cold, wet fog blew off the lake and the joint was full and warm.

• 2016: Truman opened The Sports Garden on a Wednesday night at the un-rock-and-roll hour of 8:45 p.m. My bass was a newly painted deep purple in honor of Prince, who had died 12 days before.

We had already been considering an early-career Prince cover, “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man.” But Prince’s death seemed to require more. Leon’s standing joke for years in rehearsals was to start “Let’s Go Crazy,” complete with fading echo (“Dearly beloved… We are gathered here today to get through this thing called life, life, life, life...”). It wasn’t a joke any more. We learned “Let’s Go Crazy” for real. In practices, Jim dialed in the over-the-top organ intro, Brad Bombardier worked up horn charts, and Leon worked up the blistering guitar solos note for note. Then that night, around 10 p.m., near the end of our set, we sprung the Prince covers on a crowd that organizers said was close to 1,000. They went nuts. They cheered loud and long, long enough for us to look around at each other, go “wow” and soak it in. It felt really, really, good.

Smile-worthy, even. u

Tom Wilkowske is a writer, musician and consultant from Duluth. His favorite Homegrown T-shirt is the classic 2016 “Perormer” edition. Reach him at tomwilkowske@gmail.com.

Tom Wilkowske playing bass with A Band Called Truman at the Homegrown Music Festival in 2016. (Submitted photo)