Cake In 15

Now presenting Reckless Ones, a new-ish band with some familiar members on the the Twin Cities rockabilly scene. That’s Kevin O’Leary, of the late great Plastic Chord fronting Reckless Ones, and for this Evil-Dead-meets-sock-hop video, you’ll recognize Chad Augustine, bass player for Cadillac Kolstad & the Flats as our mysterious stranger. It’s a high-quality video directed by Justin Staggs, a catchy tune and a promising start. Reckless Ones have a bunch of summer shows lined up, most notably a CD release 7/25 at Lee’s Liquor Lounge, accompanied by Phantom Tails (with Orion Treon, also of Plastic Chord) and Violent Shifters. So get some grease in your hair already and go dancing.

City on the Make are about to drop Keep This on Fire, their second full-length record and the follow up to last year’s critically acclaimed $1,000,000 EP. If you haven’t already heard by now, you need to see this band. They are a monster live, they breath fire, they are acrobats and clowns, it’s a fucking three-ring circus and a big top inside Mike Massey’s head. The party is at the 400 Bar Bedlam Theater this Friday, 9pm, $10 $7 a head and no complaining. Pay the nice man at the door and let it all go.

In preparation, check out our interview with the CotM boys over at Decider. Andrea Swensson over at the City Pages also ran a nice interview with the boys, and they say different stuff about different things (but some of the same things). Check that out here. And if you still need some goddam convincing, stream the thing over at their website. That oughtta do it.

By the way, the interview was a beast in and of itself. Over an hour of tape and 10,000 words wrestled down to 700. I feel like I killed a bluefin to get at one piece of sushi. Here’s a little extra something that didn’t make it in:

cas: There is a lot more melodic work on Keep This On Fire too, especially in the vocals.

MM: Yeah, but if I want to keep doing this for the rest of my life, I gotta be doing more than just drinking whiskey and singing about that.

Go to the 400 Bedlam, drink the whiskey, roar into the night and get your sweet little rock and roll on.

Pick up a copy of City Pages this week and you’ll find two EP reviews from yours truly. In print! Remember that thing? Thought not. Whatever. Bloggers are just jealous anyway that their work won’t get scrapbooked home to Mom or left in a public restroom. ‘Cause who’s gonna leave their Macbook in a Port-O-Potty? Not this guy, that’s for sure.

Anyway, two EPs from two promising local bands- Dreamland from Gospel Gossip and Art Work Pays from Digitata- came out and here are the reviews. Consider the two in tandem and they make for a nice dialogue on what makes a strong EP, and the relative merits of the shorter form. Both bands had release parties this weekend, scroll down for our coverage of the Gospel Gossip party, and click here for a CP slideshow of the Digitata shindig at First Amendment.

Gospel Gossip- Dreamland (Guilt Ridden Pop)
It might seem strange to call a band that plays live shows full of thrashing energy subtle, but Gospel Gossip’s new EP, Dreamland, is full of subtleties. The six-song record tightens up the sound from 2007’s Sing into My Mouth, relying less on extended jams in favor of denser, mutating song structures that signal a young band taking greater control of their melodies and making what could have just been a pleasant wash into an enveloping cocoon of sound.

The degree of control is evident in the surprising textures throughout the disc—Ollie Moltaji’s stutter-step drums punctuate the bridge of opener “Nashville” (a song that garnered praise from the poobahs at Pitchfork) and kick up the straightforward guitars-and-distortion fuzz. Justin Plank’s bass lines pulse throughout, but really drive “Home,” propelling the song through Sarah Nienaber’s crackling guitar and breathy voice. That voice is something of a Chimera-like beast; it seems to be fixed between fierce howls and a delicate disappearance—apt for a band that balances cinematic sweeps of fuzz with piercing melodies.

With the first half of the record being narrative songs about relationships and moving on, the B-side is given over to more instrumentation with only occasional bursts of vocals. “Space/Time” and “Big Steer” are energetic breakdowns that bring in some of the tectonic energy of Gospel Gossip live. The title track closer lives up to its name; it’s a slow burning fuse lit by Moltaji and carried by Nienaber’s vocals and guitars as the elements fall hauntingly into place. The pace builds and the track smolders; it is a record that makes you want to curl up on a bare mattress with your lover and count the stars through the ceiling.

Digitata- Art Work Pays (Totally Gross National Product)
With nine songs in 30 minutes, Digitata’s new release, Art Work Pays, is billed as an EP, but feels something like a 85-minute feature film—a little too short to be fully realized, a little too long to pack an immediate punch. But there is a strong EP in there, and the standout numbers make the record a seductive and engrossing summer soundtrack. This is due in no small part to vocalist Maggie Morrison (also of Lookbook), whose ethereal voice glides between breathy come-ons and clear sustains, like Feist with a darker, swirling feel.

The driving tension in Digitata’s music is between organic and synthetic elements, with Drew Christopherson’s drums on one end and Ryan Olson’s sequencer, squiggly synth, and loops on the other. Morrison’s voice often rises clear above that push-and-pull, occasionally layered through effects to mixed results. When Olson passes Morrison through a fader on “Sawdust City,” like a DJ scratching a record, it comes off as gimmicky, but the layers of distancing distortion on the frantic “Leave It Alone” heighten the effect of the breakup tune.

“Weak Teeth,” the longest and most textured track on the disc, is a great example of when the tension of the full band works. Olson’s beats punctuate Morrison’s vocals, and the tune sways between the synthesizers and Morrison’s dreamy Wurlitzer chords as Christopherson’s drums build to a thunder of low toms, covering a spectrum of sound. Not all the tracks are as compelling, and sometimes the disc feels like only incremental progress from 2005’s Sexually Transmitted Emotions and 2007’s II Daggers. Despite the plateau, album closer “mbaby” is a sweet song that takes full advantage of Morrison’s melody, supported by stripped-down backing. More of those strong production choices, and Art Work Pays could be a killer full-length.

OMGWHITERABBITS!!!!

It’s no secret that Staciaann hearts White Rabbits. cas does too, and he jumped at the chance to interview them in advance of their show at the 400 Bar tonight. Their style has tightened up and become fiercer and sharper since Britt Daniel of Spoon took the helm for their sophomore disc. It’s Frightening a record that sounds like Dr. Strangelove looks, full of shadows, bright contrasts, absurdity and the ever-present paranoia. We caught up with one of two drummers Jamie Levinson a while back to talk about the process of making the record, change and that paranoia, but Decider left out our favorite part of the interview (copy editors are the enemies of beautiful language). So, Jamie Levinson on where White Rabbits stand: “Somewhere between bubble gum and black metal, that’s where you’ll find White Rabbits.”

Read the interview for Decider here.

POST-SHOW UPDATE 7/2/2009

Dear Current,

We here at CakeIn15 think you are really nifty. I mean, thanks for coming in and filling the void when the 105s went the way of corporate programming and for providing quality DJs a good home. There’s not much better then when Mark gets giddy about a band, or Mary’s joy for rock, or Barb’s excitability. Dave, Mac, Jill, Steve, Bill, you guys are aces. To all you cats and kittens not listed who work there, thanks. Thanks also for putting White Rabbits’ cut “Percussion Gun” into heavy rotation. That probably helps explain the sold-out, packed status of their show at the 400 Bar on Monday. We here at Cake had a blast, it was great to see White Rabbits again and we danced like rhythm moved us. But, Current DJs, if you could do us a favor and start slipping this in every once in a while, maybe subliminally layering it under tracks; “It is OK to dance. When rock hits you in the face, Minnesotans, you have to react. So dance a little already.” That would really be tops.

Thanks so much, and see you around,

CakeIn15

Now here are some videos:

White Rabbits- The Plot- Minneapolis, 400 Bar 6/29/2009 from Stacy Cupcake on Vimeo.

White Rabbits- The Company I Keep- 400 Bar, Minneapolis 6/29/2009 from Stacy Cupcake on Vimeo.

cas and Staciaann went on assignment for City Pages to the Zoo Saturday to cover the Avett Brothers/Samantha Crain & the Midnight Shivers show, and we’re damn glad we did. Staciaann has been boosting the Avetts since she was blown away by their live show at SXSW, and their Zoo show did not disappoint. It didn’t hurt that it was beautiful, outdoors, full of singing and dancing fans and wound up feeling like a Hootenanny. I and Love and You comes out this August, run to see them next time (’cause their venues are just going to get bigger and bigger) and I don’t mind plagiarizing myself about the specialness of the show: Them and Love and Us.

Check out the full write-up at Gimme Noise here.

Avett Brothers Encore: “Murder In The City” in to “St. Joseph’s”

The Avett Brothers- Encore- Zoo, 6/26/2009 from Stacy Cupcake on Vimeo.

Gospel Gossip officially released their Dreamland EP (Guilt Ridden Pop) last Friday night, the middle show of a two-day, three-show extravaganza. Earlier in the day Friday the trio played at Carleton College in Northfield where they met and they closed it out with an all-ages freebie at Treehouse Records on Saturday. The Turf Club show was a full one, with three other bands on the bill- probably to buy GG enough time to re-group, have a beer and get pumped up again.

Openers Mute Era blasted the night off with their noisy, fuzz/distort/reverb heavy guitar and drums combo. There are intriguing moments in their sound, which is anti-melodic and heavily structured but less energetic than their Japanese-fronted-guitar-and-drums-duo counterparts here in the cities, Birthday Suits. There is a whole thought bubble waiting to happen there about the strange simultaneous existence of band binaries in the Twin Cities; Mute Era/Birthday Suits, Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapelles/Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps, The Alarmists/White Light Riot. Maybe that thought bubble is “Huh, that’s odd,” and then we move on.

Moving on to the second band of the evening, Brooklyn’s Black Horse made a valiant stab at un-ironic Southern rock/blues, doing a pretty decent impression of The Dead Weather (an impression of impressions, if you will). Guitarist AP Schroder had some definite chops and the tiny Korg keyboard onstage made a deliciously heavy roar, even if it was underutilized. The best moments came when their was some modulation in dynamics and tempo, although the bulk of the show was uniformly loud and fast.

Black Horse at the Turf Club 6/26/2009 from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

After Black Horse, local faves Lookbook took the stage, a definite shift in sound, tempo, style, and just about everything. The duo of Grant Cutler and Maggie Morrison play to their strengths, Cutler’s unimpeachable 80s dance/new wave production boosting Morrison’s sultry vox. It is softer and clubbier than Morrison’s other project Digitata (who also released an EP, Art Work Pays, this weekend) and in the midst of bands that played with ferocious live energy, felt, if not out of place, a little staid. Still, the pairing of Cutler and Morrison is one that makes sense musically and their dueting stage presence has to be one of the cutest things in town.

Lookbook at the Turf Club 6/26/2009 from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

Then, just as we all mellowed out, it was time for the big show. Gospel Gossip’s new disc feels tighter than their first full-length, Sing Into My Mouth, with them doing more in less time to powerful effect. It is good to hear that captured on record, but also good to know that their live shows are just as enchanting and frenetic as they have always been. The show wasn’t without difficulty- Justin Plank’s bass receiver crapped out two minutes into “Sippy Cup”, so Sarah Nienaber and Ollie Moltaji finished it alone. Plank got a spare onstage in aminute though and went back to beating the hell out of his bass and giving us a pulsing backline. At one point Moltaji lost a tom, but he carried on with the snare and hi-hat. You get the feeling from Moltaji’s distant look that if the world collapsed around him as he was playing, if his kit fell to pieces and all he had was a crash cymbal, he would make it work. Same goes for Nienaber, who, aside from the awkward (and endearing) shyness when she had to speak directly to the audience to buy time, was fully under the spell of the music, swaying, crashing to the floor, bending out the chords to fill the void, creating her own heaven. It all ended with blood as Nienaber ripped a nail and skinned her knees, but the music will make you do funny things, like play three shows in 36 hours, and the crowd loved it.

Gospel Gossip at the Turf Club 6/26/2009 from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

21 Sequined Glove Salute or Let’s Hope Brutus and Antony Were Both Wrong

The King is dead. This is what all the memorials and tributes say, and Michael Jackson, the human being known as “The King of Pop” has ceased to be as a physical living entity. It is a sad day for his family and loved ones, including a mass of people who never met the man and only ever experienced his music; generations raised with the moonwalk, the single white glove and fedora, that swooping “whoo!”

He was worthy of that title when it was bestowed. Off the Wall and Thriller were a coup, a total take-over of pop expectations orchestrated by Jackson and Quincy Jones. They exploded everything that popular music could be and remain as a challenge to anyone who wants to make a pop record worth anything. These are the records that people will always look back to as a crowning glory, and the following music continued to be innovative and challenging, fighting off the hordes of Jackson wannabes to retain the throne. Bad, Dangerous, each had moments of captivation. I remember my 2nd grade teacher making a tape of Bad for me and leaving it on the patio of my apartment so that I could have “Smooth Criminal” and “Man in the Mirror”. That the music could be shared by 7 year-olds and 30 year-olds alike is a powerful testament.

But these are the years where the ugliness really began to come out, where the power of the music became overshadowed by Jackson’s personal life, his socially abnormal behavior. We expect our aristocracy to be eccentric but as a culture we took particular relish in tearing Jackson down. The title of “King” became a perverse joke, trapping a man in the impossible expectations of universal accessibility and adulation. Caesar became too big, too weird and we, the media, the snide aside and callous laughing all, we all played Brutus. With one hand we embraced the music and with the other we knifed the man.

It is the stuff of classical tragedy, the fall of the chosen one in such agonizingly public slow motion. As a salivating culture we may feel betrayed of a comeback story, but we are complicit in creating the situation that Jackson would have to come back from. Michael Jackson died years ago, when the “King of Pop” was rendered a figurehead in the “Wacko Jacko” sideshow. None of it has been particularly funny, in any kind of meaningful wit or way, it has been a prolonged debacle, a black hole implosion we were all sucked in to. The tragedy is not that he is now dead, but that he lived so long in the social condition he did.

So the King is dead. In the modern age, with PR oligarchies forcing constructed bands down our throats (all of whom owe a debt to Jackson) and the squalling democracy of the internet, Michael was a man adrift. When Mark Antony eulogizes Caesar in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, he points equally at Caesar’s murderers, saying,

“The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar.”

Let Jackson rest in peace, let his family mourn, let us all dance to “Thriller”, let us remember with caution the ugliness of celebrity and our part in it and let us have no more need for kings.

We All Get Replaced or Best Diet Ever

You had a good run, photographers. Supplanting us writers as the easiest, most accessible story-telling medium. That stupid “Thousand Words” aphorism (attributed to the Chinese, Turgenev and Napoleon, respectively) having us all run to our wordprocessors and churn out as much as possible in an attempt to stay relevant. Your comeuppance will come (up)! Napoleon knew that, too. Vive la scribe!

Which brings us to Phoenix, the band that left more sweat on the floor of the Varsity than Richard Simmons at a nymphomaniac convention. Phoenix are a pretty ok band from France mostly notable for making jaunty pop-rock, being named for a city in Arizona and the lead singer’s romantic involvement with Sofia Coppola (mostly notable for ruining Godfather III, redeeming herself via Bill Murray’s sad sack routine and making wine that comes in soda cans.) Phoenix also managed to put out one of the best albums of the year with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart because a) they are smart, which always helps a rocker (cf. Alice Cooper, Nick Cave) with arrangements of polyrhythms and harmonies, b) they are at least bi-lingual, allowing them to write in the lingua franca (English, in this case) that sells records that readers on this continent would be most likely to hear, c) they are French, so Thomas Mars’ (the aforementioned lead singer) diction (really, the only thing that being French would affect as music itself knows no creed race or color) is endearing and his stuttering repetitious phrasing is energetic and eccentric (there is a reason Tourette’s Syndrome is named for a Frenchman) as opposed to affected and d) they are out to have fun, so really none of what I’ve just written matters.

It also doesn’t really matter, because there is video of the event, thus negating any efforts (or at least lifting the obligation on the writer) to deliver some tedious blow-by-blow of the event. Writers can be good journalists and accurately document the sequential order of events and if were feeling quirky toss in how it made us “feel” but it is often fails to capture the full sensibility of the event. We are good at documenting things that are supposedly fun, writing in the ironic voice, calling out injustice, but you don’t need too many words for sharp, sunny, bouncing pop that comes cutting across the room like the reflections off a Fender’s finish. Granted, there are times when text is far superior (Gatsby/Neruda/Bukowski etc.) but this may just not be this time. The photogs had a good time of it too, but the video here is the real deal, the step-right-up-folks moment. The only text necessary might be all the references to fun and sweat from the Twitterverse, and my apologies for the sound quality.

Without further ado, Phoenix and their Amazing Live Action Set List.

Lisztomania
Long Distance Call
Consolation Prizes
Lasso
Napoleon Says

Phoenix- Varsity Theater, Minneapolis 6/23/09- Lasso into Napoleon Says from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

Funky Square Dance
Rally
Girlfriend

Phoenix- Varsity Theater Minneapolis 6/23/2009- Girlfriend from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

Armistice
Love Like A Sunset- Mars spent most of this song lying up against the monitor. Maybe he was just tired, maybe he was pulling some sort of ego-play, maybe he was just taking his government mandated break and enjoying easy access to healthcare as a French citizen. Any which way, the song rocked.
Run Run Run

Phoenix- Varsity Theater, Minneapolis 6/23/09- Run Run Run from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

Too Young
Sometimes in the Fall
Rome

ENCORE!!!!!!clapclapclapclapwhistlestompclap
If I Ever Feel Better

Phoenix- Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, 6/23/09- If I Ever Feel Better from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

1901-I wasn’t going to tape this, I was dancing too hard and getting out those last couple ounces, but then some crazy adulation shit went down and this was too good not to share.

Phoenix- Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, 6/23/09- 1901 Finale from CakeIn15 on Vimeo.

I just can’t let the weekend go by without at least mentioning something that has taken up a lot of my free time since January. Something I work hard at and am so very proud of this year. For the past two years (this is my third) I have booked the stages at the Stone Arch Festival of the Arts. Prior to me working there, I didn’t even know this festival existed. 2009, however, marks its 15th year! It’s free, outdoors, family friendly, and has cheese curds!

Staciaann Photography

It also has excellent music this year, if I do say so myself. I know there are other things to do this weekend, but if you can, stop on down to the riverfront. Remind yourself of its beauty while jamming to bands like The Idle Hands, Me & My Arrow, Roma di Luna, Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps, Spaghetti Western String Co., Chastity Brown, Brad Senne, and so many others.

If you hit up the website here you can listen to mp3s by the bands and read a nice little description (in case you’re not sure who to go see). Never fear though – there’s always a classic car show (oooo! Muscle cars!), a giant magnetic poetry board, a stone arch bridge made of legos, a Shakespeare performance, dancers, and so much more… did I mention it’s all FREE?

The festival runs Saturday & Sunday from 10am – 6pm.

Look for the chic with the red ponytail driving a golf cart and looking frazzled. That’ll be me.

FULL STAGES SCHEDULE:
Saturday, June 20, 2009

Star Tribune Stage (Father Henn Park)

10:30am Mystik Toyz
11:30am Satin Dolls Dance Co.
12:15pm Koo Koo Kanga Roo
1:15pm Adam Svec
2:15pm Dan Israel
3:15pm Spaghetti Western String Co.
4:15pm The Cloud Hymn
5:15pm Hayor Bibimma Dance Company

City Pages Stage (Water Power Park)

11:00 am Crowd Control
12:00 pm The Alrights
1:15 pm Joey Ryan & The Inks
2:30 pm The Pendrakes
3:45 pm The Idle Hands
5:00 pm Roma di Luna

Cities 97 Stage (3rd Ave Bridge)

11:15am Neal Swanger
12:15pm Peter Lochner
1:15pm Bob & Lynn Dixon
2:15pm Thomas Kivi
3:15pm Shawn Gibbons
4:15pm Brad Senne
5:15pm Eliza Blue

St. Anthony Courtyard Stage

11:00 am Aria Souder
12:15 pm The Badinovs
1:30 pm Brian Just Band
2:45 pm Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps
4:00 pm Farewell Milwaukee
5:15 pm The Smarts
6:30 pm Mississippi Mud

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Star Tribune Stage (Father Henn Park)

12:30pm Mystik Toys
1:15pm Café Accordian Orchestra
2:15pm Anna Laube
3:15pm Cromulent Shakespeare Company
4:15pm Jistoray
5:15pm Pezzettino

City Pages Stage (Water Power Park)

12:00 pm Half Demon Doll
1:15 pm We Became Actors
2:30 pm Wars of 1812
3:45 pm The Absent Arch
5:00 pm Me & My Arrow

Cities 97 Stage (3rd Ave Bridge)

11:15 am Scott Wooldridge
12:15pm Andy Juhl
1:15pm Chicane Theory
2:15pm Andy Elwell
3:15pm Dustin Thomas
4:15pm Kyle Turck & Patrick Henz
5:15pm John Swardson

St. Anthony Courtyard Stage

11:00 am Dustin Thomas
12:00 pm The Suits
1:15 pm Lynhurst
2:30 pm Jenny Dalton
3:45 pm Ryan Paul & the Ardent
5:00 pm Chastity Brown

The Mad Ripple Hootenanny is the simplest idea- that music and stories bring people together. Started in the basement of Java Jack’s Coffeehouse in what Hoot founder Jim “The Mad Ripple” Walsh always called “Sexy South Minneapolis,” the weekly circle of singer-songwriters quickly drew a devoted following and attracted musicians from all corners of the city, state, country and globe. Songs like Brianna Lane’s “Porchlight” and Stook!’s “A Song Is More Than Just a Song” became favorites, with everyone joining in on closing tune “Pay Me My Money Down.” It is the most economic and expansive of entertainment, a collective sigh of relief from over-priced madness of workaday life. It is church for the modern era.

Photographer Tony Nelson was there from the beginning, documenting the burgeoning scene, a project that grew to a portfolio of portraits of musicians who played the Hoot. That portfolio is being shown at The Gallery @ Fox Tax under the title “Hootenanny: A Commnunity.” CakeIn15 caught up with Nelson before Friday’s opening to talk about the scene, why it is unique to music and translating that visually. If you want to experience the full sensibility of the event, stick around after the opening for a Hootenanny at the Red Stag Supperclub down the street, hosted by The Mad Ripple.

CakeIn15: Why did you want to make these portraits of Hoot musicians away from the Hoot, in their creative spaces?

Tony Nelson: I got really interested in this notion that Jim [Walsh] had built this community where there really was none before. I mean obviously, there was a singer-songwriter scene around town but he gave people a chance to come together on a regular basis, whether they were pure singer-songwriters like Brianna Lane or people from bands who would do stripped down sets, and by putting them together and making them play together he really built this community. Now you’ll see things like Fran [King] and Duncan [Maitland] from Ireland coming in to record with Ed Ackerson who they probably met at a Hoot. So I got interested in this idea of the Hootenanny being this place where people came together, a really diverse group of people. You know, people who are know internationally to people who have never recorded professionally and have a few songs on a Myspace page and the Hoot is the thing that ties them together. So I got tot thinking, “Where do all these people come from?” If the Hootenanny is the hub and the center, then what are all the spokes of the hub?

C15: That kind of scene seems unique to music, do you think there is something analogous in visual art?

TN: Music is so nice because it is a collaborative process, you write something and start playing and someone can chime in and it’s more difficult to do as visual art is more of a solitary process. I don’t know how else it could happen. I tried to think how this [show] could fit into a larger picture, you know; could there be a book, or are there other hootenannies [to document]? I was trying to think about this and it is really hard. You [could base it around] a venue, and lots of people play in the venue but you don’t have that collaborative element. I imagine there are circles of artist that meet together and writers that write together, but because of the performance aspect, the Hoot is unique.

C15: What was your process with capturing the creative space? Were people receptive to it?

TN: Just about everybody was receptive. There were some people on tour that were hard to pin down, we really tried hard to get Tom Morello when he was here on tour. It was also a little bit tricky because the people on tour I had to not be so literal with their “creative place”, I just sort of had to acknowledge that the road is part of their creative place and that’s sort of their home away from home. But for the most part people seemed pretty into it. I had suggested we do some shooting at day jobs and that didn’t go over too well [laughs]. For the most part what I tried to do was not give them a questionnaire, but a list [asking], where do you create, where do you write, where do you feel inspired? And then I didn’t make them be so literal, it didn’t have to be a physical place so much as where they felt inspired or what they liked to do to get away from it all. [Jenny Dalton] likes to record things on tape and then drive around and listens to them and tries to put them together before going into the studio and trying to put it all together. So we did things like that, and I just tried to be flexible with my premise.

C15: I like that parallel that as the Hootenanny was growing and building the ideas and photos for this show were simultaneously growing.

TN: During the first season of the Hootenanny, I thought it was an important, a unique thing to document as something that I hadn’t seen before. It was a great way to reconnect with the local music scene that I was feeling a little out of touch with. So at first I was just documenting what was happening. And then at the end of the first season, I started thinking to myself, where am I going with this and the idea of the portraits came around. Obviously there have been so many more people who have played then are included here and that’s been the thing that kills me is figuring out who to include.

C15: How many photos are you showing?

TN: There are two components of the show. The bulk of [the show] are these portraits I’ve been doing of these Hootenanny players, and there are 28 of them. Then, to give the photos some context, there is a large number, I haven’t counted them, of the documentary shots of the shows. The portrait shots are showing where these people are coming from that come together, and then a lot of little shots to show what the scene is like.

C15: Did Fox Tax approach you or did you bring the portfolio to them?

TN: I brought it to them. I knew people at Fox Tax and I also knew Kristoffer Knutson, [Fox Tax curator] Emma Berg’s partner at MPLSart, so it seemed like a natural place to bring it.

C15: Have you been showing in galleries much?

TN: Not a lot. When I started I was just trying to make a living. The [art program at the University of Minnesota] is a real fine arts program not a commercial program, so I got out there and was floundering a little bit on how to make a living. I kind of felll into commercial work as an assistant to other photographers and then shooting on my own. I haven’t done a lot of galleries, the last was the ‘05 Musicapolis show, a group show, and one in ‘98.

C15: So this your first solo show in a while?

TN: Yeah, definitely at this scale. I’ve had a couple things here and there at offshoot galleries, and events like Art-a-Whirl. But this is my first big solo show. It may not be a big show, but it feels big to me [laughs].

HOOTENANNY: A COMMUNITY
A Photo Exhibition by Tony Nelson

Opening Reception: June 19th, 2009 6:00-11:00 pm
On View: June 19th – July 24th, 2009
The Gallery @ Fox Tax: 503 1st Ave NE Minneapolis, MN 55413

A Hootenanny will be held immediately following the opening reception at the Red Stag: 509 1st Ave NE Minneapolis, MN 5541