Swimmer's Ear Magazine Interview

The current issue of Swimmer's Ear Magazine features an interview with me. Swimmer's Ear is available at select skate shops & record stores in Minnesota and a few venues. (Not yet sure which ones.)

Here's a list of Minneapolis locations where you can find a copy: Fobia, Cal Surf, Extreme Noise, and Treehouse. It will also be available in Duluth, Mankato, Rochester, St. Cloud, and even Iowa.

I haven't seen it yet. And it's been so long since I was interviewed I can't remember what they asked me. I'm sure it's interesting though.

An Evening of Kirtan Chanting with Dave Stringer

As if Sunday, October 2nd weren't already full enough with alternative music-related events -- Pagan Pride takes over the Whole Music Club, The Nordic Roots Festival wraps up at the Cedar, 89.3's Guest Session Sundays kicks off at the Fitzgerald with guests Happy Apple, and Drinking with Ian films a new episode at the 7th Street Entry (see the HWTS calendar for details on show times) -- Dave Stringer brings Kirtan Chanting (an ancient form of Sanskrit singing) to the Yoga Center of Minneapolis.

Kate Galloway of Vamp Music Source, who represents Stringer, says he puts a "definite contemporary edge" on what he does, and pointed out he used to play rock music, for anyone scared by the new-agey sound to it.

Check out some MP3's here. And read more details below:

Dave Stringer has been profiled in Time, Billboard, In Style, and Yoga Journal as a leader of the new American kirtan movement. Kirtan (from the Sanskrit word meaning "to sing") is an ancient practice of mantra chanting that has become popular as a participatory live music experience in hundreds of yoga studios across the U.S. As Dave says, at a kirtan "You’re not just listening to the music, you are the music."

Dave's sound marries the transcendent mysticism of traditional Indian instruments with the exuberant, groove-oriented sound of American gospel music. A spontaneous and articulate public speaker, he probes the dilemmas of the spirit with a sly and unorthodox sense of humor. His work translates the ancient traditions of kirtan and yoga into inspiring and thoroughly modern participatory theatre, open to a multiplicity of interpretations, and accessible to all.

In the past five years Dave and his band have toured all over the United States, Canada and Europe, giving more than 600 performances. He has collaborated on recordings with Vas, Rasa, Donna De Lory, Axiom of Choice, Suzanne Teng, and Sheila Nicholls, and has performed with other noted kirtan singers Krishna Das and Jai Uttal. His voice can also be heard on the soundtracks of the film Matrix Revolutions and the video game Myst.

About Kirtan:

Kirtan is a folk form that arose from the devotional Bhakti yoga movement of 15th century India. The primary musical feature of kirtan is the use of call and response, a figure that also deeply informs Western bluegrass, gospel music and jazz. The form is simple: a lead group calls out the melodies and the mantras. The crowd responds, clapping and dancing as the rhythms build and accelerate.

7th Annual Nordic Roots Festival

The funky characters in all the artist names below will probably wreak havoc on the css in my blog producing characters even stranger than the ones I copied and pasted below, but here's the full schedule for the 7th Annual Nordic Roots Restival at the Cedar.

September 30 - October 2
7th Annual Nordic Roots Festival

Friday, September 30, 8:00pm
Ellika & SoloBill Frisell (U.S.) and Bruce Molsky (U.S.)
Frigg (Finland/Norway)
$22 advance/$25 day of show

Saturday, October 1, 2:00pm
Knut Hamre (Norway) with Tina Quartey, Marc Anderson and Dean Magraw
Annbjørg Lien (Norway)
$15 advance/$18 day of show

Saturday, October 1, 8:00pm
Gåte (Norway)
Hoven Droven (Sweden)
$22 advance/$25 day of show

Sunday, October 2, 2:00pm
Triakel (Sweden)
$15 advance/$18 day of show

Sunday, October 2, 8:00pm
Hurdy Gurdy (Sweden)
Garmarna (Sweden)
$22 advance/$25 day of show

Festival passes are also available for $99
For more info on the Nordic Roots Festival go to: www.nordicroots.org

Announcing Twin Cities Fashion Weekend

Mark your calendar for the first annual Twin Cities Fashion Weekend, a four-day fashion frenzy taking place in the Twin Cities from October 20th to October 23rd. Local fashion designer and Voltage: Fashion Amplified producer, Anna Lee is promoting the weekend of fashion-related events. Each event on the roster is independently produced.

Kicking off TCFW is Minneapolis Fashionistas, a local designer runway show at the Fine Line, produced by Dahli Langer.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a "Fashion Crawl" will include stops at Local Motion, Cliche, Design Collective, ROBOTlove, Shu Global Footwear, Exile and Wear It, spanning the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Each boutique will showcase work by local designers.

Though the entire weekend has a festive spirit, it would not be complete without its own official parties. Friday evening, Design Within Reach will host the launch of ODO fashions and website, (Organic Design Operatives is a network of eco-conscious creatives www.themightyodo.com). Saturday includes a Ruby3 "Hats and Cocktails" party featuring live music at Creative Electric Studios from 5 to 8 p.m. Afterwards, from 9 p.m. to the wee hours, head over to Attitude City: Twin Edition, a twin-themed disco party and interactive fashion show. (www.attitudecity.com)

Other events include an electronic styleshow performance by The TV Sound and Jacy McIntosh Friday night at Steven Hutton's studio, Artwear in Motion at the Textile Center Saturday and Sunday, and on Sunday Coffin Candy, a photo exhibit by fashion designer Shannon Schafer, as part of the Fashion as Art/Art as Fashion Exhibit, sponsored by Mplsart.com.

For more information: Anna Lee (annalee@ruby3.com)

Official website: www.mnfashion.com

Zombie Pub Crawl coming October 15th

Look out. The Zombie Pub Crawl is coming October 15th.

Organizer Taylor Carik said part of the idea was "to bring back the dead and bring the dead to the bar."

Sounds reasonable to us for some strange reason. Details at http://www.zombiepubcrawl.com

2005 MMA Awards

Dan Schultz captured this photo of me and Mark Wheat (above) before Jen Boyles and I made our MMA Awards Presenations Wednesday night.

Ross Raihala has a full review of the event here. Chris Riemenschneider has his here. You can see Dan Schultz full photo set here, and my humble attempt at photojournalism here.

Below is my favorite photo of the night. Jen in the green room just before we went on to present.



Oh, and this just in. Read Lindsay Thomas's great synopsis here. I agree with that the awards ceremony would be improved by being shortened. And it's true, that by about 1:15-1:30 when the event ended, the crowd was about half the size it was at 10 p.m.

And as far as the City Pages vs. HowWasTheShow in the "media" category goes, I couldn't agree more. It is indeed an honor to lose in such a David vs. Goliath contest. But City Pages winning best music media is like Prince winning best guitarist. It's probably a good idea to split out the print from web media in future years as it will also help ensure the nominees list includes more web media that deserve exposure, like DUNation, and Tiny Mix Tapes, and The Big Ticket, none of whom were even nominated in 2005.

Music and Awards Presentation Schedule for Wednesday's MMA Awards at First Avenue

Whether you are musician, a presenter, or just a fan who doesn't want to miss your favorite performer or the announcement of your category's winner, I've posted the complete schedule for Wednesday's Minnesota Music Academy Awards here.

http://www.howwastheshow.com/weblog/mma.html

You may note that I am presenting the award for Best Guitarist again this year. If Prince wins and shows up, that's going to be one hell of a photo opp, so be sure to bring your camera.

Other presenters include Rex Sorgatz of mnspeak.com, Ross Raihala of the Pioneer Press and Lindsay Thomas and Jen Boyles of the City Pages.