AltWeeklies Wire
Moonstone's Micah Mackert Unraveling Prog-Rock Prophecynew
If you're looking for the truth, you've come to the wrong band. In Moonstone, the five-piece band for which Reverend Micah Mackert is spiritual seer and sole spokesman, facts are made into trifles, replaced by layers of beguiling myth.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
David Hansen |
02-24-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Micah Mackert, Moonstone
Chickadee Mountain Martyrs' Kitchen-Sink Music Never Fails to Surprisenew
Luc Parker is the lead guitarist and principal lyricist of Chickadee Mountain Martyrs, and on University Avenue after a weekday Turf Club show, he treads this territory as cautiously as a mine diver, as if the slightest stumble in self-definition might blow his band to bits.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
David Hansen |
02-17-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Discarded Album Revives Forgotten Chapter of Minneapolis Music Historynew
t all started with Shelley Pierce hunched over the vinyl bin at Cheapo. She had most of the albums she wanted, but enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. As she finished flipping through the new arrivals, a short, plump woman in her 50s came in the front door of the store, lugging a crate full of used vinyl records.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Emily Kaiser |
01-27-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Dessa Ventures Toward Experimental Pop With 'A Badly Broken Code'new
For many in the local scene, the mention of Dessa's name conjures up a few well-tread facts: She's a literary agent, commended in the same breath for her talents in writing and rapping; she's the only woman in a rap crew of nine, and something of a team leader for the business model behind Doomtree.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
01-20-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: A Badly Broken Code, Dessa
Nellie McKay Talks 'A Prairie Home Companion,' Politics, and Doris Daynew
As a forward-thinking musician, Nellie McKay has jumped all over the map in the last decade, with albums spanning pop music, funk, disco, and hip hop. Her most recent, Normal as Blueberry Pie, veers into surprisingly traditional territory with a collection of Doris Day covers.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
01-06-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Solid Gold's Fantastic Voyage: From Twin Cities Band to National Treasurenew
The band's slow and steady climb doesn't seem to surprise any of the members of the group. For Solid Gold, this latest leap onto the national radar is just part of their master plan that started at the beginning of the decade by a couple of party boys in Madison, Wisconsin.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
11-11-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Bodies of Water, Solid Gold
Mason Jennings Releases His Most Intense Record Yetnew
With the release of Blood of Man, longtime fans can breathe easy once again. In a dramatic shift, Jennings has returned to a more free-spirited form, recording all of the songs on his own, leaving them unfinished and raw, and (OMG!) plugging in an electric guitar.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
09-23-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Blood of Man, Mason Jennings
Lusurfer is on a Satanic Mission to Spread Surf Rock to the Massesnew
The origins of Satanic surf-rock band Lusurfer are hazy at best. Over a round of PBRs at a local watering hole, I try to coax a narrative out of the four metal-heads-turned-surf-rock enthusiasts seated around me, but the details are implausible, sketchy, and at times ridiculous.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
08-12-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Proposal to Ban 18+ Shows Could Kill the Minneapolis Music Scenenew
The City Council is exploring restrictions on 18+ events, due to concerns that binge drinking is a problem among minors. If the ordinance passes, it leaves two options: dry shows for the all-ages crowd or 21+ shows where the booze flows freely.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Jen Boyles |
07-22-2009 |
Music
City on the Make Keep Pushing With Latest Albumnew
There's something irresistible about how difficult it is to label City on the Make's music, and it's part of what makes their latest album, Keep This on Fire, so intoxicating.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
07-01-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Michael Jackson: A Eulogynew
Why and how Jackson became the most famous person the century ever knew is a matter for the anthropologists. For us, here and now, Jackson was elemental and impossible to ever fully understand; fearsome and heartbreakingly beautiful; at once mortal and deathless.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
David Hansen |
07-01-2009 |
Music
The Monks' Beat Goes on with a Pair of Unsettling but Fascinating Reissuesnew
For many years, the Monks and their music have been barely more than legends. But this month the Monks' first and only studio album, Black Monk Time, along with an additional album of demos and singles, has been resurrected and reissued for mass consumption.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
04-30-2009 |
Music
'Amphibian' Showcases the Danforths' Experiments with Answering-Machine Tapes and Microcassette Recordersnew
Found sounds create unusual texture in a compelling new album.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
03-20-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Ukulele Prodigy Jake Shimabukuro Is Still Flying Highnew
For ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro, it all began with an innocent little YouTube video. Four years later, Shimabukuro is still following an upward trajectory, setting himself apart as an intense, disarming, and enigmatic performer.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
03-04-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Jake Shimabukuro, ukulele music
Chastity Brown Is Melting Minneapolis With Her Powerful Soul-Jazz Combonew
A Southern singer/songwriter migrates north and turns the Twin Cities out with Sankofa.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
03-04-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
