Come on down to The Turf Club to help raise money for Erik Hess, local live music photographer. The full details are below from the Facebook event page.

$10 – Proceeds to Erik’s Medical Fund

7 PM-9 PM:

Gallery/Auction of Erik’s photography and art/artifacts from a bunch of his talented/weird friends! Be sure not to miss this.

**MAIN STAGE**

1a MARK MALLMAN
12a ***SECRET SPECIAL GUEST**
11p The Goondas
10p Street Hassle

**CLOWN LOUNGE**

12:30a Aby Wolf
11:30p Wizards are Real
10:30p Bomba De Luz
9:30p Sevateem

DJs Lady Heat and DJ Ander Other will be in the house and the whole evening will be hosted by Ian Rans & Mike Fotis. Raffles throughout the night!

If you’ve ever been to a show at First Avenue—or ever picked up a City Pages—you have likely seen Erik Hess in action. Erik has quickly established himself as one the most compelling live music photographers in the Twin Cities, and has made an incredible impact on the community through his work and friendships with fellow artists.

Erik is struggling with an extremely rare immunodeficiency disorder called CVID (Common Variable Immunodeficiency), which affects his ability to fight infections and can turn fatal if untreated. On top of this already difficult and expensive disorder, Erik recently faced gall bladder removal surgery after months of painful complications.

Donations to Erik’s medical fund can be made online at http://www.youcaring.com/erikhess

Raffle/Auction Donations from:

Tony Nelson
Steven Cohen
Tasha Pruitt
Wendy Staats
Crystal Reeves
Mark Newcome Katarik
Hymie’s Vintage Records
Batteryboy
Jess Mikkelson
Rogue Valley
Sharon Stiteler
Neil Gaiman
Ryan Siverson
Republic * Seven Corners
Keith Moran
First Ave.
Secret Stash
Glam Doll Doughnuts
and more

Review by: Kaleb Bronson

The elegant and angelic voice of Lucy Michelle shines bright on her new album “Attack of the Heart” that has removed the Velvet Lappelles but invited her solo sound to harmoniously caress the Minnesotan soul.

Michelle has been performing with the Velvet Lapelles for the past 5-years, but this album release does not stop her from continuing this musically enhanced relationship with her band. This 25-year-old of gypsy-like qualities took a trip and resulted it in “Attack of the Heart,” a whimsical album of woodsy tranquility.

This album is focused yet delicate; each note and tone touches perfection and then sways into another tree swing of sound. The lyrical content is also something made from a charming wandering mind; a backpack and a road are a perfect combination to experience this record.

The track “Beat Like Mine” shows the passion and levels of love that Michelle puts into her lyrics and then transitions into “All I need” that has a swing, two-step sound, a track to slow dance in the rain to. Michelle sings, “I’m falling asleep at the wheel/ I need you to help me steer.” The basic yet touching lyrics of this song tug on the heart strings and play them like a violin.

As the album progresses, some tracks are deeper than a wishing well and some slide across the water like skipping a stone, but every track flows into the next. Even when the saxophone wails the intro on “Lucky Stars,” the listener is awoken with a musical kiss from Michelle. As Michelle closes out the album with “Honey Moon,” she lays the listener down softly with a song about love and the beauty of Minnesota’s landscapes.

Lucy Michelle’s tenderness is real, her emotions are endless and her melodies are composed and nonconforming. Michelle is a staple musician in MN and “Attack of the Heart” proves that her nomadic soundscape is flavorful with or without the Velvet Lapelles.

http://lucymichelle.com/

Patrick’s Cabaret Presents Scrawlex: An Uncompromising, Uncensored Open Stage. It’s an audience participation game, with an intermission allowing attendees to network about their art, at their venues, and foster possible collaborations.

*Scrawlex is a bastardization of  “grawlix,” the word for scrawled scribbles indicating swearing in a comic character’s word balloon.

Sign up starts at 7:00PM – 10 minute slots; no advance sign-ups
No tech – or low tech – shows on lobby stage

Friday, May 24, 2013

7:30 PM

Free to the public

Patrick’s Cabaret, 3010 Minnehaha Avenue South, Minneapolis

http://www.patrickscabaret.org/

Patrick’s Cabaret supports artists in their growth and development by encouraging artists of all experience levels to try new things, take risks or present works in progress. We serve a diverse range of artists, from emerging to experienced, from teenagers to seniors. The Cabaret’s first commitment is to serve the needs of local performing artists, specifically reaching out to artists of color and GLBT/queer-identified artists and those with disabilities.

For your listening pleasure – http://chriskoza.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-the-pearl-ep

By Christine Mlodzik

As I listened to Niki Becker’s new album, “Intermission,” I read this paragraph: After the loss of her dog and a really bad year, Niki found herself with a set of songs about grief, longing, and trying to move on. The songs represented a certain moment in life where everything seemed to be on hold and about to change, an Intermission.

Without even knowing that backstory, I could hear that loss.

“A Story” is the first track and there’s an unmistakable sadness within her voice. “Blind” encapsulates those feelings:

We dance around / we go about town / laughing with the rest of the clowns

And our bed sees the tears / the bed and the bottles of beer / and one another’s ears

….

And your face is still fixed / behind my eyes … it just sticks / it just sticks

So I try to rationalize / just be rational, my eyes / just be blind

The next two tracks, “Walking” and “Pumpkin,” share the same sound. The last, “I Guess This Is Called Moving On,” is a departure from the first four’s sound; it’s deceptively uptempo.

Each of her five songs are beautiful, crafted with a wellspring of emotion and pure unfiltered feeling. There’s also a darkness to each song, yet there’s so much beauty within that darkness.The album’s lo-fi sound is warm and intimate, yet still has a full quality to it. Niki’s vocals and storytelling remind me of Ani DiFranco.

“Intermission” is stunning and will be on at least one music critic’s top album list of 2013. I appreciate a singer/songwriter who has a gift of not only crafting words, but infusing each with so much feeling and Niki Becker has such a gift.

The digital tracks will be available for download on June 4, 2013; Niki is printing only 100 copies of the album.

http://www.nikibecker.com/

By Nick Habisch

It’s weird, after one thorough listening of Greycoats newest album entitled World of Tomorrow, I kept reflecting back onto how much they reminded me of Muse, well if Muse toned their sound down a bit and became slightly more brooding.

World of Tomorrow comes off as dark, dreary, and deep. The lyrics reflect a world that has been thrown into chaos, and yet somewhere on the horizon there is light. It’s an engaging, sometimes morose listen, one that flickers between sorrow and something that could be described as happiness.

Instrumentally the band is solid, with “Weightless”, “Foshay”, and “Leviathan” being a few notable songs that showcase their arrangement of deep keyboards, airy guitars, and crisp rhythms. The music is not extremely technically, instead opting for more of a droning approach, one that layers in well with the typically melancholy lyrical delivery and content.

The whole album seems swathed in a dense reverb, as if Greycoats wished to make the oppressive lyrical tone become an audible element of their sound. This sometimes creates an almost muddy sound, which is slightly disconcerting, but doesn’t pull the listener too much out of the immersion into World of Tomorrow.

World of Tomorrow is an album worth listening to. Although the lyrical and musical content may be too brooding to make for a casual listen, this opens it up for a more in-depth intense aural integration, one that Greycoats deserves with this release.

http://grycts.com/

Review by: Kaleb Bronson

Minneapolis’ own trio of rhythm, rebellion and rockabilly, the Reckless Ones, are back with a thumpin’ self-titled EP to swing everyone into the summery rock-n-roll drag races.

Since 2009 when the Reckless Ones released their first album “Make Your Move,” they have been hitting stages all over the world joining forces with artists such as Slim Jim Phantom, The Koffin Kats and Imelda May. As they have progressed the band has shown that they can offer more than just a rockabilly swing, they have the soul of the blues, the grime of a punk pit and the muscle of a V-twin engine. Each song supplies solid transitions and lyrical leaps. Whether love is the tone or breaking free of conformity, Kevin O’Leary on lead guitar and lead vocals, Dylan Patterson on stand-up drums and vocals, and Adam Boatright on upright bass and vocals slay each track with musical domination.

One short year after they released their first album, they blitzed listeners with another rockabilly fireball, “Set the World on Fire.” This record was released in September of 2010 and brought the kick, punch and thump of Boatright’s bass to the forefront for all to consume.

The new EP is no different; they are back with 6-tracks to entice listeners across the globe. Their sound has gotten crisper yet remains lyrically tantalizing. The intro track to the EP, “Dessert Rose” throws the trio on a Russ Meyer like mission to find a missing beauty, known as the “Dessert Rose.” The tone puts the listener on an adventure, lost in the dust searching for something or someone and what they find is the Reckless Ones pounding passion into their ears. Each song these men create could be played in 1950 or 2050, this sound has proven in the past and the Reckless Ones are carrying it into the future. This EP features a song written by the often local Brain Setzer. “Mean Pickin’ Mama” takes a step back and two steps forward, allowing for a shoulder-shaking sound. The best track on this EP has got to be “It’s Time.” This track pulsates defiance and has the listener chanting “It’s Time” along with the song. The combined influence of Patterson’s vibrating stand-up drums, Boatright’s reverberating upright bass and O’Leary’s lyrical command push the EP forward with each shout. The EP closes out on a mellower, galloping break-up song to free oneself from the chains of love before summer begins. “The One” closes it all out for the listener with O’Leary elegantly singing, “What’s been said, and what’s been done all point toward me not/ being the one.”

But the end of this EP is not the end for these men of mystery. They continue to tour and shake up the planet with rhythmic harmonies that are out of this world. The Reckless Ones are more than alive; they are willing to fight to keep rock-n-roll alive in the hearts of the world.

http://www.recklessones.com/

The American Swedish Institute was truly ablaze with the spirit of spring as the holiday of Valborgsmassoafton was celebrated April 30^th.  This eve of May Day celebration is traditionally observed with large bonfires, dancing, and the imbibing of various beverages to give nod to the end of a long winter.  Surviving the winter was an accomplishment, and the arrival of spring meant life.

Since the opening of the Nelson Cultural Center, and FIKA cafe in June of 2012, the ASI has been touched with the blush of a new life. The staff is ever busy weaving the old traditions of Scandinavia with the modern way of life that these countries embody.  What they have succeeded in creating is a place where the young and old can thrive in harmony.

Cocktails at the Castle was just the event to bring people together to toast the coming spring. Twelve hundred people swarmed the ASI.  Children, and adults alike made birchbark decoupage plaques.  DJ’s spun music inside, and theatrical tours of the Turnblad mansion ensued.  Outside, the courtyard was frenzied, with chaotic lines for food, beer, wine, and signature cocktails.  A movie was shown on the mansion façade and several bonfires kept the crowd warm.  As fire is so symbolic to this celebration, Fire Mama Amy Bloss entertained the crowd.  Live music played throughout the evening, from the young and energetic set by Dan Mariska and the Boys Choir (not a choir at all FYI), to the urban alt styling of the Teenage Moods.  Wood carving demos, and lawn games rounded out the outdoor festivities.

So, if you have never been to the ASI, then this is the time to make that trip.  What once was your parent’s, and grandparent’s history, can now be yours to help create.  Even if you don’t have a drop of Swedish blood in you, be aware that you are part of the future that the ASI is so eagerly embracing.

For more information on events at the ASI:

www.asimn.org/exhibits, FB, Twitter…

By Kristine Volvsek

Minneapolis hip-hop group Crunchy Kids just released their second album, Mint. A little less jazzy than their first album Crunchy Kids, Mint allowed the band to experiment with new sounds.

“Avenues” starts off the album talking about life as a trip with many intersections. Essentially, this song is about trying to balance family and the music-life. I really love the strings in this song and the line “if luck is a lady, karma’s a conman.”

The heady, floaty sounds at the beginning of “Smoke Clears” are soothing. Suddenly, like an alarm clock, a big sound fits the lyrics “When I wake up after the smoke clears..” I’ve noticed this song stuck in my head several times. “Smoke Clears” touches on some deep themes, but I feel like the words just begin to scratch the surface. The saxophone and organ really make the next track, “Inhaler,” super-cool.

“Nash Money” is probably the most well-known song from Mint thus far. It’s relatable – most people struggle with money and are frustrated by the lack of fairness in its distribution “Money’s more real when you don’t have it.” Check out the video for this song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji8XIH4pTHo

I don’t really understand the song “Buck and H.A.M.” It seems light-hearted and fun, but perhaps I’m just not high enough to get it. “Bread and Butter” is my favorite song on Mint. I get stuck on the line “It’s like we all hate the same system / Like we got a pulse, but ain’t livin.” “Creatures of Habitat” is one of the jazzier songs on the album and “What Feeling” has an interesting glitch-electro feel.

I enjoy Crunchy Kids’ live band sound and the variety of instruments used on Mint. The lyrics, however, are generally surface deep – it’s lacking the imagery, metaphors, and word play that make you think. Many of the songs on Mint tell anecdotal stories of the struggles of trying to make it big in the music industry and of raising a family, but I feel like Crunchy Kids could benefit from examining what that feels like below the surface. “Nash Money” and “Bread and Butter” show fans that Crunchy Kids has the potential to “go deeper” so-to-speak. I know they have it in them, and I will enjoy watching Crunchy Kids grow as artists.

The release party for Crunchy Kids’ Mint will be at Cause on Friday, May 17. Other performers include Rapper Hooks and Sophia Eris, and the event will be hosted by Big Zach and Audio Perm. The buzz on the internet lately also says that Crunchy Kids just recorded a new music video, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

http://crunchykids.tumblr.com/

The Twin Cities Mobile Jazz Project is a non-profit program created to provide free jazz concerts and educational workshops to the public every Wednesday, starting in June 2013 through August 28, 2013, from approximately 12:00 PM-4:00 PM, based upon artist availability.

Inspired by New York City’s Jazzmobile, the Mobile Jazz Project is the first of its kind in the Twin Cities and will feature live music performances, lectures and demonstrations from top local and national Jazz artists such as: Cedar Walton, Alan Broadbent, Roger Humphries, Kirk Whalum, Billy Peterson, Jeff Hamilton Trio, Herbie Hancock and Nachito Herrera.

The artists will provide safe and diverse forums for people of all ages. It’s an opportunity for a person to explore his/her potential by using music and the arts as tools for communication.

The workshop curriculum includes:

• Learning jazz history and its importance as an American art form.
• Learning about the core concepts, instruments, and great performers of jazz.
• Learning the basics of jazz playing and listening techniques from musicians and scholars.
• Hands-on demonstration of all types of musical instruments and equipment.
• Participation in multimedia projects to explore creativity and musicality.
• Acquiring basic capabilities in the areas of innovation, collaboration, presentation and self-expression through music.

Sign up online; each registration will be held on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The Mobile Jazz Project Launch Celebration

A free concert featuring performances by Pip Jazz Youth Orchestra, with special guests Pippi Ardennia, Billy Peterson, Mac Santiago and more.

Lake Harriet Bandshell

May 15, 2013

5:00 PM-8:00 PM

http://www.twincitiesmobilejazzproject.org/