Ennyman's Territory: Armory

Showing posts with label Armory. Show all posts

Friday, July 15, 2022

In 2018 the Duluth Armory Became a Stage for a CW Duluth Television Program. Now It Is Streaming Online as a Miniseries

In the same way that bloggers and journalists have historically recycled content they created, so we've seen the Internet do likewise, absorbing and re-purposing nearly all the media content created since the dawn of civilization. This week I received notice that the local Duluth CW program that I wrote about in 2018 is now streaming on Amazon Prime and will soon be available on Tubi.

The program was recorded mid-winter at the unheated Historic Duluth Armory, where Bob Dylan saw one of Buddy Holly's last performances, in blustery cold winter weather not unlike the night of that 1959 Winter Dance Party. Five local musicians were featured in a five-episode miniseries that aired locally here in Duluth.

The series, renamed "Acoustic at the Armory," features acoustic performances by Charlie Parr, Alan Sparhawk of Low, Ingeborg von Agassiz, Superior Siren, and Rick McLean, and it intentionally references ties to the Armory's storied past.

Filmed in Duluth during the winter of 2018, each musician braved frigid temperatures for the opportunity to perform for the small camera crew assembled there. Because of a demolition order that was placed on the Armory in 2001, no one could technically make use of the building at that time. Temporary access to the building was granted by the City of Duluth, however. Each episode featured live performances and interviews with the artists, as well as untold stories of the Armory’s music history, rare photos of Buddy Holly in Duluth, along with background music provided by musicians from the Twin Ports.

Yesterday I reached out to Keith Hopkins, a producer for local television station KBJR, who was Series Director for this miniseries. I asked how his Armory miniseries ended up on Amazon. Hopkins explained that "Amazon has open submissions. This means any producer can submit projects for consideration. I submitted ours six to seven weeks ago and they agreed (to stream it.)"

When asked what other side projects he's been currently working on, Hopkins said, "Right now I'm working on a documentary about some local guys who do parades and parties as Ghostbusters to raise money for the Ronald McDonald house. 100 percent of the money raised is donated."

That sounds like fun. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about that as the story unfolds.

You can find Acoustic at the Armory here on Amazon.

The series trailer can be viewed here on YouTube.

A very big shout out goes to Mark Poirier, Executive Director for the Armory Arts & Music Center, whose work behind the scenes helped make this show possible.

HexagonMotionPictures.com

BUDDY HOLLY LINKS

https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-visit-to-buddy-holly-crash-site-in.html

https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2019/02/in-memoriam-buddy-holly-stood-on-these.html

https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2019/01/more-buddy-holly-fingerprints-not-fade.html

https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2019/01/sunday-nights-blood-moon-plus-more.html

https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2010/08/day-music-died.html

https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2018/01/remembering-buddy-holly-dance-party-jim.html

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Schedule for the 2022 Duluth Dylan Fest: We're Ready To Roll

After months of meetings, emails and phone calls, the schedule for this year's Duluth Dylan Fest 2022 has finally begun to gel. Most of the events will be live this year, for the first time since 2019. And, as always, there will be lots of music and you're invited.

This year's Fest will be a final exclamation point on St. Louis County's Year of Dylan, which commenced on the troubadour's 80th birthday. (Troubadour: a French medieval lyric poet composing and singing in Provençal in the 11th to 13th centuries, especially on the theme of courtly love.)

Here's how things are currently shaping up for this special week of celebration.

* * *

Saturday, May 21, 2022

Forging Community Dylangate Event, & Historic Armory and Self-guided Bob Dylan Sites in Duluth Tours
Armory Arts & Music Center Annex
1305 London Rd, Duluth
9:30-11:30 AM | Free

Highway 61 Revisited Radio Show
The North 103.3 FM Streaming online at 5:00-6:00 PM | Free

Duluth Dylan Fest Kick Off Party
With music by Cowboy Angel Blue
The Rex at Fitger’s
600 E. Superior Street, Duluth
7:00-10:00 PM | Free

Sunday, May 22, 2022

Dylan Fest Acoustic Jam Session
with host Leslie Black
Bring your instruments and/or voice and a music stand.
Earth Rider Festival Grounds
1617 N. 3rd St., Superior, WI.
2:00-5:00 PM | Free

Monday, May 23, 2022

Highway 61 Revisited Radio Show
The North 103.3 FM Streaming online at 5:00-6:00 PM | Free

Bob Dylan Trivia Night and Livestream Listening Party
Trivia from 5:00-7:00 PM, followed by listening party 7:00-8:30 PM
Cedar Lounge (next to Earth Rider Festival Grounds)
1715 N. 3rd St., Superior, WI.
5:00-8:30 PM | Free

Andy and Renee and Hard Rain Dylanfest from LA
Streaming from the Band’s YouTube Page
7:00-9:00 PM | Free

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Bob Dylan Front Porch Birthday Party with live music by
Greg Tiburzi
Dylan childhood home
519 N. 3rd Ave. East, Duluth
12:00-1:00 PM | Free

Basement Tapes Band Concert & Pre-Concert Music
The Ripple Bar
325 S. Lake Avenue, Duluth
5:30-9:00 PM | Free

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

John Bushey Memorial Lecture
featuring Peter K. McKenzie, author of Bob Dylan On
A Coach and Fifty Cents
Livestream on Zoom

6:30–8:00 PM | Free

Thursday, May 26, 2022

Free Wheelin’ Duluth Does Dylan CD Release Show
Earth Rider Festival Grounds
1617 N. 3rd St., Superior WI
6:00-9:00 PM | $5
(Doors open at 5 PM| Music at 6 PM

Friday, May 27, 2022

Dylan Fest Singer-Songwriter Contest
Sacred Heart Music Center
2022 4th Street, Duluth
7:00-10:00 PM | Tickets on Eventbrite
(Contest limited to 15 people for details follow link)

Saturday, May 28, 2022

John Bushey Memorial Lecture
featuring Paul Metsa, musician, poet, radio host, and
author of Alphabet Jazz
Location To Be Announced
3:00–4:30 PM | Free

Highway 61 Revisited Radio Show
The North 103.3 FM Streaming online at 5:00-6:00 PM | Free

Bob Dylan Bash Concert
Sacred Heart Music Center
201 West Fourth Street, Duluth
7:00-10:00 PM | Tickets on Eventbrite (coming soon)

Sunday, May 29, 2022

Farewell Brunch featuring local musicians singing Dylan Tunes
and Originals
Wussow’s Concert Cafe
324 N. Central Avenue, Duluth
2:00-4:00 PM | Free (Brunch not included)

Stay Current and Learn More at

https://duluthdylanfest.com/

Photo credit top of page poster art: Claude Angele Boni (L) portrait based on Bobby Zimmerman high school yearbook, and (R) Andrea Orlandi

Monday, December 27, 2021

Most Popular Blog Posts of 2021 at Ennyman's Territory--Chiefly Dylan, Though Other Themes Emerged

County commissioners made a
proclamation on Dylan's 80th birthday.
By year's end he was on tour again.

It's that time of year again, a time for looking back at the year now past in order to prepare for the year ahead. Once again, the Grateful Dead have given us a few lines to describe our mutual experience of these past two years. I'll select this one: "What a long strange trip it's been."

Clint Eastwood's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly comes to mind as well. As regards Ennyman's Territory....

The Good: I didn't quit at the end of 2020 when I became depressed about it all I was greatly encouraged by a few reader friends who seemed surprised that I would even consider quitting.

Also in the "Good" category... the blog passed the 3 million pageviews milestone in November. Thank you. You (readers) are the reason I keep trying to produce content that is interesting, thought-provoking or relevant.

The Bad: These are intertwined. This spring I found myself in a predicament. Facebook began banning my blog URL so that I could no longer share my blog content there. The stated reason: violation of community standards. When I dug into this and attempted to get a clarification, I could not reach a human being, but did get an explanation. Supposedly, the Facebook "content police" said I was a Bot, the implication being that because I posted regularly every day since 2007 I must be a machine.

Two days later I was also banned on Instagram, which is owned by FB. On both Facebook and Instagram I could still read others' posts, but on Instagram I was unable to "like" the artwork of the artists I followed there, nor could I post any of my own photos.

The Instagram situation resolved itself in about six to eight weeks, but Facebook was still a thorn. It was suggested I go to the forums on Facebook and take up my case there. Over a period of a month I made a couple attempts to interact with a Facebook human, and by summer had a breakthrough. A Facebook staffer responded to my "problem" and said my blog links were being blocked because either (a) I was perceived as a spammer, or (b) someone reported me.

When I pursued this so as to learn who made the accusation or why, the person replied, "This discussion is closed."

The Ugly: Well, since 2010 a primary subject for my blog content had been the local Twin Ports art scene. Few, if any, of the artists who followed my blog on Facebook were also followers on Twitter. Because the people I wanted to reach through my blog were not accessible, my motivation was undercut. Incentives matter, and I lost my motivation to go over-the-top to cover what was happening.

In truth, two years of pandemic has caused a very definite curtailment of art openings and events... Artists are still making art, and sharing on social media, but it is a very different social experience from the evolving scene of the past dozen years.

The Workaround: For what it's worth, this fall I shut down my ennyman.com blog and created a springboard so that when I post ennyman.com on Facebook, the reader gets forward to the most recent blog post at Ennyman's Territory. It's clumsy, but it works. (Thank you, Cirina.)

Alas, it's time for the Ten Most Popular Blog Posts of 2021 at Ennyman's Territory. Drumroll please........

Artists Take to the Streets... To Make Snow Sculptures. Plus a Link to Art in February

Michael Lewis' Tribute to Coach Fitz

San Francisco's School Renaming Spree Would Be Funny If They Weren't Serious

7

French Artist Claude-Angèle Boni Explains Two Dylan-Inspired Treasures

6

Bob Dylan's Shadow Kingdom: Swoons for Many, a Letdown for a Few

Official Poster and Finalized Schedule for Duluth Dylan Fest 2021

Dylan On Loneliness: References A-Plenty, Sorrows Run Deep

Mr. Dylan Spent Some Time Watching the River Flow During the Pandemic (Milwaukee Concert Review & More)

Dylan Lines in 4/4 Time: A Trivia Contest for the Super Fans

Winter Dance Party: 62 Years Ago Today Bob Dylan Saw Buddy Holly Here at The Historic Duluth Armory

The Armory board had something to shout about in 2021.
After 20 years of preparations, the dream of a renovation
took another step forward. Story here.

Thank you to everyone who has visited these past 14 years...

May your 2022 be our best year ever.

Thursday, February 11, 2021

Thank You, Mary Wilson, You Inspired Us. R.I.P.

As nearly every fan of the Supremes has heard by now, Mary Wilson died in her home in Henderson, Nevada Monday. Music by The Supremes was a big part of my high school soundtrack so I thought I'd add a few comments to the many obituaries that have been written.

They were just teenage girls living in the Detroit projects when Mary and Diana Ross thought it would be fun to start a singing group. Wilson was just 15 at the time. They started a quartet called The Primettes and won an amateur talent show.

In 1961 they changed their name to The Supremes and did a few gigs around Detroit. In 1962 they did their first gig on the road, opening for Gladys Knight & the Pips in Cleveland.

Later that year they became part of a tour of Motown artists that included many names that would become famous in that decade: Martha and the Vandellas, the Marvelettes, the Contours, Marvin Gaye, Little Stevie Wonder, the Supremes the Temptations & Sammy Ward. I'm sure that being with these others taught them a lot about the nature of show business. With excellent material work with The Supremes cranked out hit after hit. Their second album contained three number one singles that became million sellers, "Baby Love", "Where Did Our Love Go" and "Come See About Me." And the hits ket coming.

They worked hard and had an aggressive touring schedule for years. On May 30, 1967, The Supremes brought their show to the Historic Duluth Armory where they wowed the Northland.

By 1970 they had produced a dozen #1 hits that were listened to and appreciated around the world. In 1988 The Supremes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

* * *

While looking thru the list of places The Supremes performed I came across a January 2, 1965 concert at the Packard Music Hall in Warren, Ohio. My grandparents both worked at the Packard Plant in Warren, a branch of General Motors. GM, like many major corporations, no doubt built the music hall as a community service.

* * *

Here's a website listing all their shows and locations from the beginning. Perhaps your home town was once a whistle stop on the yellow brick road that was their career, though if you read Mary's autobiography you'll see that the challenges are many and there are plenty of thorns among the roses.

Visit: https://concerts.fandom.com/wiki/The_Supremes

* * *

Still singing your songs.

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Assorted Images from Beneath the Historic Duluth Armory Drill Hall

When I was younger and doing what I considered serious photography (with a Minolta SLR later Tokina w/ a set of lenses) I enjoyed taking photos of weathered walls because of the fascinating textures.

So it was that Monday I had a chance to shoot pictures in the massive space beneath the drill hall floor. I only regret that my iPhone doesn't take sharp photos as it used to because it's been dropped a few too many times.

What I would love to see is a competition between a half dozen pro photographers who get to run amuck throughout the Armory for a day. It would be interesting to see what they came up with. I can even imagine a book out of it. In the meantime, these are some of the scenes that captured my eye.

Only image not from below. Top floor ballroom scene.

When I was a kid this would have been a cool place to play army, or hide and seek.

Related Links

Duluth Armory Arts and Music Center

Duluth Armory Becomes Stage for the CW Duluth Television Program

Duluth Armory History, Including the Role the Armory Played in our Last Pandemic

Saturday, April 4, 2020

Duluth Armory History, Including the Role Played During Our Last Pandemic in 1918

The life of Dylan is one of legends. The man himself has become something of a mythological figure during the course of his lifetime. One of the signature stories in that legendary life is his trip to Duluth to hear Buddy Holly at the Duluth National Guard Armory the last evening of January 1959. Three days later Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) were dead, killed in a plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa.

The Armory encounter made an impression on the young Bobby Zimmerman, who referred to it later in interviews as well as in his autobiography. No doubt that tragedy that occurred in an Iowa cornfield made an equally powerful impression. (Read the story here.)

I mention all this because a friend who serves on the Armory board posted on my Facebook wall a link to Zenith City Online noting that this day in 1915 was the official opening of the historic Duluth Armory. [This blog post was originally published on November 22, 2015.]

From very early on the Duluth Armory had a storied existence. World War I was in effect, though the U.S. had not fully engaged. Nevertheless the Armory served as home for a full-scale regiment, comprised of the 34th (Red Bull) Division and the 125th Field Artillery.

It didn't take long for the Armory to get put to use and in 1918 our boys joined the Doughboys to engage in a war many people still don't understand. 317 Duluth soldiers lost their lives in Europe as a result.

But the worst was yet to come.

That autumn the Spanish Flu epidemic reached Duluth. The flu was so deadly that on October 8 the city commissioners put the entire city on lockdown. People were forbidden from shopping, going to church or congregating of any kind. It was a city-wide quarantine.

Four days after this edict, the Cloquet Fire hit. When I first visited Hermantown, just over the hill from Duluth's Western rim, in the late 1970's I couldn't help but notice that there were no really tall trees. I learned then about the Cloquet Fire. The reality is that the fire burned everything South to North around the entire outskirts of Duluth. Innumerable homes were lost, and more than 600 died. People who had gone to work that morning were unable to return home that night, many wondering whether their loved ones escaped or were consumed.

Where did all these people? Most were housed at the Armory and a few other structures where people could be attended to. Unfortunately, the Spanish influenza was in full force, and all these people in one place only contributed to its spread. Over 300 lives were taken by the flu. It was a dark year for the Zenith City.

As George Harrison once penned, all things must pass, and certainly these dark clouds of 1918 ultimately lifted after a season. No doubt our current quarantine and 2020 is challenging for our nation and the world, but it's not our first historic crisis. Let's pray that we avoid the worst, find our "best selves" as we come through to the other side.

Related Links
dulutharmory.org/about/
My 2013 Armory Update
The 1918 influenza pandemic killed thousands of Minnesotans

Historic Armory Post Card is from the informative Historic Duluth website Zenith City Online. Thank you, Tony, for your invaluable caretaking of Duluth's history.
PRE-ORDER an autographed copy of Tony Dierckins' Duluth: An Urban Biography

Information about our tragedies of 1918 came from a presentation by Dan Hartman at a Libations at the Library event here in Duluth.

Monday, February 25, 2019

Tuesday Is a Fund Raiser for The Armory Music Resource Center @ Chipotle. Muy Bien!

DOWNLOAD & PRINT THIS DOCUMENT

AND BRING IT WITH YOU TO CHIPOTLE AT MILLER HILL MALL, or Just Tell Them you're there to support the Music Resource Center.

Either way, you get a great meal and the MRC receives 33%!

DETAILS HERE

VAMANOS!

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Armory Breaks Ground On Drill Hall Floor Restoration

Mark Poirier gets media moment in the drill hall.

At 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday December 5 members of the Armory Board, representatives from Gardner Builders and LBH, and news teams from the local media gathered to "untie the ribbon" that would set in motion the interior floor restoration of the Duluth Armory. Mark Poirier, executive director of the Armory Arts & Music Center, shared a few words in a brief ceremony to kick things off.

Calling the Armory "one of the most important buildings in Duluth, Poirier cited just a few of the people have graced this stage, including Liberace, Louis Armstrong, and Johnny Cash among others. He mentioned how the memorial service for Albert Woolson, the last survivor from the Civil War, brought dignitaries from all over the world to Duluth to honor the old veteran, whose home was just around the corner from where the Zimmerman's lived on Duluth's Central Hillside. (In mentioning this memorial service, one couldn't help but think about the memorial service taking place at this very moment for George H.W. Bush in Washington D.C.)

The shovels are, naturally, symbolic. The floor is concrete.

Joellyn Gum and Michelle Bredin tie the ribbon on the robo-jackhammer.

Poirier went on to note the importance of places. It was 100 years ago when the destructive Cloquet fire swept through our Northland, wiping out 35 small communities. The Armory served as a shelter, a place where separated family members could reconnect and burn victims be treated. Preserving buildings like the Armory is an important undertaking as these places connect us to our past, he said. "Buildings like this are a repository of our history. We all stand on the shoulders of people who came before us," Poirier explained.

The official moment... like a starter's pistol

Another aspect of this renovation project has been the evolving plan for future use. "Ultimately it has to be economically sustainable." The drill hall floor project is the last of five major issues that needed to be addressed before moving into the full-fledged development phase. He noted that the area is now an "Opportunity Zone" which will also have benefits. "It's a mission with many components and we coulbdn't have done it without help from many sources," he said as he thanked LHB, the Historical Society ad Gardner Builders.

The star of the show prepares to demonstrate its power.

Bob Gardner spoke next, sharing how there has been a lot of work involved to make this happen. In addition to the financial piece, there are some technically challenging aspects of the project as well, such as breaking up and removing 20,000 square feet of concrete. "It's been a team effort," Gardner said, noting that he was grateful to be part of it.

Joe Litman from LHB then shared briefly, stating that this is a unique structure. "I take my hat off to the Armory group" for all they have done. "Not everyone gets it, but the Armory Board has achieved something special here."

It may not have been planned this way, but the ceremony took place near the very spot where young Bob Dylan (17-year-old Robert Zimmerman) stood as he watched Buddy Holly and the Winter Dance Party of 1959 here. Some of us were aware, though, and it only heightened our sense of the moment's significance.

From the start it has been an ambition project. Tremendous obstacles have already been overcome and there is a sense in which it will become apparent to all that the sacrifices have been worthwhile.

Related Links
About the Armory
The Cloquet Fire of 1918
Drill Hall Stabilization Underway (Business North)