Andy & Renee Headline Concert to Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of KUMD's Highway 61 Revisited

It was a very special night at Sacred Heart here in Duluth. Andy & Renee, a pair of Los Angeles musicians who have been celebrating Dylan's music for 31 year, happened to be in Minnesota this week so they could celebrate the 30th anniversary of KUMD's Highway 61 Revisited. The late John Bushey, who hosted this weekly hour of Dylan music, would have loved the concert last night. 

Marc Gartman

Marc Gartman, one of our many talented local musicians, opened the show with a set that featured Dylan music from a variety of sources. My original intention was to not take notes but to simply enjoy the music. Now I wish I'd brought a pad of paper.

For those unfamiliar, Sacred Heart was formerly a Catholic church on Duluth's Central Hillside. Now it is a music and arts venue, among other things. The acoustics are simply outstanding, and the sound system engineering is second to none. All that to say that Marc Gartman's 12-string sounded remarkable.

Zane Bail, who welcomed us at the beginning of the evening, introduced Karen Sunderman to make a few remarks and share some anecdotes from the show's 30-year history. One story she told was how on one occasion John Bushey assembled a manufactured interview with Bob Dylan. He used clips from Dylan interviews and inserted his questions before the statements or answers Bob would make. 

As with Orson Welles' 1939 War of the Worlds radio broadcast, many people not only believed that John was interviewing Dylan, but that Dylan was up at the KUMD studio live on the air. Unexpectedly, people started showing up at KUMD with various items for Dylan to sign as he emerged after the interview. Alas, he wasn't there.

Miriam Hanson, who has now been host of the show for near four years, was unable to be present last night because she was globetrotting in Egypt. Karen shared how influential the show was for Miriam who first started listening when she was 15. It's a show that has touched many lives. 

Paul Metsa joined for It Takes a Lot to Laugh

As for Andy & Renee, they were superb. No question they've got talent. Their stage presence evokes warmth and enthusiasm. Throughout the evening their versatility was abundantly evident. Each took a turn at the grand piano, each took turns singing, and their guitar roles often reversed. And this being a Dylan program, there was plenty of harmonica. 

Here's the set list, beginning with Things Have Changed, which opened many, many Dylan concerts after it won the Oscar two decades ago.

Things Have Changed
Sweet Amarillo
Emotionally Yours
Watching the River Flow
One More Cup of Coffee
Blood on the Tracks 
Is Your Love In Vain
Up To Me
It Takes a Lot to Laugh, a Train to Cry
Power Lines and Palm Trees
Fuse 32
Times They Are A-Changin’
Working Man’s Blues #2
The Hour The Ship Comes In
Chimes of Freedom

A nice surprise was having Paul Metsa come out to perform with them on It Takes a Lot to Laugh, a Train to Cry. Paul has moved to Duluth and, for the time being, is living on the first floor of the duplex young Bobby Zimmerman lived in till he was six.

Dylan fans are likely aware that there is no song in his catalog titled Blood on the Tracks. Rather, it's a song Andy Hill wrote with Dave Tokaji and Weiner, a.k.a The Title Trackers, in the style of the songs on Blood on the Tracks, intended to serve as a "title song" for that album.  

All close-up photos on this post are courtesy Michael Anderson. 
To learn more about Andy & Renee you can check out this interview I did with them in 2019. 

To purchase their music, check out www.andyandrenee.com

Andy Hill and Renee Safier

Andy & Renee Top Bill at 30th Anniversary of KUMD’s “Highway 61 Revisited” Radio Show

Andy

The weekly “Highway 61 Revisited” radio show – featuring the music of Duluth-born Bob Dylan – first aired 30 years ago on KUMD 103.3 FM. Friday evening, Duluth DylanFest and KUMD will mark this milestone with a special celebration featuring a performance from Los Angeles-based rock and folk duo Andy & Renee. Multi-instrumentalist and longtime Duluth musician Marc Gartman will open. This special evening is one of numerous events orchestrated to recognize St. Louis County’s “Year of Dylan” proclamation.

Since a chance meeting at the University of Denver, Andy Hill and Renee Safier have carved out a unique niche for themselves in the Los Angeles music scene and beyond. Their performances – more than 200 a year – are as much social gathering as musical event. Part fan family reunion, part rock & roll tent revival, their live shows attract a large, enthusiastic, and fiercely loyal group of fans.

& Renee

Devout Dylan fans and specialists in his music, Andy & Renee have taken their unique sound and multi-instrumental skills to venues large and small all over the world. Their 17 CDs and three DVD releases have won them countless awards. They are known as producers and performers of three decades of Dylanfest, an annual 8-hour music festival, attended by hundreds of fans, featuring many top L.A. musicians, in honor of Bob’s birthday.

Get more info, and follow them at www.andyandrenee.com

You can learn more by checking out my 2019 interview with Andy & Renee.  

BUY E-TICKETS HERE. 

Tickets also available at Globe News in Superior and Zenith Bookstore in West Duluth.

NOTICE: All concert-goers must provide proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test at the door prior to each show. Phone photos of vaccination cards will be accepted. Further precautions may be taken pending state and county health guidelines.

Doors at 6:30pm. Music at 7:30pm.

Year of Dylan note:

On May 24, 2021, the 80th birthday of Duluth and Hibbing's native son, the St. Louis County Board formally proclaimed the Year of Dylan, The Year of Dylan is being acknowledged with periodic special events through May 24, 2022, Bob Dylan’s 81^st birthday. 

Tribute to Mary Oliver: Local Poets Reflect

To honor her passing on January 17, this past week Duluth poets each read a favorite Mary Oliver poem at 6:40 A.M. each day on Duluth radio station KUMD’s Northland Morning program at 103.3 FM. In the event you were not able to catch these morsels, here is what you missed.

Guest Post
Phil Fitzpatrick
22 January 2019

Phil Fitzpatrick reads "Three Feet Away" at
Duluth Dylan Fest, May 2015

Mary Oliver passed away last week at the age of 83. She has been a beacon to poets and non-poets for decades and once gave a reading here in Duluth at The College of St. Scholastica. She has meant, and still means so much to so many. It’s almost too obvious to say, and yet for her devoted readers, her poems yield so many varied and crystal-clear access points to her unique perspective on nature and on human nature.

The five members of one of the several writing groups in the Twin Ports area share their own personal takes on what Mary Oliver and her poetry means to each of them. Perhaps in these five references to her work and her life, you might find a link to other poems and other truths.

Candace Ginsberg: Candace offers this snippet from Mary Oliver’s “A Settlement”:

And I am walking out into all of this with nowhere to go and no task undertaken but to turn the pages of this beautiful world over and over, in the world of my mind.
* * *
Therefore, dark past,
I’m about to do it.
I’m about to forgive you
for everything.

Deb Cooper: I’ve carried her poems with me and in me over the past decades, particular ones essential to my life at certain times. Most recently, it is these lines:

Someone I loved once gave me
a box full of darkness.
It took me years to understand
that this, too, was a gift.

Ellie Schoenfeld: Mary Oliver said, "For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold..." and that is exactly what her poems have been for me.

Penny Perry: From “Winter at Herring Grove”:

“Of all the reasons for gladness,
What could be foremost this one:
That the mind can seize both the instant and the memory!"

Perfect description of the joys of the still observer.

Phil Fitzpatrick: In my mind, among the countless Mary Oliver standout poems is “In Blackwater Woods” which we read at my mother’s memorial service in 2004. Its wise prescription for carrying on in the face of loss continues to have daily relevance to me:

To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal,
to hold it

against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.

* * * *

EdNotes
As it turns out I have a couple connections to the late poet. She was from Maple Heights, Ohio. I, too, lived in Maple Heights for a time, till the year I turned 12.

A second connection would be through an apparent mutual interest in Bob Dylan. Though he's not mentioned in the poem by name, other than in the title "And Bob Dylan Too," it was fun to discover this poem a few years back, which I shared here on Ennyman's Territory in October 2017.

* * * * 

Related Links

Three Feet Away by Phil Fitzpatrick

Tribute to Buddy Holly

Deb Cooper reads "Roses, Late Summer"

Gary Boewhower reads "Mindfulness"

Ellie Schoenfield reads "Dogfish"

Airstreamers Arrive in Dylan Country

Kim Kervina welcomes the Airstreamers to Duluth
at Indian Point Campground.

If you're a fan of music history, especially the roots of Americana, you'll very likely be jealous of the caravan of Airstreamers that rolled into Duluth this weekend. Street rodders have their road tours, as do bikers. Till recently I was unaware, though, of the passion for doing the caravan thing that Airstreamers have been sharing and experiencing. They have seen a lot over the years.

This year's Airstreamer caravan consists of people from Ontario and Maine to Florida, Texas, New Mexico, California and everywhere in between.

The theme for this year's traveling road tour is Highway 61 Revisited. It's certain to be a music and blues fan dream, led by Mary & Ingo Werk.

When you look at the itinerary you realize how much work goes into this month-long happening. Here's a synopsis from their H61R Driver Manual:

The Caravan starts in Duluth MN, where the iconic singer-songwriter, musician, author, artist and recipient of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature Bob Dylan was born. We tour all Bob Dylan sites of significance in Duluth as well as in Hibbing MN, where he grew up. His 1965 album “Highway 61 Revisited” inspired this Caravan, as this once major American highway still connects us to the places known for their musical heritage. 

Next are the Twin Cities, where the multi-talented recording artist Prince, who passed away in 2016, resided. We tour his extraordinary private estate and production complex just outside of Minneapolis. Going South on 61, Memphis TN is a music explorer’s delight: Elvis Presley’s Graceland, Beale Street, Sun Records where Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash cut their first record, Stax Studios of Otis Redding fame and the birth of Soul Music. We see it all, and much more. Crossing the state line to Mississippi, 61 turns into the Blues Highway. This stretch is an education of the Mississippi Delta Blues and the rich history of this unique art form. We visit the Blues Museums featuring legends as well as Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club. We even visit a Grammy Museum dedicated to the Blues in the middle of nowhere. Heading South, Louisiana has its own music traditions. Our final destination is New Orleans LA, the birthplace of Jazz: Dixieland, Louis Armstrong, French Quarter, Fats Domino, etc. The Big Easy is this Caravan’s Grand Finale. If you got the rhythm, this Caravan is for you!

The opening event at noon Sunday was an hour long welcome from a few members from the Duluth contingent. After a bit of pot luck eats (yummm!) Ingo Werk briefly shared that there was a 100% Present attendance for this tour, the last Airstreamer arriving to the campground at approximately 11:28 p.m. last night. Ingo then led us in song, the first verse of Blowin' in the Wind, setting the one for this first leg of the tour.

Ingo then introduced Kim Kervina, from Visit Duluth, who played a role in orchestrating this first portion of the Airstreamers' adventure. Kim was followed by Ed Newman who gave a 20-minute talk titled Bob Dylan 101, primarily detailing key events in Dylan's early life, including his 1959 encounter with Buddy Holly at the Duluth Armory, interweaving stories and connecting a few dots. As Alexander Pope was observed, "If a man is worth knowing at all he is worth knowing well."

This spring on Bob Dylan’s birthday May 24 Duluth Mayor Emily Larson opened her remarks by asking, “How much of who we are has been influenced by our first formative years?” These first few days in the Northland will provide the Airstreamers numerous clues regarding those influences that you might not readily grasp from just reading a book or two about Duluth's native son.

Left to Right: Zane Bail, "Ennyman", Ingo Werk & Miriam Hanson

For me, one of the notable features of living in this region and circulating amongst other fans of the Nobel Laureate is that because of the proximity one will occasionally meet people with one or two degrees of separation from Dylan. Nearly every one has a story, or stories of others with stories. The net impact is that Bob Dylan isn't a storybook character in some mythological fairy tale, but rather a real person who went to school, read books, liked to do thing kids do, went to summer camp, listened to the radio, enjoyed music, signed other kids' yearbooks, liked motorcycles... and more.

Zane Bail then shared the backstory on how Bob Dylan Way came into existence through the efforts of her husband Don Dass, city council president Don Ness (who was later elected Mayor) and the late Steve O'Neil, a county commissioner. After decades of wrangling over whether or not to do it, and where, Don Dass wrote a letter suggesting Leif Erickson Park be re-named. This was a trigger that set in motion a real solution which now runs from the Duluth Depot to the Armory and includes three Dylan-themed manhole covers.

Zane then introduced Miriam Hanson who spoke briefly about the influence of John Bushey and his KUMD radio hour Highway 61 Revisited, which aired for over 26 years. Miriam was "knighted" by John Bushey to carry the torch after his passing in February and she's done an admirable job filling John's large shoes.

Miriam's story begins with listening to Highway 61 Revisited as a 15-year-old teen, finding inspiration to see the larger world. She began her life here in Duluth but left and spent a dozen years in the Caribbean before returning to Duluth, living once again in the Central Hillside, recalling for us how when Bob was here with Paul Simon he pointed up to the hills of Duluth and remembered them well.

I brought some of my books to share.

Monday the Airstreamers will be taking in Dylan-related points of interest in Duluth including his birth home on the Hillside where he lived till he was six and the Armory where Robert Zimmerman saw Buddy Holly perform just days before "the music died." A portion of the Bill Pagel Archives will be on display at the Karpeles Manuscript Museum Library. Tuesday will be a tour of several points of interest in Hibbing where young Bob grew up.

Wednesday the Airstreamer Caravan will leave the Northland and make their way to the Twin Cities where they will take time to take in additional sites in Minnesota, with tour guide Magic Marc Percansky sharing some points of interest.

One of the scheduled stops this week will be Red Wing, MN, so as a closing number it seems a good place to share the opening lines of Dylan's Walls of Red Wing.

Related Links
The Day the Music Almost Died
Highway 61 Revisited, Streaming Live on KUMD
Boblinks.com
Ennyman's Dylan Gallery (Paintings & Drawings)

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Get into it.

Introducing Miriam Hanson, Voice of Highway 61 Revisited, KUMD's "Dylan Hour"

When the community lost John Bushey, KUMD host of Highway 61 Revisited for 26+ years, the loss was felt by listeners around the world. Locally, there were practical questions being raised regarding the show he'd created and carried the banner for. How long will listeners accept re-runs? Who will step in to fill John's shoes?

John himself was the selection committee and after much consideration the nod went to Miriam Hanson. From her first weeks on the air it became clear she had the touch. Besides having that perfect pitch radio voice, she's assumed responsibility for all that precedes each week's production.

Now that she's settled in, here's an inside look at the new pilot behind the instrument panel.

EN: What is your background as far as where you’ve lived, gone to school, career?

Gazing up at Skye's  installation, "Shakespeare's in the Alley."
The Great Hall, 2018 Duluth Dylan Fest

Miriam Hanson: I grew up in Duluth, and went to University of MN, Twin Cities securing a double major in Spanish and Portuguese with a minor in Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature (cum Laude). I lived in La Ceiba, Honduras for 6 months volunteering for a micro-finance NGO in order to do research to write my graduation thesis. This led to an interest in living abroad, so I returned to La Ceiba after completing my degree to teach 4th grade at a Bilingual School. This led to being recruited to teach a small private group of expat children on the island of Roatan in the Caribbean (a Honduran island off the North Coast of the mainland). I ended up growing this school to 112 students with 21 teachers and eventually selling it and returning to Duluth after doing some extensive traveling and adventuring (including sailing across the Pacific Ocean and becoming a full cave diver in Mexico). For the last four years I have been working as the Health & Wellness Advocate at Jeff Foster Trucking, developing a culture of wellness in the company.

EN: Impressive resume. How did you first come to take an interest in the music of Bob Dylan?

MH: As a 15-year-old, I had a lot of friends who were just beginning to pick up the guitar and pick out tunes. Dylan is in the learner's wheelhouse as far as simple chord progressions and melodies. I then stumbled across Highway 61 Revisited on KUMD. Every Saturday, I tuned in to the Grateful Dead Hour and then Highway 61 Revisited with John Bushey. I picked up The Freewheelin Bob Dylan and the rest is history!

EN: Was there a specific song or album that really spoke to you and drew you in? What was it and how did it affect you?

MH: Freewheelin' was my initial way in to Dylan. I remember listening to "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," and being sort of confused at how it sounded so kind, and nice, but I knew there was more to it. I liked the informal language; the way it was punchy and fun to sing; and the sweet sweet fingerpicking.

EN: Were you surprised when John asked you to consider being host of the show after his passing?

(L to R) Teague Alexy, Miriam, Marc Gartman

MH: As I started to get to know John and spend time with him, we seemed to develop a confidence rather quickly. John seemed to be a person of few barriers who clearly wore his heart on his sleeve and was very comfortable with me straight away. He invited me to be a guest on the show a few times and he indicated that he was impressed by my song choices. I think I surprised him with my selections and he was excited by my unique (to him) perspective. I think he also liked my voice. More than anything, when he was undergoing a rather arduous treatment session at the Mayo, I mailed him a card to express to him what influence his show had had on my development as a person and what a powerful and meaningful experience it was to leave Duluth, literally travel around the around the world for 18 years, only to come back and find him still here crafting this program. This card really moved him, so much so that he invited me to come in to the studio and actually read it on one of the shows. That was quite an honor. So, no, I wasn't entirely surprised because he had talked to me about taking over the show for him as he became more ill.

EN: What do you like most and what do you find most challenging?

MH: I am astounded at the vast collection that John carefully gathered. It is incredibly exciting to start exploring this collection and to have each show start putting itself together as one song leads naturally into the other and calls the next song forth. It was and is challenging to try to make a professional-sounding show without ums and ahs and spaces and all that. It can take some time as I am totally new to the software. The most challenging part is the technical side and creating time to do it.

* * * * 

Thank you, Miriam, for your time. And for your dedication.

Related Link

KUMD's Highway 61 Revisited

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Engage it.

Community Loses John Bushey, Much Loved Host of KUMD's Dylan Program, Highway 61 Revisited

John Bushey in the John Bushey Highway 61 Revisited Studio ar KUMD

Teacher, Dylanologist (which he continuously denied the way Dylan bristled about being the Voice of a Generation), and a nationally recognized magician whose speciality had been escape arts, our dear friend John Bushey was unable to escape his last challenge and finally succumbed to cancer last night. He will be deeply missed.

In addition to being a pro Dylan buff, John did more than entertain. He was a collector as well. An enormous fan of Harry Houdini, he began collecting memorabilia related to escape artists at the age of ten and has continued to this day so that he built one of the largest collections of handcuffs and gadgetry pertaining to escapology in the country. We're talking hundreds of handcuffs of all styles.

The mic in what was formerly Studio B.

Bushey has been one of the forces behind the Duluth Dylan Fest here in the North Country. Even when he was weakened from his many battles with cancer over the past decade, his will and resolve were strong. This was especially apparent last year when in January doctors said he had two weeks to two months to live, John not only made it to the weeklong May celebration, he attended every event.

One of the great features of his show Highway 61 Revisited was John's tireless effort to find rare tracks of Dylan music from obscure sources including outtakes and unreleased recordings that you won't hear anywhere else. Dylan fans would send tapes from all over the world, which John would perpetually scour in search of "the good stuff" for his listeners. His devotion to this effort, as far as I know, was unmatched anywhere.

Mayor Emily Larson celebrates re-naming of Studio B

Looking through the glass from my mic to John and his, live and on the air earlier this year.

There's a Dylan line for nearly any situation, and even in the midst of his suffering John and I shared some laughs together. Last fall I needed his help to get a door unlocked, and in exchange for my driving him to the pharmacy to get something he needed he came out with me accompanied by his lock-picking tools to unlock the door. While he was helping me the line from "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" popped into my head: "She was looking to do just one more good deed before she died." I shared that and we laughed.

One of John's favorite songs these past months has been "Not Dark Yet" which begins this way:

Shadows are falling and I’ve been here all day 
It’s too hot to sleep, time is running away 
Feel like my soul has turned into steel 
I’ve still got the scars that the sun didn’t heal 
There’s not even room enough to be anywhere 
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

* * * *

As all who knew him well will attest, there has never been anyone quite like John. He filled a unique spot in our universe, and will be missed. Roll on, John. 

RELATED LINKS

DNT 2015: Multitude of Friends Happy to Help Him 

DNT 2017, Studio B at KUMD consecrated with a new name.

2014: John Bushey, The Handcuff King

Flashback Friday: John Bushey, Host of Highway 61 Revisited, Revisited

PART I: Last Night, September 7

Last night after work I met John Bushey at KUMD where he was preparing to record "another edition of Highway 61 Revisited," the Dylan-themed radio program he's produced for near 26 years. He was joined by Bill Pagel, whose preference is to stay out of the limelight. After dinner the three of us grabbed a meal at Bulldog Pizza just off the UMD campus. You know the saying, "I would love to have been a fly on the pizza during that meeting." Well, that is how I feel sometimes when I'm with John and Bill, something like a in the room, who wishes I had a little tape recorded in my hand as we talked about all things Dylan.

There were many stories that would be fun to share here, but sometimes one has to take off that journalist hat. One digression in the discussion centered around who Ramona was in the song "To Ramona," a favorite of mine from Another Side of Bob Dylan which will be on Saturday's show. There were discussions about lyrics (Bill is a collector) and we each told how and when we first heard Dylan. John's younger than us, and so it was much later. The first Dylan album John purchased on its release date was Infidels.  (EdNote: Remember that one. It will be on the Trivia Contest next year during Duluth Dylan Fest.)

Here's another bit of trivia. John Bushey has a pet porcupine. No, not really. What he has is a porcupine that hangs around in the alley behind his home which occasionally comes up to him and eats out of his hand. Unfortunately, about a week to ten days ago he took some things out to the trash can behind his house after dark and that little fellow got underfoot somehow and next thing you know he had a dozen porcupine quills to remove.

Just so you know, you have to remove these quills very carefully. Porcupine quills have a hooked barb so it takes a very patient push and twist to remove each one. You also need to take special care not to let it get infected. (EdNote: This little anecdote may also be on some future Dylan Trivia contest. Remember it well.)

For what it's worth, yesterday was September 7 and our discussion at dinner began with the album Tempest, and more specifically the title song from that album, which John said he's been listening to repeatedly lately, lauding its lyrical dept. A trivia note about this album: Tempest was released five years ago on this date, September 7.

TO ALL FRIENDS OF THE SHOW: Cowboy Angel Blue will be back in town tonight at V.I.P. Vintage Pizza in Superior. Join us for another special evening of live Dylan tunes from John Bushey's favorite group.

Part II: May 1, 2014

I've been a regular listener to John Bushey's Dylan-themed radio show, Highway 61 Revisited, for possibly more than a dozen years. I generally schedule my Saturday around it so I catch the show while painting or working, but if I miss I know I can always pick it up again during drive time on my Monday commute.

What separates his show from the herd is the vast well of material he has collected to draw from. When I visited his home last winter he was doing what must be a never ending task, listening to these recordings and cataloging their contents, rating them for sound quality and identifying especially rich material for his listeners. In other words, he is organizing his personal and ever-expanding "Library of Dylan."

In addition to his passion for Dylan he is also a professional magician who has performed from coast to coast. In the pro ranks he counts Harry Blackstone Jr. among his friends. He is not only a collector of Dylan recordings but also Houdini memorabilia.

Because of his skills as a magician Magic Marc Percansky, the promoter behind our May 17 mega-event A Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan, has tapped John to perform during part of the evening. Magicians often depend on misdirection to accomplish their most inspired feats. So, too, does a multi-performer showcase utilize re-direction between set changes in order to keep the audience engaged. It's an event I've been looking forward to for months.

One of the highlights of Highway 61 Revisited is his tireless efforts to obtain and share rare tracks from obscure sources and rare interviews with Mr. Dylan himself. Here's my interview with John Bushey.

EN: What has been your motivation for producing Highway 61?
John Bushey: Everything I've gotten into in my life I've done with great passion, and a wish to share it with others; the life of Houdini, magic performance, the Beatles, the Monkees, and of course Dylan. When John Ziegler of KUMD asked me to produce a show on Dylan I was hesitant and agreed to provide the material, but didn't want to do the show. John was persistent, and I finally agreed. I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be doing it 5 years from Oct of 1991 (first show), let alone almost 22 years later. Few performers would warrant and have the body of work to provide material for 22 years of a radio show. Dylan is definitely one of those composers, musicians, poets, and performers. I guess my motivation is simply to share something I personally enjoy with others who care to listen.

EN: How has the show evolved over the years?
JB: The main way the show has evolved over the years would be the quality of outtakes and live performances I play. With the digital age people take rare performances and "clean them up" and improve the listening enjoyment. When you are recorded on a reel to reel tape or cassette tape in 1961 in a hotel room, the quality of the recording, especially a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th generation copy, is not that impressive.

Now those early recordings have been cleaned up and sound great. I still do the show as I did in the beginning; with as little production and editing as possible. I go in, often with a set of songs or albums and no real plan. It's like art, or a painting, as I try to create something that feels good to me. Sometimes, I have a theme or idea and gather material that fits into that theme. Sometimes, I go in with no plan at all. The other way the show has evolved is I started on reel to reel, and then went to DAT.

Finally, I went digital. I used cassettes and albums to start, and now use CD's, with the occasional old scarce album. We no longer even have cassette decks at KUMD.

EN: What have you learned about yourself through doing this program?

Bushey meets Gene LaFond in Hibbing, 2009

JB: That is a great question, and one which I unfortunately have no good answer. I've continued to listen to Dylan music all these years, read books about him and his music, and continue to learn what I can. I guess I've learned I am a lifelong learner.

When it comes to things like lyric analysis, I have learned that Dylan's music means what it means to the listener. I don't necessarily agree with a lot of the lyric analysis out there, but do find it interesting to read. Dylan's music instills feelings and thought in me like a piece of artwork does to those who view it. I guess that, more than anything else, is what I've learned. I used to read about the meaning of Dylan's lyrics as though the writer understood more than I did, but now I no longer really care what they say about his lyrics. I enjoy his music, and lyrics, and they mean what they mean to me. John Lennon once said, "You don't have to hear what Bob says, you just have to hear the way he says it". At least that is the way I remember the quote. I think it's so true.

EN: What have been your 2 or 3 biggest moments?
JB: I will tell you one of them, but the others are private to me and involve people or events I don't wish to talk about. One of the best moments involved John Ziegler, who got me started creating the show. John, who listened to my 4th or 5th show, called me to tell me something I played on the show was one of the best moments he'd heard on KUMD programming; it was the year the Bootleg Series first came out and I was talking about the way Dylan records. Rumors and stories were that Dylan would use the first take he'd get through, and I played the "waltzy" version of Like a Rolling Stone from the Bootleg Series Vol. 1 and faded into the released version. John thought it was a great bit and really enjoyed it. There have been many, many kind and sincere emails, letters, and people I've met that have heard the show. Many of them are special to me as well.

EN: The show is a major commitment. How long will you continue to produce it?
JB: I will do the show as long as I feel I have fresh material, ideas, and the passion to continue. Or, as long as KUMD would like to continue the show. Or, until people stop calling in during the fund drives. It does have to pay for itself to warrant keeping it going, and I thank every listener who has called in.

EN: Do you have a favorite Dylan album?
JB: As I discussed with Marc Percansky of the Twin Cities, who shares a favorite album with you Ed (Street Legal), I cannot name one. It truly depends on the mood I'm in, or what day or hour I decide to listen to music. I can say that I'm fond of Blood on the Tracks, Desire, Modern Times, Tempest, Blonde on Blonde, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Hard Rain; I think you get the idea--there are a lot of them. Each album captures a moment in time, and I think Dylan's albums are merely a starting point for him as well. He writes them, records them, and then continually plays with them in concert. One of my favorite Dylan quotes is from the film No Direction Home, in which Dylan says, "An artist has to constantly be in the state of becoming," or something to that effect. While I enjoy most of his albums I really enjoy what he does with the songs in live shows. To me, Dylan is one of the best live performers out there.

EdNote: This blog entry and others like it have the aim of raising awareness for the upcoming Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan concert which will kick off the 2014 North Country Dylan Celebration in Duluth and Hibbing. Sacred Heart Music Center, May 17, 2014. For tickets to this great event visit dulutharmory.org/events.

If you wish to help, visit the Salute Facebook page and share with your friends by clicking the Invite button. 

A Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan is a presentation of the Armory Arts and Music Center and Magic Marc Productions.

A Visit with Danny Fox: 2-Time Winner of the Hibbing Dylan Fest Singer/Songwriter Contest

Danny Fox at Sir Ben's.

"You gotta hear this kid," I was told. "He's got Dylan down," meaning he'd captured the inflections, the attitude, and the other trademarks of Dylan's style, blues harp hung around the neck, even the patter between songs. So I went to hear what the buzz was about and sure enough that winner of the 2008 Dylan Days Singer/Songwriter Contest did indeed reflect the persona of the Nobel Prize-winning troubadour when the Bard was in his youth.

Since that time, Danny Fox has made several trips to the Northland, most recently in early July, performing a few songs live on KUMD and putting on a show for local Dylan Fest fans and friends at Sir Ben's. A few years ago even the Chicago Tribune gave one of his visits some ink.

Now in his mid-twenties, Fox is a seasoned performer. Like many musicians his creative energies have also found other outlets. Dany Fox has taken up painting. Emulating Bob? Could be.

EN: How did you come to take an interest in Bob Dylan?

Danny Fox: My Bob Dylan story... When I was ten years old, My father and his brother, my Uncle Jim, would get together every Sunday at my uncle's house to watch the football game. My brother and I had NO interest in this whatsoever, so we would wander off and draw, play with toys, and partake in all the food that comes with football games. Uncle Jim had several towers of albums. I liked flipping through them to admire the album art. I randomly flipped to Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume One. I had never heard of Bob Dylan, never listened to any of his music, etc. I just liked the dark blue cover with a man's silhouette surrounded by a halo of light and hair. I asked if I could borrow it. On the way home, I put it in my CD player. I don't think I got passed the first track, "Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35." I played it over and over and over and over. I was hooked. Musical heroin.

EN: You've won the Dylan Days singer/songwriter contest twice. How many times did you try and what was your plan the first time?

On the stage in Armory... a Dylan Days rarity.

DF: I heard about the Zimmy's songwriter contest in Hibbing in 2007. I was a junior in high school at the time. Dad and I were going to go, but it was already full. Instead, we had to wait until the summer of 2008. So we went and I was amazed. That's a whole other story, though. So I sang "Mr. Tambourine Man" and my original, "(May Be) The Truth About Love." I had no plan. Just sung what I was comfortable with. Lo and behold, I won! Seventeen-year-old me was ecstatic! And for the next two years of winning, I just came back and gave it my all again. Go in with no expectations. Sing from your heart, with passion. Let Dylan bleed right out of you.

EN: How long have you been painting? What led you in this creative direction?

DF: I have been painting for just about a year. Although art, mainly pencil drawing, I have been doing for over twenty years. Not being able to go to college has sort of stagnated my creativity. I've always admired the old masters and their oil paintings ever since I could remember. So, about a year ago, I just decided, DO IT. On a whim, I picked up some oils and, in the paraphrased words of Dylan, never looked back. I highly suspect this will develop into exploring more artistic mediums and that greatly excites me.

As a follow-up to that, I hope my art propels me into infinite possibilities. I'm currently working on a third album. In that respect, I hope to keep making music, designing album covers, making illuminated Bibles, and maybe dabbling in some sculpture or found object art. I don't quite have a plan. I'm at the mercy of where the art wants to take me and that's a-okay.

EN: How many times have you seen Dylan perform? What was your favorite memory?

DF: I have seen Dylan approximately eight or nine times, my first being Halloween of 2004 when I was 14 years old and my latest in June of 2016.

My favourite concert memory was in the mid 2000s where I saw him at a baseball stadium in Alexian Field. Our "seats" were general admission. We arrived incredibly early and ended up standing about five feet from the stage, ten feet from the man himself. During one of the songs, Dylan and I made eye contact. For a good solid ten seconds. I was crying uncontrollably. He sort of gave me a crooked grin. It felt like I was being rebaptized, that the torch was being passed on. Intimate, magical, and profoundly beautiful.

EN: Do you have a favorite album? Favorite song?

DF: My favorite Dylan album, hands down, is Desire. As for a favorite song, you're better off asking me to count every grain of sand on all the world's beaches! But I've always had an affinity for "Changing of the Guards," "Series of Dreams," and all of his early, early folk circa 1961-1963.

EN: What was the moment when you realized that Dylan wasn't just another performer like other performers?

DF: My most memorable instance where Dylan solidified himself as a god for me was when I was around eleven or twelve years old. I was riding in the back of my family's car on our way to the Countyline Orchard in Indiana to pick apples. I had "Masters of War" playing on my CD player. It froze me to the bone. The marrow curdled into a thick soup of astounding fright. This man spoke of grit and grime, of reality and triumph. I knew he was otherworldly and modern simultaneously. What can you say about Dylan that hasn't been said before, yet describes him perfectly? You can't really say anything. He's rough and soft, old and young, mysterious and perfect. The Shakespeare of my lifetime and in countless eons to come.

* * * *
EdNote: For the record, Desire is one of my own fave Dylan records. Thanks, Danny, for sharing your music this summer and your paintings here.

* * * *
Meantime, life goes on all around you. Get into it.

Throwback Thursday: Sneak Peek inside the VIP Ladies Room

You won't believe what she found in here.

Last Friday night Cowboy Angel Blue came down from the Iron Range to perform at VIP Vintage Pizza in Superior. John Bushey, host of KUMD's Highway 61 Revisited, was on hand doing table magic, but the real magic came from the musicians who, this night, were really in the zone. 

Late in the evening I overheard one of the women talking about how unusual the ladies room had been decorated. Inasmuch as I was only familiar with the men's room, and it was likewise amusingly decorated, I asked permission to get a quick peek, which is to say, "Can you two go in and make sure the coast is clear?" In exchange, I made sure the men's room was vacant as well before they explored. All three of us agreed, the women had a more interesting room. 

* * * *

Hard to believe we're so near July. 

I don't believe my next blog post will need any introduction. 

When tomorrow comes, I will let it speak for itself.

Meantime, life goes on all around you. 

Make the most of it, my friend.

Inside the KUMD Studios with John Bushey Producing the Last Highway 61 Revisited Show of 2016

Saturday I had an opportunity to be in the studio as John Bushey recorded his Bob Dylan-themed show Highway 61 Revisited. I had briefly been a guest on the show a couple times in the past, but this was my first time being present for a full production.

As many of you know John has now been producing this show for more than 25 years. For many people the hour-long program is a highlight of the week. Because of streaming media, the show has a following all around the world. Some of these long-distance-listeners have even made the trek to the Northland for Duluth Dylan Fest and previously Dylan Days in Hibbing.

KUMD's studios are downstairs in the Humanities Building at UMD. This being December 31, we nearly had the parking lot to ourselves as we entered the building from the rear. John carried with him a plastic bag of CDs to draw upon for this night's show. Not only did he bring the new 36 CD box set of all live performances from 1966, he also had the full set of outtakes from studio recordings of 1965 and 1966 released as The Cutting Edge bootleg, the defining period in Dylan's career.

Regular listeners to the show know that the host usually open with a song selection followed by his reassuring, "Good evening and welcome to Highway 61 Revisited." When we as listeners hear this opening we know all is well with the world. "Tonight we opened the show with 'Temporary Like Achilles'..." which was recorded for Blonde On Blonde.

John used to record the show on 'dis DAT machine.

After a few remarks John plays a trio of songs beginning with a pair from a May 20, 1966 concert, "4th Time Around" and "Baby Let Me Follow You Down", then "Tell Me, Mama" from Sydney Australia.

While the songs are playing we talk about the show, the technology that is second nature to him, and most frequently, the common interest that brought us together, Dylan. He's brought The Cutting Edge set in order to mix things up a little, performing Dylan contrasted with studio Dylan. He chooses to spin Take 6 of "She's Your Lover Now" from The Cutting Edge.

Halfway through the show John looks for a finds a cut from the Paris, France performance of May '66 in which Dylan spends more than four minutes tuning his guitar. John's uncertain whether this bit would be going too far for his listeners. You  may recall that this entire year was pock-marked with heated displeasure being hurled at the band due to Dylan's transformation from folk to electric. The concerts featured an acoustic set followed by an electric set, split by an intermission.

Clint Heylin wrote the liner notes for this latest box set which features many of the negative headlines from the newspapers of that time. "Bob Dylan: Is He A Smashed Idol?" and "Uproar at Dylan Concert" and "Dylan View on the Big Boo." John thought it interesting how most albums and books feature the positive reviews. Naturally, this period was historic in part because of Dylan's near enthusiasm for getting blistered with boos.

I myself was most eager to hear the cut from France, and prodded a bit in case John was reticent. He proceeded with the track which stretched to an eight minute version of "Most Likely You Go Your Way" with Bob holding interest throughout his struggle to get that tuning right. "My guitar is broken. Anyone have a guitar I can borrow?" Twang twang twang twang.... strum, toing, twang, wong wong, twang...

Making notes helps keep the tracks and facts accurate.

John next selected "Like A Rolling Stone" from the May 5 Dublin concert and concluded the program with one of our other faves, "Desolation Row" for an outro. As the songs roll, we chat a bit about the lyrics and about how no one ever wrote songs like this before.

Upon completing the recording, he still needs to give attention to the length. What he's got is nearly two minutes over the limit so he looks for the places where lingering applause can be cut here and there, or a small space of dead air. Finally, he equalizes all the sound across the hour and locks it in place for his five o'clock time slot. With everything set, we check out and head on our way.

The show airs at 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays, and re-airs Mondays in the same time slot. I'd often thought it would be fun being a fly on the wall during the production of Highway 61 Revisited since I'm usually listening at the other end.

Meantime, life goes on all around you.... Tune in when you can.