Karen Sunderman Is Making It Up North

Earlier this year Karen Sunderman notified me that The Playlist would be coming to an end, but that something else was in the wind. Sunderman had been introduced to Northland television viewers via documentaries she produced for the WDSE show Venture North. In 2010 her arts-focused show The Playlist took off for a seven year run. For 2018 she will be at the helm of a new show placing a spotlight on the creativity that is swirling through the Northland. The show is called Making It.

EN: Where did the idea for your new show come from and what's it going to be about?

Karen Sunderman: Many, many conversations. WDSE serves a broad and creative audience. The idea was to expand on our success in featuring the arts & music scene and bring in the talents of artisans and entrepreneurs. Along with that, we recognized that creative problem-solving works across disciplines, interests and industries. Many artists are small businesses. The time was right to explore new ways of organizing stories to inspire more understanding and support for the creative economy.

EN: How long was The Playlist on the air and how is Making It different?

Karen when she was at The Playlist.

KS: The PlayList started in 2010 with Trampled by Turtles, our first on-location shoot. Over 7 years and 179 episodes we met and featured more than 1,900 artists and musicians creating all across the Arrowhead. That material is an amazing online archive and has been broadcast statewide. Making It expands on that base, adding artisans and entrepreneurs to the mix—chefs, coffee roasters, brewers, etc. Each episode is built around a theme with a key interview woven throughout. It’s a different approach for us with some familiar elements. I’m sure it will evolve as we go along. Community feedback, input and ideas are critical to this effort and very much welcome. Please offer your suggestions by email (info@makingitupnorth), through the form on our website or the suggestion box at the launch party.

EN: Who's invited to your Launch Party at Blacklist Beer and what will we find there?

On the rocks, filming an episode in 2014.

KS: EVERYONE is invited to the launch party! Its an invitation for creative folks to come together, mix it up and be appreciated for sharing their stories with us and the WDSE community. The Making It and The PlayList audiences have a lot in common. It’ll be fun to see conversations sparked and relationships renewed at the event. We’ll have live music from Christopher David Hanson (Babbit), Jerree Small & Coyote (Duluth) and Jillian Rae (MSP, originally from Eveleth). There’s a coffee experience at Duluth Coffee Company, and treats by Martha’s Daughter catering/restaurant. Blacklist & Fannie Rose Candy are working out a popcorn and beer pairing for us. We’ll also pause to watch the first broadcast at 5:30! The party runs 3-7 p.m. January 7 at Blacklist, 120 E. Superior St. (More Launch Party details here.)

EN: What time or times will your new show air?

KS: Making It premieres Sunday, January 7th at 5:30 on WDSE and rebroadcasts on Thursday nights at 8 PM. The initial run of six goes through mid-February. There will be another six in April/May.

EN: What gets you most jazzed about the local art scene?

KS: The creative community in our region inspired openness, collaboration, and a willingness to try new things. The tide of creative problem-solving within the region is really inspiring. “We all do better when we all do better” feels real here. If you are going to take a risk, there are people who will offer to help and support you.

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You can learn more about Karen Sunderman -- her international travels and what makes her tick -- here in our 2014 interview.

Will we see you at the Launch Party?

The Dylan Effect Panel Discussion Is Rewarding and Insightful

It's Dylan week here in Duluth, an annual celebration of all things Bob that takes place in the North Country where he was born and raised. The banner over Duluth's activities is called Dylan Fest and in Hibbing it is Dylan Days. So much is happening that by week's end we'll all be dazed.

Last night's event in Duluth was billed as The Dylan Effect. The event took place at Tycoons Alehouse and Eatery in the old City Hall Chambers, beginning at 7:00 p.m. and finishing about 8:30 p.m. Following the discussion, Jim Hall, longtime musician and featured performer of Duluth and Hibbing Dylan Festivals for the past five years, played Dylan songs and at 10 PM, Dirty Horse continued the music with its rendition of Dylan and original tunes. I had to bail after John Hall completed his first set upstairs while we dismantled the room.

Essentially, the Dylan Effect was a panel discussion moderated by Karen Sunderman, producer and host of The Playlist, a local PBS show that covers the local arts scene among other things. The panel was comprised of  • John Bushey, longtime host of Highway 61 Revisited, educator, historian and professional magician • Don Dass, poet and preservationist, and one of the people responsible for the establishment of Bob Dylan Way • Susan Phillips • Nelson French • Tim Nelson, musician, local music promoter, and business owner, producer of the three Duluth Does Dylan CDs • David Everett artist and educator • and myself, Ed Newman. Behind the scenes manifold thanks are due to Zane Bail who helped put this all together.

Sunderman began by asking each panelist to briefly identify themselves and then say something about Dylan's influence on them personally. The answers varied but I was especially touched by David Everett's experience. Most of us in the room remembered Dylan's heart infection in the late nineties in which there was a concern that he might die. At the time 19-year-old Everett nearly despaired because he might never have the chance to hear Dylan live. Dylan survived and the very next year came to Duluth to do a concert, a richly rewarding experience for the young artist.

The second question, which we dove into with more vigor now that the dicussion was flowing, had to do with Dylan's influence on the broader culture. The way she worded the question was especially interesting. In what ways to do we see Dylan's fingerprints on the culture around us, locally, nationally and globally? Nelson French noted that everything Dylan does has been newsworthy almost his entire life. "Bob has always been in the news." He also mentioned that he has created a legacy, in the full meaning of the word.

In his own initial remarks John Bushey, host of Highway 61 Revisited, mentioned how he was impressed that Dylan had the courage to not be pigeon-holed.

Musician Tim Nelson described the way Dylan, even in all his permutations, carries something of the "Duluth sound" in him. "I hear it in Dylan....ecclectic... organic."

When I have more time I will elaborate on my own thoughts on this part of the discussion but my first notion, which I shared, was that Dylan's pervasive influence is far beyond what we see and hence we don't always see his fingerprints. It's much like the fashion industry. Insiders know that what appears on the Paris "Runway" will filter down over the next year into the chic styles and hip colors of boutique fashion down to the mass-produced styles and colors that fill clothing racks all across the continent. Dylan has been a seminal creative force in this same manner.

In preparation for the panel discussion we had been asked to assemble three words that we felt summed up who Dylan was, if such things are possible. One set was Bard, Passion, and Nature. David Everett said, "Pioneer, Dynamic, Fearless." (If you are reading this you will notice my blog here resides at PioneerProductions.blogspot.com, so I inwardly smiled at this word selection.) Tim Nelson's three words were, "Individual, Philosophical, Sassy....  in a devil-may-care kind of way. John Bushey used the word Multi-Dimensional, which also was assented to by all. There were many other good sets of word to which I added my own three and then a fourth:  Catalyst (someone else said this), Reservoir, Touchstone and Justice.

The discussion included questions from the audience and insights from there as well. While on his recent trip to China there were some critics who said he should have been more vocal about the oppression of artists and done more protest songs. John Bushey forcefully pointed out that Dylan opened his concerts there with the song "Change My Way of Thinking," and he urged all of us to really listen to the lyrics of that song. It very pointedly speaks to today's situation there.

All in all, I only wish my notes could do a better job of conveying here the richness of the dialogue that was shared. It was a very special time.

All pictures and paintings on this blog are my own unless otherwise indicated. Click images to enlarge.