You Got To Have Friends: Ruby Shows Why Dogs Are Man's Best

Ruby

As the Red Mug crowd gathered last night for the Northland screening of Magic Marc Percansky's Ruby the Dogumentary, no one had any idea what to expect. By evening's end, the two hour film had created infectious quantities of laughter. Suzanne Johnson's celebratory party favors -- dog-themed candies, popcorn and such -- were the perfect embellishments to a fun event that at times was also sentimental.

Friends of recent Dylan festivals all know Percansky as the Master of Ceremonies for the Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan concert last year and the upcoming MC for the Acoustic Salute that will take place May 23.

The three hour event at the Mug began at seven sharp. Magic Marc welcomed everyone who came out, introduced Ruby, and briefly talked about the film. Zane Bale shared a few words about the activities in the upcoming Dylan Festival followed by Nelson French, VP of the Armory Arts and Music Center board, who shared about this year's May 23 Acoustic Salute at the Sacred Heart, which is a fund raiser to save and restore the Duluth Armory. He also noted that Scarlet Rivera, who will be here that weekend, is performing in Finland (up the North Shore) on Sunday the 24th. Scarlet's special one night event is called the 2015 Bob Dylan Birthday Cotillion. (A cotillion is a "French country dance." My guess is you should be prepared to move your feet.)

Magic Marc then introduced Gene LaFond, who was asked to share a Bob Dylan story, began by noting that when Percansky was 14 he opened for Lafond and Larry Kegan once. Kegan was a high school friend of Dylan's who had a diving accident and became a quadriplegic. (LaFond and Kegan attended Dylan concerts together and performed music together for many years.) The story LaFond told was about a somewhat hilarious incident at Bob's farm when Larry and another wheelchair-bound friend said they would like to go on a canoe ride. It was quite the rescue operation, both hair-raising and hilarious.

Percansky then introduced Michael Johnson, who was brought onboard the Ruby project in the last year to assemble and direct the film which was four years in the making. Johnson shared that initially he wasn't interested at first but after reviewing the footage "I came up with a concept." It needed to be something he could believe in and went for a non-linear edit of the ten hours of footage Percansky had already captured. He said he truly enjoyed this past year getting to know Marc and working on this project.

The film is dedicated "For Ruby: April 27, 2007" but last night's screen was dedicated to John Bushey, and "anyone dealing with a life-threatening issue."

The film itself is really about a man and his dog, with dog stories, dog humor, and everything the constitutes the life of a dog, including being in a parade, and being a film star. Ruby's a Doberman, one of the smarted dog breeds. The film includes a brief summary of how Doberman had been developed in the nineteenth century by Karl Friedrich Dobermann in Germany.

One of the taeaways that I'd never thought of before was that in the Creation story, God created all the animals on the sixth day, then man and woman on the seventh. In other words, God made our pets first.

The real star in the film is Percansky himself. His uninhibited love for Ruby sparkles throughout. I've often noted that one reason why people will go see movies with their favorite stars is that they enjoy spending a couple hours with them, whatever their doing on the screen. Magic Marc has already won the hearts of his friends, and will win many more hearts as this film gets more widely shared.

Ruby, thanks for being willing to get out there in front of the camera these past four years. We never saw you complain once.

For the record, Ruby graduated dog training even if she doesn't like to "sit."

(L to R) Magic Marc, Gene LaFond, Amy Grillo

It only seems right to end with a couple dog quotes.

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." 

--Josh Billings

“The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.” 
-- M.K. Clinton

“The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.”

--Charles de Gaulle

Items of Note: Things To See and Do in the Twin Ports Arts Scene

Blood Moon by Karen Nease

Well, let's start with the fact that it is Homegrown here in Duluth. No one calls it the Homegrown Music Festival anymore, just Homegrown, because the locals all know what that means. If you're a nightowl, you've got no end of options though I am not going to elaborate here. The one band I'd really like to see plays at midnight, so I won't be there. La dee da. For a complete schedule visit the Homegrown Music Festival website.

Thursday (Tonight!)
Karen Owsley Nease is conducting an artist talk tonight about her show titled Found Horizons, hosted by the Duluth Art Institute in the George Morrison Gallery at 5:30 p.m. I took a sneak peak a few days ago and it's a dynamic exhibition of new work to which she has dedicated immense number of hours for more than a year.

Mark your calendars for May 14, 5 - 7 PM to make sure you attend the full DAI reception for the new shows in all three galleries including the Poetics of Evolution in the Steffl Gallery featuring work by Carolyn Halliday and the iPhone images of Duluth-based designer Cody Paulson in the hallway gallery. Paulson's collection is called Port City Supply Co. It's all in the eye.

Friday

Click to enlarge.

Todd Eckart and His Band on the Playlist, Karen Sunderman host. Ms. Sunderman will also host the Poetry Showcase at Red Mug Coffeehouse during Duluth Dylan Fest on Tuesday, May 19. And Eckart will be performing later that week at the Acoustic Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan. Do you have your tickets yet? The poetry event is free; the concert is a fund-raiser foe the Armory Arts and Music Center.

Saturday
Ruby the Dogumentary at the Red Mug. Seating is limited so you may want to be there early. This one of a kind event will be a live screening with both the producer (Marc Percansky) and the star (Ruby the dog) at the Red Mug Coffeehouse.

Looking Ahead
As noted earlier, on Thursday May 14 there are two major openings slated. The DAI Gallery Reception at the Depot will go from 5 - 7 p.m. and that same evening there will be an Opening Reception for the Cheng-Khee Chee retrospective at the Tweed from 6-8 p.m. That would be another especially good evening to get marked on your calendars.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Hope to see you on the scene.

A Visit with Magic Marc Regarding His Northland Debut of Ruby the Dogumentary at the Red Mug

I met Magic Marc Percansky through his role as MC/producer/host of Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan at Sacred Heart, the kickoff event for the 2014 Duluth Dylan Fest. We made a fast connection and have since remained in touch. This year once again Magic Marc is co-producing what will now be a culminating show called An Acoustic Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan, with musician from far and near, in an unplugged show on the eve of Dylan's 74th birthday.

On Saturday May 2, several weeks before this event, Percansky will be here in the Twin Ports to show one of his newest creations, Ruby the Dogumentary. The "dogumentary" will be shown at Red Mug Coffeehouse in Superior, an event slated for 7-10 p.m. that Saturday evening.

I caught up with Marc and gathered some details on this and other projects he is involved with.

EN: Will you be there yourself?

MP: I am calling this the unofficial early kickoff to Dylan Fest 2015 as I am also co-producing along with The Armory Arts & Music Center the big finale "Acoustic Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan" concert event at Sacred Heart Music Center on May 23rd that rumor has it you will be singing in? I have to show up to see if that is true! I am really looking forward to every aspect of this concert and am confident it will be one of the best of the year in the Twin Ports area! Nelson T. French with Gene LaFond, Billy Hallquist and myself along with all the great artists involved have banded together as a team to be sure that it is presented exactly the way we all want it done. We may tear the roof off the place and still be celebrating Mr. D's 74th birthday in style right at Midnight! It is something that your readers and music lovers will not want to miss! So get your tickets before they are gone! By the way thank you for the great art for our poster image!

Now to answer your question. Yes, I will be there myself along with Ruby. She will walk down the Red (Mug) Carpet and be looking for treats wherever she can find them! We will also have with us the editor of the film, Michael Johnson along with possibly a few of the cast members as well from the Twin Cities. We are turning this into a day vacation getaway to visit the one and only Red Mug Coffeehouse! I visited there last year and went home with a red mug that I have been drinking out of ever since! I love the place and the food is delicious as well! This was the ideal place for me to show this film for its North Country debut and it all made perfect sense in timing with the upcoming Duluth Dylan Festival. Suzanne Johnson was so accommodating and open-minded in making this happen and one of the nicest ladies I have had the good fortune to meet! I thank her for making the event possible and promoting it along with me!

EN: Everyone agrees with you about both the Red Mug and Suzanne. How long have you been promoting Ruby the Doberman Mascot?

MP: I have been promoting Ruby The Doberman Mascot since September 7th of last year. I have only had a handful of appearances since as I have been busy with other projects but each time I have had great response! Our next big gig will be June 20th at the Parktacluar Parade in St. Louis Park, Minnesota which is where I was born and raised. At this screening we will run 2 short promotional films about it and also another surprise for the lucky people in attendance before we show Ruby The Dogumentary.

EN: Where did the idea for the Mascot come from?

MP: I have only been a Mascot a couple of times before this as far as I can remember. I may have been one of the first Jewish Easter Bunny's around! I did that in 1992 at a shopping mall in Roseville, Minnesota. My mom thought I had lost my mind and that I would suffocate to death in it! She still does and hopes I find a fill-in to take my place. Anyhow I had so much fun doing that! I ran around the mall and somehow would usually end up at Victoria's Secret! It was probably the only time that more photos were taken of me than those models! Everyone loves the Easter Bunny! I was thinking of being Santa Claus next but luckily stopped there.

Fast forward to 2013 and I appeared as The Grey Chicken for a CD release party at an art gallery called Even Break in Minneapolis that I was working with at the time. Naturally that evolved into my attempt at becoming my dog as a Mascot and I just went with it full force! I can copy all of her moves while doing some magic tricks. I actually love being inside a costume! It brings out your true inner soul and personality without the focus being on one's outward appearance. If on any certain day I get tired of seeing myself, then I can hide in there and everything works out fine. Everybody is your best friend! Kids and adults both love seeing it and it never grows old even in these new modern times we live in. We all have some kind of another persona that we take on or portray to others and this is one way to show that. This could be why everyone still loves dressing up on Halloween and looks so good.

EN: Have you always been a dog person? Tell me about your first dog?

Ruby's sixth birthday

MP: I have never not been a dog person but not to this extreme and level. My family had lots of Toy Poodles growing up and even an Afghan Hound at one point. Actually I had 2 Siamese cats. They lived for nearly 20 years, never left the house nor visited a veterinarian even once. Boy were they lucky. I was working on a screenplay with my girlfriend at the time back in 1989 called "The Hermit And The Cat" but it never materialized. I loved them too but not exactly like the love I have for Ruby. This is something different being she is my first dog that I can call my own in my adult years. Life seems to be getting harder for me and more of a struggle these days as I am sure we can all relate to the process of aging. Personal, financial problems, ailing family members and health issues as we get older. We are all continually handed things each and every day that we didn't ask for and there is no choice but to deal with them the best we can. At the end of the day, Ruby is there for comfort unlike anything else in the world. Ask any dog owner and they may agree! Some people have even said I am obsessed with her. That is okay, I really don't mind, I am not harming anybody. Who's to say you can't get inspiration from a dog as well as a human being? She is one of my heroes.

EN: What is your Dogumentary about?

MP: Ruby The Dogumentary is about many things and each viewer may get something different out of it. I sort of see it as my life through Ruby's eyes or maybe it is Ruby's life through my eyes. First of all it is a real and true portrait of my first 49 years on earth. I didn't intend it to be that way when filming it but I guess you could say it is autobiographical in nature.The events and experiences of your life always lead you up to where you are today. It would work as a swan song if I was to drop off the face of the earth tomorrow. It is very direct and honest and I stand proudly by everything that is in it. Secondly it is a portrayal of my dog, Ruby. I wanted to capture her whole life in it, too. This explains why it needed to be the 2 hour length that it is. Even after the credits roll one of the most important themes of the movie arrives and all I will say is there will not be a sequel. We worked on it for nearly 4 years and almost a year in editing while filming additional scenes at the same time as we were writing its screenplay. I co-wrote it along with Michael Johnson who then pieced together nearly 10 hours of raw footage. It was such a large project that it had to have 2 filmmakers to bring it full circle and get it done up to both of our standards.

Although it centers on the Doberman Pinscher breed, all dog owners should find something they like about it and that they can relate to as well. It covers just about every kind of dog trait that I could think of. I don't think we left anything out. On the other hand you don't have to be a dog lover to enjoy certain elements of it either and it can stand on its own as an independent film. It has songs written especially for it by Minneapolis singer/songwriter John Charles and also features some of the greatest dog poems and quotes of all time. I think I may have found the oldest one from 1870! It is at times funny and humorous and at other times very serious. It deals with the real life running out of time factor. My dog's life as well as my own mortality. It's not dark yet, but it's getting there. On the other hand it also deals with capturing a moment of true blissfulness! This is my medicine! If there is something in this world that makes you happy that you love and care about which brings you true joy, then please hang on to that feeling and don't let it go! Whatever it is! Show no shame in it! Shout it out and sing about it to the world if you can! We are all in this together and we need to spread the healing power of love around these days more often than we are doing while we still struggle to survive. Whether it is about a dog, a human being or anything else under the sun. That is what I set out to do with this movie and I think we accomplished that.

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EdNote: Mark your calendars. May 2, 7-10 p.m. at The Red Mug Coffeehouse in Superior.