Paul Simon's American Tune Is Actually A German Tune

Thursday evening at the Magnolia Salon, a weekly Thursday evening gathering at the Oldenburg House in Carlton, we were treated to music by Bill Bastian. Recently retired from St. Scholastica, Bastian is a world-class tenor who has sung with some of the big names in opera.

On Thursday, though, he came armed with a Telecaster. I don't think anyone quite knew what to expect for the evening as he opened with the Italian number, "O Solo Mio" by Eduardo Di Capua.

This was followed by "Your Song" (Elton John) with some guitar riffing and "Turn, Turn, Turn" with its poignant, "A time for peace, I swear it's not too late." Peter Seeger wrote the latter, constructing the music that formed a foundation for the familiar passage from Ecclesiastes 3.

The fourth song in Bastian's set, and the one I wished to highlight here, was Paul Simon's American Tune. What Bastian pointed out was Simon's tune is actually based on a German tune, the melody "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" which was borrowed from Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Paul Simon, who released the song in 1975, wasn't the first songwriter of our era to utilize this tune. Peter, Paul & Mary had previously sung the tune, accompanied by the Dave Brubeck Trio, with a different set of words, "Because all men are brothers..."

The lyrics, and the mournful nature of the melody, cause one to wonder to what degree Paul Simon was intentionally tying the message of his song about the American experience to the Biblical story of the crucifixion. His words speak of the burden of life's struggles, of weariness, brokenness, existential angst.

The opening lines of O Sacred Head begin, "O Sacred Head now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down, now scornfully surrounded with thorns Thine only crown..."

Paul Simon deviates from the hymn in a stanza that speaks to another symbol of America, the Statue of Liberty, which he sees sailing away to sea. People who know their history recall that the statue was brought to New York in pieces from France on ships a century earlier.  This image ties to the next, of the Pilgrims who arrived here on the Mayflower, the first immigrants to these shores. Can the dream of the Statue sailing away be referring to this new era when immigrants, the world's disenfranchised, are no longer welcome?

Here are the lyrics, followed by a YouTube video of this beautiful song being performed.

American Tune

Many’s the time I’ve been mistaken
And many times confused
Yes, and I’ve often felt forsaken
And certainly misused
Oh, but I’m all right, I’m all right
I’m just weary to my bones
Still, you don’t expect to be
Bright and bon vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home

I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered
I don’t have a friend who feels at ease
I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered
Or driven to its knees
Oh, but it’s all right, it’s all right
For we've lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road
We’re traveling on
I wonder what went wrong
I can’t help it, I wonder what’s gone wrong

And I dreamed I was dying
And I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high above all my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying

Oh, we come on the ship they call the Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon
We come in the age’s most uncertain hours
And sing an American tune
Oh, it’s all right, it’s all right
It’s all right, it’s all right
You can’t be forever blessed
Still, tomorrow’s going to be another working day
And I’m trying to get some rest
That’s all I’m trying to get some rest
© 1973 Words and Music by Paul Simon

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Bill Bastian is a big man who rides a Harley, has a sense of humor, loves making music and especially enjoys singing. Other songs from his evening included "Ave Maria" morphing into "Unchained Melody," another opera aria, "People Get Ready" (very tender), "Look Over Yonder Wall," "Tap an Angel on the Shoulder," and Masquerade," a song about searching but not finding understanding.

At one point in the evening he shared that he has but one gift: "My gift is to make people happy."

* * * * 

Next Thursday the Magnolia Salon will host Josh Danderand and Moonlight Getaway, playing music and sharing their songwriting process that encourages listeners to "follow their dreams and passions as you become who you are."

AND the weekend of March 16 and 17, Pippi is back, Cookin' at the O in the Carlton Room. Get your tickets now. It will likely be a full house.

Got a night when you don't know where to go?
Try Oldenburg House for some Cookin' at the O.

March Arts Events for the Twin Ports. Spring is in the Air!

It's March! Even though there is snow in the forecast, the soul gets buoyant as we see winter's days are numbered. The first day of SPRING is in sight… now less than three weeks away. We also have Two Full Moons this month. Woo hoo!

Before sharing the month's calendar of Arts Events I'd like to make note that the Duluth Dylan Fest has announced a CALL FOR ART for this year's DDF, May 19-28. The theme for Dylan Fest this year is Twins (Duluth-born Robert Zimmerman is a Gemini and he will be 77 in May.) The Dylan Fest Art Show theme is VISIONS OF DULUTH. Even though Bob Dylan left the Northland as a youth, the Northland never left Bob Dylan. Echoes of our North Country have appeared in his songs for more than five decades. For more details visit my January call for art blog post. If you are planning to contribute we'd like to hear from you. Please send a note to Susan Laing [ isusan AT iinet DOT net DOT au ] or Ed Newman [ ennyman3 AT gmail DOT com ], co-directors of the art event.

* * * *

IN FACT, let's mention a few additional ongoing activities before diving in with the day-to-day list of scheduled events. First, Sunday evening at 9:00 p.m. is the kickoff of a five-week television event that excites a lot of people because it as filmed INSIDE our Historic Duluth Armory. I was talking with someone about this last night who said, "I'll bet the place is filled with the ghosts of everyone who ever performed there." Interesting thought, because that would be quite a playlist. The program is called Night at the Armory and you can read about it here.

Bill Bastian at the Magnolia Salon

Next, I have to plug the ongoing series of events taking place inside Carlton's Oldenburg House, bearing the name of Magnolia Salon. The backstory here is that in 1920s and 30s Paris Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein were not only patrons of the arts, but they also opened their living room as a gathering place for artists and intellectuals to meet, interact, dialogue. (I simply love the re-creation of this special place in time in the film Midnight In Paris.) Did you know that the French word Salon means Living Room in English? Check it out. Most of your life you thought of the Paris salons as night clubs or someplace you go and hang like a cafe? So the Swansons, Glenn and Emily, have been opening their salon on Thursday evenings, sharing discussions and experiences around various aspects of creativity and hygge (a comfort word from the Danish.) Last night top-tier tenor Bill Bastian shared his talents, with voice and Telecaster. Through the rest of the spring, till Memorial Day weekend, the Magnolia Salon will be gathering on Thursdays from 6:00-9:00. You can read more here.

Friday, March 2, 6-7:30 p.m., Youth Art Month Exhibition Reception, Whole Foods Co-op, Denfeld, 4426 Grand Avenue
Throughout March the Duluth Art Institute will recognize the artistic achievements of area K-12 youth in the annual "Youth Art Month" exhibition. Over the course of two months, the Education Director and Curator will visit nearly a dozen regional schools--including those in Duluth, Hermantown, and Cloquet--to select the work to feature in the show. The opening celebration will include free artist demos. The exhibition will be on view through March 2018.

Saturday, March 3, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Hygge Market: An Artisan Event, Makers Mercantile, 58th Avenue West and Grand Avenue "Hygge (Hoo-ga); Origin: Danish
Definition: The Danish ritual of enjoying life's simple pleasures. Friends. Family. Graciousness. Contentment. Good feelings. A warm glow.
A taste of Hygge living in this outdoor winter market featuring over 20 artisans. Enjoy the unique qualities of the thriving Spirit Valley neighborhood in Duluth." FB Event Page

Mondays, March 5, 12, 19, 26: Duluth Song Circle, Beaner's Central, 324 N. Central Avenue (on Beaner's web site: scroll down to calendar for event listing) "Start your week off on a good note! Everyone welcome. No training needed!"

Tuesday, March 6, 6-8 p.m., Lessons in Bowl Making, DAI Lincoln Building, 2229 W. 2nd Street
Lack experience with clay but still want to contribute to the cause? Schedule a one-night lesson with our instructors. All bowls will be contributed to Empty Bowl. $35 fee includes one ticket to Empty Bowl plus instruction and supplies.

Thursday, March 8, 5-7 p.m., Artist Reception: Terraria Gigantica: the World Under Glass: Dana Fritz, DAI Morrison Gallery, The Depot, 506 W. Michigan Street
"The photographs in the series Terraria Gigantica: the World Under Glass frame the world's largest enclosed landscapes as possible impossibilities: Biosphere 2's ocean in the Arizona desert, the Henry Doorly Zoo's desert in the Great Plains of Nebraska, and Eden Project's tropical rain forest in notoriously gray and cool Cornwall, England. These vivaria are enclosed environments where plants are grown amidst carefully constructed representations of the natural world to entertain visiting tourists. At the same time, however, they support scientific observation and research on the plants and animals housed under these 'natural conditions' that require human control of temperature, humidity, irrigation, insects, and weeds to cultivate otherwise impossible environments and species. Taken together, these architectural and engineering marvels stand as working symbols of our current and complex relationship with the non-human world." On view: March 8-April 29.

Thursday, March 8, 5-7 p.m., Artist Reception: The Cut Worm Forgives the Plow: Russel Prather, DAI Steffl Gallery, The Depot, 506 W. Michigan Street
"Russel Prather earned first place in the 2016 Arrowhead Biennial and creates forms from ordinary objects that change radically depending on the viewers line of sight. Layering paper-thin polyester film painted with dots, lines and markings in acrylic medium, Pather's work is sequential and reads like pages in a book - infusing his study and teaching of literature into his sculptures. Fulbright scholar and English professor at Northern Michigan University, Prather specializes in British literary and visual culture of the eighteenth through early twentieth centuries and is inspired by the poetry and designs of William Blake." On view: March 8-April 29.

Saturday, March 10, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Nice Girls of the North 2nd Saturday Marketplace, Lakeside Lester Park Community Center (the former Lakeside Library), 106 N. 54th Ave. East "Free coffee, cookies, and a friendly atmosphere await while you browse a collection of handcrafted clothing and bags, pottery, jewelry, stained glass, photography, personal care products, baby items and much more. One central checkout, most major credit cards accepted."

Friday, March 16 and Saturday March 17, Cookin' at the O in the Carlton Room at the Oldenburg House. Pippi is back! Cracklin' good evening of jazz and fine dining. Read more here and and get your tickets here.

Saturday, March 17, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Glaze it!, DAI Lincoln Building, 2229 W. 2nd Street
Experienced ceramic glazer? Join our Glaze-a-Thon at the Duluth Art Institute's Lincoln Building!

Learn to Zentangle with Esther P.

Wednesday, March 21, 6:30-9:00 p.m., Zentangle (R) & Wine, Master Framing Gallery, 1431 London Road
Come experience the fun and relaxation of drawing simple, repetitive line patterns with pen and ink and pencil shading. No previous drawing experience necessary. Class Cost: $35; Supplies: $10 (or use supplies provided without additional cost). RSVP to episzczek@gmail.com. Seats are limited.

Friday, March 23, 8 p.m., Saltless Sea Cinema Presents: Nordic Drift, The Nordic Center, 23 N. Lake Avenue
"Saltless Sea Cinema is Duluth's new roaming micro-cinema series, screening avant-garde, underground or just plain rad films and videos, selected in secret under moonlight and revealed at the event. SSC Presents: Nordic Drift, will feature films from seven Nordic countries and territories, along with live musical accompaniment by Jacob Swanson. Cost: $10. Proceeds after cost will go to benefit the nonprofit Nordic Center." FB Event Page

Saturday, March 24, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Treasures of the Earth, Green goods, Craft & Art Fair, Peace Church, 1111 N. 11th Avenue East "A marketplace with ~20 regional artists with handcrafted art, craft, or goods made of natural materials (wood, stone, fiber, etc.) or from recycled or reused materials."

Kay Kurt's candy elephant at Joseph Nease Gallery.

Monday, March 26, RSVP/Payment Deadline: Mondays, April 9-30, 6:30-9 p.m., Zentangle (R) Pattern Drawing, Advanced, Peace Church, 1111 N. 11th Avenue E.
This class is open to anyone who has taken Zentangle (R) Pattern Drawing with Esther in the past. Cost: $75 (includes supplies); Minimum: 5 students; Maximum: 10 students. RSVP and payment due by Monday, March 26: episzczek@gmail.com

Ongoing Art Exhibits
Window to the West Art Display, 2001 West Superior Street
"Photographer Nik Nerburn and painter Brad Tollefson are creating a collaborative art exhibit on the streets of West Duluth's Lincoln Park neighborhood, titled "Window to the West." A selection of Tollefson's paintings and Nerburn's photographs will be on display in the storefront windows of 2001 West Superior Street for six months, through a partnership between the Duluth Art Institute and the Duluth Housing and Redevelopment Agency, which owns the Seaway Hotel building." Exhibit runs through March 31, 2018.

Sweep, Art Exhibition Opening, Joseph Nease Gallery, 23 W. 1st Street "Joseph Nease Gallery is excited to announce its second exhibition, "Sweep", presenting the latest work of a group of experienced painters at a high point in their craft, "Sweep" is a regional and national survey of more than 20 contemporary painters."

"The exhibition features work by these notable artists: Alison Aune, Kirsten Aune, Robert Bingaman, James Brinsfield, Marcus Cain, Peter Granados, Christopher Harrison, Rachel Hayes, Matthew Kluber, Don Kottmann, Kay Kurt, Adam McCauley, Karen Owsley Nease, Heidi Pollard, Warren Rosser, Eric Sall, Rabbett before Horses Strickland, Jonathan Thunder, Mimi Chen Ting and Leah Yellowbird." Exhibit runs through May 31, 2018.

So Many Classes, So Little Time
When you look at this list I'm willing to bet that you had no idea how many new creative skills you could learn. Here is a non-exhaustive list of places where you can learn new talents from making jewelry to forging iron. 

Art on the Planet (painting)
Duluth Community Education (Arts, Crafts, Hobbies section)
Duluth Folk School (Pisanki: Polish Batik Eggs; tatted lace for beginners; sausage)
Duluth Maker Space (wire wrap jewelry, pottery, stone engraving, industrial sewing)
Great Lakes Aquarium (photography, drawing, watercolor, smelt making)
Historic Armory Annex (Forge Community)
Lake Superior Art Glasses (glass blowing: flamework and hotshop classes)
Market Day (lotion making, soap making)
On the Rocks Art Studio and Gallery (painting)
Otlak Felt Studio (Feltmaker Mary Reichert) (Private and small group classes available)
Pineapple Arts (art therapy classes)
Yarn Harbor (knitting, crochet, felting, weaving)

When all is said and done, there's a lot more to do than there is time... but it's nice to know what is out there. Thank you to Esther Piszczek for assembling most of the events and their details here. To learn more about her Zentangled expressions, follow her on Facebook.

FWIW, if you are an artist who wishes to preserve their work, CPL Imaging has the top scanning equipment and even if you do not sell giclee reproductions, your best work can be preserved for the future by having it scanned for posterity. And their photo restoration is nothing short of astonishing. I kid you not.

The Magnificent Seven: A Metaphor for the Consultant's Life?

THROWBACK THURSDAY

Last night I was watching The Constant Gardener, featuring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz in a compelling drama set in Africa, when at 100 minutes into the film the DVD freezes. Not able to watch the rest of the film. Bad.

I reached into a stack of DVDs from library and grabbed The Magnificent Seven, a film classic. It’s a Western packed with big names – Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and others – and a memorable film score that everyone in my generation recognizes in an instant. Essentially the film is a remake of a Japanese story of heroes protecting common people, Kurasawa’s The Seven Samurai, which few of us were aware of when we were young.

I remember as a kid thinking James Coburn was just so cool. And the heroic opening with Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen putting their lives on the line to bury a Negro in the cemetery on Boot Hill takes you to the epitome of cool.

There are a lot of great moments in the film, though. The seven men who come to rescue the Mexican villagers from the cruel band of outlaws led by Wallach (Calvera) are hired guns, men who have put their lives on the line before, though usually for a reward. In this case, the reward is integrity and honor.

One of the great lines in the film is delivered by Bronson when three of the boys from the village express admiration for his courage, and contempt for their fathers’ lack thereof. Bronson verbally chastens the boys saying that the burden of responsibility their peasant fathers bear for nothing more than love for their families, whom they could easily abandon, shows a greater courage than he has ever shown by carrying a gun, having no family and no responsibilities.

Afterwards, I began to think about how the consulting industry is something akin to these hired guns. Each has a different specialty, a different personality, and in the end, when the job is done, a different destiny. There is an appeal to that fly-away freedom that gives the appearance of being greener grass for many. But the reality, by this film’s end, four have been shot dead. And one decides to remain in the village.

In one scene the youngest of the seven is blathering about the thrill of it all when he is brought up short by Steve McQueen’s hard bitten observations about the realities of life on the road. The youth declares to Brynner, with admiration, “Your gun has gotten you everything you have. Isn’t that true?” Brynner looks up, ever the realist, “Everything?” Then McQueen outlines this “everything” that he has gained from being a hired gun. He knows 200 bartenders by name. “Rented rooms you’ve lived in, 500. Meals you eat in hash hounds, a thousand. Home none, wife, none. Kids… none. Prospects zero.” McQueen scratches the sheen off the veneer with realities about life on the road, lessons learned the hard way.

Many consultants, superbly talented with a panoply of tools and weapons, may lack the ability to remain for the long haul in a structured and potentially boring commitment. Others have personal issues and avoid working things out by constantly staying on the move. Still others have great social skills but suffer from wanderlust and limited attention spans. Some see rainbows with bags of gold at the end everywhere they look. Some are simply not cut out for unexpected circumstances, get cut down from behind in the heat of battle. And some ride off into the sunset, with jubilant villagers writing songs about the great things they have done. All these can be recognized in The Magnificent Seven.

At the end of the day, Charles Bronson’s words are the ones that resonate most fully for me. It’s lonely on the road, and there is value in being able to get rooted in a place where you can bloom. It’s a good reminder though, too, that it takes more courage to stay than many people realize.

Whether the road or the office, if you make your choice with your eyes open it will be better for you.

* * * *
THIS BLOG POST ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN AUGUST 2008

Pinterest Trivia and Other Data for Social Media Marketers

This past week I've been puttering around with my Pinterest Boards and got to wondering how many people have staked a claim on the Pinterest terrain. I'd read that Pinterest can be a useful marketing tool, though I'd never used it in that way before. I used it more like a scrapbook that you show friends. Recently, though, I noticed that people place links in their pins and in this manner can begin a relationship that -- if this is your aim -- leads to a sale or customer relationship.

All this to say I became curious how many Pinners there were and other such numbers. Here's a current set of ballpark numbers from the Omnicore Agency. Once I started collecting numbers I went ahead and checked into analytics for other types of social media. Omnicore has way more than you need here to get a sense of Pinterest's scale. A link at the end of this blog has more data to digest.

Pinterest Stats of Note

Pinterest was founded in 2010 and currently has 75 million monthly users in the U.S., 175 million worldwide.
Total Number of Pinterest Pins: 50 billion
Number of Pinterest Boards: 1 billion+
Men account for 7% of all Pins, 19% of all users.
There are over 17 billion recipe Pins here.

Noteworthy Numbers for Marketers
87% of Pinners have purchased a product because of Pinterest.
Over 5% of referral traffic to websites comes from Pinterest.
80% of Pinterest's users access the site through mobile devices.
FWIW, you can find data for Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Periscope at Omnicore as well.

Social Media Statistics: SEO
Better content can drive traffic to a blog by up to 2,000%.
Google is responsible for 96% of all smartphone search traffic, and 94% of total organic traffic.
Search engines drive 93% of all website traffic.
About ½ of all searches are four words or more.
Two seconds is all companies get when it comes to website load time. Anything longer increases bounce rates by 50%.
82% of searchers will use their phone to help them make a decision about an in-store purchase.
42% of all men use their phone to call their wives and ask what it is they were supposed to get.*
Google claims it has an average of 63,000 searches every single second of the day.
#1 social media platform for teens is Snapchat. (What kid wants to hang out where his or her parents are?)
40% of all mobile users are searching for a local business or interest.
16% are looking for a parking spot.*
Location-specific ad campaigns are 20 times more effective than traditional banner ads.

Content Marketing Stats of Note
Content marketing gets three times more leads than paid search advertising.
Content creation leads to 434% more indexed pages than websites without updated content.
38% of marketers are publishing content at least once a week.
60% of B2B marketers say they have a difficult time coming up with content that will engage their audience.***

Noteworthy Blogging Stats**

Featuring a blog as a key part of your website will give you a 434% better chance of being ranked highly on search engines.
Using images in your blog posts gets them 94% more views.
Companies that published 16 or more blog posts per month got 4.5X the leads than companies that published 4 or less monthly posts.
EdNote: The matter of how often to post is something I will address in a separate post. I post daily but at least one blogger says posting daily is "silly." 
B2C companies that blogged 11 times or more got more than 4X as many leads than those that publish only 4-5 posts per month.
Blogs that post daily get 5X more traffic compared to those that don’t.
58% of marketers voted for “original written content” as the most important type of content, outdoing images, videos, and infographics.
EdNote: This stat seems to affirm how I feel about video content. I don't watch videos online, or hardly ever. I like skimming written content for the nuggets I am looking for. The info on this blog post comes from cutting and pasting words, which would be far more time-consuming if delivered via video.

* * * * 

When you start looking for stats, you'll find more than you ever dreamed possible. The ones that jump out for me pertain to content marketing, SEO and blogging. But I'll save my remarks for another post because there's more to say than time allows right now.

Till next!

* Fake Stats
**More Blogging Stats   
*** Need help? Talk to me.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Emerging Photographers at the Duluth Art Institute

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” 

— Dorothea Lange

If you ever go to the offices of the Duluth Art Institute on the 4th Floor of the Depot you will nearly always see art on the walls there. The hallway has been dubbed The Corridor Gallery. It enables the DAI to share more work throughout the year. And beside, what's the point of keeping walls bare anyways?  

The current show in the Corridor Gallery is Territory: Emerging Photographers. If you take the elevator one flight up here are some of the images you will see this month. 

Would this be considered Selfie erotica?

There is always something to see at the DAI.

Maybe we'll even see you. 

Related Links

Shakespeare's in the Alley: A Tribute to Bob Dylan will be on display in the Great Hall at the Depot during Dylan Fest. 10 years in the making. Read this Interview with the Artist Skye.

A visit with the new DAI Executive Director Christina Woods.

Duluth Armory Becomes Stage for the CW Duluth Television Program

My first visit inside the historic Duluth Armory took place Memorial Day weekend in 2010, the closing event for Hibbing's Dylan Days that year. It had been a family tradition to attend to the Battle of the Jug Bands at the Amazing Grace Bakery & Cafe so we were already downtown. At some point I slipped away to grab this opportunity to get an inside look at the historic building. For safety reasons all entrances have been chained or locked. When I heard of this temporary lifting of the ban for a few hours I knew there might not be another chance to see the stage where young Bobby Zimmerman saw the legendary Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) perform just days before they were killed in a plane crash.

Getting an inside peek is rare, but it happens. This year KBJR 6 producer Keith Hopkins was driving past the boarded up historic building when it dawned on him that this might be just the ticket for a new production he was assembling. Concept: use the Armory stage as backdrop for a five-episode television series focusing on the robust Twin Ports music scene. The program would evolve to become Night at the Armory,

It came together quickly. Station Manager Jeanne Filkins bought in and reached out to Mark Poirier, Executive Director for the Armory Arts & Music Center (AAMC). Together Filkins and Poirier worked to secure permissions from the City of Duluth, and on January 3 -- one of our coldest days this winter -- filming began for a five part program loosely based on Austin City Limits.

Kudos to Christa Lawler and the Trib for the Pursuits page feature in Sunday's paper, which a lot of us had to wait till Monday to receive (due to weather.) Read Music Returns to the Armory if you are from out of town or don't get a newspaper.

The series was filmed in January in less than ideal conditions. There is no heat inside the Armory, so we have a photo of Charlie Parr making his own heat for the first show in this five-part series that will begin next Sunday, March 4 at 9 p.m.

Because of the demolition order that was placed in 2001, no one can technically make use of the building. Since that time the AAMC has been been raising funds to fix the five issues cited by the city, among them being no heat, no water, hard to occupy, windows need fixing or replacement, and a batch of other miscellaneous issues.

The building is deserving of its name, the Historic Duluth Armory, minted by the cast of celebrated names that have visited, spoken or performed here, including Harry Truman, Louis Armstrong, Dale Carnegie, Hank Williams, John Philip Sousa, Johnny Cash, Bob Hope, and Liberace. The list goes on an and on, with many in town here still remembering many of those occasions cemented in time.

The artists featured in CW Duluth's Night at the Armory series will be Charlie Parr, Superior Siren (Laura Sellner), Rick McLean, Ingeborg Von Agassiz and Alan Sparhawk of Low/The Murder of Crows/Retribution Gospel Choir. The series will be a nice way to showcase the richness of our local music scene,

Mark Poirier has been laboring for a very long time to see something special happening inside the Armory. "The Armory Arts & Music Center is thrilled to hear live music, once again, in the Armory. It feels like the beginning of a new era. We are very appreciative of the Duluth CW for undertaking this project and bringing awareness to the historic building." Yesterday he went on to say that "we've been this close" (thumb and forefinger almost touching) and they have been again talking with a developer that many hope can see it through. "We would love to see the building being used again," he said.

The AAMC is grateful to the local music community. Featured musicians Sparhawk and Parr have long been supporters of the AAMC Music Resource Center, the free after-school music program for area youth 6th-12th grade. The MRC is now in its 7th year and is open 4 to 6 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons at Sacred Heart Music Center.

Tune in for Night at the Armory, the next five Sunday nights beginning March 4, 2018 at 9:00 p.m. on the Duluth CW (KDLH), Broadcast Ch. 3.1, Charter Cable Ch. 2, Direct TV Ch. 7, and Dish Ch. 11.

RELATED LINKS
Items of Note Regarding the Historic Armory
The Duluth Armory Website

Local Art Seen: Jane Wunrow's "Waking Dreams" at The PROVE

"She Wore A Red Coat"

"Of Varying Intensity"

Saturday evening a dozen or so Duluth poets assembled at The PROVE Gallery downtown for a St. David's poetry reading event. It was an insane night to be out with the severe weather already decimating the roads. At times the readings were interrupted by cars outside spinning their wheels while attempting to climb Lake Avenue from Superior Street. In short, I don't some of us felt a sense of satisfaction at being so hard core about poetry. People already consider poets a strange breed, so being out Saturday night was affirmation of such assumptions.

I actually had a dual purpose in attending. I'd intended to be present for the opening reception of Jane Wunrow's "Waking Dream" exhibition the week before, but was unable to attend. This blog post shows some of the work you missed if you were not there.

Detail from "She Wore A Red Coat"

She has 19 pieces on display, created with pen and ink, layers of gouache and occasional collage. Her work is in part influenced by the fragmentary nature of dreams, abstract imagery representing fleeting subconscious memories, not literal but rather elusive interpretations of reflections related to identity, metaphysical exploration and the nature of self in relation to the Divine.  The show will run through March 17.

"It Has Not Yet Been Revealed"

"When The Attack Is Due"

"Waking Dream"

"The Bridge"

"Teichopsia"

Photo that shows scale of the work.

To learn more are Twin Cities artist Jane Wunrow, visit janewunrow.com

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