Finally shaking the cobwebs off this evening, so I can try
to wrap up my epic experience of Mid West Music Fest. Saturday was quite a
finale - both day and evening activities.
Started off the day at the Acoustic Café listening and
dialoguing with Craig Grossman and David Priebe of Green Room Music Source – a
booking and artist management business in the Twin Cities. It was a small
crowd, but there was some fantastic info exchanged. Some of my notes include:
• everyone knows that artists are not making money off recordings
anymore, but you need to have a professional recording. It is part of the
package that any serious musician needs. Product at shows is going to be
purchased by people that like your music and want to support you as an artist
and it is going to increase your bottom line.
• get out there and play as much as you can – take gigs
wherever you can find them in the beginning. It is really about putting in the
hours performing live in front of people. There is no comparison between
someone who has 20 or 30 shows under their belt and several hundred.
• approaching labels or booking agents is all about building
relationships. Do whatever you can to establish this relationship – in place of
just sending music or a cookie cutter email that you are sending to a bunch of
other places. Check out the artists they represent to see if there is anyone
there you identify with – try to make a connection with that musician to get
some advice, establish some communication that will make your first connection
with the label or agent more original and meaningful.
• don’t spend the money sending physical copies of your
music and press materials. It is the 21st century, it’s expensive,
and it isn’t worth risking your probably already small budget for this kind of
thing.
Earth Day was just perfect at Levee Park on the river. I
have been to Earth Day here on the WSU campus and at Unity Park on the lake, but
down at the levee with the mighty spring Mississippi rolling by was the recipe.
Great to see so many people out and to catch Jack Norton and the Zinghoppers.
My daughter Tula had the best time jumping and dancing around – she loved the
big possum figure, though she continues to call it the bunny (“I want to go see
the bunny again daddy.”). It was also great to check out the new Boathouse
restaurant that Ed Hoffman, Tom Fassbender, and Lyon Smith have put together.
Looking to be a vast improvement on the old ice cream shop, plus tasty looking
menu and sure to be delicious beer.
Spent the late afternoon in La Crosse with family.
Unfortunately, was not able to catch my brother-in-laws Old School Variety Show
(with Mike Munson) because of conflicts with Mid West Music Fest and family
schedules. I hear it was excellent!
I didn’t get out again until the last part of Jack Norton’s
solo set at the Masonic Temple Theater. Jack, a formal local, pre-dates my time
in Winona, so this was my first time seeing him. Such a fun entertainer with a
seeming river rat in his blood; humorous, self-deprecating, lyrical and it was
great to see him including some locals on stage toward the end of his set –
dubbing them the Mullet River Boys (though there were a couple women in the band).
Really good to see that this guy is making it with his EMMY award wining PBS
show The Zinghoppers. We need to all request that they put it on MN Public
Television.
Next it was off to Broken World Records to catch Freedy
Johnston. He wasn’t on the schedule, but was brought in by Green Room Music
Source to cover for Lisa Germano. I was glad that I was at their talk early in
the day because I was listening to Freedy Johnston long ago, back in the days
when I worked at Deaf Ear Records in the early 1990’s. I always thought Freedy
had a cool voice and wrote catchy lyrics. Green Room mentioned that he was part
of a new group of musicians that they were representing, artists who had some
fame and success in the early part of their careers, but have not successfully
translated into the new era of music when making money off your recordings
isn’t part of a solid business plan. Freedy is out on the road a lot more now
and a handful of us were fortunate to catch him. Also got to see a bit of Eli
Glor in the front room before Freedy – nice to see him out playing again.
Pretty much spent the rest of the night at Dibs Café and
their Cloud 9 Union Theater. It was the battle of the high school bands and the
two bands that I saw put no doubt in the listener’s minds that they belonged in
the festival. Neon, of La Crosse, was just a rollicking rock-n-roll, shoe gaze,
power pop pleasure. I guess these guys have been playing together for a long
time and their stage banter was truly entertaining, sparring the whole time with
different friends in the crowd. Talked with them afterward and it looks like
they are all off to college and hope to keep playing together on breaks – sure
hope someone gets these talented young musicians up this way again. I hear the
Current blogger called it her favorite act of the fest.
After deciding that I was heading south after two late
nights, downed a delicious chai tea at Dibs and headed down to the Wild Boar
for the Ultrasounds. I was impressed by the fact that they had people walking
around the night before handing out little Alice and Wonderland themed fliers
for their show – respect for that DIY marketing. These folks are a local girl
band – save local musician Todd Hanson, web guru for MWMF and Noisy Neighbor.
The girls rock in a Deal sisters (the Breeders) kind of way. So cool to see a
girl drummer pounding the skins, seems like such a rare thing. Also funny, at
one point in between songs a guy yells out, “the bass player is so hot”. I
don’t think he was talking about her playing, which was good – but she smiled
and started playing again.
Trucked it back down to catch Bomba De Luz, another high school
band that’s from St. Paul. Whoa, these people are polished, if you weren’t close
enough to see their faces I don’t think anyone would mistake them for being in
high school. Front woman Lydia Hogland is pure sugar and sass, with a stage
presence that many people twice her age can envy. They ripped through their
set, solos, spontaneous vocalizing – drawing their buddy, a dredded-out rapper
on stage who soulfully crooned behind Lydia. Man, I can’t say enough about
these young folks, just a total class act. They held off playing “Howl At the
Moon”, the single getting air play on 89.3 Current, until the last song. Lydia
taught the crowd the refrain and drew everyone in to singing along with her. I
sure hope a big crowd assembles for their show this summer as part of the
Shakespeare On the Green concert series.
I was definitely ready to hit the sheets after Bomba De Luz,
but Auralee, who owns Dibs and Cloud 9 with her partner Gerty, had one
recommendation for the weekend – Southside Desire. Auralee used to own Hymie’s
record shop up in the Twin Cities and she knows good music, so I stuck around.
Sure glad that I did. Pretty sure there was nothing like this band at the
festival. Woman lead singer with three back up singers. Really cool how the
band sets up too, band (bass, guitar, drums) in the back and the four women
spread across the stage in front. A soulful Andrews Sisters (of some older era
that I can’t claim) with a gutsy vivacious lead singer who kept up some fun
quipping with the audience through the set. I can’t put my finger on the sound
of the band – lounge, surf, blues on top of the Andrew’s sisters backing the
vivacious crooner. Probably sounds odd, but man it works. Somebody please bring
this band back to Winona.
What more can I say Mid West Music Fest 2013 - I love you.
