Feb. 2, 2023
This page is a dream I dreamt a long time ago.
After being a staff writer or editor for most of the last two decades, I’ve rejoined the ranks of independent writers. It was exciting to write for newspapers on a wide range of topics, including some Stanley Cup playoffs games. But no beat was more important to me personally than the outdoors. It was an honor to have that responsibility for three papers, including the Minnesota-based Outdoor News, The News & Observer in North Carolina, and The Elkhart Truth in northern Indiana.
I haven’t written my last outdoors story, but my main focus is going to shift to one of the most important things in my life: live music. My uncle Paul took my brother and me to our first real show back in 1991, when I was a high school freshman. It was Anthrax and Public Enemy co-headlining, with Primus in support at the legendary Aragon Ballroom. It was memorable, and Primus’ Les Claypool remains not only a favorite bass player, but he’s become a treasure of the modern music scene. He’s transcended the quirky corner of the metal landscape that Primus occupied to spread his wings collaborating with other incredible musicians from other subgenres of rock, whether it’s with his just-reunited Fearless Flying Frog Brigade (I mean Sean Lennon, and Skerik, wtf?) or supergroup Oysterhead (with Trey Anastasio of Phish and Stewart Copeland of The Police). But I digress – or do I? That type of collaboration is something I’ll be highlighting. It’s something special to see and hear the magic, whether it’s the chemistry that bandmates find through the years of playing together or when sit ins bear fruit. I live for those moments.
The main goal of this page is to share the best music – old and new – I’ve come across over the last several decades, and tell the stories around the music. I’ve nourished my musical understanding by collecting wax LPs and attending live shows. I played several instruments as a kid, still dabble with several, but I’m more of a fan. A love for the jazz fusion era naturally led me to jam music, which I love as much for its range in style as the improvisation it inspires. Warning: I’m a sucker for 30-minute Phish jams, especially ones where the notes tell stories and transport listeners through space and time. I’ll review both live shows from both far and near to my Twin Cities home. There’ll be news and features about bands, musicians, and people in and around the music scene, stories about people connecting with wilderness or just being outside (something we can’t seem to get enough of these days), and links to my writing published elsewhere. Look for tour news as well as info on couch tour (aka live music streams) for several bands I’ll be following.
I’m a storyteller, and I want to transport you to moments and places, like that gritty alley where a comingling of hip hop and metal heads lined up in anticipation alongside the Aragon on a crisp October evening in 1991. I still see shows in that Spanish-stucco-ed ballroom, or at the other nearby venues near the intersection of Lawrence and Broadway in Chicago. It’s not my favorite for sound, but it’s a classic spot with history (including the infamous tunnel connecting it to the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge).
“It’s only a dream
But I’d love to tell somebody about this dream,
The sky was filled with a thousand stars
While the sun kissed the mountains blue,
And eleven moons played across the rainbows
Above me and you”
– Jimi Hendrix on “One Rainy Wish”