Jeremy Messersmith stopped over to talk and play a few songs for Minneapoliscast.

You know most of the modern composers that we studied and listened to…I didn’t feel directly influenced by them and cereberally it was kind of interesting but it wasn’t anything that I was particularly drawn to or had strong feelings about…having someone lift up the keys on a piano and sit there for three minutes and not do anything…it’s witty and it’s fun and it’s art and it’s cool, but at the same time I’m not whistling it when I go home.

–Jeremy Messersmith speaking to the lack of influence modern composers have over his music.

Credits:

Producer: Tony Thomas
Music: Jeremy Messersmith
Thanks: Jon Tranberry

 

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Jenny Dalton stopped by in September to perform a few songs and talk about her CD, Fleur de Lily.

I think at first I started to play to ear…the first song I played was “Chariots of Fire”…so I started playing by ear a little bit and then also making some really simple piano songs. It was really frustrating for me at first because I would watch people play piano and there hands are doing different things and they’re all over the keyboard–I was like, “Why can’t I do that?” My left hand has to do this really simple–keep a beat and play one note while my right hand does this thing–so I first learned to separate what the left hand and the right hand were doing…Eventually I had to learn how to separate the left hand, the right hand and the vocals so they were all doing their separate things. That’s when I started to write my favorite songs. I–in my mind–mastered what I needed to master so I could take off and do what I needed to do.

–Jenny Dalton explaining how she taught herself how to play piano.

Credits:

Producer: Tony Thomas
Assistant Engineer: Andy Boss
Music: Jenny Dalton
Thanks: Jeff Waldeland (mics); Jon Tranberry (mixing board)

 

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The Roe Family Singers stopped by–six of the 7 of them–and played a few songs in early September.

We put out a call to every musician we knew…Adam and I draw cartoons together through this local cartooonist group…somebody mentioned that I was in a band and I think [Adam] literally said something like, “Do you need a saw?”

–Quillan Roe talking about how they obtained Adam on the saw for the Roe Family Singers

Credits:

Producer: Tony Thomas
Music: Roe Family Singers
Thanks: Jeff Waldeland (mics); Jon Tranberry (mixing board)

 

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It was a great show. Congratuatlions to all the winners.

Winners who have appeared on the podcast:

• Dan Israel (Songwriter of the Year)
• Chris Koza (Pop Recording of the Year; Male Vocalist of the Year)
• JoAnna James (Female Vocalist of the Year)

Kate Galloway and Sonya Southward, president and vice-president of the Minnesota Music Academy respectively, came over to talk about the MMA and the upcoming Minnesota Music Awards.

The board this actually made a very concerted effort to focus on who we are and who we serve and what we’re trying to do.

–Sonya Southward commenting on the efforts of the MMA Board in 2006

Credits:

Producer: Tony Thomas
Music: Dan Israel
Thanks: Jeff Waldeland (microphones); Jon Tranberry (mixing board)

 

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Holly, Justin and Kyle from Aviette stopped in on a Saturday afternoon to record a few songs and do an interview. We talked about their new CD and how they made the switch from folky songwriters to a power trio.

The record West of Pleasant that we put out in 2004…that was when Kyle was still playing guitar and we had different people who would, for the most part, come in when we recorded…and so it was primarily Kyle and I–the songs the Kyle sings on that, he would write and then I would write the songs that I was singing on. Since we changed everyone’s role…it’s a different project. I would say that it’s becoming much more collaborative.

–Holly remarking on the changing roles in the band.

Credits:

• Producer: Tony Thomas
• Assistant Engineer: Cedar Thomas
• Thanks: Jeff Waldeland (mics) and Jon Tranberry (board)

 

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I’m proud to announce that Minneapoliscast has been nominated for a Minnesota Music Award in the “Minnesota Music Media - Online” category.

Nominations were open to the public this year. Thanks to all of you who nominated the podcast. If you’re a Minnesota Music Academy member, go to the MMA website and download the ballot. (It’s on the lower left.)

There’s a balance to technology…a lot of people are focusing on the things we lose through time because of technology. Many the resources that come from selling your music on CD format…I’ll go to a place and they’ll all be singing a song and I’ll know that that’s “Who’s Gonna Save You Now” from my live album knowing fully that I’ve never sold my live album at the college there–it’s all been burned. But a lot of times you wouldn’t be seeing that money anyway because it’s going to the label. But the technology that comes with that allowed cell phones–I mean cell phones are invaluable on the road. Having your laptop on the road to book hotels online is awesome. Mapquest is a killer for musicians–it’s so easy to get the club.

–Mark Mallman talking about the advantages of technology for musicians.

 

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Minneapolis singer/songwriter Ellis stopped by on a humid afternoon to perform a few songs and talk about her career.

When I made my first CD in college and I made 1000 copies of this CD and I didn’t really know for sure if anyone would buy it…I sat at the lunch table in the cafeteria every single day for months and I sold all 1000 copies…and I thought, this is totally going to work. I mean, people are interested in what I’m doing. I’m doing something that resonates with people and utlimately no matter what you’re going art-wise, when that happens, it becomes a viable thing. It becomes something that could maybe sustain you.

–Ellis talking about releasing her first CD gave her the confidence to pursue her musical career.

 

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Merge Left came by on a Saturday morning to talk about their new CD Divided Nation. It didn’t work out for them to perform live for the podcast, so we sampled a few tracks from the CD instead.

This is my way to get this message across. This is how I tell my friends how I feel. And this is the way we let the kids know what’s going on because I just feel like everybody’s not paying attention–I mean there are a lot of people who care. My goal is to just–if I can get one person in the crowd to change the way they think and start thinking for themselves and realize that they’ve been led astray maybe by a government–and that’s their choice to make. But if I can make one person open their eyes to what I feel then I feel like our goal is accomplished.

–Daniel from Merge Left talking about the band’s political message.

 

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