When Lonnie Knight Says Jump...

by Doug MacRostie

Lonnie Knight was there for the first digital recording. Yes, I'm serious. He was working as Staff Guitarist at Sound 80 when 3M built the first digital machine and he was on the very first recording sessions to test it. That's just one of the numerous examples why this Minneapolis singer-songwriter with mutliple MN Music Awards rightly is a legend in MN music. Picking up his first guitar back in the 60's, when he was 12, Lonnie started out as a folkie, then played in some of the Midwest's seminal bands like Jokers Wild,. Neilson-White Band and The Hoopsnakes. His professional career went beyond being a studio musician - he was also a producer for a while in Nashville. His most recent work has gone back to his acoustic roots, and Lonnie Knight will be joining me on Centerstage MN to talk about his new album, "So We Jump," which is an excellent release of clever acoustic music bringing together many of the best aspects of Lonnie's music.

There is a lot of great new music just released/about to come out - and we're also going to hear from Matt Ray and Those Damn Horses from the Iron Range, The Marc Gartband from Duluth - that's one of the projects by Marc Gartman of Two Many Banjos; when Marc puts down the banjo then it's the Gartband, and lately he has been picking up the Irish Bouzouki. Which comes out of the new Wise-Magraw album "How the Light Gets In" perfectley. Wise-Magraw is Marcus Wise on tabla and Dean Magraw (of Boilded in Lead) on guitar.

Centerstage MN is Thursday evenings at 6, streaming live online at www.KAXE.org; or 91.7 Grand Rapids, 89.9 Brainerd and 105.3 Bemidji and can be heard again Sunday mornings at 6. All interviews are archived at www.KAXE.org. Centerstage MN is also heard on KSRQ in Thief River Falls Saturday nights at 11 & Wednesdays at Noon, and on WTIP in Grand Marais Thursdays afternoons at 4. Often featured on MNartists.org.

Ben Moore and 'Boom Drawings'

by Travis Ryder

Luther College assistant professor of art Ben Moore is primarily a painter.  His new work at MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids departs from that form, with silkscreened images from past parties he has attended intermixed with exceedingly subtle pencil drawings of explosions and dust clouds.  They're called "Boom Drawings", and he says the images portray "calamity, things that are about to go wrong.  That moment right when you know something bad is going to happen."

Double Head

Don't Be Jealous

These works and many others are hanging until Thanksgiving week at the center in downtown Grand Rapids.  I speak with Ben about his new images Thursday morning in the 8 o'clock hour.

Give to the Max

By Jennifer Poenix

Tuesday, November 16 is Give to the Max Day in Minnesota.

Last year more than 38,000 Minnesotans logged on to GiveMN.org and gave to 3,400 of their favorite Minnesota charities and nonprofits in 24 hours during Give to the Max Day.

This year, throughout the event, an individual donor will be randomly chosen every hour to have $1,000 automatically go to the charity that received the donor’s original donation during that hour. Nonprofits of all sizes across the state will have the chance to benefit from these random drawings.

If you'd like to donate to Northern Community Radio, you can do so here. 

We also encourage you to give to your other favorite causes as well. You can search for non-profits by community here. Just type in the name of the town you live in or group you want to give to.

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, November 16 and think about what great causes you can support.

Thank you!

Learning Ojibwe: Gayaashik

From Chelsea Annette's book, "Discovering the Little Brothers"


Gayaashik: Seagull

 Listen

In "Little Brothers", the songbird, Nagamowin-bineshiinh, marvels at how the seagull, Gayaashik, can live so closely to people, Anashinaabeg, by eating the food they throw away.

What's New on KAXE

The Volebeats "The Volebeats"
Syd Barrett "An Introduction To..."
Norah Jones "Featuring"
Spider John Koerner "Stargeezer"
Dar Williams "Many Great Companions"
Lake Street Dive "Lake Street Dive"
Asylum Street Spankers "Mercurial"
Eden Brent "Ain't Got No Troubles"
The High Dials "Anthems for Doomed Youth"
Badly Drawn Boy "It's What I'm Thinking"
Read more on the Currents Playlist...

Katie Corning Spreads Her Creative Wings

by Doug MacRostie

Something about an emerging performer from a small town really appeals to me, and Katie Corning from Bagley is just starting to spread her creative wings and share her talent - which is a very good thing. Originally from East Bethel, MN, Katie moved to the Bemidji area to attend BSU. She has a very powerful and dynamic voice that conveys emotion and feeling at a very deep level. Blending an eclectic mix of indie alternative and acoustic music on both keyboard and guitar, her style is very hard to classify. She'll be joining me in-studio this week on Centerstage MN to talk about, and perform, her music.

A classically trained musician and accomplished vocalist, Katie works with Matt Glenzel for lyrics. He has a blog of his poetry that he has given Katie full access to. It's a very interesting collaboration where he just keeps writing and writing poems, and Katie checks it for words or rhymes that appeal to her.

Some of these collaborated songs are 'simple' love songs, others touch on sensitive topics like God and religion. Katie says her philosophy is, "Stop worrying about the afterlife. Love where you are right now, love life. Just look at what's around you; the skies and everything, and the trees and all that. It's like 'hey embrace that, don't worry about this high power so much, just try to love the life you're in right now'."

We'll also hear from a new release out of the Iron Range from Germaine Gemberling. Just when I was thinking, "the creativity and music coming out of the Range is outstanding," this CD showed up and drove the point home. Recorded at Sparta Sound, and with Rich Mattson on guitar and back-up vocals, it's beautifully simple country music - sort of like John Prine, not flashy or forceful, but smooth, creative and clever.

Plus we'll hear from Eden - a new band out of Eden Prairie working on their debut CD - I've got a copy of their demo to share. Also Duluth's Portrait of a Drowned Man, Bemidji's The Magic Castles, and more.

Centerstage MN is Thursday evenings at 6, streaming live online at www.KAXE.org; or 91.7 Grand Rapids, 89.9 Brainerd and 105.3 Bemidji and can be heard again Sunday mornings at 6. All interviews are archived at www.KAXE.org. Centerstage MN is also heard on KSRQ in Thief River Falls Saturday nights at 11 & Wednesdays at Noon, and on WTIP in Grand Marais Thursdays afternoons at 4. Sometimes heard on KFAI in Minneapolis & St. Paul. Often featured on MNartists.org.

What's New on KAXE

7 Walkers "7 Walkers"
The Jimi Hendrix Anthology "West Coast Seattle Boy"
Natasha Borzilova "Balancing Act"
Devon Allman's Honeytribe "Space Age Blues"
The Sails "A Headful of Stars"
Greg Ruby Quartet "Look Both Ways"
Annie Gallup "Weather"
Louisiana Swamp Stomp
Shannon Whitworth "Water Bound"
Read more on the Currents Playlist...