By: David de Young
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Luke Zimmerman performed upstairs at the Turf Club following the MMA meeting - Photo by David de Young
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The Meeting
Attendance at the 2006 MMA (Minnesota Music Academy) meeting was as good if not better than the past couple years I’ve been in attendance. Highlights included an announcement that the Minnesota music non-profit will be increasing the number of events in 2006 to 10 (which works out as one per month if you count this meeting and the annual awards show in September). The first confirmed event will be a seminar called Touring 101, on February 8th at the Fine Line, and a Marketing/Web Promotion/Publicity seminar will follow in March at a yet to be determined location.
Questions and comments from MMA members included one person asking the board what the MMA can do to reach out more to the large R&B and Hip Hop communities in the state, and a few questions were fielded regarding what can be done to addressing the ongoing lack of a supportive environment for underage musicians and fans.
Three new board members were elected at the meeting: Tony Thomas (of the band Anchorhead, who also does a Minnesota music podcast), Paul Gillis (Ripple Management) and Lance Cunningham (Somnio Artist Group.) Both Steve McClellan of DEMO and this writer were also nominated, but declined to accept their nominations due to other commitments.
The Music
Upstairs music got underway around 9:30 with singer/songwriter Jonathan Rundman. Far from a household name in Minnesota (Rundman only moved to Minneapolis in 2004, and spent his early days here recording what was to become his album Public Library, released in October 2004), Rundman has toured the U.S. extensively as a national artist out of his former home base of Chicago. His one man show of guitar, harp and vocals at the Turf conveyed a Bryan Adams meets Woody Guthrie sort of image, or a somewhat politically toned-down Billy Bragg.
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Jonathan Rundman - Photo by David de Young
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The song “Smart girls,” with the refrain “smart girls shine like laser light,” was just one example of his mastery of song construction and gave a sense of how good someone with talent can get when they really apply themselves. (I sense that Rundman has worked very hard to get to where he is today.) You can find links to free musical downloads on Rundman’s website’s audio page.
Up next were blues/rockabilly veterans A Stockcar Named Desire, or two of their three members anyway. On hand were Travis Lee Merchant on vocals/guitar and Ben Craig on the upright bass. Drummer James Olson could not make the gig. The duo put on an enjoyable set and brought a really good vibe to the club.
It was Luke Zimmerman who I’d really been looking forward to seeing on this bill, and he casually made a transition from a brief sound check to his set around 11:15. I’d just received his debut solo CD Twilight Waltz in the mail that very afternoon (hence its absence from my best of 2005 list, where it might have showed up had I heard it sooner). Twilight Waltz is a remarkably strong first disc and features terrific musical contributions from locals Randy Casey, Steve Price, Andy Hertel and Peter J. Sands. (Price and Casey both contributed to recording and producing the disc.) It's a disc that would stand up just as well if it were a national release, and though its critical regard is well-deserved, it wasn’t until I saw Zimmerman live that I came to truly appreciate his music. From his first song I picked up on his unassuming demeanor. An elementary but competent guitar player, there’s another layer in the presentation of the songs where the real magic lies. His first song had a John Lennon “Across the Universe” feel to it, and was sensitive, intelligent, and engaging. Lyrical phrases like “remember when the grass was green,” rhymed with “Oh I can’t forget the things I’ve seen,” seemed to transcend their own construction. Zimmerman demonstrates that as a songwriter, there’s more to connecting with your audience than just being good.
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A Stockcar Named Desire
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When Zimmerman sang in his third song, “I just didn’t know it would rain so hard,” it was heartbreaking, reminding me of Neil Young from his Harvest Moon period. Later, another song would remind me of that album’s title song, with a little David J style guitar-strumming thrown in. It’s clear that Zimmerman has heard a lot of great music in his time, and he has done a wonderful job of distilling it into his own sound. Throughout the remainder of the set I heard echoes of Leonard Cohen and even Robyn Hitchcock. The set also included “Not Through Knowing You” and “Duluth,” two of the standout tracks from his new album.
Big Ditch Road rounded out the night to a less than large crowd – it was, of course, a school night and not everyone was able to stay until they went on shortly after midnight. Zimmerman had joked towards the end of his set that he was going to do his best to clear the bar before Big Ditch Road came on, and from across the room Big Ditch Road’s Darin Wald joked in reply that they’d have no problem doing that themselves. Despite the thinning audience, BDR put on a sweet set relying heavily on material from their latest disc, Suicide Note Reader’s Companion, and the sound at the Turf was just about perfect.
Location Info:
The Turf Club
Artist Info: A Stockcar Named Desire, Big Ditch Road, Jonathan Rundman, Luke Zimmerman
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