The Rake Magazine

Category: Blog Post

  • Strib Votes "Overwhelmingly" to Demand Par's Resignation

    To the surprise of no one, membership of the Star Tribune Newspaper Guild voted to demand the resignation of publisher Par Ridder, who, in addition to facing other accusations, has conceded booting proprietary information from his St. Paul Pioneer Press laptop into the Star Tribune system.

    The Star Tribune Guild released the following statement early Tuesday evening.

    “Guild colleagues,

    “As most of you know from being at the meeting this afternoon, our membership overwhelmingly approved this statement today:

    “We, the journalists of the Star Tribune, call on Par Ridder to resign as publisher. We believe the unethical actions to which he admitted in court have damaged the Star Tribune’s credibility and integrity and undermined our ability to hold public figures accountable for their actions. For the good of the Star Tribune and the community it serves, we believe he should step down.”

    “A letter to that effect will be delivered to Mr. Ridder on Wednesday. Thanks to all of you who came and spoke up so thoughtfully.

    “Meanwhile, our colleagues at the St. Paul Pioneer Press were notified today that 15 MORE buyouts are being sought in their newsroom. You can read editor Thom Fladung’s memo to his staffers.

    Your unit officers

  • Last Minute Addition

    Tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tiny Showcase will release a limited edition (200) print of one of Jennifer Davis’s paintings – for just $20 each. Which painting? It is a surprise! Oh, and a portion of each sale will go to Springboard for the Arts Emergency Relief Fund for artists, so you’ll be contributing to a good cause. Pull out those wallets, folks!

  • Online Music Mag Launches

    Yesterday’s launch of Reveille Magazine probably didn’t send much of a tremor through Condé Nast, Rolling Stone, Spin, yadda yadda, but I regard anything that puts my buddy Jim Walsh back in a saddle, writing what he wants to be writing, a good thing. Likewise, I am favorably disposed to music writers writing like music writers — with all the occasionally indulgent stuff that goes with that.

    At the get-go, Reveille Magazine is composed of Walsh, Managing Editor Andrea Myers (who is still editing HowWasTheShow.com), Steve McPherson (who is still posting to SignalEatsNoise.com), Kyle Mattson (of MoreCowbell.net), Rob van Alstyne (allegedly the world’s tallest music critic, and like several others here, formerly of the now defunct Pulse), and finally, Tom Hallett (author of the Pulse “Round the Dial” column.

    In the grand tradition of start-up music mags, no one is getting paid for the foreseeable future. Labors of love, baby. And don’t you know Avista Capital Partners and Dean Singleton would love to swing a little of that action? But Myers says she’s schmoozing an advertising agent to plan for the happy eventuality of revenue. Until then, “it’ll probably be like a part-time job for me,” she says. Twenty hours a week of collecting copy and freshening the site. (My guess is she’ll have a better idea of what to do with Walsh’s stuff than the dour matrons who made life so miserable for him at the Pioneer Press.)

    Myers expects to divide the news, features, and reviews (live, CDs, etc.) amongst the corps of writers listed above, with columns by Walsh and Hallett. But she has her antennae up for good writers of diverse musical persuasions. (I’m her guy if she needs 40 inches on Satanic S&M Metal.) “I have been talking to a jazz person lately,” she confesses, “so something might happen there.”

    She’ll do a bit with Mary Lucia on The Current this Thursday, “a little before five.”

    Cut to Jimmy Walsh, recently released from police custody after The Great FREE Freeway Caper. Walsh’s Friday night “Hoots” — free jam sessions/tag team concerts in the basement of Java Jack’s (46th and Bryant, Minneapolis) — have caught on very nicely. He’s even taking the damn thing on the road to New York in a couple weeks.

    “Dude,” said Walsh, speaking of Myers, “she’s a ball of energy and really smart.”

    Right. OK. But tell me, old man, what is the void a magazine like this fills in the Twin Cities market?

    “The void is that there are a lot of talented, hungry writers in this town who are young and have really no place to put their stuff. Beyond that there are some pretty basic needs, like essays, which historically have been the life-blood of rock journalism.”

    As Walsh knows well, “feature” arts stories in daily newspapers are basically preview/interviews or trend pieces, usually reworked for the local market after showing some kind of popular traction elsewhere. It has been a long, long time since any of our papers have let an arts writer muse or thumbsuck for any serious length about something the writer felt passionate about. In the absence of any “hot trend” as an obvious hook, I mean.

    After all, why give people who enjoy the arts AND reading anything unusual or unexpected to read?

    Walsh, by the way, just finished his book, The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting: An Oral History. It’s due out November 15th.

    Also, if you’re the type who likes to test just how cool you are — or aren’t — Reveille Magazine is throwing a party for itself this Saturday at 9 p.m. at The Nomad, across from the Cedar Cultural Center on the West Bank.

    I’ll be the guy in the Tijuana Brass World Tour ’69 t-shirt.

  • Not tryin' to hear that!

    BEGOB! According to this blogger, I haven’t posted since May. Oh woe, how lowly and obscure is me … Please, oh please dear, friends: Send me the love; send me the style tips, gossip, and fashion sightings. In the meantime, I’ll be stewing the pot and licking my wounds.

  • Grazefest

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    A Day For Eaters? … count me in.

    This weekend the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota is hosting Grazefest: an event aimed at promoting the health benefits, positive environmental impact, and economic possibilities of pasture-raised foods. And hey, there’s a band!

    The first half of Saturday is devoted to hot discussion among professional Graziers, but the second half has been declared “A Day for Eaters”. Head out to Cedar Summit Farm in New Prague from 1pm – 6pm and sample tasty foods (Philip Dorwart doing demos!), listen to the musical stylings of the Roe Family Singers and be converted by the prophets of grass-fed.

  • Veracruz. Almost Ready for Battle.

    On Friday, I should be seeing my first post from my hand-picked Road Rakette, Cyd. Cyd is a college student that just started her career this summer (and may not even know that yet). Cyd is a millenial. Her Dad is what the automotive biz might call “mature” but then he would get all up in my business for saying that.

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    The battlewagon of Veracruz. courtesy: Hyundai, Warren Zevon.

    Anyway, Cyd and her Dad drove a sweet ClS-class AMG Mercedes last week to test the waters with an uncommon vehicle for millenials and “matures” i.e. M&M cars. When the market talks about M&M cars, however, it usually means anything better than a Buick. I test drove a car in Colorado today that typifies this new trend. It is called the Hyundai Veracruz and I think Toyota should be worried. Because this is one Korean that’s ready for battle and its gunning right for Japan.

    Hyundai, as you may or may not know, is a stunning example of an automotive turnaround. First introduced to the US market in the 80s, they built inexpensive cars with great advertising (“Its Mother Was A Car, Its Father Was A Ship” — from DellaFemina) that fell apart. Then they got their act together.

    Recently, they have been churning out all kinds of Nissan, Mazda and Toyota fighters (Americans lost this battle long ago) with ten year warranties, disciplined (if derivative) styling, and decent (enough) quality. Most of all, they have priced their cars at 10k less than anyone else. That remains their trump card.

    The Veracruz is Huyndai’s latest and best example of their turnaround. It is their first upscale SUV designed to compete with Lexus, not just Toyota. It doesn’t hold a candle to Lexus but it pretty much kicks Toyota’s proverbial butt. The interior is well appointed. The ride is controlled. The styling is disciplined (and yes, derivative).

    Better yet, this SUV has all the tools required by generation@ (the story is already outdated but remains accurate) with a level of fit and finish you just won’t find in most of their rides. So I would say this baby is defintely ready for battle.

    Almost.

    To be sure, it demands to be driven and bought quickly. It appears, however, that its enemies should be more well defined. Hyundai is positioning this car against Lexus and that is a battle this SUV will not win. Despite a review in Motor Trend to the contrary, the Lexus is still worth an additional 20k. Yet it feels enough like a Lexus to seriously consider saving the extra dough. The fact that I am even comparing a lowly piece of Korean tin to this Japanese Daimyo is saying something.

    There is, however, another reason I say “almost.” I am trying to measure ever car we drive against the commonist dialetic, or that maddening tendency of car companies to build vehicles that please everyone. Right now the Huyndai fights commonism precisely because you see so few in Kenwood and (so I am told) Bearpath. (want more?) That is why I might just buy it now.

    But seriously, this car is not a breakthrough idea. It is no Scion XB or even a cutting edge design like the Ford Edge (I guess they do build some cars of note occasionally). The only thing that stands out about this car is its quality, features, and price.

    In other words, virulent anti-commonists may not like the Veracruz but always love a fighter. And you must admit that this SUV is a fine effort from a company that knows how to fight.*

    * Really weird insight but if you can find footage of President Park from South Korea in the 70s (the general who declared martial law) you might come across a clip of an assasination attempt made on both him and his wife. He kept speaking right through it as the medics tended to his wife. I saw it on Frontline.

  • First Things First, Then a Little Cajun Spice

    Today is your last day to R.S.V.P. for the Us Weekly Hot Hollywood Summer Event at the Chambers Hotel tomorrow. Celebrity or not, you can enjoy the lifestyle for at least an evening — beauty consultations, gift bags, Midori cocktails, samples, and hors d’oeuvres for everyone. Email usrsvp@usmagazine.com to register.

    MUSIC by Eeva-Liisa Waaraniemi
    Take It Down to the Bayou

    Ramblers copy.jpgAaah, the sounds of the steamy bayou. Music can be the most efficient transportation to the essence of a people, time or place. The Cajun dance band New Riverside Ramblers — a foot stompin’ fast French talkin’ fiddlin’ five piece band — do an especially good job of bringing you the flavor and beat from life at the other end of the Mississippi. If you like what you hear this afternoon, be sure to attend the Taste of the Twin Cities Originals this evening for some more Cajun-spiced music. But if you attend the noontime concert and don’t leave a little spiced, a little swingin’, it’s debatable whether or not you had a pulse in the first place. Another office casualty, perhaps?

    Noon-1 p.m., Northrop Plaza, 84 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-624-2345; free.

    Take a Musical Tour through Bulgaria

    dee_one.jpgAs part of their 9 Nights of Music series, the Minnesota History Center will be hosting a performance by Traki this evening. Bulgarian transplants Nikolay Gueorguiev (gadulka) and Nikola “Kolyo” Nikolov (gaida/bagpipe) lead a team of top local musicians, including acclaimed percussionist Tim O’Keefe, string fiend Jim Parker and vocal chameleon Natalie Nowytski, in a performance of authentic Bulgarian dance music. Prepare to be transported with Traki for an evening of nonstop Bulgarian folk dancing from Thrace, Shop, Rhodope, Strandzha, Pirin and Dobrudzha. Can’t sit still? Learn the energetic dances of Bulgaria from Ethnic Dance Theatre Artistic Director Donald LaCourse. Dance along, pack a picnic, or purchase food from the Cafe Minnesota terrace grill. In case of rain, concerts will be held inside the History Center.

    6:30 to 8 p.m., Minnesota History Center, 345 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul; 651-296-6126; free.

    Also playing this evening is Ponytails and Ivory with Liz Draper and Jon Kaiser, at the 331 Club.

    FOOD, FUN, AND MUSIC
    Taste of Twin Cities Originals

    homeTasteOfTCO07.gifSummer is always the busiest time of the year, so mark your calendars today for the second annual Taste of the Twin Cities Originals. Held once again at the Nicollet Island Pavilion, this year’s festivities will feature even more of the same great food from 37 of the Twin Cities finest restaurants, along with complimentary wine from the Gallo Family vineyards. You’ll also enjoy live New Orleans-style entertainment from Minnesota Music Award winners, The Jack Brass Band. Visit The Rake’s booth while you’re there. Say hello to Rake staffers, and sign up to win prizes!

    6-9 p.m., Nicollet Island Pavillion, 40 Power St., Minneapolis; $45.

    BOOKS AND AUTHORS
    Dog Days

    12838047.gifI’ve had just enough cat stories to last me a life time — from the blogging world, of course — so I understand completely if you’re not exactly revved up to go hear dog stories tonight. But think again, my friends. Jon Katz, author of sixteen books — both novels and nonfiction — will be appearing at the Burnsville Barnes & Noble this evening to promote his latest book, Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm. His aren’t just any old dog stories, however. Katz — who lives on Bedlam Farm (in upstate New York) with his wife, Paula Span, and his dogs, sheep, steers and cow, donkeys, barn cat, irritable rooster Winston, and three hens — uses entertaining anecdotes to share insights about man’s best friend. A two-time finalist for the National Magazine Award, he writes columns about dogs and rural life for the online magazine Slate, and has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, GQ, and the AKC Gazette. He also co-hosts the award-winning show, Dog Talk, on Northeast Public Radio.

    7 p.m., Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Burnhaven Shopping Center, 828 West County Rd. 42, Burnsville; 952-892-9280; free.

    Another Impossible Love Story

    agnon2.jpgAs part of the Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature – Identity and Imagination series, Professor Maria Damon will lead a discussions on Shmuel Yosef Agnon’s A Simple Story this evening. Though the novel was not available in translation until 1985, fifteen years after the author’s death, Agnon is certainly one of the most lauded and widely translated Hebrew authors. A Simple Story tells the tale of an orphaned child who goes to live with her aunt and uncle and ends up falling in love with their son — who, of course, must marry another. Stop by tonight to join the exploration of this year’s theme “Your Heart’s Desire: Sex and Love in Jewish Literature.”

    7-9 p.m., Highland Park Branch Library, 1974 Ford Pkwy., St. Paul; 651-366-6488; free.

  • A little slice of Campania

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    Say what you will about St. Paul and its quaint Norman Rockwell roll-up-the-streets at dusk culture — its dearth of “urbane” fine dining and plethora of ultra-conservative politicos. No place has neighborhoods like St. Paul. Mac-Groveland, Frogtown, Highland Park. And my favorite: Selby-Dale.

    Maybe it’s because when I was 15 and living in an apartment about a mile from the intersection (long story), Selby-Dale had the shivery mystique of being where all the drug dealers and hookers hung out. But today it is what we in the big cities call “gentrified,” which means, I think, that we made all those down-on-their-luck shifty characters move somewhere else so condo developers could come in. . . .Even so, I can’t help but love it.

    And nowhere but in this resurrected area could a restaurant like Il Vesco Vino exist, inside a crumbly turn-of-the-last-century building with a glorious patio half again as big as the dining room itself. I’ll leave the sunning and eating to others, however, and sit inside every time. Because this is where Irv “Junior” Williams — bar manager and son of Irv Senior, the legendary jazz saxophonist — works and pours his wares.

    Il Vesco Vino is the place where I tasted the De Angelis Lacrima Christi cited in my last entry (see below). This is, in fact, that rare Midwestern bar that specializes in the wines of Campania: “If you took Italy and look at it like a boot,” says Junior, “Campania is the shin.” It’s also the site where grapevines grow in the volcanic soil of Mt. Vesuvius, giving them an ancient, ashy, earthy taste.

    I tried several of the region’s wines and while I loved the Bianco Lacrima Christi, I cannot say the same of its cousin, the De Angelis Rosso Lacrima Christi 2005. I found the red version of Tears of Christ overwhelming, with a bouquet of overripe fruit, dust, and piano wire, and a long finish slick with star anise. If you like jammy wines and black licorice (I do not), this one may be worth a try.

    If, however, you’re more of an earthy bent, I heartily recommend the Donnafugata Nero D’Avola Sedàra 2004 — as rank, meaty, and sexy a wine as I’ve ever drunk. The aroma is rife with peat, almost sweaty — eau de men’s locker room, and I mean that (truly) in a positive way. This is a wine filled with dark fruit and tannins, tobacco, and what the tasting notes call a “persistent” finish. Very persistent.

    Likely, the Sedàra isn’t for everyone. But if you’re the sort of once-lost soul who walked ungentrified windswept city streets and watched the streetlights flicker across people wearing tattered clothes, smoking cigarettes, and patiently waiting for dawn, you just might find something familiar here. (14% alcohol)

  • Poutine Update, Cheap Beer and More

    I stopped for Happy Hour by at Harry’s Food and Cocktails, 500 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis, last week, about 15 minutes after they opened for business, and found lots on the menu that I would like to try, including starters of grilled beef ribs with garlic and ginger ($11) and braised pork ribs with lentils and escarole ($10), and a soft shell crab po’ boy sandwich ($16), but no poutine, the legendary Quebec delicacy of fries, cheese curds and brown gravy that chef Steven Brown had promised would be on the menu.

    When I asked Brown for an explanation, he said the current menu is just a preview, while the kitchen gets up to speed. “Rest assured, the poutine will be there or I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. Part of the issue was getting fresh curds vs frozen so they squeak.”

    The opening of Jasmine 26, the new Asian eatery next door to The Bad Waitress at 26th and Nicollet, was scheduled for last Saturday, but has been postponed to next Friday, July 20. It’s owned by the same family as the nearby Jasmine Deli, 2532 Nicollet Ave., so you can expect a lot of the same Vietnamese soups, noodle salads and spring rolls, plus Chinese and Thai specialties and a full bar, in a much more stylish setting.

    Half a block away, at 25th and Nicollet, Yummy, which happens to be one of my favorite Chinese restaurants, now has another attraction, besides fresh (i.e., live) seafood, daily dim sum and bargain-priced Peking duck: on Monday through Thursday, bottled beer for just a buck – and that includes Tsing Tao, imported from China. And starting this month, they are open every day of the week.

  • Eskola Returns to 'CCO

    As promised, veteran ‘CCO-AM government and political reporter/enabler of Sid, Eric Eskola, returned to Dave Lee’s show this morning. Anyone anticipating a long, teary reentry speech was probably disappointed. Eskola confined himself to saying, “I just ran out of gas” last spring and thanking his ‘CCO colleagues and everyone who sent him notes of support.

    The “issue” attached to Eskola’s abrupt departure became what some regarded as a “double standard”, where the Eskolas of the world routinely “out” politicians and other public figures yet insist upon privacy when they have their own difficulties. I took shots for on the one hand reporting that he had taken a leave for personal reasons while refusing to disclose what those reasons were. (My dodge was that I merely swatting down the rumor that he had been yanked for disciplinary reasons by either ‘CCO or CBS Radio.)

    That debate kind of lives and dies on the notion of an obligation to public accountability. As in, elected officials are held to a different standard than people who are merely known well by the public. Moreover, get any reporter aside and they’ll tell you they know hundreds of juicy private details about public figures that they don’t put into stories simply because such private matters aren’t germane to the job the person is doing. That said, there is a short list of allegedly randy politicians in these parts whose private lives will become very germane the second they are stupid enough to paint themselves into a hypocrisy corner.

    According to Eskola’s ‘CCO boss, Wendy Paulson, Eskola is still making the decisions on what and how much to say. In the context of “running out of gas” Paulson said she is encouraging Eskola to dial back on the 12-hour days he had been putting in.

    Meanwhile his “Almanac” boss, Brendan Henehan, over at TPT channel 2 says Eskola will be back on the set this Friday with co-host/wife Kathy Wurzer just like old times. Henehan says he told Eskola he’d like him to say something about his absence, but, “That is entirely up to Eric.”