The air is good

-
I decided to go to the performance of Dakota Air this weekend. This monthly radio show is recorded live someplace in North Dakota each month. Today it was a few blocks away from where I currently reside.
An acquaintance at work is the music director for the show and since it seemed pretty similar to the show I do at Christmas I decided to check it out.
I was not disappointed. The show was chalk full of musical performances intermixed with historical and local flavor in the form of skits and monologues. Steve Stark anchors that side of the show flawlessly. The host, Merill Piepkorn, kept the show flowing and often sang and played superbly on the harmonica.
Now the show is definitely a step-child to Prairie Home Companion minus fake sponsorships and a fake town which a monologue is delivered about. In fact, the show is a lot less fictionally based than Keillor's gig. Dakota Air is also missing the big name acts which often appear on Prairie Home. Instead, they utilize local talent. The show tonight featured the NDSU faculty jazz band, local music teacher Sam Mack, and the Gold Star Marching Band. And it was very good.
I'm sure fans of PHC will pick apart Dakota Air when it is heard over public radio in the region this month. But it is like comparing an elephant to a lady bug. Heck, back in the golden age of radio numerous shows had similar styles and formats. I think Dakota Air is proving there really is some hidden gems in North Dakota.
Still, I think the show is more like an offshoot of Big Top Chautauqua.
Special mention should be made for Thomas Isern, a professor of history at NDSU. He performed a song about prairie towns and read an essay he wrote about class B basketball. He reminded me a little of Irish singer Christy Moore. Oh and the Gold Star Marching Band gave a stirring performance. I like marching music.

As an additional note: I want to make a correction to the omission the Forum made about the show in their article of 14 Jan 2011- Tim Hoffelt, music director of the show and guitar virturoso, is also from Fargo. I guess he blends in so well no one recognized this Fargo talent. He doesn't do much self promotion at work unless he let's it slip he is playing at Basie's or the HoDo. A few of his MP3s show up on the Net, but typically are hard to find- especially a song about a time machine.
Slan.

Comments

Post a Comment

Notable Posts

So there was this zombie party

-
Image
It was a quiet weekend up here. Well, maybe. Depends on how you appreciated the sound of moaning zombies all over. They can be rather noisome. Fortunately there are guys like McGjervold who can take out a dozen or so of the troublesome undead minions. Went to a party and sure enough, there they were- zombies. Real crazy looking zombies.  And there was the food too. I sampled the fare before I called in McGjervold to clear out the joint with his array of weapons and zombie whooping devices. McGjervold doesn't back down to zombies or their ilk. Afterword we played pool.
Read more

Back to 50s photos: Pontiac Chieftain

-
Image
I n its earlier days, Pontiac featured a Native American on its logo. It may have just been a representation of the famous chief himself, Pontiac although no authentic images of him are known to exist. In the center background you may be able to see a Pontiac Chieftain under a large tree. Pontiac ceased production of the car sometime in the late 1950s. In 1956 they also changed their trademark from the Indian head dress to something more akin to an arrowhead.
Read more

Gumby, Google, Clokey and Hastings. Oh My!

-
Image
This title sounds like a band from the 70s. However, Google has a great interactive doodle today in honor of Art Clokey , creator of green guy Gumby. Clokey would have been 90 today, but he passed away last year. But did you know that the Gumby came from my hometown of Hastings, MN! Indeed I thought this odd too when I saw this fact on a map of Hastings that has hung in the family home for years. Clokey was Californian and seemed to have no connections wtih the North Star State, so I thought this incredulous. I did a little digging and then found my answer in an article in the Star Tribune from October 20th, 2003.  Dick Parker and Heron Marquez Estrada did a the hard work and re-discovered that Echo Plastics of Hastings manufactured millions of Gumby and Pokey toys up to about 1971. So I guess Minnesota can claim the green guy and his red pony after all. Perhaps the state quarter would have been more collectible if it had Gumby an...
Read more