From the time he first appeared on the Minnesota music scene as Jay Smart, the artist now known as J.S. Ondara has captivated listeners both here and, increasingly, around the world. A native of Kenya, Ondara’s always had a global view — but his musical sights were set on the United States, and the Recording […]
Michael Stipe just released his first single as a solo artist. You might remember when Stipe was the singer for R.E.M. — but Craig Franklin remembers when he wasn’t a singer at all. “His hair was all curly, like Roger Daltrey. That was the main reason, when we needed a singer I asked him to […]
Over the course of his career, Prince worked with many talented musicians, but one of the closest relationships he had with any of his musicians was with Sheila E. An iconic drummer, singer songwriter and performer Sheila E., short for Escovedo, has had an incredible career with Prince and on her own. Born and raised […]
At the tail end of my recent interview with Dua Saleh, I pulled up a Ness Nite tweet making the rounds: We can drop genre-defying now since everyone is at this point — ness nite (@nessnite) January 7, 2019 “Yes!” Saleh exclaimed upon reading it, and I got the feeling they hear “genre-defying” often. As […]
Bobby Z knew Prince for 43 years. The two spent time together growing up in Minneapolis and played with each other for years in the Revolution. Stopping by The Current’s studio, Z shared some of the memories he made with Prince. One of his most memorable ones was working on the essential Prince album, 1999. […]
Corey Sweeter has seen his favorite band, the Foo Fighters, perform in concert seven times. He is seeing them again tonight, although this time feels different, because Xcel Energy Center asked him to design a poster for the show. Sweeter is a freelance graphic artist from the Twin Cities, who has designed for a variety […]
Minnesota-based musician Dave King is not afraid do something unconventional. Known for his work as a drummer in groups like the Bad Plus, Happy Apple and Halloween, Alaska, King pushes the boundaries of music and doesn’t stick to the status quo. What King’s fans might not know so well is his work in film. On Friday, […]
This month, Dessa is preparing to release her new memoir, My Own Devices, in which she shares the very personal stories behind many of her best-known songs and offers poignant reflections on love, heartbreak, and her life on the road. In the first portion of this interview, Dessa and I discussed her long on-and-off relationship with the […]
Have you ever been so hung up on an old flame that you’ve contemplated using experimental brainwave technology to extract your love for them from your thoughts, Eternal Sunshine-style? Or wondered what it would be like to tour, perform, and make art alongside someone who you know you can no longer be with but who nevertheless […]
For Gipson Shoemaker, owner of Lucky Devil Cigar Box Guitars, his passion for cigar-box guitars all started with seeing Jack White in the 2008 documentary, It Might Get Loud. In that film, White built a diddley bow — an instrument similar to the cigar-box guitar. When Shoemaker first saw the diddley bow, he became curious […]
