The Crawl: News and notes from the scene
Radio K goes 24/7 on FM
The University of Minnesota's student radio station, Radio K, is about as essential to campus as Goldy Gopher; they just appeal to different factions of the student population -- the maroon & goldies vs. the Converse-wearing indie kids, if you will. But hip Radio K listeners have always lamented the station's flip-flopping formats and sunup-to-sundown schedule. That all changed at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1, when the station that brings us Simian Mobile Disco, Yo La Tengo and Vivian Girls began broadcasting all day, every day from its very own pair of FM frequencies -- 104.5 FM in Minneapolis and 100.7 FM in St. Paul.
"It's a really huge thing that we're able to have a full-time FM signal," said program director Genevieve DeTrude. "It's something we've been pushing for for so long."
The student organization had been attempting to acquire a full-time frequency ever since it began broadcasting at KUOM (770 AM) in 1993. In recent years, the station shared a limited low-power FM signal with St. Louis Park High School. But thanks to complex policy changes at the FCC, Radio K was able to add 104.5 FM and 100.7 FM. Since last week's FM power-up, the response has been favorable.
"People are really excited about it," said marketing director and DJ Ellie Bjorklund. "As a DJ, it's nice to know that you're potentially reaching more listeners. When you consider the music we really care about is getting out to more people, that's the biggest change."
"The different frequencies were a hassle, and the signal wasn't always the strongest," said university junior Scott Heins. "I like that they have dedicated themed shows and are an alternative to the Current, which sometimes gets predictable as far as playlists go. I think it's good for the station -- they should be able to build on this."
Bjorklund noted that October is great timing for the changes, with the station's fall fund drive coming Oct. 21-30. Also this month, several of Radio K's enterprising young DJs will broadcast live from New York's CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival.
- Kara Nesvig
Another Beatles rock band
They won't put Curtiss A out of business, but the musicians behind last week's Current-generated Beatles tribute at the Turf Club certainly meant business. Big Trouble, the instrumental offshoot of Heiruspecs (that's right, hip-hop guys!), offered surprisingly faithful renditions of songs the Fab lads never played live. Drummer Peter Leggett especially nailed rock's most famous drum solo. Two Harbors singer Chris Pavlich made for a fine John Lennon impersonator on "Tomorrow Never Knows" and more. And the best example of Lennon's wit came from Current DJ and "I'm Only Sleeping" singer David Campbell (who was at the Turf two weeks earlier with his band E.L.nO playing for rock scribes Chuck Klosterman's and Melissa Maerz's pre-wedding bash). Complaining about "A Hard Day's Night" looming too large on a nearby movie screen, Campbell quipped, "It's like trying to lose your virginity with your parents' picture next to your bed."
- Chris Riemenschneider
Minnesota's latest top model
Amid the countless modeling-themed reality shows, it seems refreshingly old-fashioned to hear that an up-and-coming model was discovered at the mall. That's just what happened to Stillwater native and U of M student Will Defiel, who is currently the face of the Calvin Klein men's collection for fall/winter 2009. Vision Models co-founder Teqen Zea-Aida spotted Defiel at the Mall of America last year and homed in on the then-20-year-old business major. "What struck me is he's so hawk-faced -- very icy eyes and a strong brow and nose. It was almost like he was a boy Grace Kelly."
Zea-Aida took some Polaroids of him and sent them into Models.com, a premier resource for international model scouting, and the images were posted as "one to watch." The team at Vision promptly fielded a call from the offices of Calvin Klein, who were interested in meeting Defiel if they would send him to Manhattan for a go-see.
"I think they realized that this person is very Calvin," Zea-Aida said. "He has a very edgy yet conservative, masculine look." Before he knew it, Defiel was cast in the brand's fall 2009 ads, which are dark, stark and classic in feel. Defiel himself remains cautiously optimistic about the opportunity, which is why he's continued on at the Carlson School of Management. "Anything can happen," he explains. "You have to have something to fall back on."
This isn't the first time Vision, which Zea-Aida formed at age 19 in 1996 with Nathan Yungerberg, has represented a top model. They had success with Karen Ilvedson in the late '90s (at one point she served as designer Yohji Yamamoto's muse), and they're currently representing their biggest female model to date, Megan McNierney, who has walked the runways of Chanel, appeared in Italian Elle and landed a Dolce & Gabbana ad campaign. Even Vision's employees have gone on to greater success: Andy Rempel, a former Vision stylist, is currently the sole employee of avant-garde fashion house Rodarte. "There is an elemental quality to credentialed people from this city," Zea-Aida says, "so when they spread their wings and leave 612 and 651 and go to New York or Europe, I don't know how to explain it, but they always seem to become a success."
- Jahna Peloquin
Zombie crawl: Return of the living drunk
Here is the word from the zombie high command: More than 5,000 people (er, zombies) are expected to lurch through the West Bank this Saturday in Minneapolis. If those numbers are correct, the Zombie Pub Crawl will have doubled in size for the fifth year in a row. Co-organizer Chuck Terhark said he never imagined that this many people would want to dress up like the undead and drink beer.
"We started the spread of the zombie infection, and it just went from there," Terhark said. "That's the nature of the zombie horde."
Participants will gather at 4 p.m. Saturday at Gold Medal Park (next to the Guthrie) before the lurching begins. But to help stagger the glut of zombies crashing each bar, they've ditched a set schedule this year. Instead, Terhark said, think of this year's pub crawl as more of a "zombie pub swarm."
"Any bar that didn't take us seriously last year is taking us seriously this year," Terhark said.
There will be drink and food specials at 15 bars along the West Bank corridor. Last year's zombies were so thirsty that several bars on the crawl ran out of beer. The finale takes place at the Cabooze, with music by MC/VL, the Moon Goons and a DJ set by Solid Gold. (9:15 p.m., $8, 18 & older).
Terhark is hoping all of the pub crawl's zombies will behave themselves. "There were a couple people who were arrested last year," Terhark said. "They were staggering into traffic. And they were maintaining character as they were being arrested."
The pub crawl is free, but you can buy a special V.I.Z. (Very Important Zombie) ticket for $30. It gets you a T-shirt, poster and free entry into the Cabooze show. See www.zombiepubcrawl.com for more info.
- Tom Horgen
