The Roadhouse

The Sky Blue Jazz Ensemble (the version in studio was Mike DeBevec, keyboard; Eric Hahn, sax; Karina Roth, vocals; Barb LaVigne, flute; Mike Roth, bass) stopped by Studio A recently to preview their upcoming concert. It's called "All Our Own Jazz," Oct. 22, 7 p.m., at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, and will feature local musicians playing original compositions.

We caught up recently with one of our favorite guests, Sam Cook, outdoors editor for the Duluth News Tribune. He and Dave talked grouse hunting, nuisance bears,  new regulations, and much more. You can read Sam's articles and columns here.

The IgNobels are awarded every year at Harvard University for research that first makes people laugh, then makes them think. Mike Reeves chatted with Marc Abrahams, editor of the Annals of Improbable Research, about this year's awards, the incredible prizes involved, and why the whole thing got started. Nature (magazine) calls the IgNobel awards "the highlight of the scientific calendar." Celebrating research like the effect of wearing trousers on the sex life of rats, or assessing the perceived personalities of rocks, who could argue?

Three friends from Northland College, Andy Butter, Evan Flom, and Allissa Stutte, set out to run all the way around Lake Superior this summer. The team joined Dave to talk about their trip's success, highs and lows along the way, and what they learned about the world and themselves. You can read more about their adventure here.

What does children's book author Dav Pilkey have in common with Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, and Maya Angelou? His books, like theirs, appear on the list of books most often banned or challenged. Naturally this made us want to talk with him, which Dave Seaton did recently, about all kinds of things, including his best-selling Captain Underpants books, creating books kids actually want to read, and lots more. You can learn more about Dav Pilkey and his work here.

Prof. John Green is a retired geology professor from UMD whose specialty is the geology of the Arrowhead region. He was in town to give a presentation at Chik-Wauk Nature Center and Museum, and was good enough to stop by and chat with Dave about all things North Shore rocks. He has written one of the definitive guides to rocks in our area, "Geology on Display: Geology and scenery of Minnesota's North Shore state parks."

Folk/roots/blues powerhouse Chastity Brown stopped by The Roadhouse recently with her guitarist, Robert Mulrennan, to play and discuss her  work. You can learn about her upcoming album, touring schedule, and more, here.

Hovland duo Jim and Michele Miller stopped by to share their beautiful harmonies on both cover and original tunes. 

Local faves Bughouse! (Al Oikari, piano & slide guitar; Rod Dockan, guitar; John Mianowski, bass) called themselves Country Bug and were joined in Studio A by Nashville singer-songwriter-actress Caitlin Nicol-Thomas for a delightful session of music and laughter. 

Songwriters Barbara Jean and Molly Dean make up the recently-formed duo, Dusty Heart. They stopped by The Roadhouse on their way to perform at the ninth annual Radio Waves Music Festival.