Seven Days Blogs: Stuck in Vermont

Phinn Sonin [79]

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5/12/08: What makes Burlington so special?  Meet Phinneus Sonin, Junk Connoisseur, Cabaret MC, proud dad, radio DJ, naked bike rider, and juggler - now do you get it?

Phinn has been dumpster diving for years which lead to the creation of Junktiques Collective, a living room/store where you can spend a couple of dollars and find some oddity or other that you didn't realize you needed: bottle caps, remote controls, irons, doodads, tools, books, records, etc.

Sheriff Phinn, you have my vote.

Location: Junktiques Collective, Burlington Vermont

Inner Fire District [78]

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The Inner Fire District (MySpace) are hard to define.  When pressed they call themselves Radical Yiddish Balkan Culture Folk but their sound sidesteps labels. 

Thursday night they celebrated May Day at the North End Studio in Burlington with two accordions, an upright bass, guitar, and a clarinet, tragically beautiful 100 year old songs and klezmer music that had the crowd stomping its feet.   

Call 911, the Inner Fire District will entertain you while your house burns down.

King Lear [77]

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4/19/08: So you think Shakespeare is boring, eh?  Vermont Stage Company's new production of King Lear will quickly dispel that notion as it explodes onto the FlynnSpace stage.

Fights, betrayal, backstabbing, bloodshed, love, sex, madness - King Lear is a complex family drama set in an nondescript time period.

Vermont composer and percussionist, Brian Johnson provides powerful original music which adds to the dark mood of the show.  A one-man band, Johnson masterfully manipulates a combination of odd instruments from behind the stage, including his own voice with a healthy dose of reverb.

As always, Shakespeare adeptly displays the most human side of us all, even when showing us at our worst.  King Lear plays at the FlynnSpace April 23 - May 4th.

Music: Brian Johnson

Location: Flynn Space, Burlington Vermont

Also new this week, Nick Garza is Missing: A Volunteer Search on YouTube or watch below:

Pure Pop Record Store Day [79]

4/19/08: The first ever international Record Store Day was in full swing at Pure Pop Records Saturday. 

Music fans swarmed the bargain bins and went home armed with old and new records, tapes, and CDs.

Why are indie record stores a vital part of our community?  What makes them different from shopping for music online? 

Is it the atmosphere, the browsing, the hunt for rare finds, the album art or the way a new record smells?

Eva bought her first album at Pure Pop (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie in case you care) years ago and she is back to find out why it is still so special.

Music: The Jazz Guys, So Moped Puree, "Try to Find"
As many of you know, the lead singer of The Jazz Guys, Herb van der Poll also works at Pure Pop.  Tell him how much you enjoy his music next time you see him.

Problems watching this video, watch on YouTube here.

Jr Iron Chef [75]

4/12/08: Mmm, something smells good. 

Middle and high school students from all over the state of Vermont compete in the first Annual Jr Iron Chef cooking competition which aims to celebrate local food, showcase VT seasonal produce and promote healthy local-food dishes in schools (Burlington School Food Project and VT FEED).

Competitors vary from professional chefs in training to novices but all share an appreciation for VT produce and creative cuisine.

Vermont is building solid connections between farms, schools and students' plates and championing the nation's localvore movement.

Music: The Smittens, A Little Revolution, "The Garden"

Location: Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction, Vermont

Having trouble watching this video?  Watch it on YouTube here.

Burlington Ultimate [74]

4/1/08: The Burlington Ultimate Winter League spend their Tuesdays at The Field House in Shelburne.  Eva caught up with them for the first night of their Playoffs.

Team members dash back and forth across the courts with lightening speed, forcing the frisbee out of opponent's hands and diving through the air for points. 

The game is all about the Frisbee but Ultimate is much bigger than that.  Players young and old, novice and professional, come together in a unique community.

Music: The Dig, Good Luck and Games EP, "Good Luck and Games"

Watch this video on YouTube HERE.

Skate Deck Art Show [73]

3/28/08: Margaritas, fake mustaches, 80s chic, skulls-a-plenty and skate deck art for a good cause. 

For three years now, Maven has been been teaming up with local artists and presenting different themed Skate Deck Art Benefits.  This year they raised money for the much needed redesign of the Burlington Skatepark. 

In March, funds were approved for a new skatepark as part of the Moran Redevelopment Project.  The money raised from Friday's silent auction of the skate decks will be used to pay for blueprints for a new and improved concrete park.

We talked to skateboarders and deck artists about their work and why they risk broken bones and fractured bits for the pleasure of skateboarding.  And hey, what is that bone jutting out of your neck Big Tim!?

You may recognize some local JDK artists such as Creative Director and Owner Michael Jager and Sachie Tani of the blog My Cat Goma.

"Viy" by Deep Soda off their album Pose Dead - Collected & Destroyed Vol. 2.

You can watch this video on YouTube here.

Dummy Big Air [72]

3/22/08: The 12th Annual Dummy Big Air contest was held at Sugarbush last weekend. 

Eva was late and missed the 15 minute event but she did talk to the winner, Mr Potato Head who received $1000 for his jump! [You can see Sandy Macys photos of the event here!]

Eva also spoke to extreme skiers/snowboarders about why Sugarbush is so special to them.

Music: Chuch, Juarez, "Intro"


Location: Sugarbush, Lincoln Peak
Warren, Vermont

Watch the video on YouTube here.

Broadacres Charity Bingo [71]

3/14/08: What do you get when you combine fried food, high stakes, adrenaline rushes, money for charity and bingo?  A swell evening!

Friday night, over $10,000 in prizes was up for grabs and 100% of the proceeds went to the Humane Society of Chittenden County. 

At Broadacres Charity Bingo in Colchester, old and young alike have been playing bingo for years.  Many began the game with their grandparents and are carrying on the tradition.

So bring a good luck charm, lots of multi-colored dabbers, mind your manners and BE ON TIME for charity bingo at Broadacres.

And remember, when in doubt, YELL BINGO before your 20 seconds is up...

Music by Colin Clary, off Apocalypse Yow!, "Top Secret Secret Project."  This song is perfect for bingo because many players are highly secretive about their bingo outings.  As one player put it, "You don't want your husband to see you at bingo with your boyfriend."  The presence of my camera was enough to  unsettle many patrons.  Sorry!

You can also view this video on YouTube .

Space Tiger [70]

  3/6/08: Space Tiger is a fledgling local rock band that consists of father/son team Mike Deutsch and Aiden Patterson Deutsch with Chris Kiper on drums.  Their sound is fresh and their lyrics vary in content from monkeys throwing coconuts to hamsters chewing socks.

Space Tiger was the first band to play live on 105.9 FM, The Radiator.  They have also played at City Hall and the Radio Bean.  They have an upcoming gig at the Fools' Gold Art Auction on April 1st.

9 year old Aiden is a homeschooler who plays hockey, tends to many animals and has only set foot inside a "real" school once (he didn't like it).  He is also the frontman of Space Tiger.  Aiden writes the songs, plays the electric mandolin and makes chit chat in between sets. 

Learning how to be in a band, follow the lead of the drums and make it past a mistake are all part of Aiden's school lessons.  His father is teaching him the band fundamentals but insists that Aiden do all the on stage talking (not a problem).

Aiden's parents April Patterson and Mike Deutsch are both musicians.  Aiden began picking up his parents instruments at a young age, played open mike night at the Radio Bean at 3 years old and opened at Club Metronome when 5. 

With a hit like "Monkey, Monkey" (formerly, "Skunky, Skunky") under their belts, who knows what comes next for Space Tiger?  They are planning an album and a tour this summer.

You can watch the Space Tiger video on YouTube here.

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Also this week, a follow up to the video, Nick Garza is Missing (which has been viewed over 31,500 times on YouTube).  It has been over one month since Middlebury College freshman Nicholas Garza disappeared into thin air.  We spoke to his family and friends about this exceptional young man:

You can also watch this video, "Nick Garza is Missing: Who is Nick" on YouTube.