Wednesday, August 22 at 9:30 p.m., 7th St Entry
The Artist of Distinction Awards are given to Minnesota musicians, industry pro’s, and technicians whose talent and contributions to the music community are beyond exceptional. Their skill, passion, attitude and level of commitment to their projects have set them apart in a sea of competitive and often underappreciated artists. Sound Unseen is proud to present the second annual awards to three artists whose contributions have been felt world wide, while they make Minneapolis their home and continue to share their craft with thousands.
Tony Paul
For over 30 years Minneapolis musician Tony Paul has been an ambassador for not only for the Calypso and Soca of his native Trinidad, but also the laid back, open nature of the Island‚s people. A fixture on the West Bank since his college days at Augsburg, Tony first came to the attention of large audiences as a member of Shangoya, the seminal world music group founded by Peter Nelson in 1973. Featuring musicians from around the globe, the group rose to regional prominence and became the gateway to Caribbean music for legions of fans. But don‚t let the dreadlocks, accent, or his world music credentials lead you to categorize him. His musical passions and abilities are unclassifiable. A typical night finds Tony Paul sitting in with a jug band, playing with an African pop group, dropping by the Entry to check out some new bands, dropping in at a local spoken word open mic, and wrapping it up at the Dakota to catch his favorite local jazz artists. Over the last three decades Tony Paul has played with multiple bands in a vast array of musical genres and worked extensively with the Children’s Theater Company and Penumbra Theater. “TP” is currently a percussionist with the Minneapolis Reggae All Stars and, for the last nineteen years, a host of the Shake & Bake radio show on KFAI.
When he is asked, as he frequently is, about his birthplace, the feature he most proudly speaks about is the vast array of people and musical styles that peacefully co-exist in his homeland. As Tony has taught me over the years, Trinidad is made up of a mix of ethnicities, languages, and religions resulting in a rainbow of music enjoyed, created, and respected by Trinis; soca, calypso, reggae, chutney, jazz, classical Indian music, Latin music, Arabic, R&B, and soul. This spirit of openness and inclusiveness is evident in Tony to any of the many musicians and fans he has encountered in his over 30 years as a Twin Cities musician, promoter and passionate fan. His life mission seems to be to make his adopted home of the Twin Cities a technicolor reflection of the peaceful coexistence of his homeland. Spend a few minutes with Tony and you will likely see people of every station and stripe be greeted by him with a heartfelt “hello friend.” Spend a little longer and you will enjoy a conversation as free form as jazz, bopping from from the latest Cricket news, Washington scandal, Carnival season, municipal elections, local boxing, the current show at the Walker or Guthrie, Native American art, the hottest local dance company; he is as well read as he is musically versed. For Tony’s pioneering musical spirit, tireless commitment to local music of all genres, and loving spirit he has imported to Minnesota, we honor him as an Artist of Distinction and friend of the highest degree.
Nite Nurse, Co-host Shake & Bake, KFAI
Dessa
For those of you who don’t know her, Dessa is a rapper, a poet, a singer, and (among many other things) a person you should probably know. For those who do know her, you’re already aware that she’s one of the most likeable, passionate, creative, brave, and compelling figures in this big little town.
Less than a decade ago, while still working towards a degree in philosophy, Dessa began performing in the slam poetry scene. This led naturally into hip-hop, and the group she co-founded, Medida. Dessa quickly found herself opening for national artists, playing the college circuit, and mixing it up with musicians from the area, which is how she was introduced to the then-fledgling Doomtree crew.
Doomtree was immediately enamored with Dessa’s talents as a performer, as a writer, as a cheap booze enthusiast, and we hurriedly invited her to spend the best part of her life making good music and bad decisions with us. Somewhat surprisingly she accepted.
Since then, fellow musicians, journalists, friends, and fans alike have been quick to laud Dessa’s unique standing here: She is a fiercely individualistic woman establishing herself within a genre dominated by men and manliness, identifying as neither an idle accomplice to the rampant misogyny or as a reactionary “goddess” she is strictly herself. She is a fire-spitting emcee with a true poet’s sensibility and a goose-bump-inducing singing voice. She is an unflinching artist, a hopeless academic, and a purposeful businessperson. She is among the most approachable and friendly people in town, but spends most of her time lost in thought. Dessa is all of these things at the same time, and while it’s easy to imagine this equation resulting in a clumsy amalgamation of irreconcilable traits, the sum is somehow singularly and definitively Dessa.
It may seem strange to bestow an honor such as this upon a person with only a handful of years in the local music scene, but Dessa is unquestionably distinct. Anyone who has worked with her, met her, or seen her captivate a crowd will readily attest to this. As she continues forging ahead in all of her artistic endeavors (her debut solo LP, the Doomtree crew record, the debut Valiant & Valiant record, arranging and performing with her a cappella group the Boy Sopranos, as well as working with an array of local musicians) there is no doubt in my mind that Dessa will remain an “artist of distinction” and will make this city swell with pride for years to come.
MK Larada, Buenos Aires, 1972
ConRad Sverkerson
If you have ever spent any time in the area of First Avenue and Seventh Street in downtown Minneapolis, it is more than likely that you you might have seen this man patrolling the corner. If you have made it into First Ave during a concert , you have seen this man. He is the boss, the facilitator, The Man. He is Conrad, long time production manager of the First Ave mainroom. It is hard to give a job description to someone who does EVERYTHING to make an event happen, whether it’s hauling band gear, dealing with the guest list, counting t-shirts and cd’s or finding a wine glass in a bar where plastic is the norm, he is there making it happen.
To be honest there is a lot more about this man that makes him so special, he is an avid golfer with a swing that is legendary(just ask Ween or Dinosaur Jr), and he does turn into a little kid for the 10 days of the state fair. The man knows how to live life to the fullest while making sure that all around him are having the times of their lives. All this from the guy who started at First Avenue as the daytime bartender in the Seventh Street Entry. (Complete with board games and Con’s famous “Lush Burgers”.)
An example of the care this man puts into producing a show goes something like this, the band The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs should have been on stage 20 minutes or so earlier and no one could find the lead singer. So true to form Conrad starts to patrol his beat of First Avenue & Seventh Street, after a couple of minutes he goes into the book store across the street, heads into the music section and sure enough there she is, paging through a book about Bob Dylan. After a brief exchange (she had no idea that she was supposed to be onstage) Conrad escorts her across the street and within seconds a rock show roared to life. After the show the band came off stage and went into their dressing room only to find that very book about Bob Dylan lying on the table.
Conrad is the living soul of that corner. Whether he is building ramps on First Avenue to load in Iggy Pop over the wet cement the city just poured or organizing a path for the Minnesota Pipes And Drums to stroll through a sold out St. Pattys day show in the mainroom, there he is doing anything to make it happen. He is a great friend, and a perfect representative of the Minnesota music scene. He deserves our thanks and respect for making so many shows the times of our lives.
Thanks Con
Myles Kennedy
Fellow First Ave staffer, Audio Engineer, and friend.
