May 12, 2007
My friend Larry Havluck, the writer of My Back Yard, has released a 7 song CD called "Topical Island Getaway". I caught his release show at Atelier last night. If you can find Larry it will be well worth your while to grab a copy of this little gem. Be prepared to laugh and think, and when you hear the bonus cut, be prepared to weep a bit. Larry has no web presence, so catch him Tuesday nights at my open mic at Atelier, or most days in the Macy's Skyway near the shoe department.

May 11, 2007
"I Wrote My Name On You" and "Better Days" are both available digitally from I-Tunes... Both CDs are available in hard copy at CD Baby as well as right here.

I received an wonderful e-mail from Shanghai. I never cease to be amazed at the power of the web, the power of music, and the odd places I show up without ever making the journey...

Dear Lonnie
     I am Japanese who lives in Shanghai,China on business. It was when I was university student to listen to your great "Song for A City Mouse" and "Family In the Wind" records. Your deep and tasteful songs and excellent guitar play always gives me cure and courage every time I feel depressed like miracle medicine. I am happy to know you still continue to play. I love your recent CDs . They are my treasure.
Hiroshi Mizuno from Shanghai

Thanks, Hiroshi...

March 15, 2007
After a long battle with emphyzema and a serious heart condition, my mother passed away on Tuesday. A lot of you knew Betty, please keep her in your heart. I have no words at the moment. I'll simply copy here what my sisters Kathy and Sally wrote for the Seattle paper:

Betty Knight (Gurnell) died peacefully at her home in Albany, OR on March 13, 2007. Betty was born in Audobon, New Jersey on October 5, 1927. She married her best friend, Lowell Knight on December 20, 1947. Betty and Lowell made their home in New Jersey, Minnesota, Michigan, Washington, and Oregon. Betty is survived by her loving husband Lowell, children Lonnie Knight, Kathy and John Simmelink, and Sally Jo and Ken Donahue, grandchildren Jennifer, Kari and husband Jeff, Jason, Joe, Tommy, Gina, Ana-Maria, Alex, Taylor, Kylea, and faithful dog Maggie Jo. Betty was preceded in death by her son, Richard, grandson, A. Jay, brother Larner and her parents. Betty is known best for her quick smile, loving spirit, and the compassion and care she bestowed on family, friends and others. Betty was an active volunteer at Valley Medical Center and Fairwood Community United Methodist Church. She loved gardening, serving for many years as president of her local garden club. In her final days, Betty looked forward to joining her family, friends and Lord in Heaven. Betty was able to stay at home until the end through the gentle, loving support of her husband, family members, close friends and Evergreen Hospice.

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February 1, 2007
It's done... The new CD was delivered to the manufacturer today, an hour ago... time to breathe deeply and not second-guess myself. I received an e-mail from Rico Anderson informing me of several other albums by Minneapolis artists titled "Last Call". So much for original thinking... the message was a blessing in disguise, the CD is now called "I Wrote My Name on You", and I like that better. The track list remains the same as it was in October, a few other songs came and went again as the advisory board said yea or nay, always with tact and sensitivity... thanks for that, one tends to get emotionally naked when working on something like this.

My acoustic guitar tracks, Peter's violin and most of the vocals were recorded last summer at Arabica Studio with Dakota Dave Hull manning the board, placing the mics and helping to keep my head on straight. I think I played the Goodall on everything, I might have used the Martin on "Burn This House", but I can't remember.

November 14, 2006
Almost finished mixing the new CD, still titled "Last Call"... Sold the Stratocaster... the Martin is still for sale... The 2 year anniversary at Atelier was great fun, lots of wonderful players, singers and writers showed up... Carl Franzén with a cello player, Michael McElrath, Ross Johnson, Rusty and Pam, Susan Feehan, Adrian, Tony from the Walker Open Stage, Judd August (did I miss anybody?)... We'll be continuing, hopefully there will be a three year reunion, so if you missed the Two, you'll have another shot.

October 31, 2006
Halloween... well, boo. Next week, November 7, Election day. Please, vote... things are pretty scary out there right now. If you pass on your chance to make a difference and it gets scarier, well, boo.

November 7 also marks the 2 year anniversary of the acoustic open stage at ep Atelier. It's been my pleasure to bring to the stage old friends, new friends, the old and established, the young and untested, the young and established, the old and untested. I wish I could list everyone, but unfortunately Atelier's lists were lost in a computer theft recently, and my memory needs a reboot... I'll do my best, if you've played Atelier's Tuesday night party and your name isn't here, please e-mail me and remind me. Some, but certainly not all of our guests: Carl Franzén, Michael McElrath, Rusty Debris, Pam Bowers, Paul Strickland, Bill Hood, The Flapjacks, Tom Hartley, Susan Feehan, Chris Johnson, Kristin Erickson, Matthew Lamphear, Larry Havluck, Jen Case, Harmony LaBeff, Amaryah, Reid Papke, Carla D’Lee, Thomasina, Andre Rodriguez, Maurice from Revolver Modele, Daniel Rodriguez, Papa John Kolstad, Scott Alarik, Paul Jones, Tierney Kathleen, Rae Hering, Ross Johnson, Judd August, Adrian whose last name I never knew...

October 22, 2006
When not working on the CD or web clients, I've been updating the Digital Journal. New format, new sections, some recent photos from Wisconsin, Iowa, Utah and Minnesota, plus a few abstracts and Photoshop experiments. Check it out here.

October 21, 2006
I have an urge to slide down and edit previous posts, I will ignore it. Things change, but that doesn't invalidate what was. It's all about the journey, isn't it... Work on the new CD has progressed again, working title is once again "Last Call', barring further interruptions to the flow. So far these songs are recorded and in one state of mixedness or another:

I'm looking for one or two more songs, then I'll do a little slice and dice and some will hit the cutting room floor. Thos of you who have been around for awhile might recognize a few of them as songs I've recorded before... these are all new arrangements and performances... there are a few new songs lurking in the back of my head somewhere, maybe one or two of them will breach before I'm done with this project.

Ran into Steve Haskin at the Podium this afternoon, he gave me a copy of his Trio Tipo CD entitled "Where We've Been". I'm listening to it as I type this... it's lovely, check out Trio Tipo at (of course) www.triotipo.com.

...oh yeah, things changing. I've decided to sell a couple guitars, probably for more than they're actually worth, but I'm patient. The instruments are both saturated with memories and tales, I get to keep those... My 1970 Martin D-41 will go to the first person who offers me $9,000, my '63 Fender Statocaster will go for the same thing... the Martin is a cannon, I'm the first and only owner. It has toured most of the U.S., a little bit of Canada and part of Europe with me. The neck was reset a couple years ago, it's a dream, but it doesn't fit my playing style anymore. The Strat still has the original pick-ups, neck and body. It's been refinished (I bought it in 1967 in Jamestown ND, someone had already painted it flat blue and wrecked the bridge, so I stripped and oiled the body). If it was in its original condition it would go for around $25,000. I'll put some pictures up here soon.

September 12, 2006
A month since the last posting, and of course a month is long enough for the world to turn inside out. Progress on the new CD has been slowed by circumstances beyond my control. A couple songs are getting the axe and a few new ones may be on the way. Working title now "Two Car Funeral", and the sky keeps getting darker.

August 14, 2006
Lots of news... been busy and of course haven't kept this up. I played the Torrey Music Festival in Torrey Utah on August 5, tiny festival, but great fun, I hope to go back next year. Heard some wonderful music from Black Wagon, The Buckle Busters, Charlie Simmons, Dale Keys, Folkloriate, Gina French, The Hoot Owls, Jason Webley, John Boy's Mule, John Dupuy, Mark Baysinger, Melissa Warner, Old Dog, New Tricks, Red Rock Rondo, Stacey Board Trio, Sweet Sunny South, Tangle Ridge, The Vapor Trails and Will Barclay... but some of the best music there came from some unannounced acts. Kristin Erickson has a brand new CD out, she did several short sets during the festival. Check her stuff out at KristinSongs.com. Another amazing artist was Larry Estridge, his web site is here. Guttural, bluesy, lyrically intense and provocative. No album, hit his site and write to him, tell him Lonnie sent you, tell him he needs to record. I also got to listen to and pick with Guy Benson. Guy is an award-winning fingerpicker and the proverbial helluva nice guy.

...Making progress on the new CD, working title is "Last Call", from the Dave Van Ronk tune. Basic tracking is done, I'll be adding some overdubs and tweaks in the next few weeks, hoping for a release sometime in September or October. "Last Call" is not quite as naked as "Better Days", Reid Papke plays bass on some cuts, Peter Ostroushko brought his fiddle in for three or four things, Dakota Dave Hull snuck in there (I've been warned, but he made it anyway - he's also co-producing again), and Kristin Erickson has added some wonderful harmony to a couple songs. So far my guitar parts are all acoustic, I've added some piccolo guitar, sung some harmony with myself, etc. There are a bunch of new original songs, and my arrangements of songs from Larry Havluck, Dave Van Ronk, Patty Griffin, Jennifer Warnes and Mark Knopfler. I'll put a teaser up here soon.

It's almost Christmas (or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or Ramadan, and I'm sure there is some strange Druid ritual I've missed here), and it's almost New Year. On December 28th my good friend, songwriter Carl Franzén is holding his annual benefit for the St. Stephen's Homeless Shelter. Lots of music, lots of ways to contribute something for those less fortunate this holiday season. Here are the details:
CARL FRANZEN'S St. Stephen's Homeless Benefit (click the link for Carl's web site and more details)
The Riverview Cafe & Wine Bar (6:30 pm-11 pm)
3745 42nd Ave S
Minneapolis MN
612.722.7234
Singers & Songwriters: Joseph Baird, Jeff Bjorgo, Kelly Brightwell, Kristin Erickson, Carl Franzén, Rae Hering, Lonnie Knight, Michael McElrath, Thomasina // Poets: Reggie Harris, Ibe Kaba, Matthew Rucker // Comedians: Tim Harmston, Mary Mack...
Please come out and lend your support to this worthy cause.

I got a lovely Christmas gift from the World Wide Web (or at least a few people who listen to streaming radio). "Better Days" was just announced as the #2 most requested CD for 2005 at RadioioAcoustic.com. Thanks, Zoe, and special thanks to everyone who requested the CD.

October 28, 2005
Last night was the memorial Concert for Sean Blackburn at the Cedar Cultural Center. If you weren't there, you missed an amazing program of Minnesota musicians. I'm sure the Memorial Fund will still be happy to receive a donation from you... Your donation will go to a memorial plaque housed at the Cedar Cultural Center listing the local roots musicians and friends who have left us: people like Lazy Bill Lucas, Soupy Milton Schindler, Craig Ruble, Steve Alarik, Dean Carr, Joel Johnson and, of course, Sean... with plenty of room to add to as needed. There will also be a fund set up to subsidize concerts here in the Twin Cities that might not happen otherwise, in Sean's name. People like Glenn Ohrlin who are incredible and not well known here would benefit from this. So would our entire community.

Donations can be sent to:
The Sean Blackburn Memorial Fund
1661 Englewood Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55104

October 10, 2005
There has been a link on this site for a year to the Digital Journal. I am happy to report that it's finally up, full of Minnesota landscapes, Salt Lake City and western Utah, and a few oddities. I'll keep adding to it as time allows, the camera goes with me almost everywhere these days.

September 26, 2005
Better Days is now exporting to Japan... not ready for a tour yet, but who knows what the future may bring.

Yesterday was the Save The Guthrie Benefit at the Columbia Grounds Coffee House. The Guthrie is a Minneapolis historical treasure, you can get involved here (SaveTheGuthrie.org), and you can hear a new song I wrote for it here... Conversation With a Wrecking Ball.

Friday I played at the historic Café Carpe with my old friend Bill Camplin and an amazing percussionist named Alpha Renaldo Omega Stewart. A wonderful time was had by all... also on the bill was a Norwegian keyboardist/singer/writer named Peter Nova, he's currently banging around the States for a few days looking for connections... his style is reminiscent of Tom Waites, check him out when you can at PeterNova.com. His web site is still under construction, but the photo on the home page is worth the trip.

August 24, 2005
They (the Royal They) want to tear the Guthrie Theater down. My good friend Paul Metsa heads up the Save the Guthrie organization, and I just signed on to participate in a three day benefit, September 23-25 at the Columbia Grounds Coffee House in Northeast Minneapolis. You can get all the details and plenty of other information at the link above. From the Who debuting "Tommy", to Leonard Nimoy's one man play "Dear Theo", to the vast catalog of repertory productions staged there, the Guthrie stands as a cornerstone of the world's artistic community. It was my honor to play the Guthrie stage with Herb Pilhofer, to stand on those boards and absorb the wealth of talent and endeavor that seeps from every pore of the building. We must stop tearing down our history and plowing under our heritage. The Guthrie can continue as a unique performance venue for both music and theater. Visit the web site, sign the petition, throw a few bucks their way... the original Guthrie Theater is part of the substance of this city.

August 18, 2005
The Web Design and Graphic Arts portions of my little multi-tasking empire are now located at LonnieKnight.net.