Producerobit: Steve Raitt

Musician and sound engineer Steve Raitt has died after a long illness.

Raitt played with the TC Jammers; sang back-up for his sister Bonnie Raitt; and produced records for Ipso Facto, amongst others. He was a well-liked and well-respected engineer for live bands playing Minneapolis - St Pauls.

Diagnosed with brain cancer in 2001, he wasn't expected to live past six months, but a positive attitude and careful diet helped. As Bonnie explained to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, though, a second tumour proved more difficult to beat:

"While we are very sad that he lost his valiant eight-year battle, we are relieved to know his struggle is over and that he's now truly free," Bonnie Raitt said in an e-mail Sunday. "Since last summer, he was fighting paralysis on his left side and then blindness since the holidays -- all due to a second tumor diagnosed last summer.

"I was closer to Steve than anyone in my life so you can imagine how I'm feeling.

"We've been showered with calls and messages since we shared the sad news and I'm so incredibly moved by the impact he had on so many lives."

Raitt was 61; he died on Saturday.

Ted Leo rushes a benefit ep

Ted Leo has recorded a four-track digital ep to raise money to cover legal fees of those arrested for daring to protest outside the Republican National Convention. Other slices of the raised funds will go to Food Not Bombs Minneapolis and Democracy Now; anything left over will be sent to Sarah Palin who seems to be very fond of money.

Revenge against the Machine

Following on from the Rage Against The Machine march on the Xcel Centre and the RNC, it looks like last night, the police were out for revenge.

The band were playing a proper, legal, ticketed gig at the Target Centre in Minneapolis (for now, let's leave aside the question of how they're playing a gig at a venue which is a marketing tool for a major Republican Party Contributor as that might just make my head pop). As Coldsnaplegal's Twitter feed witnessed, the cops were waiting for revenge:

Concert goers @the rage against the machiene show are taking to the streets. riot cops on every corner, 1 arrest. need legal observers.

Front of target center cleared. 7th & Hennepin blocked by riot cops. Pepper spray deployed.

folks from after show protest are being arrested and ordered on to city busses at 7th and marquette in minneapolis. arrest numbers unknown.

riot cops have left 7th st. and 2nd ave, 31 people confirmed arrested and taken.

On MnIndy's Twitter, there was a suggestion that media attention might have increased the tension:

I'm hearing the omnipresent buzz of overhead helicopters in Minneapolis. Media's hyping violence threat as Rage lets out downtown.

Rage is not yet letting out. The crowd is mostly looky-loos anticipating violence and beating drums

But, clearly, even before the concert started the police were looking for confrontation:

spp just ticketed everyone here for parking facing the wrong direction icluding the guy parked in his own driveway. huh? -robin

Is the McCain - Mayor McCheese ticket really so petrified of Rage Against The Machine they need to send police out to pepper spray young people who actually show an interest in the political process?

[via Boing Boing]

Captain Peacock, how am I meant to price the garterbelts when I'm worried what Mr. Prince is doing to my pussy?

Because he's launching a perfume, called, of course, 3121, Prince is going to do a gig in the Minneapolis branch of Macys. It's going to cost $250 to get in, although for a quarter of that price we'd imagine you'd be able to pick up a similar, off-brand gig in the Minneapolis Target.