Alan Sparhawk

On the 5 Year Anniversary of KRCC’s foray into live concert events, the alternative rock band Low will be returning to play in Armstrong Hall on September 25th, 2011 at 7pm. Low was the first band KRCC Concerts booked as part of the station’s renewed commitment to live events in October of 2007.

Low Movie (How To Quit Smoking) follows the entire career of the iconic band Low and their relationship with director Philip Harder. For twenty years they made music videos and short films together, filming on ice, in railroad yards, and in rapidly disintegrating rooms. Low formed in 1993.

In almost fifteen years, Low became an institution on the indie and alternative scenes. Famous for their quiet, beautiful slow songs, and fascinating harmonies, as well as their religious background (core members Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker are Mormons). For this documentary, a film crew followed Alan and Mimi on tour, at home in Duluth, MN, in their church community, and as parents. It's more than an on-the-road or behind-the-scenes video. It shows Sparhawk as the ambivalent main character in an intriguing movie about religion, violence, conscience, and madness. It can also be seen as a touching love story.

A documentary that highlights the religious left and the fight for marriage equality in Minnesota. The director spent nearly a year interviewing faith leaders across a spectrum of beliefs, along with scholars, politicians, and everyday people—all discussing how their views of religious texts and traditions support marriage among any two consenting adults. The title, "God Votes No," stems from the effort to defeat a proposal on the November 2012 ballot to define marriage in the Minnesota state constitution as the exclusive domain of one man and one woman. "God Votes No" features interviews with U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, practicing Mormons Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker of the Duluth band Low, and author Jay Michaelson, among many others.

Shot over the course of two years, Closer Than That finds the members of Duluth "slo-core" band Low (Alan Sparhawk, Mimi Parker, and Zak Sally) going through old photos, enduring awkward press interviews, serenading the baby, navigating traffic jams, and occasionally coming across observations on music, spirituality, and life. Director Marc Gartman traveled with them on tour across the US and Europe, capturing not only Low's performances, but also quiet moments backstage and in transit between gigs. Before one of their European shows, Alan is asked how the band would like to be introduced. He answers, "slow...quiet...really nice people with a baby." This video document gives us a glimpse of the very real, understated folks behind the great minimal rock band.