Joshua Sauvageau 3/30/25 Joshua Sauvageau 3/30/25

March 2025 Recap!

‘March’ is no one's favorite word…has no comments yet, and is not a valid Scrabble word.

—from my new favorite website, Wordnik!

The first quarter of 2025 is in our rear-view, dear reader. True to form, our upper midwest March oscillated between blizzards and sunny 60-degree days. While one can never be too sure how the weather will change, I took a chance and drove up to Fargo the first weekend of the month, to celebrate the birthdays of my Mom and brother-in-law, Adam.

*Mom and me early 1980. Seated left to right, Mom’s Grandpa Ed and Grandma Edna McGough, and her Grandpa Arthur Lemke (whose wife Sadie passed away mere hours before my birth on 1/7).*

*Dad and buddy Liberty Rose Sauvageau (aka Libbens)*

As I’ve been researching and writing about family history lately, Mom shared several pictures and files that she’s collected over the years. Of particular note was a series of articles from the Seattle Star (dated April through September, 1945), detailing the shocking sexual assault and murder of my Grandma Dorothy’s 5-year-old cousin Irma Irene McGough.

*from the April 27, 1945 Seattle Star. Grandma’s Uncle James McGough at right*

*Grandma’s cousin Irma Irene McGough, with her mother, Beulah May Simmons*

In going through some old pictures, we also came across an article, which very well may be the genesis of my lifelong desire to write. From the Winter 1983 edition of North Dakota Bowhunters Association quarterly publication is a several-thousand word essay headlined “Manitoba Black, Our Way” — penned by my dad. An excerpt:

“With a single movement, Scott [Lang, Dad’s friend] drew and released a 2117 Gamegetter tipped with a four-bladed Satellite. The [bear] lurched with all the strength she could command, ran a short 60 yards and died peacefully in flight…We were awestruck at the beauty of this fallen animal: it happened so quickly and now it was over. We carefully dressed her with the reverence fitting a forest queen…”

As a boy of 6 or 7, I remember feeling spellbound by this article. My parents encouraged reading from a young age: Mom would regularly take Lacey and me to storytime at the Lisbon Public Library, and Dad would read to us before bed. But seeing my father’s name in a print byline led to the youthful realization of the accessibility, and the potential reach of writing. I was happy to see that Mom and Dad had saved this article, tucked away in a musty photo bin in their garage.

Of course, one of the nicer niceties of living a few hours’ drive to the F-M Valley is getting to hang with my nephew Fischer and niece Selah. A few months ago, as Fischer and I were bonding about baseball cards, I gifted him one of my favorites: a 1988 Topps Tom Lawless card (which, great name, btw). It was a favorite because the 8-year-old me had cut out Tom’s face and replaced it with my own 4th grade school pic.

Well, as Fischer and I were looking through his cards, he handed one to me:

Obviously my heart melted. He told me to keep it, and I almost did, but thinking better of it, asked him to hang onto the card to give to his nephew one day.

Just as I was saying my goodbyes, Selah (age 3.5) came out wearing a beautiful sequined gown, and the morning sunlight streaming into the living room was too good to pass up:

Leah, Churro, and I flew to Arizona for a few days, though our trip was shortened somewhat due to an 8” snow dump in the Twin Cities. We got to see Leah’s Dad and Stepmom’s winter place in Gilbert, hiked a bit, ran (20 miles for her, 15 for me) in the area’s first rainstorm in six months, and spent a half day at the Musical Instrument Museum in Scottsdale. It felt great to get a little sunshine for a few days there.

*Leah and I on a hike in Scottsdale (photo by Mike Eggers)*

Back at work, I got to engineer the live Before Bach’s Birthday Bash broadcast on YourClassical MPR. You can hear the broadcast in its entirety on the web. As this is Blue Collar Fugue, the March Fugue of the Month is JS Bach’s Fugue in C Major, performed by Samuel Backman here (at 47:55). It also gave me a chance to wear my “I’ll be Bach” Terminator mash-up sweatshirt.

I’ve been reading more this month, and I’d like to highlight a few of my favorites:

I can’t quit thinking about this beautiful essay “Make Room for Space” (not only because Alysha is a dear friend). Read it, and then read it again. Follow/Subscribe to her Substack. You will not be disappointed.
As March is the “5-year Anniversary of Covid” (as if that’s something we’re supposed to celebrate) I re-read this poignant essay by Chef Gabrielle Hamilton, about one of the many tragedies that unfolded in those early days of the pandemic.
A dark, lyric essay by poet Tony Hoagland from the Winter 2019-2020 Ploughshares—“Bent Arrows: On Anticipation of My Approaching Disappearance.”
Low: Notes on Trash & Art by Jaydra Johnson, which I immediately ordered upon hearing Johnson’s interview with Brendan O’Meara on the Creative Nonfiction Podcast while out for a long run.
A lovely zine titled “Here’s to the Land: The NC State Toast Fanzine” by Erin J. Watson, from the Zine-A-Month Patreon

I took an informative two-hour workshop titled “Shaping Family History into Compelling Stories” by fellow Substacker Annette Gendler.

And I did some writing/revising/editing as well, adding the following pieces to my Substack and here:

A poem questioning the pursuit of “success,” starring Ariana Grande and a starling

A journal entry from March 2017, one month before Leah and I started dating
A piece inspired by a spreadsheet I found from the Pine City (MN) Press
A poem I wrote in 2nd grade, which was published in our school-wide chapbook. Kudos to the North Dakota Public School system, circa 1988, and to my Mom for holding onto everything I’ve ever written. I’ll leave you with that poem, which TBH might be one of the better poems I’ve written in 35 years:

Joshua Sauvageau 2/28/25 Joshua Sauvageau 2/28/25

February 2025 Recap!

Mad as the mist and snow

Bolt and bar the shutter,

for the foul winds blow:

our minds are at their best this night,

and I seem to know

that everything outside us is

mad as the mist and snow.

—William Butler Yeats

What a wild ride February has been. America, it seems, is exhausted. How are you, dear reader? The yoga teacher in my wants to remind you to take extra time today (and every day if you are able) to just breathe. Maybe that’s right now; this moment. Just close your eyes and take three deep breaths. I’ll wait…

Great start. Let’s keep it up!

I’ve been looking for service opportunities this month. And writing; writing has helped. I stole my good buddy Tommy’s idea and volunteered for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. Orientation takes place in early March, and I hope to be building homes in underserved neighborhoods by the time you read my next newsletter (which, thank you, by the way). I volunteered to review grant applications for PFund, a local foundation “which helps build more equitable communities for queer people in the Upper Midwest”. While looking for opportunities in the veteran hospice space, I came across an organization called Grace Hospice. There are opportunities at Grace Hospice to perform legacy work (helping people write their memories), pet therapy (I’m looking at you Churro!), patient companionship, and vigil work as well. I had a nice conversation with their volunteer coordinator Bryan, who told me they currently don’t have any veteran volunteers, which I found shocking! Orientation for Grace isn’t until April, but I’m eager to help out in that space as well.

[Quick aside: a number of years ago, I recorded an a cappella group called the Threshold Singers, which sings at the beds of hospice patients. Here’s one of their songs:]

So what? I hear you asking. Do I hear the dreaded bells of “virtue-signaling” ringing across the land? [That’s what “They” want, by the way, to turn us against each other with labels and buzz words. Don’t fall for it, friends. Use your brains, use your hearts.] Here’s the reality: I have time to spare, and my conscience can only rest when I know that others in my community aren’t needlessly suffering.

*My favorite picture of my grandma Helen. Unknown date, likely early 1940s.*

If you had told me a month ago that I’d be spending my writing time in February working on various genealogy-centric essays, I simply wouldn’t have believed you. Yet, here we are. It started, as I thought about my grandma Helen (Thue) Sauvageau in early February—she passed away in February of 2017. As I thought about her, I created an account on FamilySearch and pretty quickly started finding information about the Sauvageau and Thue side of the family (my dad’s folks). It’s pretty wild, but I was able to track the Sauvageaus back to Marcé-sur-Esves and Poitou-Charentes, France in the 1640s. I traced my Grandma Helen’s grandparents to Møre og Romsdal and Hallingdal, Norway in the 1860s.

*Helen Sauvageau’s parents: Albert Peder and Inga Olive (née Braaten) Thue. Prior to 1953. According to Dad, this was taken at their old farmstead near Kindred, ND.*

My mom’s family was a bit harder to trace, but I’m making some progress there. I wrote a little about my research and findings regarding her maternal grandmother, Edna Celina (née Melsness) McGough here.

In the process of that research, I registered for an account with Newspapers.com, which features a wealth of digitized newspapers from around the world. Cross-referencing these with family tree sites, military drafts, and census information has allowed me to feel closer to my long-gone ancestors than I ever imagined. I had no idea, for instance, that my great-grandfather Arthur Lemke’s brother Albert died in a house fire which started when he fell while smoking a cigaret [sic]!

February was a good month for adventures in Classical music. For my birthday, Leah got me tickets to a Schubertiade performance by the Schubert Club, featuring local band Kiss the Tiger at a Saint Paul bar called Amsterdam. As a big Schubert fan, it was great to hear some new and traditional takes on his music.

*Schubertiade at Amsterdam featuring Kiss the Tiger*

I got to record my second opera in February: Snowy Day, as performed by the Minnesota Opera. Joel Thompson composed Snowy Day in 2021, based on the 1962 children’s book of the same name by Ezra Jack Keats. It was a lovely opera, and since I was recording it for work, I got to see it four times (during rehearsals) prior to the opening night recording. Check out a promo from the production below!

Then, back at MPR HQ, I got to record audio for countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen and pianist John Churchwell, as they performed music of Robert and Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Wolfgang Korngold. I’ll likely post a video of that in the next month as well.

Something fun

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Something fun 〰️

Something fun that we did in February was taking Churro to Pug Night at Unleashed Hounds and Hops in the North Loop of Minneapolis. Beer and pugs: what could be better? I counted about 40 other pugs, and of course dozens of other breeds. We even met another fawn pug named Churro and talked to her parents for a while too.

The Human Caterpillar *of pugs named Churro*

*Churro giving strong “can we go home now” vibes*

Until we meet again, dear reader, keep breathing!

Joshua Sauvageau 1/26/25 Joshua Sauvageau 1/26/25

January 2025 Recap!

Happy New Year, dear readers.

How long do you leave your holiday decorations up? On a New Year’s Eve walk with Churro, I counted several limp Frasier Firs piled up next to garbage cans. I heard on the radio that January 6 is one “traditional date” for taking down the Christmas tree and removing the lights from the eaves. My birthday is January 7, so in our home, Mom always left the decorations up until January 8, at my insistence. This year, we took ours down on the 18th. I always prefer to hold out longer than most, because winter is just so damn long. The darkness is so damn long. Christmas and the New Year come so early in the winter. What’s the rush to remove all the lovely decor?

For me, this month has been marred by trepidation. Trepidation about the state of our country and of the world. Trepidation about Mother Nature. Trepidation about social media and about AI. And—least importantly of all—trepidation about writing.

Social media use is on the decline it seems. At least in the circles I run in, the Meta-verse has become too odious to endure. Hear hear. It’s about fucking time. For someone who posts as often as I do (which is on the order of twice a day!), I am at last abandoning Facebook and Instagram. Threads was initially lauded as a viable alternative to X, but I am already tired of it’s vacuous algorithm. The fate of TikTok seemed sealed for a moment, but I’ve never understood the attraction, nor had any interest in creating an account. I spent some time this month starting up a Bluesky account and a Substack—which I’ve been putting off for too long. And I’ve been communicating with other friends on Discord and Signal. My only reason for remaining on the old-fashioned Facebooks and Instagrams was to keep in touch with my friends and family. Those platforms have obviously become less about connection and more about unchecked aggression, anonymous trolling, and an obscene amount of marketing for sub-standard consumer goods. YOU know what I’m talking about. Part of the reason I wanted to start this website was to spend less time on social media, and ideally, bring some of you along with me. (Thanks for reading this, by the way)

Speaking of my Substack, I posted a few older pieces there: a poem from 2022, a flash fiction piece from 2021, this prose piece from the same year, and a relatively new poem.

With the inauguration and all, I felt it fitting to post this Propagandhi song which I covered/recorded in 2020. It describes the gravitas our “leaders” should experience, but too often do not.

Nipples-deep

>>

Nipples-deep >>

Running? Yes. I’m nipples-deep in training for a spring 50k, which my Trail Pushers Alysha and Tommy dragooned upon me. Seriously, I’ve been needing the nudge to sign up for something longer than a 10k, so I was grateful to hear that they were signing up and urged me to join them. It will be my first ultra since Tommy and I ran the Grand Canyon in 2019. The 2025 Ice Age 50k takes place May 10, two weeks after Leah runs the Big Sur Marathon.

Another race that has been on my radar since 2018 is the Superior Trail Race. This one takes place north of Duluth, through scenic Crosby Manitou State Park, up through the Caribou Highlands and finishing in Lutsen. I haven’t run a 50-miler since September 2019, but I put my name in the hat for the lottery. On 1/18 I was notified of my acceptance to the race(!), which takes place September 6. Looks like a boatload of training coming up in 2025.

In keeping with the theme of trepidation, I applied for acceptance at a writing retreat here in our fair state. The Tofte Lake Center hosts two week-long residencies—one in June and one in September. It’s been a decades-long dream to spend time in nature, writing—without the distractions of work or social media (see above). I won’t be notified one way or the other until May 1.

I have also been working on a long-form essay to post here, dealing with my somewhat traumatic New Year’s Eve 2016. However, I’m not sure I am ready to share this one with the world yet.

I took myself to see a $5 matinee showing of Nosferatu on my birthday. I highly recommend it. I was particularly struck by the sound design as well as the camera-work and lighting. The last scene is beautiful and will haunt your dreams.

I’ve also been shooting film, and playing with double-exposures. Here’s one of my favorites that came from processing my most recent roll:

While I haven’t written much, I have made some bonkers videos over the past couple of months. I bought a 35mm / f0.95 lens last summer, Leah gave me a sweet little Aputure light for my birthday, and I’ve mainly been filming these abominations in order to get some post-production reps on both DaVinci Resolve and ProTools. Incidentally, I HATE shooting and editing 9:16—another symptom of our society’s hopeless addiction to TikTok and our devices. Make Landscape Sexy Again!

One clear highlight for the month was a visit from four dear Chicago friends: Tommy, Margaret, Alysha, and Chris. They were here in the Twin Cities for the annual Pond Hockey Tournament on Lake Nokomis. Tommy and I went on a couple of runs, wandered around the Como Conservatory and Zoo for the first time, and saw Frank Black at First Ave (Tommy’s first time there). We all cheered Chris’s hockey team, the Skateful Dead, and drank Labatt 1% over 18” of frozen lake ice. It’s always a special occasion when we can get together, along with our Saint Paul friends, Peter and Kristen, but this visit deserved a proper toasting, so we had cocktails at Gori Gori Peku (a Japanese whiskey bar), followed by a stunning meal at Owamni. I am still doubled over in pain from laughing, which is typical whenever this group assembles.

With all the trepidation in our individual lives and in the world, it’s nice to recall that spending time with loved ones can ease the burden—however fleetingly. Until next time, try to find peaceful moments and stay well, friends.

Joshua Sauvageau 12/28/24 Joshua Sauvageau 12/28/24

2024 Highlights!

Aura

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Rizz

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Simp

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Ick

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Aura 〰️ Rizz 〰️ Simp 〰️ Ick 〰️

**NOLA with friends. Technically Dec 27-30 2023, but who’s counting? What a time to travel. No Christmas closings, no New Years mobs. Idealistic. Best friends, better times in that historic, jazz-filled jelly roll of a southern town.

**Receiving a Third Place (CASH PRIZE) in the Deanna Tulley Memorial Multimedia Poetry contest for my piece: “A Lonely Undergrad Wanders Into Gorilla Sushi on a Friday Night”.

**Many of these highlights are work-related. Please forgive me, but I feel immense gratitude that I get to work in a field (and for an organization) that allows me to use my creativity. I know that not everyone can say that about their work. I am honored to have this position. In February, I trekked to Duluth with my colleagues Derek and Evan. There, we set up shop in an old Masonic Lodge which we converted into a concert hall for one evening. Among the three musical acts we recorded: Aby Wolf and Eric Mayson (performing on the Masonic Lodge’s pipe organ!). I directed video, operated cameras and did the video post-production for this. Derek Ramirez captured audio and was FOH audio engineer, and Evan Clark piloted the ship, setting up all the lighting, operating cameras, and making sure I wasn’t fucking anything up too badly.

Check out “Eyes On Me” at 38:33

**Later in February, more work colleagues Evan Clark, Alex Simpson, Megan Lundberg and I set up at a Minneapolis bar—the Hook and Ladder—for The Current’s Winter Digout with local band Kiss the Tiger and two Chicago groups that blew my socks off: Friko and Brigitte Calls Me Baby. I was on audio for this one and did the mixes for Friko and Kiss the Tiger:

**Only a couple of weeks after the Winter Digout, I got to do a live classical broadcast, again with my colleagues Evan Clark and Megan Lundberg. This was the Before Bach’s Birthday Bash Banger with Michael Barone (host of Pipedreams). I did the audio capture and mix for live broadcast on YourClassical and YouTube live.

**April was a busy month at the office! It was Minnesota Music Month, so we had a plethora of live music events to capture and produce over that month. Governor Tim Walz (before becoming Kamala Harris’s VP pick) stopped by MPR HQ and declared April 10 Minnesota Music Day. But five days before that, my colleagues and I ventured to the Turf Club in Saint Paul to record four music acts, including the legendary Minnesotan, and co-founder of Low, Alan Sparhawk. This was only a few short months after the passing of his beloved wife and partner Mimi. I was a camera operator and did the video post-production for Sparhawk’s performance. I wish we could have captured some of the more sublime moments (his haunting songs to Mimi), but due to some unforeseen technical issues, we were only able to release a few of the songs.

**Another highlight of April was my brother-in-law Adam and 9-year-old nephew Fischer coming to town to see the World Series 2024-bound Dodgers beat up on the Twinkies. We had great seats to watch Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani knock the Twins around.

*Moments before Fischer took a leak in the Metro bus stop*

**Still in April…on a Saturday, I was asked to come into the studio to record Frank Turner on our glorious Neve console at MPR. He was a good dude. My colleague Peter was on video for this one.

**It wasn’t ALL work, of course. On the last weekend of April, I ran the Chippewa Trail 20-miler in northwestern Wisconsin. Leah and Churro were my support squad as I finished my longest race since 2019!

**We also got to go to Chicago twice, for a pair of weddings! Once in May for Lily and EZ and again in July to witness the wedding of dear-dear friends Margaret & Tommy. These were some of the happiest times of the year!

Screenshot 2024-12-28 at 10.11.27 AM.png

**Leah and I like to treat each other to nice dinners out every so often, and 2024 was filled with new and delicious restaurants. Monteverde in Chicago with Russell and Stephanie, High Five ramen and Pequods (in the same day!) with Leah, Peter, and Kris, then in Minneapolis: Nixta, Kim’s (RIP), Owamni (the best meal I’ve had since we moved to the Twin Cities), and Kahluna…even though I forgot my Lactaid at home and subsequently destroyed their restroom, it was a delicious meal. Would definitely go again.

**One of my proudest moments of 2024 was releasing an album in June. Even before I could afford my first piece of recording gear, I dreamed of one day recording an album. 2024 was the thirtieth anniversary of playing in my first band and discovering shows at the Minot Collective Cultural Centre, so I planned my album An Echo in the Dark around bands that I have played in through the years. It was a fun project, but I don’t think I’ll be undertaking another any time soon. You can hear the album wherever you listen to music, but my Electronic Press Kit video may have gotten the best reception of all:

**Another work-related highlight was recording the band Shannon & The Clams at the Current studios. I was unfamiliar with their music at the time I recorded the audio, but instantly fell in love with their sound, and even more so, the heart-wrenching story behind their new album. You’ve got to see the interview here:

**I told you my job was rad, right? So then the day after Shannon & The Clams, I got to direct and post-produce a video for Iron & Wine in our studio. I loved this song in particular. Sam was such a humble, sweet dude.

**One week after Iron & Wine, Leah and I set out on our annual June pilgrimage to Duluth. 3RUN2 crew was there {in force} for Grandma’s Marathon and the Garry Bjorlund Half. So nice to see old friends that weekend and run a race in favorable conditions.

**During the first week of August, I flew to Vermont with my colleague Jeanne to record some content for YourClassical MPR’s Performance Today. I was directing video for these interviews between host Fred Child and many of the classical luminaries who attended Marlboro Music Festival 2024. Vermont was gorgeous!

**In late summer, I got to see some dear friends from Minot, who I haven’t seen in 23 years! Best buddy from high school days, BJ Moore was in town playing with his excellent band Oriska. It was so nice to reconnect with him. Then old friends Brent Braniff and Nick Leet visited me in September. I took them on a tour of MPR and Brent took some pictures of me back at our home. Man, these visits were food for the soul.

**Also in September, I got to direct and post-produce video of LEGENDS Gillian Welch and David Rawlings for Radio Heartland. They were amazing to work with! This video has already received over 60,000 views on YouTube:

**October 6 was a busy day! Leah and I ran the TC 10 miler that morning. She was running ahead of me until the last half mile, at which point I managed to catch up to her and we crossed the finish line together…

**But we only had a few hours to recover because I had my first-ever poetry reading that afternoon! Thanks to Paul VanDyke from Veterans Telling Stories, who invited me to read during the Sogn Valley Art Festival at the Cannon Falls VFW. What an experience. I loved sharing my poetry with the small crowd there and meeting the other veteran writers.

…and then later that evening, we saw Michael Kiwanuka and Brittney Howard at The Palace. Speaking of concerts, so much good live music in 2024: Arlo Parks, Scrunchies, Carnage the Executioner, Monica LaPlante with Tommy, Christy Costello with cousin Adam, Mates of State, Al Church at the MN State Fair, Vikingur Olafson playing the Goldberg Variations! Dillinger Four with Adam & Peter, Charles Lloyd at Ordway with Peter and Tommy. Great year for concerts.

**In October, we had a visit from Tommy (Margaret was very busy working with the election on the horizon), and in November, Rick & Jenny were here. So nice to see Chicago friends in Saint Paul.

**On the writing front, it’s been a relatively quiet year, however, in October, I had my first-ever prose piece published in Slippery Elm {2024}. The editor of the journal really must have enjoyed the piece, because I learned in late November that he nominated it for a Pushcart Prize! Quite an honor to be nominated, and truly a highlight of my year.

**In November, I traveled twice to Duluth and once to Moorhead for work and then again to Fargo for Thanksgiving Day at Lacey and Adam’s place. I can’t remember the last time I was home for Thanksgiving. But no highlight reel would be complete without mentioning all the family time we were fortunate to have this past year. Thanksgiving with Mom, Dad, Lacey, Adam, Fischer & Selah, Christmases with Leah’s family, Leah’s grandma’s 90th birthday celebration/family reunion in South Dakota, lake time with Lacey, Adam, Mom and Dad, lake time with Leah’s aunt and uncle, drop-ins and visits from Mom, Leah’s family, and more, were all reminders of why living in Minnesota is so important. Although we couldn’t go to Las Vegas in November for a family reunion due to Election season and all, it was nice to see family on the regular.

**A final highlight I’ll mention is the Quilt of Valor ceremony that I got to experience with Dad at Thanksgiving. Big thanks to George and Denise for bringing our family together in that way. It was a very proud moment for me, and I’m sure for Dad as well.