Chris Strouth

Strouth was raised in Fridley, Minnesota. He became interested in art and music at an early age, learning how to experiment with tape recorders at age seven.{{cite podcast |url=https://www.legacymatterspodcast.com/episodes/legacy-matters-episode-34-paris-1919 |title= Episode 34: Chris Strouth |website=Legacy Matters |publisher= Kinetic Legacy|date=17 June 2019 |time= 15:15 |access-date=8 October 2019 }}

Strouth has been heavily involved in the Twin Cities arts and music community from a young age. His early work included curating multimedia events incorporating art and electronic music at underground art spaces including Rifle Sport Gallery,{{Citation|last=Scholtes |first=Peter S. |title=Bring in the Noise – From Wrong's free-improv chaos to Savage Aural Hotbed's circle-saw precision, a disparate local noise scene maps the sound of modern anxiety |newspaper=City Pages |date=September 9, 1998 |url=http://www.citypages.com/1998-09-09/arts/bring-in-the-noise/full/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150423230627/http://www.citypages.com/1998-09-09/arts/bring-in-the-noise/full/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 23, 2015 }} Hair Police{{Citation | last = Boyles | first = Jen | title = Cut Short: Remembering Sonia Peterson, chief of the Hair Police and scenester extraordinaire | newspaper = City Pages | date = May 12, 2004 | url = http://www.citypages.com/2004-05-12/news/cut-short/full/ | access-date = April 24, 2015 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20150424013418/http://www.citypages.com/2004-05-12/news/cut-short/full/ | archive-date = April 24, 2015 | url-status = dead }} and Red Eye Collaboration.{{Citation | last = Meyer | first = Jim | title = Mood School | newspaper = City Pages | url = http://www.citypages.com/1995-10-04/music/mood-school/ | date = October 4, 1995 | access-date = 2014-09-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100929201132/http://www.citypages.com/1995-10-04/music/mood-school/ | archive-date = September 29, 2010 | url-status = dead }} The day after his high school graduation in 1986, Strouth began volunteering at Rifle Sport on Minneapolis' then-notorious Block E.{{cite news |last=Strouth |first=Chris |title=Makes No Sense At All: Autumn is the peak season for the Smiths |url= http://www.citypages.com/music/autumn-is-the-peak-season-for-the-smiths-6647349|work=City Pages |location=Minneapolis |access-date=8 October 2019 }} He quickly became publicity director, and eventually managed the space. At the same time, Strouth was a member of the fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon's chapter at the University of Minnesota. On the podcast Legacy Matters, he said that even though his art-punk sensibility wasn't an obvious match for a straitlaced organization such as DKE ("I had blue hair and a cape when I pledged," he noted), "I liked this idea of having a connection greater than myself. At a time when I was absolutely rootless, I needed something that gave me roots, because I didn't have family to connect to. It was really kind of powerful."{{cite podcast |url=https://www.legacymatterspodcast.com/episodes/legacy-matters-episode-34-paris-1919 |title= Episode 34: Chris Strouth |website=Legacy Matters |publisher= Kinetic Legacy|date=17 June 2019 |time= 1:24:04 |access-date=8 October 2019 }}

As a performer, Strouth has played in a range of styles including techno, jazz, and punk.{{Citation | last = Van Denburg | first = Hart | title = Twitter may save Chris Strouth's life | newspaper = City Pages | url = http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/11/twitter_saved_c.php | date = November 25, 2009 | access-date = 2014-10-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131119081618/http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/11/twitter_saved_c.php | archive-date = November 19, 2013 | url-status = dead }} He has also worked frequently as an organizer of entire scenes of bands, typified by the electronica collective Future Perfect Sound System, which he founded in 1995.

The collective was an important early exponent of electronic music and rave culture in the Midwest, receiving favorable comparisons to Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia events.{{Citation | last = Scholtes | first = Peter S. | title = Yes Future! Ousia breaks up. Ana Voog leaves her bedroom. The mother ship of knob-twiddling electronic music descends | newspaper = City Pages | date = 27 May 1998 }} Future Perfect performed frequently at First Avenue nightclub, the Walker Art Center, Weisman Art Museum,{{cite journal | title = Future Perfect X Takes The Stand | journal = Sounding Board | volume = 27 | page = 23 | date = 2000 }} and other galleries, with showcases that sometimes drew more than 30 performers,{{Citation | last = Groebner | first = Simon-Peter | title = Swing Backward, Drone Ahead: The Future's Imperfect and the Past Is Always Here | newspaper = City Pages | date = December 2, 1998 | url = http://www.citypages.com/1998-12-02/music/swing-backward-drone-ahead/full/ | access-date = April 24, 2015 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20150424013420/http://www.citypages.com/1998-12-02/music/swing-backward-drone-ahead/full/ | archive-date = April 24, 2015 | url-status = dead }}{{Citation | last = Smith | first = Rod | title = Hooked on Sonics: Two young curators with strikingly different styles make Sonic Circuits a joltingly diverse electronic-music festival | newspaper = City Pages | date = November 1, 2000 | url = http://www.citypages.com/2000-11-01/music/hooked-on-sonics/full/ | access-date = 2014-09-21 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20150424013614/http://www.citypages.com/2000-11-01/music/hooked-on-sonics/full/ | archive-date = April 24, 2015 | url-status = dead }} and released two albums, 1997's Music For Listening{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000235131|tab=review |label="Future Perfect Sound System: Music for Listening" |first= Tom |last= Schulte |accessdate=April 3, 2015}} and 2001's The Nature of Time.{{cite journal | last = Whalley | first = Ian | title = The Nature of Time (review) | journal = Computer Music Journal | volume = 27 | issue = 1 | page = 97 | date = Spring 2003| url = http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/cmj/summary/v027/27.1whalley02.html | doi = 10.1162/comj.2003.27.1.97 | s2cid = 44849976 }}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000014068|tab=review |label="Future Perfect: The Nature of Time" |first= François |last= Couture |accessdate=April 3, 2015}}{{cite news |last= Loco Nordin |first=Ingvar |url=http://www.sonoloco.com/rev/innova/558/future.html |title=Future Perfect; The Nature of Time |work=Sonoloco Record Reviews |date=2001 |access-date=2014-08-30 }}

In 2009, Strouth founded another musical collective, Paris 1919, named for the post-World War I artistic renaissance. The project was founded shortly before his diagnosis with kidney disease, and Strouth's compositions for the band often deal with his illness and recovery. For instance, the short piece "Blood Mountain" is about Strouth's experience on dialysis, and bases its core rhythms on those of dialysis machines.{{cite web | title = Artist's Statement | url = http://paris-1919.com/statement/ | website = Paris 1919 | access-date = April 23, 2015| date = November 12, 2010 }} Paris 1919 began as a solo, studio-bound experiment in sonic collages; Strouth has described the music as sounding "weird and chaotic and structureless and purposely off-beat"{{Citation | last = Bahn | first = Christopher | title = Interview: Chris Strouth of Paris 1919 | newspaper = Onion A.V. Club | date = November 10, 2011 | url = http://www.avclub.com/twincities/articles/chris-strouth-of-paris-1919,64922/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111114052015/http://www.avclub.com/twincities/articles/chris-strouth-of-paris-1919%2C64922/ | archive-date = November 14, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }} but notes that it is also created from a painstaking process which may involve more than 1,000 edits.{{cite web | title = Artist's Statement | url = http://paris-1919.com/statement/ | website = Paris 1919 | access-date = April 23, 2015| date = November 12, 2010 }} It grew into a semi-improvisational live band with a rotating membership, which has performed a series of multimedia shows combining music, theater and dance in immersive environments, often working with choreographer Deborah Jinza Thayer. 2014's "Antarctica" used the theme of an ice cave to explore Strouth's journey through his kidney ailment and recovery.{{Citation | last = Tillotson | first = Kristin | title = Cold, cold art: Experimental musician Chris Strouth works out his post-kidney transplant alienation with 'Antarctica' | newspaper = Star Tribune | date = February 5, 2014 | url = http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/243758231.html }} The same year's "Safe As Houses" placed both performers and audience in a giant dollhouse as a metaphor for the housing crisis and Strouth's own loss of his home the year before.{{Citation | last = Fischer | first = Reed | title = Welcome to Chris Strouth's giant dollhouse | newspaper = City Pages | date = August 6, 2014 | url = http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2014/08/chris_strouth_safe_as_houses.php | access-date = April 24, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150429101729/http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2014/08/chris_strouth_safe_as_houses.php | archive-date = April 29, 2015 | url-status = dead }}{{Citation | last = Fischer | first = Reed | title = Chris Strouth's Safe As Houses | newspaper = City Pages | date = September 3, 2014 | url = http://www.citypages.com/2014-09-03/calendar/chris-strouth-s-safe-as-houses/full/ | access-date = April 24, 2015 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20150424013556/http://www.citypages.com/2014-09-03/calendar/chris-strouth-s-safe-as-houses/full/ | archive-date = April 24, 2015 | url-status = dead }}

Paris 1919 has also recorded and released several albums. Book Of Job was released in 2011 on Go Johnny Go Records.{{cite web | title = Go Johnny Go Records: Complete Catalog | url = https://gojohnnygojohnny.wordpress.com/complete-catalog/ | website = Go Johnny Go Records | access-date = April 23, 2015| date = July 7, 2009 }}{{Citation | last = Enright | first = Anthony | title = Paris 1919: "Book of Job" Release Show @ Ritz Theater | newspaper = L'Etoile Magazine | date = March 29, 2012 | url = http://www.letoilemagazine.com/2012/03/29/weekend-whats-what-329-41/ | access-date = April 24, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150501054900/http://www.letoilemagazine.com/2012/03/29/weekend-whats-what-329-41/ | archive-date = May 1, 2015 | url-status = dead }} Antarctica, a companion album to the stage performance, was released in 2017 by UltraModern Records.{{cite web |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Paris1919-Haunting-Minimalist-Score-Antartica-Out-Now-20170330 |title=Paris1919 Haunting, Minimalist Score 'Antartica' Out Now |date=2017-03-30 |website=Broadway World Music |access-date=2020-10-19}} In 2018, Strouth released Risking Light, a soundtrack album to director Dawn Mikkelson's documentary about forgiveness.{{cite news |last=Hewitt |first=Chris |url=http://www.startribune.com/in-metoo-era-minnesota-s-female-filmmakers-find-strength-in-realizing-they-re-not-alone/495070951/ |title= In #MeToo era, Minnesota's female filmmakers find strength in realizing they're 'not alone' |work=Star Tribune |location=Minneapolis |date=2018-10-03 |access-date=2018-10-30 }}{{cite news |last=DeCandido |first=Marisa |url=https://www.kare11.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/kare-11-sunrise/minneapolis-womans-powerful-story-of-forgiveness-featured-in-new-film/89-540030795 |title=Minneapolis woman's powerful story of forgiveness featured in new film |work=KARE-TV |location=Minneapolis |date=2018-04-16 |access-date=2018-10-30 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.riskinglight.com/about/ |title=About the Filmmakers |author= |website= Riskinglight.com |access-date=2018-10-29}} Although credited to Paris 1919, the album was written and performed by Strouth as a solo work.{{cite web |url=http://paris-1919.com/albums/ |title=Albums |author= |website=Paris1919.com |access-date=2018-10-29|date=June 8, 2018 }} A fourth album, Collected Short Fictions, was never released, but in 2022, Strouth compiled several of the songs intended for the album as the collection Future Archaeology, which consists of material originally recorded circa 2010 to 2012.

Strouth has also frequently led Paris 1919 in creating live soundtracks to silent films, including Alfred Hitchcock's The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog,{{Citation | last = Bahn | first = Christopher | title = Interview: Chris Strouth of Paris 1919 | newspaper = Onion A.V. Club | date = November 10, 2011 | url = http://www.avclub.com/twincities/articles/chris-strouth-of-paris-1919,64922/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111114052015/http://www.avclub.com/twincities/articles/chris-strouth-of-paris-1919%2C64922/ | archive-date = November 14, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }} and the 1930 mystery The Bat Whispers at the 2014 Minneapolis Comic-Con.{{cite web|author=Elliott Miller |url=http://voiceofe.com/2014/04/doctor-who-and-shatner-qa-plus-party-all-night-at-minneapolis-comic-con.html |title=Doctor Who and Shatner Q&A Plus Party All Night at Minneapolis Comic Con |publisher=Voice of E |date=2014-04-24 |access-date=2015-06-18}}

{{main|Snaildartha: The Story of Jerry the Christmas Snail}}

Strouth composed, produced and (with storyteller and comedian Matt Fugate) co-wrote the 2004 jazz and spoken-word holiday album Snaildartha: The Story of Jerry the Christmas Snail, which features a band including saxophonist George Cartwright of the jazz group Curlew.{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000347027|tab= |label="Snaildartha: Snaildartha: The Story of Jerry the Christmas Snail – A Soul Jazz Extravaganza" |first= |last= |accessdate=August 31, 2014}} Originally created in 1993 for a performance-art series at Red Eye Theater in Minneapolis, a revised version was recorded in 2003 and issued privately as a Christmas gift. The following year, the album was given a wider release by Innova Recordings. A remastered digital edition of Snaildartha was released by Stand Up! Records on November 13, 2020.{{cite podcast |url=https://www.kfai.org/player/?episode_id=25470 |title=11/12/2020 A.M. Drive |website=KFAI |host=Mason Butler |date=2020-11-12 |access-date=2020-11-12 }} The album has developed a cult following thanks to its regular inclusion in DJ Jon Solomon's daylong marathon of Christmas music on Princeton, New Jersey radio station WPRB-FM,{{cite web |url= http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2018/12/20/wprb-dj-jon-solomon-celebrates-30-years-of-christmas-marathons/ |title= WPRB DJ Jon Solomon Celebrates 30 Years of Christmas Marathons |last= Waits |first= Jennifer |date=2018-12-20 |website= Radio Survivor |access-date=2020-11-09}} as well as an annual Christmas broadcast on KFAI in Minneapolis. The album's reputation has continued to grow with time; in 2022, Vulture writer Maura Johnston named Snaildartha one of the 50 best Christmas albums of the last 30 years, calling it "an ideal lazy Christmas Day soundtrack" that "gets even better with repeated listenings."{{cite news |last=Johnston |first=Maura |author-link=Maura Johnston |date=2022-11-28 |title=The 50 Best Original Christmas Songs Since 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-new-christmas-songs-since-mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you.html |work=Vulture |location= |access-date=2023-10-12}}

In 2011, Strouth was a conductor for the four-act opera Czeslaw's Loop, performed live on a floating barge on the Mississippi River, which included performers as diverse as classical soprano Maria Jette, techno-pop group Information Society's Paul Robb, and Tom Hazelmyer of the punk band Halo of Flies.{{Citation | last = Swensson | first = Andrea | title = Czeslaw's Loop unites dozens of local musicians for massive riverside Art-A-Whirl project | newspaper = City Pages | date = April 27, 2011 | url = http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2011/04/czeslaws_loop_u.php | access-date = April 24, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130120213045/http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2011/04/czeslaws_loop_u.php | archive-date = January 20, 2013 | url-status = dead }}{{Citation | last = Regan | first = Sheila | title = Czeslaw's Loop: Where art meets the river meets music | newspaper = City Pages | date = May 18, 2011 | url = http://blogs.citypages.com/dressingroom/2011/05/czeslaws_loop_w.php | access-date = 2015-04-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141221024950/http://blogs.citypages.com/dressingroom/2011/05/czeslaws_loop_w.php | archive-date = December 21, 2014 | url-status = dead }}

In 2018, Paris 1919 performed ...For Now, a project combining symphonic, Eastern European, minimalistic, and Renaissance folk music elements, at the Church of St. Boniface in Minneapolis. Strouth joked to an interviewer for Minnesota Public Radio that ...For Now was his "middle-aged symphony to God," referencing Brian Wilson's description of the Beach Boys album Smile as a "teenage symphony to God."{{cite web |url=https://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2018/05/18/chris-strouth-paris-1919-goes-to-church-and-art-a-whirl |title=Chris Strouth's Paris 1919 goes to church, and Art-A-Whirl |last=Blain |first=Terry |date=2018-05-18 |website=Minnesota Public Radio |access-date=2020-10-19}}

Strouth's early band King Paisley and the Pscho-del-ics performed at Rifle Sport and released a nine-song album in 1986, Death Rockin{{'}}, which was re-released in 2011 on Go Johnny Go.

Besides composing and performing music, Strouth founded his own label, UltraModern Records, in 1995,{{Citation | title = La vida local: Inside the musical mind of Chris Strouth | newspaper = Star Tribune | date = October 28, 1999 | url = http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/11509711.html | archive-url = https://archive.today/20150424013235/http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/11509711.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 24, 2015 }} and was the director of artists and product at two other influential Minneapolis labels, Twin/Tone Records (1995–2001){{Citation | last = Van Denburg | first = Hart | title = Twitter may save Chris Strouth's life | newspaper = City Pages | url = http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/11/twitter_saved_c.php | date = November 25, 2009 | access-date = 2014-10-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131119081618/http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/11/twitter_saved_c.php | archive-date = November 19, 2013 | url-status = dead }}{{Citation | last = Smith | first = Rod | title = This is a recording: Local labels are redefining the way to make music | newspaper = City Pages | date = September 4, 2002 | url = http://www.citypages.com/2002-09-04/arts/this-is-a-recording/ | access-date = April 24, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100918194545/http://www.citypages.com/2002-09-04/arts/this-is-a-recording/ | archive-date = September 18, 2010 | url-status = dead }} and Innova Recordings (2001–2004).{{cite journal |title=The Innova label profiled|journal=Gramophone|year=2003|volume=81|issue=972|page=34}} At Innova, Strouth worked on albums by dozens of artists including Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, Beat Circus, Matthew Burtner, George Cartwright, Victoria Jordanova, Phillip Johnston, and Hyatt's Grammy-nominated album The Clouds.{{cite web |url=http://www.innova.mu/albums/stuart-hyatt/clouds |title=Innova Recordings: Stuart Hyatt, The Clouds |access-date=2014-08-31 }} Twin/Tone, already nationally prominent thanks to a roster including alternative-rock pioneers The Replacements, grew to develop an umbrella relationship with a dozen smaller indie labels, including UltraModern.{{cite web | title = Artists | url = http://www.twintone.com/ | website = Twin/Tone Records | access-date = April 23, 2015}}

UltraModern focused on neo-psychedelic, indie-pop,{{Citation | last = Meyer | first = Jim | title = Mood School | newspaper = City Pages | url = http://www.citypages.com/1995-10-04/music/mood-school/ | date = October 4, 1995 | access-date = 2014-09-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100929201132/http://www.citypages.com/1995-10-04/music/mood-school/ | archive-date = September 29, 2010 | url-status = dead }} and noise/electronic rock, releasing albums by musicians including ex-Wall Of Voodoo leader Stan Ridgway, jazz guitarist Skip Heller, Future Perfect Sound System, Ousia, and Savage Aural Hotbed. UltraModern received wider distribution through partnerships with Twin/Tone, Atomic Theory Records, and New West Records.{{Citation | last = Meyer | first = Jim | title = Mood School | newspaper = City Pages | url = http://www.citypages.com/1995-10-04/music/mood-school/ | date = October 4, 1995 | access-date = 2014-09-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100929201132/http://www.citypages.com/1995-10-04/music/mood-school/ | archive-date = September 29, 2010 | url-status = dead }} The label's catalog includes:

{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|

• Vinnie & The Stardüsters, "The Girl From Ipanema Wants To Kill Me" b/w "Quesadilla, Walk Around Naked" (7" vinyl single) (1995){{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Vinnie-The-Stard%C3%BCsters-The-Girl-From-Ipanema-Wants-To-Kill-Me-/release/4917190 |title=Vinnie & The Stardüsters - The Girl From Ipanema Wants To Kill Me (Vinyl) at Discogs |publisher=Discogs.com |access-date=2015-06-18}}
• Savage Aural Hotbed, Cold is the Absence of Heat (1996){{cite web|url=http://tt.net/trg/projects/89311.html |title=Savage Aural Hotbed - Cold is the Absence of Heat |publisher=Tt.net |access-date=2015-06-18}}
• The Vibro Champs, Stranger Than You Think (1996){{cite web|url=http://tt.net/trg/projects/89306.html |title=The Vibro Champs - Stranger Than You Think |publisher=Tt.net |access-date=2015-06-18}}
• Mindphaseone, A Wave Length Away (1997){{cite web|url=http://tt.net/trg/projects/89347.html |title=mindphaseone - a wave length away |publisher=Tt.net |access-date=2015-06-18}}
• Ousia, Why Is That A Four? (1997){{cite web|url=http://tt.net/trg/projects/89365.html |title=Ousia - Why Is That A Four |publisher=Tt.net |access-date=2015-06-18}}
• Savage Aural Hotbed, Pressure of Silence (1997){{cite web|url=http://tt.net/trg/projects/89314.html |title=Savage Aural Hotbed - Pressure of Silence |publisher=Tt.net |access-date=2015-06-18}}
• Skip Heller, Lonely Town (1997){{cite web|url=http://tt.net/trg/projects/89351.html |title=The Skip Heller Generation - Lonely Town |publisher=Tt.net |date=1997-03-11 |access-date=2015-06-18}}
• Skip Heller, St. Christopher's Arms (1998){{cite web|url=http://alliedchemical.com/blackops/bands/heller/arms.html |title=Skip Heller - St. Christopher's Arms |publisher=Alliedchemical.com |access-date=2015-06-18}}
• Various Artists, Future Perfect Sound System: Music For Listening (1998){{cite web|url=http://tt.net/trg/projects/89367.html |title=Future Perfect |publisher=Tt.net |access-date=2015-06-18}}
• Skip Heller, Couch, Los Angeles (1999){{cite web|url=http://alliedchemical.com/blackops/bands/heller/couch.html |title=Skip Heller - Couch, Los Angeles |publisher=Alliedchemical.com |access-date=2015-06-18}}
• Stan Ridgway, Anatomy (1999){{cite web|url=http://alliedchemical.com/blackops/ridgway/projects/anatomy.html |title=Stan Ridgway - Anatomy |publisher=Alliedchemical.com |access-date=2015-06-18}}
• Stan Ridgway, Holiday in Dirt (2002){{cite web |first=Mark |last=Deming |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000217370|pure_url=yes}}|title=Holiday in Dirt |website=Allmusic |access-date=August 31, 2014}}

}}

Strouth's documentary Unconvention: A Mix-Tape from St. Paul, RNC '08, filmed in 2008 and released in 2009, covered the contentious 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.{{cite web |url=http://www.alternavisionfilms.com/unconvention.html |title=Unconvention: A Mix-Tape from St. Paul, RNC '08 |publisher=Alternavision Films, Inc. |access-date=2014-09-02}} The film edits together a wide variety of film and video shot by dozens of independent journalists and citizen videographers with divergent political viewpoints, compiling a mosaic of perspectives on the four days of the convention.{{cite news|last=Crann|first=Tom|url=http://www.mprnews.org/story/2009/04/22/unconvention_qa|title=Director describes film as a 'mix tape' of the RNC|work=All Things Considered|publisher=MPR News |date=April 22, 2009 |access-date=2014-09-01 }} Unconvention was one of eight full-length features chosen to debut as part of the "Minnesota Made" series at the 2009 Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Film Festival.{{cite news |last=McClanahan |first=Erik |url=http://www.vita.mn/templates/Vitamn_Print_Article?id=43091272 |title=MSPIFF's Minndependents |work=City Pages |date=April 16, 2009 |access-date=2014-09-01 }}

Strouth and Minneapolis filmmaker Rick Fuller also co-produced a DVD companion to Stan Ridgway's Holiday in Dirt album featuring 14 short films based on Ridgway's songs, which was released in 2005.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/64161/billboard-bits-nba-all-star-game-petra-haden-ridgway|title=Billboard Bits: NBA All-Star Game, Petra Haden, Ridgway|magazine=Billboard|date=February 10, 2005|access-date=2014-10-17}} In 2006, they co-produced the documentary The M-80 Project, which chronicled a 1979 New Wave music festival at the Walker Art Center.{{cite web|url=http://www.atasite.org/2006/03/the-m-80-project/ |title=The M-80 Project – Artists' Television Access |publisher=Atasite.org |date=2006-03-30 |access-date=2015-06-18}} The original videotapes of the groundbreaking festival had gone missing soon after filming; Strouth spent several years trying to find them, and then several more securing music rights for the documentary. The finished film played at several festivals and other venues including Alamo Draft House, San Francisco's Noise Pop Film Festival, Minneapolis' Sound Unseen and the Northwest Film Forum, before one musician unexpectedly withdrew his permission to use footage of his band, eventually leading to the mothballing of the project.{{cite news |last= Tannenbaum |first= Rob |date= June 10, 2021 |title= In the '80s, Post-Punk Filled New York Clubs. Their Videos Captured It. |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/10/arts/music/new-york-new-music-post-punk.html |work=New York Times |location=New York City |access-date=2021-11-19 }}{{cite web |url= https://chrisstrouth.com/m-80/ |title= M-80 |last=Strouth |first=Chris |date=2011-11-16 |website=ChrisStrouth.com |publisher= |access-date=2021-11-19}}{{cite web |url= https://www.sfweekly.com/film/repertory-film-listings-69/ |title=Repertory Film Listings |last= |first= |date=2006-03-29 |website=SF Weekly |publisher= |access-date=2021-11-19}}{{cite web |url= https://www.tptoriginals.org/when-no-wave-hit-mid-america-m-80-a-new-no-now-wave-festival/ |title= When No-Wave Hit Mid-America: 'M-80: A New-No-Now Wave Festival' |last=Roth |first=David |date= March 4, 2021|website= TPT Originals |publisher=Twin Cities PBS |access-date=2021-11-19}}

From 1994 to 1996, Strouth produced the documentary series What, which covered the Minneapolis pop and rock scene, for Twin Cities public television station KTCA.{{cite news |last= Loco Nordin |first=Ingvar |url=http://www.sonoloco.com/rev/innova/558/future.html |title=Future Perfect; The Nature of Time |work=Sonoloco Record Reviews |date=2001 |access-date=2014-08-30 }}

In 2009, Strouth learned that he would need a kidney transplant due to the effects of IgA nephropathy{{Citation | last = Tillotson | first = Kristin | title = 'Friended' for life: A kidney that made Facebook history | newspaper = Star Tribune | date = March 10, 2010 | url = http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/86942962.html | access-date = April 24, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150429171855/http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/86942962.html | archive-date = April 29, 2015 | url-status = dead }} (which he nicknamed "Harold" as a way of coping with the disease).{{Citation | last = Van Denburg | first = Hart | title = Twitter may save Chris Strouth's life | newspaper = City Pages | url = http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/11/twitter_saved_c.php | date = November 25, 2009 | access-date = 2014-10-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131119081618/http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/11/twitter_saved_c.php | archive-date = November 19, 2013 | url-status = dead }} He found a matching donor, Scott Pakudaitis, after sharing the news with his followers on Twitter and Facebook, and underwent a successful transplant at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in December 2009. The two men never met in person until the day of the surgery.{{Citation | last = Van Denburg | first = Hart | title = Chris Strouth, Scott Pakudaitis share a Twitter kidney | newspaper = City Pages | url = http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/12/chris_strouth_s.php | date = December 9, 2009 | access-date = 2015-04-08 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110929185805/http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/12/chris_strouth_s.php | archive-date = September 29, 2011 | url-status = dead }}{{Citation | last = Van Denburg | first = Hart | title = Chris Strouth Tweets for a kidney: Twin Cities musician finds new life through social networking | newspaper = City Pages | url = http://www.citypages.com/2009-12-09/news/chris-strouth-tweets-for-a-kidney/full/ | date = December 9, 2009 | access-date = 2015-04-08 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20150424013537/http://www.citypages.com/2009-12-09/news/chris-strouth-tweets-for-a-kidney/full/ | archive-date = April 24, 2015 | url-status = dead }} It is believed to be the first such transplant arranged entirely through social networking.{{cite web|url=http://www.minnesotamedicine.com/Past-Issues/Past-Issues-2010/August-2010/Pulse-More-than-Friends-and-Followers-Aug-2010|title=More than Friends and Followers: Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of social media are connecting organ recipients with donors.|publisher=Minnesota Medicine|first=Kim|last=Kiser|date=August 2010 |access-date=2014-10-17}} The story received nationwide media attention on ABC News,{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/twitter-stories-site-highlights-action-inspiring-tweets/story?id=14865636|title='Twitter Stories': New Site Highlights Action-Inspiring Tweets|work=ABC News|first=Christina|last=Ng|date=November 2, 2011|access-date=2014-10-17}} Reader's Digest,{{cite web|url=http://www.rd.com/slideshows/6-ways-social-media-made-the-world-a-better-place/|title=6 Ways Social Media Made the World a Better Place|publisher=Reader's Digest|first=Alison|last=Caporino|date=February 7, 2013|access-date=2014-10-17}} MTV,{{cite web|url=http://act.mtv.com/posts/from-poop-strong-to-kidney-transplants-how-twitter-has-saved-lives/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814091538/http://act.mtv.com/posts/from-poop-strong-to-kidney-transplants-how-twitter-has-saved-lives/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 14, 2012|title=From Poop Strong to Kidney Transplants, How Twitter Has Saved Lives|publisher=MTV|first=Alexandra|last=Govere|date=August 9, 2012|access-date=2014-10-17}} and The Ricki Lake Show.{{Cite episode|title=To Share or Not to Share on Social Media|accessdate=2014-10-17|series=The Ricki Lake Show|network=20th Television|airdate=Oct 4, 2014|season=1|number=19|time=29:40|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPUc8xmukPA}} Following his recovery, Strouth has been a board member of the Minnesota chapter of the National Kidney Foundation since 2010. Strouth had a second kidney transplant in 2022.{{cite podcast |url=https://www.iheart.com/podcast/966-brian-oake-show-52811418/episode/ep-319-chris-strouth-116367028/ |title=Episode 319: Chris Strouth |website=The Brian Oake Show |publisher= |host=Brian Oake |date=June 1, 2023 |time= |access-date=2023-06-01}}

Strouth writes and illustrates the column "Makes No Sense at All" for the Minneapolis alt-weekly City Pages.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/makes_no_sense/ |title=Latest Minneapolis & St. Paul Music News and Events | Minneapolis City Pages |publisher=Blogs.citypages.com |access-date=2015-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429010501/http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/makes_no_sense/ |archive-date=April 29, 2015 |url-status=dead }} He has also written for publications such as The Growler{{cite web|url=http://growlermag.com/bourbon-not-just-for-breakfast-anymore/ |title=Bourbon: Not Just for Breakfast Anymore | Growler Magazine |publisher=Growlermag.com |date=2013-12-04 |access-date=2015-06-18}} and America Online's Digital City.{{cite news |last=Peter |first=Simon |url=http://www.citypages.com/1997-07-30/music/minnesota-music-online/full/ |title=Minnesota Music Online |newspaper=City Pages |date=1997-07-30 |access-date=2015-06-18 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150424013414/http://www.citypages.com/1997-07-30/music/minnesota-music-online/full/ |archive-date=April 24, 2015 |url-status=dead }}

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• [http://chrisstrouth.com/ Official website]
• [http://paris-1919.com/ Paris 1919 website]
• [http://soundcloud.com/paris1919 Paris 1919 Soundcloud page]
• [http://talesoftheidiot.com/ Tales of the Idiot, Strouth's blog]
• [http://www.ultramodern.org/ UltraModern Records website]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-KSC-cRmrQ Strouth's video "Social Media Saved My Life or How I got a Kidney from Twitter, and Facebook"]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPUc8xmukPA Strouth on The Ricki Lake Show (YouTube)]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L51T_lXMk1w University of Minnesota Medical Center-produced video "Life on Dialysis: One Patient's Story," featuring Strouth]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strouth, Chris}}

Category:1968 births

Category:Living people

Category:Musicians from Minnesota

Category:Musicians from Minneapolis

Category:Film directors from Minnesota

Category:Artists from Minnesota

Category:Kidney transplant recipients

Category:American film score composers