Wait, what is a Propane-a-phone?

by Parker Lehman
PHS Press staff member

Boiled in Lead

Boiled in Lead is a Minneapolis based band of an impossible to define genre. They kicked off on Saint Patrick’s Day 1983 and 15 years later released a compilation titled “Alloy”.

The Band is made up of Marc Anderson (drums and percussion), Dean Magraw (guitar) Todd Menton (vocals, guitar, mandolin, bodhran, whistle) Drew Miller (bass guitar, dulcimer) David Stenshoel (fiddle.)

Alloy kicks off with “Arpad's Guz,” a fast paced song that mixes a strange cymbal sound with an unidentifiable string instrument. The next track “House-Husband’s Lament” is rockabilly at its finest.

They go on combining the surreal, (“The Microorganism”) the silly, (“Rasputin”) and the serious (“The Dreadnaught”). Boiled in Lead pulls from a collection of 16 instruments including Electric guitar, Hurdy-gurdy, Propane-o-phone, and Zurna to craft a wonderful sound where you never know what will come next. The bass player Drew defines what exactly a Propane-a-phone is: “The propane-o-phone is some long metal pipes that, when you heat the column of air inside with a propane torch, it produces that special sound that only a propane-o-phone can.” They are used on “The Microorganism.”

After 32 years Boiled in Lead is still going strong. Check them out at http://www.boiledinlead.com/ or search YouTube for some of their music.

The Langer’s Ball Turns Seven in Style

by Parker Lehman
PHS staff member

“If you’re looking for straight ahead no frills Irish ballads with just a hint of razor blades and safety pins and American rock n roll this is for you,” said Mustard Finnegan, Celtic rock blogger. The Langer’s Ball is an Irish rock group based in the Twin Cities.

The group started with guitarist Michael Sturm and Hannah Rediske playing accordion and whistle. They began touring in 2007 and in 2008 they recorded As I Roved Out which was rated as Best Celtic Rock & Punk CD’s of ’08 from PaddyRock.com. In their 2009 follow up album Ship’s Are Sailing they experimented with a full band.

In 2010 The Langer’s Ball became a 5 piece band. They only managed one recording which became the live album Drunk, Sick, Tired, which placed on PaddyRock.com’s best of 2011 list. Shortly afterward the group dissolved back to just Michael and Hannah.

Late in 2011 Michael and Hannah hooked up with Derek Jaimes (Drums, Wild Colonial Boys.), Drew Miller (Bass, Boiled in Lead) and Trevor Jurgens (Guitar, Code 13). They recorded their first full band studio album The Devil or the Barrel, in 2012. 2013 brought a roster change as Trevor left the band and was replaced by Danny McDermott (Guitar).

When asked if there was anything they wanted to say they replied, “If you think you know The Langer’s Ball, check us out, we’ve grown into ourselves and I think you’ll like what we do. If you don’t know The Langer’s Ball…same thing, check it out." Now on tour in both the mid west and the eastern sea board, they released a new album 7 Year Itch to celebrate their 7 year anniversary. They were recording for a small Iowa radio station and released the recordings for FREE at https://thelangersball.bandcamp.com/album/7-year-itch. Just  click buy now and put in $0 or you could give them a donation if you wish.

Chester Bay Bucks trends in local music

When someone mentions they are in a local band many people immediately think of terrible garage rock and plugging your ears to make it stop. Chester Bay bucks that trend in a big way. An American Rock group that started at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, they are making waves in the Twin Cities music scene. Drawing influence from bands as diverse as Sublime, The Black Crows, The Beatles and Dispatch, they blend rock and roll with blues, reggae, ska and folk.

In the fall of 2005 Marcus Greely (drums) was on his way to try out for the UWEC hockey team when he heard lead guitarist Jake Bosben jamming in his dorm room. They started talking and Jake mentioned his brother Cory Bosben played bass. Over Christmas break Jake invited Marcus to his home in Rochester MN. A week later they played their first show. Their name, Chester Bay, comes from the names of the home towns of the band members, Rochester, MN and Green Bay, WI.

 Soon they were joined by guitarist Mike Salow. They started recording at the McNally Smith College of Music where a friend of theirs was working on a production degree. The sessions produced a demo that the band submitted to the Land Shark Lager Battle of the Bands. After winning the contest they got a record contract and a full page write up in the March 2010 issue of Rolling Stone. Marcus’s reaction to being able to go to a news stand and see their name in such an esteemed publication was “Pretty Cereal.” (sic)

Working on their second album they realized they needed more money to finish the album “how it should be.” Rather than looking for a record company’s support they went to the crowd funding site Kick Starter. The Kick Starter gained $6000 to finish the album which was released in 2013. In November of that year they recorded a show at Famous Dave’s BBQ and Blues Club in Uptown Minneapolis MN. They released the recording in May of 2014.

When asked about starting a band Marcus suggested trying to start a school group for people who play the same kind of music. His other suggestion was using Craigslist with as much care as possible. If problems were to arise you should be vocal and talk out the problem. See their Facebook page for more info and upcoming show dates or check them out on Youtube.