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.

Soren Le’go’ Page

by Parker Lehman
PHS Press staff member

Soren LePage of Woodbury

Lego stop motion is a technique has been around for years and is a favored medium for PHS’s very own Soren LePage, 15 years old from Woodbury MN.

The popularity of this medium reached an all time high after The Lego Movie grossed $468,000,000 making it the 13th highest grossing animation of all time. They used a mix of computer generated and stop motion Lego animation.

 In Lego stop motion a scene is set up then the Lego figures are moved in incredibly small increments taking a picture each time. About 4 years ago as LePage was watching Forrestfire101, a well known Lego animator, and decided to try his hand at animation. He set up his Legos and prepared to take thousands of photos. When asked why he enjoyed it he responded, “Because I play God.”

Meet PHS Guitar Instructor Joe Filipovich

Get to know Planet Homeschool guitar instructor Joe Filipovich (jfmusiclessons.com). Video and interview by Parker Lehman and Malachi Johnson.

Joe is a guitar teacher who offers lessons at PHS. He has almost thirty years of guitar experience and has been teaching for five years. You can contact him at http://www.jfmusiclessons.com or through the PHS website.

All smile now

The spring 2015 staff of the PHS Press includes (back row, left to right): Parker Lehman, Soren LePage, Solomon Midwinter and Tyler Skidmore. Front row: Aurora Pass, Amity Neubauer, Bridger Berg and Malachi Johnson. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen Pettit)

Meet PHS Press staff: Tyler Skidmore

by Parker Lehman
PHS Press Staff

Tyler Skidmore (Photo by Soren LePage)

Tyler Skidmore

Age:15

Home town: Spokane, Washington

Favorite book: “I don’t like books.”

Song of the week: This is The Time-Nothing More

Favorite magazine: GQ

Favorite activity: Drawing stuff

What do you like most about PHS: All the peeps.

Why Did You Join PHS Press Staff: Because I liked it better then the other classes.

What do you like to write: Books.

Meet PHS Press Staff: Parker Lehman

Parker Lehman (Photo by Soren LePage)

by Tyler Skidmore
PHS Staff member

Parker Lehman
age: 16
City/Town: Houlton, WI
Favorite Book: Words of Radiance
Song of the week: Pigs (Three Different Ones) - Pink Floyd
Favorite Magazine: Mad
Favorite Thing To Do: Guitar
What Do You Like Most About PHS: Community
Why Did You Join PHS Press Staff: Intend to write
Favorite Thing To Write: Music Stuff

Paavo Downing began playing guitar on a Fender Mini

Paavo Downing (Photo by Emily Weinlick)

by Parker Lehman

PHS Press staff member

Paavo Downing is one of our reporters here at the PHS Press. In his Meet the Staff interview, he talked about learning to play guitar. 

He got in to guitar for kicks 5 years ago on a Fender mini. He self taught for the most part using the internet as a guide. He also got help from his dad. Later he started playing a Marshall Kelly, as well as a Yamaha. 

Mostly he plays Indi and Rock and Roll. He will sometimes play with his dad in their basement.

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.