With twangy guitars, luscious harmonies, B3 organ blasts, honky-tonk piano and a horn section, j.bell & the Lazy Susan Band straddles Americana, Blues & Country, while maintaining that they are simply “straight up rock & roll”. Influenced by Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Old 97s, Counting Crows, Soul Asylum and many more, this Minnesota rock band always delivers energetic and memorable shows. Since 2001, they have released six full-length records, two EPs, and a live album, while juggling performances all over the upper Midwest as well as in Arizona and Mexico.
Members & History
j. bell was born, raised and honed his musical and songwriting chops on the muddy banks of the Mississippi River. Always drawn to music, he has played nearly every instrument over the course of his life, but was never drawn to anything like he was drawn to the guitar. He can’t quite remember when he started playing in bands, but he has lots of memories of gathering in neighborhood garages and making noise with countless groups of kids. Eventually he started writing songs when he discovered Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Willie Nelson. Later he found the same draw in bands like the Counting Crows, Soul Asylum, Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, and the Jayhawks.
In the mid nineties, he released several indie cassettes with the performance art-rock band “Doc’s Kids” before settling in with “Urban Rust”, a band comprised of other songwriters who released a couple of CDs. After Urban Rust, j. bell focused on playing solo acoustic shows and put out a couple of records of just him and a guitar before realizing how much he missed having a band. Always torn between wanting to perform quietly with an acoustic guitar and a flute, and wanting to jump off of flaming Marshall stacks while screaming, his writing style hops from genre to genre. It’s been called “twang rock”, “alt country”, “roots rock”, “Americana” and just about everything else you’d imagine. j. bell and the Lazy Susan Band (aka the LSB) simply think of it as straight up rock & roll.
In 2003, j. bell and the LSB released its first studio album, you…up in lights. Performing as a trio, the band pursued the songs on that record in a way that tried to push them into a twangy, pop rock envelope. The next year the band wrapped up a long “house band” stint and decided to commemorate it by recording an unplugged acoustic show. The result was the 2004 CD Live @ Doc’s Landing, which featured songs from “up in lights” and from the studio album the band was working on. In 2006, j. bell & the LSB released what was thought to be their final record, Something Else Entirely. The band continued performing, but at a reduced pace that gave members time to handle life events and pursue other opportunities.
Seven years later, j. bell tried a “bucket list” idea: to write, produce, engineer, record, mix, sing and play every note on a record himself, resulting in $80 Whiskey. The goal was to let this collection of songs be what it wanted to be. Eclectic at best…all over the place at worst…but honest. As he prepared to release the CD, he pulled together a new incarnation of the LSB to promote it, including longtime collaborator BPZMAG and $2 Bill Turner. Newly energized by $80 Whiskey, the band recorded and released a classic LSB band album titled Underneath a Minnesota Moon in 2016, then released a concept album called Greetings from Apocalyptic Falls in 2018.
In 2019 and 2020, they recorded and pressed a full-length record, Unreliable Witness, their most collaborative effort to date. It contains a wide variety of sounds, from 90’s alt-rockers to bouncy numbers that’ll make you feel “like driving down a country road knocking over a farm stand”, according to Adventures in Americana. Unfortunately, the launch was planned just before the Covid-19 pandemic started, postponing the release of Unreliable Witness at the Amsterdam Bar and Hall until October 2021.
In 2022, J.Bell recorded a 5-song, self-titled EP with studio musicians and released it at the Aster Cafe on April 9. Then on June 4, the LSB released a brand new 5-song EP with crowd favorites “I Liked You Better” and “Windswept Way” at the Midway Saloon in St. Paul. Titled Waitin’ on Better Weather, this EP demonstrates the Lazy Susan Band sound like no other recording.
At the start of 2023, fans at the January Jam Festival were treated to six performances from the full LSB. That short tour between Arizona and New Mexico set the stage for a years’ worth of new, familiar, and rewarding performances.
Currently you can find the band playing both “acoustic trio” and “full band” shows in Minnesota and Wisconsin, promoting their latest albums and entertaining every audience they can find.
Current LSB Members
Kent Mortimer is technically the newest member of the LSB, joining in 2015. Kent is a Minneapolis music mainstay, a killer drummer and once had the Mayor of Minneapolis declare “Kent Mortimer Day” for all of the contributions he’s made to the scene. Kent is also a fountain of knowledge about rock music in general, and “the Minneapolis Sound” in particular. His mission on stage is to make sure the LSB always “rocks fully”. (Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie, Jr.)
Brian Zirngible- aka BPZMAG, has been j. bell’s musical partner in crime since 1996. The two also make up the art-folk-rock-acoustic-comedy-trombone-pop act “Doc’s Kids”. BPZMAG is best described a “roots rock hype man” like a pasty Flava Flav in Western wear. In addition to significant songwriting contributions, he brings trombone, auxiliary percussion, and harmony vocals to the LSB…but most importantly he brings the rock. Although he’s been spinning with the Susan on and off since the band’s inception, BPZMAG officially joined the LSB as a full time member with the 2013 $80 Whiskey release and he sits first chair in the Lazy Ass Brass section. (Photo Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie, Jr.)
$2 Bill Turner and j. bell crossed paths while playing with “Shotgun Johnson & the Mississippi 7” when j. bell couldn’t be bothered to remember to bring his charts to shows and $2 let him peek at his iPad. By playing keys, trumpet, and occasional guitar, $2 brings energy, harmony vocals, excitement and texture to the LSB and has contributed to songwriting efforts on multiple albums. As second member of the Lazy Ass Brass section, his versatility is a critical part of the band’s identity and sound. (Photo credit: Syephen R. Sylvanie, Jr.)
Mike Dolbow, aka “Mike D.“, first joined the LSB after the “you…up in lights” release in 2003, playing bass in between episodes of falling off the stage. Mike’s smooth bass lines were featured on the “Live @ Doc’s Landing” recording, and about half of the tracks on “Something Else Entirely”. In 2006, Mike went into “rock retirement” to focus on his bonsai tree habit, but was coaxed back in 2017 when Justin asked him to fill in for Tom Adams in promoting “Underneath a Minnesota Moon”. Since then, he has gleefully contributed to Apocalyptic Falls, Unreliable Witness, and Waitin’ on Better Weather by co-writing a song with Justin, writing bass parts, and making an occasionally helpful production suggestion. Mike only accepts gig payments in the form of tacos, tequila, and hot tub time. (Photo credit: Syephen R. Sylvanie, Jr.)
Click the thumbnails below for more pictures of j. bell & the Lazy Susan Band in action!
Former Members
Tom Adams started spinning with the Lazy Susan in 2003 as a go to sub on bass and rhythm guitar. His rock solid foundation made it impossible for the Susan to spin without him and he joined the band full time in 2006 shortly after the LSB released “Something Else Entirely”. Tom played in countless bands across the upper Midwest over the years and his extensive rock and roll experience paid off in spades with us. Tom left the Lazy Susan life in 2017 but is occasionally spotted in the crowd at gigs.
Ben Young drummed with Justin and BPZMAG in the first incarnation of Doc’s Kids, played in Urban Rust, and was part of the Lazy Susan Band from its incarnation until just after the $80 Whiskey release. Ben also sang harmony vocals with Justin, and even took the lead vocal mic for an occasional cover. Ben’s solid drumming and vocal chops served the LSB well for many years.
Rob Weaver, aka “The Weave”, played acoustic guitar with the LSB from 2003 to 2007, helping promote “you…up in lights”, making fun of Justin’s stories on “Live @ Doc’s Landing”, and losing his pick for “Something Else Entirely”. Known for his Chicago suburb soul, The Weave even took on lead vocals during our cover of “Ghostbusters”. Nowadays you can catch Weaver planning ski trips and pursuing copyrights for his many famous phrases, such as “There’s no rockin’ without the Alvarez”.
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