Happy dawg days of summer, LSB fans! Friendly neighborhood bass player Mike D. here checking in for yet another website update. As we ride out the heat and look forward to the state fair, I’ve realized that fall is just around the corner. That must be why my kids are all so miserable…back to school shopping takes a toll! (On their emotions…and my wallet.) But that means it’s time to let you in on a special secret…
We’ve been looking forward to announcing this show for a long time: our first ever appearance at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis! This exceedingly cool, near-century-old room is, as the Star Tribune’s Chris Riemenschneider says, “one of the cities’ best-loved listening rooms.” And we’ve organized an extra special night for you: we’ll be warming up the stage for local songwriting hero and American Idol alum Preston Gunderson.
So, mark your calendars for Friday, September 29 – or better yet, go and get your tickets now! Doors at 7 pm, LSB at 8, Preston at 9. We’re promising you now that this will be a venue – and an evening – that you won’t soon forget!
We’re…not too good with the virtual meeting technologies…but we do OK on stage!
Well, if it isn’t full-swing, hot-as-an-oven, summer already here in Minnesota! That snuck up on us, didn’t it? Remember deep in the throngs of the pandemic, when the seasons all just melted together because you hardly ever left your house? You know, like when you spent too many hours on Zoom meetings like the crazy one we filmed above? Oh, wait, that’s probably the kind of thing you want to forget…
Well, three weeks from tonight, we’ve got the perfect remedy for you! Kick the Zoom blues by joining us at the Aster Cafe in Minneapolis for a split bill with our pals Art Vandalay. Make sure you get your reservations in advance, because we never know how early we might sell out for these limited seating shows!
We’re going to be digging deep into our catalog for this and play some songs that don’t always make the rotation, including “The Reckoning” as you can hear it above. But if you want to know what the other songs are, you have to come out on July 15th!
And while you’re planning out your summer and fall, take a sneak peek at our Events page to save the date(s) for upcoming shows around the metro. We want to see you at all of them, of course, but if you can’t do that, we’re confident you’ll find something that fits your liking. See you soon!
Caution: do not spin this image “right round baby right round”. If you want to see something spinning, come to Art-a-Whirl!
Art. Beer. Rock & roll from the Lazy Susan Band. What more could you possibly want for your mid-May Saturday? Nothing, we say! (Insert Shooter McGavin rhyming joke here.)
So we’re calling it now: just 10 days from tonight, you’ll be at the famous Art-a-Whirl celebration in Northeast Minneapolis. The sun will be shining, the art will be stunning, and around 6:00 PM you’ll be looking for a refreshing adult beverage. And, as it so happens, our pals at 612 Brew are right in the heart of the action, with incredibly talented artists displaying their works. Oooooo, their patio looks like an enticing place to eat some cheese curd tacos…
Wait, what is that sound? Is that the dulcet tones of j.bell’s voice, complimented by BPZ and $2 Bill? Is that a jangly guitar solo floating over organ, drums, and bass? Why YES, IT IS!
Yup, if you haven’t figured it out already, the goofy faces in the photo above will be behind their instruments on the 612 patio, Saturday May 20, at precisely 6 PM. We’ve got an art-friendly set list planned and this is your only time you can catch the full band in May. (As always, our Events page has more info.)
OK, that’s enough bass-player fueled yappin’ for now…I’ll let you go so you can put a big red circle in your calendars for 5/20. See you at 612!
We know you have lots of choices when it comes to your entertainment dollars, and we want to thank you for “picking” us. 😉
Attention all Lazy Susan Band fans, this is not an April Fools’ Day joke! We have to say that up front, because, let’s face it – Mother Nature has been making us feel foolish for months now here in Minnesota. The blanket of snow we all woke up to here today certainly felt like a cruel joke.
But we’re not joking around when we say how excited we are for a very special, one-of-a-kind, dinner-hour show happening for us on April 15th: we’re playing kj’s hideaway in St. Paul for the very first time! For a low ticket price of $10 you’ll get to see Ben Cook-Feltz at 5 pm, and us at 6, all while enjoying drinks (and dinner if you want) at an amazing new space in downtown.
And you don’t have to take our word for it about this space, folks: none other than the Midwest Country Music Organization has nominated kj’s as “Venue of the Year” for 2022. (Our money is on them to win!) You know you wanna check it out (if you haven’t already).
We’re incredibly fortunate to have a guy like Ben in our corner, since we’re teaming up with him and his pals for the second spring in a row. And just for this show, we’re pulling out at least one “oldie” that doesn’t get the full-band treatment very often. What song, you ask? We’re not telling – you have to come to the show to find out – but we will say that this song is old enough to drive this year!
See you in two weeks!
Blue skies and upside down drummer faces are on the way, St. Paul!
The LSB opens up Block North’s “Locker Room” last Saturday night. (Photo credit: Shannon Johnson)
Well well well, Lazy Susan fans, it seems we have a new favorite “up north” venue, for both the band and our fans! We couldn’t have been more pleased with the crew at Block North Brew Pub for hosting us at the Grand Opening of their new “Locker Room” space in downtown Aitkin, MN. Their team, and all the amazing locals who came out to see us, gave us all such a warm welcome and helped us enjoy our first full-band gig after our January tour. Some folks even drove a few hours to be there; we are so incredibly grateful. Thank you all, and we hope to be back soon!
Now that we’re finally all writing “2023” in our checkbooks, it’s time to start looking ahead to spring and summer. We highly recommend checking out our Events page, where you can mark your calendars for full band gigs in April, May, and June. And as usual, you have plenty of opportunities to check out an acoustic show, starting with j.bell & $2 Bill playing at No Neck Tony’s in Lake Elmo next Friday night (2/24).
The LSB concentrates on how to deliver the best possible show for the crowd from the Banditos outside Main Stage. Photo Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie, Jr
Mike D. here, folks, just wanted to chime in and say that most of us have been back in snowy Minnesota for a week, and we are still coming down from the high that was our Arizona-Mexico Tour. We even put together this tour tribute page to document the sights, the sounds, and the smells of our trip. Here’s to life!
OK, folks, let’s just admit right now that it’s going to take us all more than a day to process what happened over the past few weeks. But we’ll include a few initial reactions in this final entry of Mike’s daily tour blog posts.
Yesterday was our last “performance day” in Puerto Peñasco, and it did not disappoint. We started out with a bayside breakfast, soaking up some eggs and misty ocean winds.
Our Minnesota crew, L to R: Brian, Justin, Mike, Ryan, Kendra, Kent, Michelle, and Bill
After dealing with some, uh…”local logistical issues”, we headed over to Banditos for our last gig. Much like our tour kickoff show in Minneapolis back on 1/6, a dedicated group of friends and fans turned out for us, providing a fitting bookend to close the tour.
After dinner at Banditos, Mike refused to do anything other than enjoy a soak in the hot tub. We don’t know if we’ll do eight shows in ten days again, but if we do, he might need a hip replacement.
Today we travel back to the States, with most of us flying home to Minnesota tonight. The entire crew crossed the border successfully, but not before four of us made another stop at the famous KM13 marker.
The sun rays here are reflective of our week in Mexico!
Just as words can’t adequately convey how the last 11 days have felt, there are not enough ways for us to thank the folks who helped make this happen. And while we can’t specifically name everybody, we do want to provide a few shout-outs:
Our Minnesota tour team of Kendra Roberg and Ryan Hammer (with a little help and a lot of positivity from Michelle, Nick, and Jay)
Casey Conner, who booked us into the two ballpark shows and made other arrangements that convinced us we could make this trip
Curt and Angela Weitnauer, who got us onto more stages down here and continue to treat us like family
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, who blow our minds every time they perform, inspire us, and lift us up at seemingly every opportunity
All the other artists on the Scottsdale and January Jam Festival stages, who not only entertained us in spectacular fashion, but also helped spread the word about our shows and attended several of them
All the promotion teams, production crews, artist merch & technical crews, and venue hosts & staff who worked hard to ensure a quality experience for everyone
Photographer Stephen R. Sylvanie, who shot and shared so many of the iconic photos from our shows
Bill (Sr.) and Karen Turner, who provided us with local logistical support, lodging, and transportation resources
All of our spouses and families back in Minnesota, who supported this trip as enthusiastically as they’ve supported any other band effort we’ve done over the years
And finally, we absolutely must thank all the fans, old and new, who showed up for us at these shows. Whether you traveled from down the street or all the way from Minnesota, we truly appreciate you. Along with all the support from the folks above, it was your cheers, your encore pleas, and your smiling faces that made this trip a success. We’ve made a lot of jokes this month about being “international touring rock stars”, but it’s you that made us feel like actual stars.
And that’s a feeling we’ll never forget. ¡Salud, Peacemakers!
Folks, it’s hard to describe how the last week has made us feel. Perhaps the photos below will help. For any Peacemakers still in Puerto Peñasco tonight, we’ll see you at Banditos!
A peek at the scene last night after Roger Clyne invited j.bell onstage to sing “Tell Yer Momma” with the Peacemakers at Manny’s.I’m not exactly sure what j.bell is singing, here, but it could be, “More cowbell, Roger!”Many of the Puerto Peñasco sunsets have been gorgeous. Watching this last night while listening to RCPM was a true gift.
Well folks, the international tour continued yesterday! The LSB got up “early” and squeezed another rockin’ set in between beisbol games at the stadium, then took a short break to watch the insanely powerful set from the JONS at Changos.
All the best LSB fans came out to see our shows at the ballpark!The chaos at Changos set the tone for our afternoon!
When the JONS finished their set, they threw a Hail Mary pass to us. We ran inside to catch it, quickly set up on the stage inside Banditos and proceeded to score a touchdown set of our greatest hits. The fans turned out for this one in force, fueling us into a frenzy until we set up the headliners to raise the trophy on the main stage outside.
The blurry pictures above tell you how much we were able to vibrate the room! And the headlining show was amazing. We’re looking forward to our rest day today and catching as many of the other artists as possible as the official Jan Jam festival closes.
Tomorrow is our last day in Mexico, and we’re hoping a handful of fans stick around for our final 5 pm show at Banditos. Here’s to life!
