Category: Blog

When I was a young punk in rock and roll, I made the mistake of wearing shorts to a summer gig once. An older musician took me aside after the gig, and said, “There’s only one season in rock ‘n’ roll: fall. Wear pants. Preferably denim.” I’ve been taking that advice to heart ever since (OK, with the occasional backyard party exception).

Well, guess what, Lazy Susan Band fans, it’s fall! September, to be precise. And what better place to pull up to the bar, grab a beer, and listen to your favorite band than a college town like Northfield? Yep, that’s right, we’ll be rockin’ Reunion in less than two weeks (9/27 to be exact), and we want you to join us.

We won’t just be sporting our new logo, above. We’ll be showing off some new tunes that are due to be recorded (this fall!) for our next record. Plus plenty of your old favorites. See you there!

Hey, wouldya lookit that? Last time we posted here it was like, still cold and stuff! Well, now that those little patches of snow have finally faded away into oblivion, we want to know who’s ready for a trip down Highway 61 – because we are! (And by “we”, I mean Justin, BPZ, $2 Bill, Kent, and bassmaster Aaron Smith. I myself will be in North Carolina presenting my paper “Where’s My Tone Knob At?” at the Institute for Below Average White Bass Players conference.)

So, if you’re getting tired of us talking about our new demo recordings on our Facebook page, and actually want to see the band play live, c’mon down to The Bar in Goodview next Saturday (6/29) and hang out! Summer is here and you know you’re ready for some live tunes.

We’ve updated our Events page with the details…including when our next show will be in the Twin Cities. See you there!

Well, Minnesota, now that I bought another gallon of snowblower gas, it appears that spring is finally here! OK, we can’t guarantee anything when it comes to the weather, but we can tell you it’s almost April. And that means that it’s almost time for you to come see the five members of the Lazy Susan Band rock the Driftwood with a full set of original songs.

Ooooh…did I just say “original songs”? I meant to say “original songs – most of which haven’t been played live”! That’s right, we’ve been working hard developing almost a full album’s worth of new material, which we hope to record soon. But first, we’re “road testing” the songs, in some of our favorite places to play.

And folks that join us at the Driftwood on April 5th will be treated to a little something extra special. We’re not saying what that is, you’ll just have to show up at 8:30 pm to find out!

Hello all of you Lazy Susan Band fans out there in the lands of the interwebs! Mike D. here with a few quick announcements for you…

We’ve been working really hard on about an album’s worth of new tunes that we think you’re really going to like. Your earliest chance to hear one (or more!) will be at St. Paul’s Flat Earth Brewery this Friday, 3/1. This will be an early start (6:30 PM) “LSB Trio” show, with J.Bell, $2 Bill, and BPZMag singing you sweet harmonies that have been known to pair well with many of Flat Earth’s tasty microbrews.

And for our amazing friends and family in the southeastern part of the state, we’ve added a June 29 Full Band gig at The Bar in Goodview (that lovely suburb of the metropolis called Winona). There will be a special guest on bass that night, as I will be serving a suspended sentence for violating the band’s disco abuse policies.

Finally, did you know that you can find us on BandsInTown? Yup, this is a cool new site/app for keeping track of artists you like, and we try to make sure all of our gigs show up there. Ahh, what a time to be alive!

Well, well, well! Color us elephantly surprised (yes I just made up that word) at how much love we felt for Brian Zirngible’s debut CD release party last month at the Amsterdam! We saw first-time fans, long-time fans, and everything in between that night, and we couldn’t be happier that so many of you decided to join us. The night was frigid, but you all warmed our hearts with your appreciation. We are indeed lucky dudes. If you haven’t checked out BPZ’s tunes yet, all you need to do is visit the link above or get Googling!

Those of you who made the trek to downtown St. Paul that night heard not only the Zirngible tunes, but three brand-new LSB tunes. This…is just the beginning! Over the next two months, you’ll have FIVE chances (six if you’re lucky enough to be invited to a private party) to hear what we’ve been working on recently, all culminating in an all-original showcase at the Driftwood on April 5th. At that show, we’re planning on highlighting at least seven new songs.

Details are over on the Events page. Stay warm out there…we gotta go practice!

Those brooding eyes, that contemplative look, those huge pink ears…wait, I was talking about the elephant in the corner, what were you looking at? The stud in the foreground? Oh, that’s our harmony vocalist/percussionist/trombone player Brian Zirngible, and this is the album cover for “The Elephant of Surprise”! (See what I did there?)

You heard that right, the man we know as BPZ is getting ready to release his debut solo EP, and we couldn’t be more excited to help him celebrate it on January 26 in St. Paul! We’ve all heard a sneak peak, and we can’t wait for you to hear more at the Amsterdam Bar and Hall. Doors open at 8 (no cover!), Mr. Zirngible will perform songs from his record, then we’ll play a short set and the night will close out with The Nighthowlers, a fantastic band we had the pleasure of sharing the stage with last fall.

And…there will be more surprises than just the album cover, but we’re not telling. You’ll have to join us to find out!

Howdy Lazy Susan Band fans! Well, it’s probably a bit too early to compose a “year in review” post (even though it was QUITE the year), so I’ll keep this one simple: our last show of 2018 will be on December 12 at Carbone’s in Minneapolis. The LSB trio will be slinging harmony vocals in a laid-back acoustic show – perfect for the Holiday season!

We’ve been rehearsing some new songs recently, and we already have a show booked for January, so even though we’re taking a bit of a break, we’ll be back soon! Keep your eye out here for more details as they become available, and watch out for Hipster Santas!

Ahh, fall. That amazing time of year when the leaves turn, the kids go back to school, and your favorite rock band starts smelling of pumpkin spice. OK, so maybe we made that last bit up. But one thing we’re NOT kidding about is how honored we are to be playing at the HOPEStock benefit to fight cystic fibrosis! Sponsored by the With One Breath organization, this outdoor festival in Plymouth will be headlined by the legendary Gear Daddies and is sure to be an amazing time. We’re one of many bands, so we hope you’ll buy your tickets now and join us at the Hilde Performance Center on October 6th!

Then, the following Friday we’ve been asked to play the “Rocktober” 8th Anniversary party for our favorite St. Paul brewery, Flat Earth. And we close out the month on October 25th by returning to Can Can Wonderland (scene of our most recent CD release party), opening for two awesome local bands, the Nighthowlers and Mango. That show will include a costume contest for those itching to get out their early Halloween groove on.

As always, more details on the Events page. Hope to see you at one – or all – of those shows in October!

 

Phew! What a long, semi-strange tour it was…who am I kidding, it was amazing! Since mid-April, J.Bell and the Lazy Susan Band have been gigging around Minnesota and Wisconsin, playing eleven shows (mostly in “full band” mode), including our immensely satisfying and unique CD release party for “Greetings from Apocalyptic Falls”. But that was just the beginning. We also played in front of incredibly receptive crowds at Carbone’s, Flat Earth Brewery (above), and the Tavern Lounge. But perhaps the peak experience of them all was opening up for Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers at the 7th Street Entry. I mean, just check out this SOLD OUT crowd:

I snapped that photo with my phone in between songs and it just doesn’t do the crowd justice; even though most of them bought tickets to see the Peacemakers, they cheered for us like we were the headliners. We couldn’t have felt more welcomed! The look on J. Bell’s face below pretty much says it all: we can’t believe how lucky we were to be able to do this. And then to watch the Peacemakers blow away the crowd even further, and to hang with them at two more private parties…well, we don’t know how to put it into words how it felt.

There’s a boatload more pictures by Jason Narverud of Cute Fox Studios over in our picture gallery. They tell the story much better than I can!

Now, it’s time for most of the band to take a well-earned break for a few months. But J. Bell isn’t quite done…he’ll be on stage by himself, with nuthin’ but a guitar and a microphone, at the Turf Club this coming Tuesday…opening up for Roger Clyne solo! This will be an intimate, unique show completely unlike any other you’ve seen from Justin or Roger, and Justin is promising to play some songs you haven’t heard live in a long time.

And now before I sign off for the summer, I know I speak for the band when I say THANK YOU to all the amazing fans, friends, and family who have supported us over the last few months. Your encouragement, cheers, and just plain old showing up have made us feel like rock stars. Here’s to you!

Tonight, we have the amazing privilege to open up for Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis. The show is sold out, and we’re beyond excited. Looking forward to seeing many of you there, and making some new friends!