Boiled in Lead

Boiled in Lead
Origin Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Genres Celtic rock, Celtic punk, folk rock, Gypsy punk, alternative rock, worldbeat
Years active 1983–present
Labels The Crack, Atomic Theory, Omnium
Website www.boiledinlead.com
Members Michael Bissonette: percussion
Todd Menton: vocals, guitar, mandolin, bodhrán, whistle
Drew Miller: bass guitar, dulcimer
David Stenshoel: fiddle[1]
Past members Robin Adnan Anders
Marc Anderson
Jane Dauphin
Brian Fox
Mitch Griffin
Josef Kessler
Laura MacKenzie
Dean Magraw
Michael Ravaz
Adam Stemple
[2][3][4][5]

Boiled in Lead is a rock/world-music band based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and founded in 1983. Tim Walters of MusicHound Folk called the group "the most important folk-rock band to appear since the 1970s."[6] Their style, sometimes called "rock 'n' reel,"[2] is heavily influenced by Celtic music, folk, and punk rock, and has drawn them praise as one of the few American bands of the 1980s and 1990s to expand on Fairport Convention's rocked-up take on traditional folk.[7][8] Folk Roots magazine noted that Boiled in Lead's "folk-punk" approach synthesized the idealistic and archival approach of 1960s folk music with the burgeoning American alternative-rock scene of the early 1980s typified by Hüsker Dü and R.E.M.[5] The band also incorporates a plethora of international musical traditions, including Russian, Turkish, Bulgarian, Scottish, Vietnamese, Hungarian, African, klezmer, and gypsy music.[2][4][9][3] Boiled in Lead has been hailed as a pioneering bridge between American rock and international music,[2] and a precursor to Gogol Bordello and other gypsy-punk bands.[10] While most heavily active in the 1980s and 1990s, the group is still performing today, including annual St. Patrick's Day concerts in Minneapolis.[2][11] Over the course of its career, Boiled in Lead has released nearly a dozen albums and EPs, most recently 2012's The Well Below.

Although the band recorded Scottish writer John Leyden’s ballad "Lord Soulis" under the title "The Man Who Was Boiled in Lead" on their first album,[3] the band's name is actually taken from the Irish murder ballad "The Twa Sisters" as performed by folk group Clannad on their album Dúlamán, as well as the New Year's tradition in Nordic countries of molybdomancy, or casting molten lead into snow to foretell the future.[12]

History

Boiled in Lead has gone through several significant lineup changes over the years, including three different lead singers. Bassist Drew Miller is the only original member who has played with the band in all incarnations. Miller, who grew up in Washington, D.C., was inspired by that city's hardcore punk scene to merge the energy and aggression of rock music with traditional folk.[13] The band was also inspired by British folk-rock groups like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span.[14] The first lineup, formed in 1983, included Miller, vocalist/guitarist Jane Dauphin, fiddle player Brian Fox, and a drum machine dubbed "Amos Box." Second fiddler David Stenshoel and drummer Mitch Griffin joined in time for the band's first concert on St. Patrick's Day 1983 at the now-closed Goofy's Upper Deck in Minneapolis. The band's first release was a 45-minute live cassette-only album, Boiled Alive, in 1984,[14] which Simon Jones of Folk Roots described as "mean, nasty, and hugely enjoyable."[5] After Fox left the band, the remaining lineup recorded the band's debut studio album, BOiLeD iN lEaD, released in 1985.

A new singer/guitarist, Todd Menton, joined for the band's second album, Hotheads, which saw the band expanding beyond its Celtic-rock roots into both punkier and more eclectic world-music sounds. Flute player Laura MacKenzie joined as an official member briefly in 1986, and played as a guest on several subsequent albums.[5] Dauphin and Griffin left in 1988, and percussionist Robin Adnan Anders joined, bringing an even more diverse range of world-music elements into play for the band's third album From the Ladle to The Grave. Stenshoel departed before the band recorded 1990's Orb, though he is a guest musician on several tracks. In 1991, the band released Old Lead, a compilation of BOiLeD iN lEaD and Hotheads with two previously unreleased tracks recorded during the Hotheads sessions.

Menton left in 1992 and was replaced by Adam Stemple of Cats Laughing, leading the band in a harder-rocking direction on 1994's Antler Dance. The band's 1995 album Songs from the Gypsy was a song cycle based on the plot of the novel The Gypsy by Stemple's Cats Laughing bandmate Steven Brust and Megan Lindholm.[15]

For the band's 15th anniversary in 1998, it released a best-of compilation, Alloy, as well as a double-disc set of live songs and rarities, Alloy2. Further lineup changes included the return of Stenshoel in 1997, the departure of Stemple and return of Menton as well as the addition of guitarist Dean Magraw in 2005, Anders' departure in 2008 and new drummer Marc Anderson in 2009.

After a long absence from recording, the band returned for a 25th-anniversary album titled Silver. [11][16] The album again featured a strong Celtic flavor but also included Middle Eastern and Algerian influences on songs like "Berber" and "Menfi."

In 2012, Boiled in Lead recorded a four-song EP, The Well Below, which included a cover of Appalachian folk singer Roscoe Holcomb's "Wedding Dress" as well as the band's take on Irish songwriter Christy Moore's murder ballad "The Well Below the Valley."[17][18]

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums and EPs

Compilations and live albums

Singles

References

  1. ↑ http://www.boiledinlead.com/
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 McDonald, Steven. Boiled in Lead at AllMusic. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Lipsig, Chuck (17 January 2011). "Boiled in Lead: The Not Quite Complete Recordings". Green Man Review. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 Larkin, Colin, ed. (1995). "Boiled in Lead". The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music 5. Middlesex, England: Guinness Publishing. pp. 727–728.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Jones, Simon (March 1989), "On the Boil: Simon Jones Investigates Boiled in Lead", Folk Roots (London: Southern Rag Ltd.) (69): 20–22
  6. ↑ Walters, Neal; Mansfield, Brian; Walters, Tim (1998). MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. p. 75. ISBN 1-57859-037-X.
  7. ↑ Unterberger, Richie (1999). Music USA: The Rough Guide. London: Rough Guides. p. 326. ISBN 1-85828-421-X.
  8. ↑ Heim, Chris (21 February 1991), "Boiled in Lead: Orb (Atomic Theory/Flying Fish)", Chicago Tribune, retrieved 9 June 2015
  9. ↑ Heim, Chris (6 July 1989), "From the Ladle to the Grave (Atomic Theory)", Chicago Tribune, retrieved 23 April 2015
  10. ↑ "Gasmac Gilmore "Dead Donkey"". FolkWorld (49). November 2012.
  11. 1 2 Hendrickson, Tad (June 13, 2008). "Boiled In Lead: Silver (Omnium)". Global Rhythm. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  12. ↑ Host: Cal Koat (April 8, 2008). "Boiled in Lead". Celt in a Twist.
  13. ↑ DeRogatis, Jim (12 December 1990), "Celtodelic Worldbeat Rock & Reel", City Pages
  14. 1 2 McGrath, T.J. (Summer 1989), "Boiled in Lead: Hotter Than Sun", Dirty Linen 26: 40–43
  15. ↑ Charles Vess (7 March 2006). The Book of Ballads. Tom Doherty Associates. pp. 183–190. ISBN 978-0-7653-1215-0.
  16. ↑ Coleman, Michael (22 April 2009), Boiled in Lead: Silver CD, Your Flesh, retrieved 9 June 2015
  17. ↑ "Boiled in Lead, The Well Below". FolkWorld (48). July 2012.
  18. ↑ Winick, Stephen D. (5 April 2013), Favorite Finds From Folk Alliance 2013: The Americans, Huffington Post, retrieved 9 June 2015

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, March 19, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.