Tag Archives: Langer's Ball

Review

The Langer’s Ball: Hold Tight

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I have here the vinyl release of Hold Tight. Funded through a Kickstarter campaign, this is the thickest slab of vinyl I’ve ever spun. Nice job guys. The duo of Mike (guitar) and Hannah (whistler and accordion) who make up The Langer’s Ball are super tight; they have been playing together for 15 years. The 11 tracks on Hold Tight are split between traditional Irish, Scottish and Sea Shanties and originals which gel very nicely with the more familiar. Of the originals my favorites are the polka / blues drinking song, Whiskey From The Still and the hard boozing, Bottom of The Bottle.  

Always classy, The Langer’s Ball never disappoint.

https://www.thelangersball.com/

Interview

The Langer’s Ball – Interview

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August 14, 2012

(Shite’n’Onions) So who are The Langer’s Ball?
We are from Saint Paul, MN – a hotbed of great Irish music of all sorts! We started out as a Duo, Hannah & Michael, doing pub shows and parties, but over the years, as we started recording, we started wanting to amp up the sound and add musicians. In 2010 we made the jump and put together a 5-piece band, we recorded a live album (Drunk, Sick, Tired) but shortly after that recording the band fell apart as bands do sometimes.

We went back to the core Duo and continued to perform for about another year thatway. But at the end of 2011 we joined up with Drew Miller (Boiled in Lead) Derek Jaimes (ex-Wild Colonial Bhoy) and Trevor Jurgens (Code 13 and other various Punk & Rockabilly bands) and went after the full band sound again. We just finished recording our 1st studio album together (The Devil or the Barrel) it hits stored Aug 1st, 2012.

(Shite’n’Onions) What inspired the formation of the band?
The Duo kept hearing other instruments and parts that weren’t happening, and we wanted to put what we could hear in our heads up on stage. That and free drinks from the venues!

(Shite’n’Onions) Describe your sound?
I dunno, each of us brings different influences. From Folk, Rockabilly, Punk, Hardcore, Baroque, Klezmer, Rrague Rock and a bunch of other stuff, we are drawing from everywhere. If it’s good, we’re happy with it. Most of our music is fast, and a little dark, but we can slow it down and can do some really pretty songs too. When we approach a song, we try to mix it up a bit, like our fast, dark minor key “All For Me Grog” or our
version of “the Wild Rover”, a classic drinking song – well, we made it into a Polka with strong German roots.

(Shite’n’Onions) What going on with the band right now (recording, touring etc)?
We are just releasing “The Devil or the Barrel” and we have a few Midwestern Irish Festivals this summer. We just got picked up by New Folk
Records, so we’ll see what this album brings. Having been a duo for the past 5 years, it’s interesting trying to get the word out that the band
has grown and taken a turn for loud. Some of the places we’ve played before are less appropriate for the full band, and some of the places that
want full bands still think we’re a duo. So we’re trying to get the word out to festivals and a new group of venues that The Langer’s Ball is big!

(Shite’n’Onions) What song in you catalog best defines your sound?
There are a few sides to us, like I mentioned before. I think our main sound and a great example is our version of “Johnny Jump Up”, kind of a
main stay in Irish Music, but again we’ve re-written the melody line, changed up the rhythm added some creepy psychobilly guitar and given that
song a pair! We also have some originals that are fast & fun like “Whiskey Chaser” & “Mackey’s Daughter” these can get a little chaotic, they are
amped up drinking songs. We also have a lighter softer side with songs like “The Little Vagabond”, the lyrics were taken from a William Blake
poem and the music was written by Folk singer Greg Brown – this song offers a breather to the high paced music we usually play.

(Shite’n’Onions) Soapbox – anything you’d like to say?
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.

Review

The Langer’s Ball: Hard Time In The Country

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February 10, 2019

Hard Time In The Country is a return to early form for The Langer’s Ball after the full band excursions of their most recent releases. Like the first couple of releases by TLB, Hard Time In The Country is a guy (Michael Strum) and girl (Hannah Rediske) acoustic duo doing contemporary interpretations of Irish folk, Americana, protest folk and Motorhead (really!).

Hard Time In The Country is a richly and beautifully performed album where each song seems to effortlessly gel together whether it’s a Billy Bragg cover (Constitution Hill), or an original (Hoist Your Cup High), or a traditional standard (Parting Glass) or even Motorhead’s 1916 (which really, really works a folk song)

Review

The Langer’s Ball: Whiskey Outlaws

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March 7, 2016

Wanted to give a big shout out to Minnesota’s The Langer’s Ball who have just released a very fine album in Whiskey Outlaws. The Langar’s Ball have come a long ways since their early guy and girl duo beginnings, now a five piece, The Langer’s Ball are ready to take on the Celt-punk establishment. Like I said, Whiskey Outlaws is a very fine album with the obvious influences of The Pogues and Flogging Molly but also the gypsy punk of Gogol Bordello or the Zydepunks and even Tom Waits. Traditional yet quirky as hell – check out Whiskey Outlaws – it won’t disappoint.

https://www.thelangersball.com/

Review

The Langers Ball: The Devil or the Barrel

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November 13, 2012

Devil or the Barrel showcases The Langers Ball mark (iii). Originally a two person due of Michael and Hannah the MN based Langers Ball released two fine Celtic-rock albums SHIPS ARE SAILING and AND AS I ROVED OUT then expanded to a full band for the live DRUNK, SICK, TIRED. The Langers then reverted back to mark (i) briefly before expanding back to a full 5 piece and picking some very fine musicians in the process including Mr. Drew Miller of BOLIED IN LEAD fame (and the Omnium record label that release the two Shite’n’Onions comps). The sound is certainly beefed up on THE DEVIL OR THE BARREL yet stays true to the original sound of the duo – high energy Celtic folk rock meets Americana – though if they consume the whiskey like the way the sing about it I fear the next Kickstarter project these guys run will be to pay for five liver transplants.

Review

The Langer’s Ball: Drunk, Sick and Tired

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February 5, 2012

As a rule, I am not typically one for live records. But Wait! Hang on, hear me out!

I have always seen an artist’s release, (or “album,” as we used to call them,) as an collective statement: a work of art. Some hits that are well-received and popular tracks are great, but B-sides and deep cuts, to me, provide each work of recorded material with a personality. I love that. A full-length recording SHOULD be assembled with thought going to the order of the tracks, the mood of the songs and how they flow into each other.

Also, the bands that recorded them, the authors that wrote them, the mixing and production process, that whole gamut, this was all done to realize an idea of each song, and the recording as a whole. It gives a sense of flow, a cohesiveness that can make a collection of songs into much more.

But wait! I also love live shows! The energy and passion that a band can produce from sheer enthusiasm, synergy between performers and audience, the camaraderie amidst the revelry amongst the crowd. It is a great experience.

However, a lot of the things that I love about live shows, and a lot of the things I love about studio releases are typically missing from your average “live CD,” (this usually also applies to “Greatest Hits” and various artist compilations.)

Now, this may just be my own personal perspective, but I felt it necessary to mention where my head was at as I listened to the new live CD from The Langer’s Ball.

Minnesota’s The Langer’s Ball have released a new recorded-live-on-St.-Patrick’s-day CD, Drunk, Sick and Tired. Originally a duo, Hannah Rediske and Michael Sturm have been banging out the Irish Punk sound since 2007, playing major gigs all over the midwestern U.S. and have released two very well received releases, 2008’s As I Roved Out and 2009’s Ships Are Sailing.

Along with Sturm and Rediske’s guitar, mandolin, vocals, accordion, and penny whistle, Drunk, Sick and Tired sees the addition of bass guitar, electric guitar, drums & additional backing vocals seeing the Ball take on the form of a quintet.

The result is a very enthusiastic live collection of songs, versions of well known numbers, mostly tradition ones, all punked up and blasted through with a special kick on the keister.

As I said, I am not typically a fan of live recordings, but listening to Drunk, Sick, and Tired DOES make me wish I was at this show. It sounds like it was a blast!

So, if you like live recordings and look for CDs that capture a band’s performance highlights, AND like hearing amped up versions of some classic songs, then The Langer’s Ball’s Drunk Sick and Tired would probably scratch you right where you itch!

It should also be mentioned that Drunk, Sick and Tired was included in both Shite ‘N’ Onions, AND PaddyRock.com’s top 10 of 2011 lists! So there!

Review by Christopher Toler, THE Blathering Gommel

http://thelangersball.com/