Per Rockasteria info posting blog only: The brainchild of 23 year-old writer / guitarist Dale Menten, The House Of Leather is a rock opera set in a bordello during the US Civil War. It was originally released in December 1968, shortly before it was staged as a sell-out rock opera in Minnesota. A fine mixture of acid-tinged pop-rock and ballads, it makes its long-overdue CD debut here – together with liner notes that tell the story of the production’s ill-fated move to New York in 1970.
From my MN music history meta page: DALE MENTEN - Experience in a Nutshell:
He had a national hit (number 25) and traveled across America in a white, Chevy Van performing with The Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, The Orlons, Ronnie Dove, Paul Revere and The Raiders, The Hondels, and the Beach Boys.
He was in nine different bands, which means he had to work with nine different drummers and travel in nine different vans, hearses, trucks, and cars.
He composed and produced a Rock Opera that was released on Mercury Records and later expanded into a stage play that went all the way to New York-Off Broadway.
https://mega.nz/file/pKMVkB5D#cVleuuIATMJqM6GLlLo9-KrsH8wkVQYq0xRlpqsiMyY
![For Gary Floyd [R.I.P]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3Sk-WjHtSlwrOvH6SfkdkPv9mmdDZ7nfqhcJoeQge_Lx7NxTgfx54yjQ7e84EjVTRypFn_OHTBKfeLN8YXTkK8AXcYeiMY0cDgrVYMg_XE5_u0bDkr1pCOZ23Q-7MuamgUX_Kxorudt3KdJG0GMk5L-lJgIK1QxKGJ4zAQeipLq9RG34-0s81CCoN3YE=s289)
Join the Blue Ribbon Online Free Speech Campaign!
Posts
4 comments:
more detail from recent meta post:
Minnesota Music History Channel
ONE ARTIST FEATURED EVERY DAY UNTIL THE WHOLE STORY IS TOLD.
July 7, 2015
Today's Featured Artist:
The Blackwood Apology-Dale Menten
This Band was around for a very short period of time--but boy oh boy, did they leave a legacy and blazed a trail few acts would ever follow in Minnesota Music History.
Dale, of course was well known both locally and nationally for his hit song in 1965 "Run Run Run" with the Gestures.
He teamed up in 1969 with
*Ron Beckman- Bass,
*Dennis Craswelll Denny N' Sheila Craswell- Drums, Vocals (Crow and Castaways)
*Tom Hustings - Guitar, Vocals
*Dennis Libby- Piano, Vocals (Castaways)
*Greg Maland - Keyboards, Pipe Organ
*Dale Menten- Guitar, Vocals
*Bruce Pedalty - Organ, Vocals
to form a band that would produce what Rockasteria.com classified as a "garage rock opera album "called
House Of Leather
They played a few gigs and were real crowd pleasers'
David Anthony (who always featured only National Talent at the venue) had them open up for The Grateful Dead at The Labor Temple.
The act at the time was red hot.
They received so much exposure that a play was written for it and "The House Of Leather Musical" sold out nightly and had fabulous critical acclaim
It went on to New York off broadway and didn't do quite as well as in Minnesota......but fortunately for us ...they left us with this legacy.
Go Down to the channel----push play and get ready for a real treat This play was THE EVENT of the summer of "69"
The channel received an update from Dennis Libby- Piano, Vocals (Castaways) which clarifies the story of this fabulous project even further,
Here it is.
"Neal, thank you for your efforts, and bringing a little notoriety to a bunch of old guys, who poured heart and soul into this recording, which was far, far from being a garage band project. Granted the initial rehearsal and bass auditions for the Castaways recording of The House of Leather, were in Dennis Craswell's parents garage. With the exception of MN Orchestra percussionist RIP Elliott Fine on the 6/8 Civil War segment, Dale Menten as well as Tom "Husting" on Guitar Ron Beckman on bass, this was a Castaways recording.
Bruce Pedalty did not play on the recording which was record company performance credits error that Bruce has graciously tried to rectify for decades. Bruce was however the incredible powerhouse, and masterful Hammond Organ live performer with Blackwood Apology, a reformed, renamed touring band that as you have correct opened for The Grateful Dead in 1969 at The Labor Temple.
The Castaways pictured on the inside, pioneer double foldout cover, disbanded after the recording. Greg Maland for health reason, Craswell due to his fathers passing and family business, Husting to attend college. Only Menten and I remained, Joey Piazza and Dik Hedlund were recruited by Menten from the Mystics, and Pedalty added on Keys. Every organ note on the recording was co-arranged, and performed by Gregory Dee Maland RIP. I played several minor piano parts including the studio grand and fuzztone Wurlitzer elec. Recording took place during our existing Mercury/Fontana records for 45 releases but sold to them as a separate album project.
The book,written by Frederic Gains RIP,was crafted into an extravagant stage play, including many prominent and aspiring actors, and H. Westly Balk, the director of the Center Opera Company, combined the live rock performances of Blackwood Apology and large stage cast into the remarkable Antibellum masterpiece that Menten had created with characters and stories that paralled a lot of the Vietnam Nam war controversy.
Produced by Dick Shapiro RIP and Bill Seamans founder of Cricket Theater, they were able to secure a Schubert Club sponsorship and move from the tiny but sold out Cricket on 28th and Hennepin to the Crawford Livingston Theater in the then St Paul Arts and Science center. Huge, elegant theater that sold out many months of shows including weekend matinees.
Piazza left and Scott Sansby took his place, Dick Reese was added as utility instrumentalist Menten on Guitar. Dr Balk created a very cool part for me as Bible toting 1860's Methodist Minister complete with period frock and collar, that just happened to sing rock and commentary during in a Civil setting. It worked so well a wealthy Hollywood producer, who saw and loved the show, financed the Mose to one of the huge Ellen Stewart LaMaMa theaters is New York.
Hedlund stays, Menten steps down as guitarist fills music director slot, enlists talented guitarist vocalist Gus Dewey from the Gesture, organist vocalist, Menten protege George Miller, joins on Hammond Organ and rehearses with legendary studio, jobbing drummer Dick Bortalucci.
Recast in New York with only several of Mpls actors Norman Jean Wood, already NY Broadway and TV Stars Barry Bostwich, Jonell Allen, Peter Dianda, show rehearsed for nearly 3 week and opened to several weeks sold out previews.
Opening night review from NY Times Critic Clive Barns had nothing really bad to say but comment that the music was more concrete than rock, put producers Shapiro and Seamans into a panic, and they closed the show.
Next day with rave reviews from several other journals like Village voice " Small Mpls Theater comes to town and shows us all how to do it right.
H Westly Balk proves Brecktian theater is alive, well and still entertaining" the producers tried to reverse the closing and were told to go home by the management company.
Barry Bostwich had already started rehearsing for filming of Rocky Horror Picture show, everyone else from and in NY already had other parts booked in days.
We all came home. Old saying: "you never really know how far you are from success until you get really close a couple of times."
Go Down to the channel----push play and get ready for a real treat This play was THE EVENT of the summer of "69"
Dennis Libby brought some new facts to light about this project and posted on the timeline there. For the sake of getting it right on the history page I am reposting his earlier post here---I can;t believe the label wouldn;t let them put this out as The Castaways and Greg Maland wrote and performed all the phenomenal organ partson the album. Here it is ------------------ Dennis Libby Thanks Neal for the bit of notoriety for a bunch of old guys that poured they're hearts and souls into this project, which despite the fact we did some auditioning of bass players and rehearsed some of Dale Menten's charts in Denny Craswell's parents garage was far far from a garage band effort. I just spent nearly an hour composing a number of factual corrections or your information and chronology, only to have it disappear into the ghost of the machine called facebook. I may have the energy and recall another time. Basic stuff, Guitar player in the Castaways was Tom Husting, Bruce Pedalty was the powerhouse, monster live touring Hammond Organ player in the Castaways who replaced Greg Maland due to Greg's health and ended up being a critically important mainstay in Blackwood Apology. Bruce was incorrectly credited as playing on the Castaway recording of the House of Leather, and has championed the correction for years and all credit due to Gregory Dee Maland, RIP who coarrange and recorded every note of the beautiful organ work on the album. I played several minor piano parts, including the studio grand and fuzztone Wurlitzer electric piano 120B. The Schubert Club sponsored the H. Westly Balk RIP (Center Opera Company) Directed House of Leather Production at the then Crawford Livingston Theater in the St Paul Arts and Science Center for many, many months, to sold out, advance sale audiences. Except for Menten composer arranger on guitar with Tom Husting, Ron Beckman on Bass, and Elliot Fine MN Orchestra percussionist on the 6/8 Civil War segment, this was an entirely a Castaways project. The name change came about as Mercury/Fontana, Records, and Dunwich productions decided that the project just too arty for the Castaways "novelty record image".
Post a Comment