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David Stenshoel

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David Stenshoel
Birth nameDavid Rockne Stenshoel
DiedSeptember 16, 2021 (age 71)
Minnetonka, Minnesota
GenresWorld music, Celtic rock, jazz
Occupation(s)Musician, visual artist
Instrument(s)Violin, tenor saxophone, electric mandolin, gaida, and others
Years active1970s–2021
Formerly ofBoiled in Lead

David Rockne Stenshoel (died September 16, 2021, in Minnetonka, Minnesota) was an American musician and visual artist, most well known as a longtime member of Celtic-rock and world-music group Boiled in Lead.

Early life

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Stenshoel grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and the Minneapolis suburbs. He had two brothers and a sister.[1] His father, Myles Stenshoel, founded the political science department at Augsburg College (now Augsburg University) and taught at many other institutions.[2]

Career

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Stenshoel began playing the violin at age 10 and became a professional musician in his 20s.[3] In the 1970s, he played with his brother Peter in the Infinity Art Unit, an improvisational free jazz group which incorporated blues and medieval tunes.[4][5] He and Peter also performed together in the mid-1980s jazz-rock group Intuitive Bikers. He also played on Peter's solo albums Strangely Colored Maps (1988) and Codex From The Trickster (1993).[1][6]

Stenshoel maintained a lifelong, world-spanning interest in musical traditions and instruments from many cultures. While his main instruments were the violin, tenor saxophone, electric mandolin and gaida (southern European bagpipes),[3][7] he was also proficient on a number of other ethnic instruments, including the zurna (a Turkish woodwind),[8] kaen (a Thai mouth organ),[9] and saz (a Persian lute also called a bağlama).[10] His broad musical proficiency was matched by speed; the day after he acquired a kaen, he had learned it well enough to perform on stage with it.[9] Near the end of his life, when an operation for oral cancer had prevented him from playing his usual instruments, he taught himself to play the oud.[3]

He was critically praised for his virtuosity. Steve Pick of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote that Stenshoel "was adept at many different fiddle styles, capable of playing, with the right feel, melodies from Ireland or Armenia equally well. On mandolin, he was particularly capable of summoning screaming noise and feedback."[11] He was frequently an active member or sideman in seven or more bands at once, in genres including Celtic, Persian, Brazilian, Balkan, Middle Eastern, African, and country-swing.[10][12]

Boiled in Lead

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Main article: Boiled in Lead

Stenshoel was a longtime member of Boiled in Lead, chiefly playing the fiddle, electric mandolin, and saxophone. Boiled in Lead has been hailed as a pioneering bridge between American rock and international music,[13] and a precursor to Gogol Bordello and other gypsy-punk bands,[14] blending musical influences including Celtic, African and Middle Eastern, folk, bluegrass and punk.[15] Tim Walters of MusicHound Folk called the group "the most important folk-rock band to appear since the 1970s."[16]

Stenshoel joined Boiled in Lead for its first official performance on St. Patrick's Day in 1983.[9] He performed with the band for more than 30 years (1983-1990 and 1997–2021). He had the second-longest tenure of any member of Boiled in Lead after founding bassist Drew Miller. He appears on almost all of its studio records, including the group's most critically acclaimed albums. Stenshoel took a break from the band for several years after the birth of his son,[17][18] departing before the band recorded 1990's Orb, though he is a guest musician on several tracks.[13][19][20][21] He returned to the band in 1997 and played on the 2009 album Silver[22] and 2012 EP The Well Below.[23]

Other work

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Stenshoel performed with many other groups in and around the Twin Cities, including Voices of Sepharad,[24][25] Felonious Bosch, Sky King, Jan Reimer Band, You, Me and Betsy, Electric Arab Orchestra, Ethnic Dance Theater, Yiddishe Folksmenschn, the American Swedish Institute Spelmanslag, Automatix, Shalita, Robayat, Honeysuckle Rose, Vernon Dixon, Katy and the T-Bergs, Dusty Drapes and the Dusters,[3] Parisota Hot Club,[26] StellaRoma,[27] Other Country Quartet,[28] Redondo,[29] Crossing Borders,[30] Radio Rangers,[31][32][33] and the children's choir Songs of Hope.[34] He also performed with radio comedy programs Another Flask of Weird[35] and Little City in Space.[36]

Stenshoel was also a musical archivist; in the early 1980s, with Cliff Sloane, Stenshoel helped to record performances by Cambodian immigrant musicians in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The resulting album, Cambodian Traditional Music in Minnesota, was named to the Library of Congress' list of notable American Folk Music and Folklore Recordings for 1984.[37][38][39]

Stenshoel also performed music for plays and films, including Peter Glazer's 1992 biographical play Woody Guthrie's American Song at Cricket Theatre in Minneapolis[40] and, in 1994, a live soundtrack to Paul Leni's 1929 horror film The Last Warning.[41]

Awards and honors

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He was nominated frequently for the Minnesota Music Awards in the 1980s and 1990s; he won in 1988 as a solo performer for Best Acoustic/Ethnic Instrumentalist, and at least nine times as a member of Boiled in Lead.[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]

Boiled in Lead's star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue

Boiled in Lead has been honored with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue,[51] recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue.[52] Receiving a star "might be the most prestigious public honor an artist can receive in Minneapolis," according to journalist Steve Marsh.[53]

Selected discography

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  • Boiled in Lead, Boiled in Lead (1984)
  • Boiled in Lead, Boiled Alive (1984)
  • Boiled in Lead, Hotheads (Atomic Theory, 1987)
  • The Intuitive Bikers, Bikin' Into It (1987)
  • Peter Stenshoel, Strangely Colored Map (Numazu, 1988)[54]
  • Bob Zander featuring Max Swanson, Friend For Life (Raz Recordings, 1988)
  • Boiled in Lead, From The Ladle To The Grave (Atomic Theory, 1989)
  • Boiled in Lead, Orb (Atomic Theory, 1990)
  • Cats Laughing, Another Way to Travel (1990)
  • Boiled in Lead, Old Lead (1991)
  • Voices of Sepharad, Viva Sepharad (1992)
  • Voices of Sepharad, Hamsa (1992)[55]
  • Peter Stenshoel, Codex From The Trickster (Numazu, 1993)
  • Bob Zander, Almost Orlana (Raz, 1994)[56]
  • Robin Adnan Anders, Omaiyo (Rykodisc, 1998)
  • Boiled in Lead, Alloy (1998)
  • Tim Malloys, Drunkards, Bastards, and Blackguards (Fabulous, 2000)[57]
  • Bob Zander, Skyline to the Sea (2002)
  • Boiled in Lead, Silver (2008)
  • Felonious Bosch, Toy Box (2010)
  • Joe Fahey, Bushnell's Turtle (2011)[58]
  • Boiled in Lead, The Well Below (Omnium, 2012)
  • Felonious Bosch, Welcome To Bordertown (2013)[59]
  • Kari Tauring, Nykken & Bear (Omnium, 2013)
  • Vernon Dixon, Corn Whiskey (Friendly Dive, 2014)
  • Nigel Egg, The Blues Is Personal (Spiff Key, 2014)[60]
  • Greg Herriges, Artifacts (2014)[61]
  • Bob Zander, Thumbnail Sketches (2017)
  • StellaRoma, Revel and Ritual: Holiday Music for the World (2018)[27][6][62]

Personal life

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Stenshoel was married and had a son.[3][17][18]

Death

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Stenshoel died on September 16, 2021, in Minnetonka, Minnesota from squamous cell carcinoma of the gingiva. He was 71.[3][63]

References

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  1. ^ a b Griffey, Mark. "Peter Stenshoel". Ultravillage. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  2. ^ "Obituary: Myles Stenshoel". Crookston Daily Times. Crookston, Minnesota. March 29, 2010. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Obituary: David Rockne Stenshoel". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. 2021-10-03. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  4. ^ "Saturday radio highlights". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. 1974-05-26. p. 24. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  5. ^ Stenshoel, Peter (2021-04-26). "Infinity Art Unit Home Sessions". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  6. ^ a b "David Stenshoel". Discogs. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  7. ^ Burkholder, Steve (June 15, 1989). "Boiled in Lead leads audience of 20 on tour of world music". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  8. ^ "Musical Reviews: Antler Dance, Boiled in Lead". Dulcimer Players News. Vol. 22, no. 2. Winchester, Virginia. May–July 1996. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  9. ^ a b c Kot, Greg (1989-08-03). "Tradition twisters: Minneapolis band brings ethnic music to a boil". Chicago Tribune. Chicago. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  10. ^ a b Meyer, Jim (1992-04-23). "Now hear this!: Robayat". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. p. 2E. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  11. ^ Pick, Steve (June 22, 1989). "Boiled In Lead Heats It Up At Cicero's". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. 3G. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  12. ^ Bream, Jon (1987-10-01). "Now Hear This: Boiled in Lead". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  13. ^ a b McDonald, Steven. Boiled in Lead at AllMusic. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  14. ^ Hintz, David (November 2012). "Gasmac Gilmore "Dead Donkey"". FolkWorld. No. 49.
  15. ^ Deggans, Eric (August 17, 1989). "Boled in Lead stirs ecletic mix of sound". The Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 19. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  16. ^ Walters, Neal; Mansfield, Brian; Walters, Tim (1998). MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. p. 75. ISBN 1-57859-037-X.
  17. ^ a b Nickson, Chris (Autumn 2008). "Boiled in Lead: One is Silver". Sing Out!. Vol. 52, no. 3. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
  18. ^ a b Nickson, Chris (2008). "Boiled In Lead: 25 years post-emergence, the Minneapolis folk rockers are going strong again". fRoots. No. 300.
  19. ^ Lipsig, Chuck (January 17, 2011). "Boiled in Lead: The Not Quite Complete Recordings". Green Man Review. Archived from the original on January 21, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  20. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (1995). "Boiled in Lead". The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. Middlesex, England: Guinness Publishing. pp. 727–728.
  21. ^ Heim, Chris (July 6, 1989), "From the Ladle to the Grave (Atomic Theory)", Chicago Tribune, archived from the original on June 12, 2015, retrieved April 23, 2015
  22. ^ Coleman, Michael (April 22, 2009), Boiled in Lead: Silver CD, Your Flesh, retrieved June 9, 2015
  23. ^ Hintz, David (July 2012). "Boiled in Lead, The Well Below". FolkWorld. No. 48.
  24. ^ Hanenburg, Ryan (2013-11-12). "Voices of Sepharad at SCSU". University Chronicle. Vol. 90, no. 16. St. Cloud, Minnesota. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  25. ^ Kamins, Richard (2003-04-25). "Piano Concert To Spotlight Wesleyan Undergrads". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. B6. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  26. ^ "Musicians". Parisota Hot Club. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  27. ^ a b "Holiday Music for the World". Dreamland Arts. October 17, 2018. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  28. ^ "Live from Minnesota: Other Country Quartet Part 2". AMPERS. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  29. ^ "Eight Days Out: Redondo". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. June 13, 1999. p. F13. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  30. ^ "The Big Gigs". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. 2006-09-08. p. F7. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  31. ^ Boyle, Frank (January 1979). "Radio Rangers Volume 1". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  32. ^ Boyle, Frank (January 1979). "Radio Rangers Volume 2". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  33. ^ Boyle, Frank (January 1976). "Radio Rangers Volume 3". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  34. ^ "Eight Days Out: Songs of Hope". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. July 26, 1998. p. F13. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  35. ^ "Another Flask Of Weird 06 18 1983 Part 2". Internet Archive. 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  36. ^ "Little City in Space Download Revue #13 - 2004-0731". Internet Archive. 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  37. ^ Bream, Jon (1985-10-11). "Oarfolk record store to reeopen, owner promises". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. p. 19C. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  38. ^ American Folk Music and Folklore Recordings 1983: A Selected List. Washington, D.C.: American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. 1983. p. 31. ISSN 0748-5905.
  39. ^ Chandler, David P. (1985). "Cambodian Traditional Music in Minnesota. Cassette produced by Cliff Sloane; notes and translations by Cliff Sloane and Sithoeurn Chem. Kent, Ohio: World Music Enterprises, 1984. Cassette. N.p.". The Journal of Asian Studies. 44 (4): 904. doi:10.2307/2056523. JSTOR 2056523. S2CID 162310586.
  40. ^ Vaughan, Peter (May 9, 1992). "Guthrie's music makes 'Song' sing". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. p. 7E. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  41. ^ "On screen: Special screenings: The Last Warning". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. August 26, 1994. p. 11E. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  42. ^ Bream, Jon (May 13, 1988). "Prince reigns at Minnie Awards". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. p. 1B-2B. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  43. ^ "Minnesota Music Awards: 1984". Twin Cities Music Highlights. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  44. ^ "Minnesota Music Awards: 1985". Twin Cities Music Highlights. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  45. ^ "Minnesota Music Awards: 1987". Twin Cities Music Highlights. 21 June 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  46. ^ "Minnesota Music Awards: 1988". Twin Cities Music Highlights. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  47. ^ "Minnesota Music Awards: 1989". Twin Cities Music Highlights. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  48. ^ "Minnesota Music Awards: 1990". Twin Cities Music Highlights. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  49. ^ "Minnesota Music Awards: 1993". Twin Cities Music Highlights. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  50. ^ "Minnesota Music Awards: 1995". Twin Cities Music Highlights. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  51. ^ "The Stars". First Avenue & 7th Street Entry. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  52. ^ Bream, Jon (May 3, 2019). "10 things you'll learn about First Avenue in new Minnesota History Center show". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  53. ^ Marsh, Steve (May 13, 2019). "First Avenue's Star Wall". Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  54. ^ Coulter, Tony (2020-08-04). "Tony Coulter: Playlist from August 4, 2020". WFMU. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  55. ^ Salazar, Jorge E. "Early Music Discography: R". Early Music Discography. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  56. ^ Surowicz, Tom (1994-12-11). "Listen up: Edge's sampler haphazard". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. p. 2F. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  57. ^ Knapp, Tom. "Tim Malloys, Drunkards, Bastards, and Blackguards (Fabulous, 2000)". Rambles: A Cultural Arts Magazine. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  58. ^ Raihala, Ross (December 9, 2011). "Sound Affects: Arrivederci, Roma! Polica is the next big thing". St. Paul Pioneer Press. St. Paul, Minnesota. p. E1.
  59. ^ Miller, Drew (August 15, 2013). "Welcome To Bordertown – Special Edition". Felonious Bosch. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  60. ^ Watts, Tee (2014-11-30). "Album Review: Nigel Egg – The Blues Is Personal". Blues Blast Magazine. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  61. ^ "The Big Gigs: World". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. 2014-10-10. p. E4. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  62. ^ Dave Stenshoel at AllMusic. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  63. ^ "WorldJam Live 69". WorldJam. YouTube. 2021-09-21. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
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