By: Mark Scarborough
1-25-97
Over the Rapids
The Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune
Mixing wailing saxophone riffs with agonizingly soulful vocals - and blending in the best bass, guitar, drums and keyboard imaginable - the band has just begun to make itself heard in Wisconsin Rapids.
Often as not, they are to be found Thursday nights, from 9 p.m. to midnight, at Shoof's Sports Bar and Entertainment Center, 111 E. Jackson Street. Their play schedule depends on the shift work responsibilities of their lead vocalist, as well as the work a day worlds of other members.
Although beginning with the polished bones of rarefied musical talent, the Boilerhouse troupe thrives on improvisational, audience - grabbing, in - your - face blues. "There's really little structure to speak of," said lead vocalist Dade Grode. " you just go with your feelings."
"There's so much expression that's available. You're not pinned down to one thing. It's just living at the edge for the whole time you're on. You work off the last, and you know what the next lead is going to be, but there's so much freedom in between."
Relying on vibrant interaction with the audience, the Boilerhouse experience is "sort of like the difference between painting by numbers and painting on a white canvas," said the group's saxaphone player, Rod Keyzer.
"When you start out, there's the very real and exciting possibility that you don't know exactly what will come next."
Although only performing since last fall, Boilerhouse has attracted a loyal following at its sessions, which are offered without cover charge.
The group has working - class roots, with a vengeance.
But it also boasts some of the best blues, jazz and rock and roll musicians in Wisconsin:
ROD KEYZER: Boilerhouse sax player, Port Edwards, works as a salesman for Nekoosa Corp. He's a driving force behind Mr. Twister, a Wisconsin Rapids area band that has performed at wedding receptions and other special events for years.
DADE GRODE: A Saratoga gent who works for Georgia Pacific Corp. on a crew manning the firm's No. 14 recovery boiler at Nekoosa, belts out some of the wickedest blues north of Chicago. His chance meeting with Keyzer started the Boilerhouse momentum that's still pushing the band forward.
JACK HURRISH: Who also performs with Mr. Twister, is the Boilerhouse bass player. He manages a Catholic cemetery in Stevens Point. His playing is so clean and tight that Grode regularly pulls his vocal from the bass lead. "I can work all the way around his notes, bending and shaping."
JEFF EBEL: The Boilerhouse Drummer, works days as a highly - praised carpenter and woodworker. Also a drummer for Mr. Twister, Ebel is admired for his "nice, crisp high hat" playing. "If a drummer isn't happening, a band dies really fast," Keyzer said.
DAN SCHMICK: Boilerhouse lead guitarist, frequently appears at the American Bistro and Shoof's with his Singer Showcase karaoke setup, inviting all and sundry to come on stage and sing.
JIM JINKERSON: The Boilerhouse keyboard man, works days as a salesman for Rapids Ford-Lincoln-Mercury.
Among their other talents, Hurrish, schmick and Ebel also provide vocals, and can gracefully ease into a three-part harmony. "It's enough to make the hair stand up on the back of your head," Keyzer said.
Like a lot of things that matter, Boilerhouse started almost by accident.
Grode had invested 14 years of his life in the steady, dependable papermill scene, a job choice he made after the birth of a daughter.
Then, he had the jolt of a lifetime. The 41 - year-old man stumbled through three heart attacks in three months during 1996.
From a youngster of about 6 to a young man of almost 30, Grode had made music his life. When just a toddler, the Nekoosa played accordion at area bars. " My dad would take me around."
Playing his way through roughly 20-25 different bands, mainly " throw-together deals," had kept Grode on the road for weeks and months at a time.
After fatherhood, he gave it up, cold turkey.
Now, his wife convinced him to sing again. His kids had never heard him and the time to do so was now, she said.
So Grode competed in a karaoke contest staged by Schmick.
Bending the bruised notes of a blues tune into a joyful wail, Grode walked away with the honors - even though the ailing singer had walked into the hall with nitro tablets necessary to save him from another heart attack.
Grode also walked away with the admiration of Wade Pfeiffer, Rod Keyzer's brother-in-law.
He called me up and said, "This guy I work with. You gotta hear him sing, Rod." I said " OK, OK." Well, I was playing with a bunch of guys from Stevens Point, at the Wheel House at Waupaca, and I asked Dade to show up. We had a pretty hot rhythm section going there. But when Dade opened up on the first song, my jaw dropped.
We were all looking for a creative outlet, and we all loved the blues music we remembered from the '60s. It had inspired so many of the people we loved to listen to as kids.
We had a couple of rehearsals with these guys. Then, the keyboard player came on line and we just said, 'Book the job.' It's almost like a pool league or dart league. We all have our own lives, and we're not going anywhere because we all have other jobs, but we also have to this to keep us going. and it just gets better and better."
For Grode, singing with the Boilerhouse Blues boys is a dream come true. " I can't even explain it. It's something I've tried to find forever."
"Sometimes, when these guys play, I'm part of the crowd. I almost forget when to come in. When they break out in a lead, it's not like, " Here's my best product,' but more like, ' Here, come and take a walk with me.'
" I have more fun with this band than anything I've ever done with music , honest to God. And I've got to jump up to lick their boots."
Keyzer promptly returned the compliment. Grode " deserves to be in front of a band like this," the sax player said. ' When the vocals are phrased just right, gives you the one note that makes the world cry.
"That's what's so fine about Dade. His phrasing is just great. And he has the ultimate kind of blues voice. I was a little embarrassed to find out a guy with his talent lived a few miles away and had skipped by me,"
There are a lot of instruments around the area " with out a drop of soul in them," Keyzer said. Not so with Boilerhouse.
" We want to provide an alternative for people
of Wisconsin Rapids," Keyzer added.
" They don't have to go to Chicago or Milwaukee or Wausau. They can come right here."
{PS}
Since this article appeared, Jack Hurrish and Jeff Ebble left the Boilerhouse Blues Band. Their input and friendship will always be greatly appreciated. Look for them in Mr. Twister and also sitting back in with the Boilerhouse Blues Band from time to time.
To take their places:
Mikes Kinney...Bass Guitar
Jack Faville...Drums
Large shoes to fill but very capable musicians!
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