10 ITEMS OR FEWER
“On The Fossil Record, singer-songwriter Mike Hallenbeck flaunts his usual smarts, humor, and pathos.” —Keith Harris, Racket
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10 Items or Fewer is music by Mike Hallenbeck & co. The music soaks post-skiffle X-treme indie folk in the depths of flyover country and psychedelia– harboring lyrics about dinosaurs, mammoths, Evel Kneivel, Star Wars, a crashed Russian space station, and Planet of the Apes.
Before he exited the Witness Protection Program, Hallenbeck was known back in the day for his work as leader of Mike Merz & the Can O’ Worms— honored as Songwriter of the Year by City Pages until Mason Jennings moved into the Songwriter’s Mansion the year after. Hallenbeck has also worked with artists ranging from Pimentos for Gus to Lori Wray to Dan Dukich to Andy McCormick— honing skills as a songwriter, arranger, producer, and mix engineer.
A zippy slice of zydeco-surf-folk-bop about getting started on the unexpectedly small challenges, over and over again, the latest single “Life Sentence Fragment” is the first fruit of recent sessions from an emerging body of work.
Appropriately titled “The Fossil Record”, 10 Items’ debut album began as home recording sessions back in 2002. Abandoned in slow motion in the succeeding years and resurrected during 2020 quarantine, the record uniquely blends performances across decades and purees the results into a rootsy, genre-bending, art-damaged parfait.
Based in the proverbial Twin Cities of Minneapolis- St Paul, 10 Items or Fewer has performed at venues like James Ballentine Uptown VFW Post 246, Barely Brothers Records, Bryant Lake Bowl, Dusty’s Bar, Phoenix Theater, and the Turf Club.
10 Items has shared the stage with artists like Martin Devaney, Gated Community, Joe Fahey, Steeplejack, and Annie Enneking (Annie and the Bang Bang). Ranging from an intimate pseudo-acoustic vocal duo rapid response team to a full six-member ensemble (Jon Duncan: accordion and keys, Dan Gaarder: electric guitar, Rhiannon Fiskradatz: harmony vocals, Keely Lane: drums, Matt Regan: bass), this project can accommodate audience needs from the intimate to the rambunctious.
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