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The Dumpster Lads "Singles 1966​-​1968"

by Jason Beers

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1.
The Quail 02:50
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2.
Brazoo 02:17
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3.
Spillway 02:28
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4.
The Madman of Bemidji 02:13
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5.
Giant Squid Versus Whale 02:56
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6.
Mr. Nemo 02:16
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7.
Lexeena 01:56
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8.
Petit Jean 03:11
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9.
Hawg-Tied in the High Tide 02:31
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10.
Fuzz Drip 02:24
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about

The Dumpster Lads:
Guitar - Ralph Krusmetski
Bass - Karl Gringphoffer
Drums - Patrick Jax (1964 - Nov. of 1965), Patricia Jax (Nov. of 1965 - 1966)
Organ - Cornelius Foot
Bassoon, Bird Calls - Petey Hovis


P.L.S. Music BMI
Produced by Melvin R. Daniels
Engineered by H.S. Murkee
Quilt Records
Fontana, California

In the fall of 1963, five high-school friends in Sparta, Minnesota formed The Dumpster Lads. Exploring the garage rock and surf instumental genre, they performed at several high-school dances, VFW halls, FFA and 4H events, and one funeral thoughout the state (plus one dance in Omaha, Nebraska). With Ralph Krusmetski on guitar, Karl Gringphoffer on electric bass guitar, Cornelius Foot on organ, Patrick Jax on drums, and Petey Hovis on bassoon (and bird calls), they were signed by Clancy Snarrup on the Quilt Records label in January of 1964.
Several years prior, Clancy Snarrup had put out an LP by Dr. Paul Hovis on the Quilt Records "romantic" subsidiary label Pegasus Records. The history is murky here, but Snarrup owed Dr. Hovis a favor and part of that situation was to put out five singles of a band with whom his son played bassoon. After Dr. Hovis's tragic death, his son Petey Hovis had been sent from his home In Elroy, Wisconsin to be raised by his uncle, Turner Hovis, and help out with the Hovis family farm. Continuing in the father's footsteps, Petey took up the bassoon. Unusual for a rock and roll combo, Petey's bassoon ended up buried in the final mixes of their recordings by producer Melvin R. Daniels.
The Dumpster Lads recorded those five singles in the course of two years. Months before the last single, drummer Patrick Jax abruptly quit the band, but luckily divulged to the others' surprise, that he had a twin sister by the name of Patricia that also played drums. An incredibly quick learner, she was brought on board for a number of shows and the last single.
However, the records did not sale well, despite their live success and radio play in their immediate area. Around 1000 copies were pressed of each single, yet only 126 are known to exist among collectors. Every single one of those copies had some odd problem where the records deteriorated quickly after each play, due to tainted materials used in the pressing plant. Clancy Snarrup blamed Melvin R. Daniels (producer and talent scout) and H.S Murkee (the engineer), but it was probably his own fault for hiring out a cut-rate pressing plant located on the property of a former nuclear waste site in Arizona.
Many decades later, the original tape reels were found in the Hovis family barn. Found in the barn's loft underneath a stack of clothing and hay, they somehow survived several harsh winters and blazingly hot summers, two floods, and four shootouts on the property over the years. The 1/4" and 1/2" reels of tape were lovingly restored and digitally remastered by Fletcher Munson (as best he could) over the course of five years. For the first time, the entire Dumpster Lads output is on one collection.
Where are The Dumpster Lads now? Ralph Krusmetski put out a couple of jazz-fusion albums in the 1970s before retiring from the music business to concentrate on his first love - raising exotic hamsters. Krusmetski passed away in 1985, due to complications from the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus that he contracted by a hamster bite. Karl Gringphoffer and Cornelius Foot were both drafted during the Vietnam War and, sadly, did not return. Patrick Jax was never seen again after he left the band. Patricia Jax moved to New York City and was involved in several Off-Broadway productions, including an all-nude musical adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath (co-starring Quilt Records alumni Hinata and Eliichi Onaga. Finally, Petey Hovis was violently gunned down at the Hovis family farm in the mid-80s. His son plays the saxophone, breaking away from the Hovis bassoon tradition. He has plans to eventually play a few tribute shows for his father and his legendary band from Sparta, Minnesota - The Dumpster Lads!

credits

released March 16, 2020

Special thanks to Hank Tilbury and Jeremy Schutte.

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Jason Beers Kansas City, Missouri

Jason Beers is a Kansas City, Kansas native. He's been playing for well over 35 years. Primarily a bass player, in acts such as The Brannock Device, Dead Voices, Scott Hrabko, The Ants, occasionally Freight Train Rabbit Killer, and many more, Jason Beers also plays solo clawhammer banjo gigs. ... more

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