"Case 150 sounds like REM vacationed in the wilds of Appalachia and got lost on the way home."
--Tony Ryder (our bud from Wayne Supergenius)
CASE 150 BIOGRAPHY
WARNING: Some of the information on this page can be accepted as truth; however, the band is responsible for the numerous outright lies that appear here as well.
A Brief Musical History
Case 150 was founded in 1997, and has gone through numerous line-ups before landing with the four current members:
Thom Bissey (vocals/guitar/mandolin/banjo/bass)
Troy Chappel (Bass/vocals)
Ken Geist (guitars/vocals)
Tuck Lentz (drums)
Mark Tomeo (Lap Steel/Dobro/vocals)
If someone asks us what kind of music we play, we scratch our heads and utter one or more of the following phrases: Roots Rock or Alt-Country or Americana or Roots Pop. Bottom line is we play American music-songs firmly planted in traditional songwriting and that feature guitars, bass, drums and just about anything else we find laying around that we can figure out how to play.
If someone asks us what we sound like, we usually name a bunch of bands they never heard of, and then stare at the person in disbelief. Following are a bunch of bands that we DON'T sound like, BUT if you like the kind of music these bands do, chances are you might be interested in Case 150. Here is the list: Gram Parsons, The Band, The Jayhawks, Bob Mould, Old 97's, Steve Earle, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Tom Waits, Uncle Tupelo, The Waterboys, R.E.M., Wilco, The Gourds, Los Lobos, Miles Davis, Whiskeytown, Son Volt, Freedy Johnston, The Wonderstuff, Thelonious Monk and Camper Van Beethoven.
While there are unsubstantiated rumors that all the members on Case 150 were raised in petri dishes in a small rural compound a few miles west of Rossville, Pennsylvania (Good luck finding it on a map!), all members have spent some time in other bands:
Thom spent quite a few years in Tucson, Arizona, playing in bands with descriptions as far reaching as "educated punk," "out jazz" and "kind of country, but weird." His favorite and final ensemble in the Old pueblo was the Bandicoots-a charming group of twang-thugs that are all nearly famous today. Thom left his beloved Tucson in search of the perfect cheese sandwich; he is still searching to this very day.
Ken has performed and/or recorded with a variety of Central Pennsylvania bands including Spelling Tuesday, Kasper, Uncle Sam, Plasticville and Another Day. Right now Ken is trying to interpret Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" with a Telecaster twang that will make the women swoon.
Tuck did serious time with cheese-rock gods Bubba, long before cheese-rock was a marketable commodity. He retired to the northern end of the Susquehanna River to give his body time to recover from Bubba. Members of Case 150 kidnapped Tuck under the dark of night, and have forced him to play drums once again. Rumor has it that he is pretty happy about the situation.
Mark, originally from Boston, MA., played and recorded with '80s bands Rubber Rodeo, the dBs and the Gun Club (yes, he's that old). During his Pennsylvania exile he has performed and recorded with The Badlees, Davy Jones, Neon Cactus, Echotown, Cellarbirds, Darcie Miner, John Micek, Ben Kaplan and John Dillon. He can also make frozen drinks and parallel park like you wouldn't believe.
Troy has played in a variety of bands around central PA, according to him there are too many to name and few worth remembering. This is his second stint in Case 150. He actually came back for more
An Ephemeral History
Conceived as a stripped-down studio project with the band starting from scratch and completing a song a day, Ephemera serves as a snapshot of a band stretching out of the bars and into the studio.
"Bret Alexander became interested in our music, and asked if we wanted to work with him," explains Thom Bissey. "Ed (Yashinsky) and I went into the studio with acoustic guitar and bass, and just fleshed out the songs with Bret, Paul Smith and Ron Simasek. Some songs were totally reworked while others stayed close to the original idea.
"We worked out five solid songs at Saturation Acres, but we decided to take a different tact for "My Side of Town," explains Bissey. "John's intimate home studio was the perfect space for the stripped-down sound we were looking for."
Backing musicians for Ephemera include Bret Alexander and Ron Simasek of The Badlees, and John Fritchey of Wayne Supergenius and The Polins. Ephemera was recorded at Saturation Acres (Danville, PA) and Sixth Street Studios (Harrisburg, PA).
CD REVIEWS
Case 150
Ephemera
by Benjy Eisen
The image of Americana doesn't get more authentic than that of a tractor in a field under the great whale blue sky. That tractor could very well be a Case 150. Likewise, local Harrisburg band Case 150 could very well be that image of Americana.
In its four-year existence, Case 150 has undergone a number of musical chairs and personnel changes (half of the current line-up doesn't even appear on the album). In fact, the album is just Thom Bissey (vocal, guitar, bass) and Ed Yashinsky (vocals, bass, guitar) with help from members of The Badlees (Bret Alexander, Ron Simasek), and John Fritchey of Wayne Supergenius and The Polins. As such, and at a length of just under half an hour, Ephemera serves as more of an introduction to Case 150 than a self-standing studio album. All of the songs are originals written by Bissey except one, "Wrecked Up," by Yashinksy.
The disc opener and easy highlight, "She Got Home," showcases Case 150's traditional roots-rock foundation in which sparkling rhythm guitar and four-part harmonies mix with alt-country sensibilities and distortion drenched Nashville-influenced twang. You've heard this sound before; Case 150 isn't taking it to new heights. Ephemera is not testing any boundaries nor are Case 150 leaving fingerprints. They play textbook roots-rock, but they happen to play it exceptionally well. This is music that would be just as at home on the deck of a nightclub in Harrisburg as it would in a cornfield in Illinois. Or at a ski lodge in Colorado. So long as it's in America, it would work.
The word "ephemera" comes from Greek, meaning temporary, that which will be replaced. As an album, Ephemera is indeed temporary and is bound to be replaced - it's too short and the band is only two musicians plus guests. But taken as an indication of what Case 150 is all about and it becomes immediately apparent that once they get going, Case 150 is going to be a case of anything but fleeting. As Harrisburg's best roots-rock band, they've got some real talent matched by a batch of strong songs from the heartland. Ephemera gives us a great glimpse at both of these things.
PA Musician Review
By Alex Greenburg
Thom Bissey and Ed Yashinsky have released an extraordinary collection of six songs. This CD soars with soulful vocals and excellent harmonies. Once again, the boys at Saturation Acres have contributed both their technical excellence and their musical proficiency to yet another artist. Bret Alexander, Paul Smith and Ron Simasek provide a first rate back-up band for the guitars and vocals of Bissey and Yashinsky. From the up-tempo opener, "She Got Home," the outstanding melodic "Katie" and the more raucous "Cascade of Blonde," "Wrecked Up" to the wistful "Ten Years" and "My Side of Town," Thom Bissey's writing brings the most out of the contributing artists. This is one of those CDs that makes you check your player to make sure something isn't wrong with it when it's over. I hope sincerely that this venture was not a lark and that this potent combination of songwriting and instrumental talent collaborates again. Get this one
BAND PROFILE
Case 150: A Slice of Americana
By Jeff Royer
Harrisburg-based Case 150 is pulling up rock and roll by its roots, dirt and all.
"Case 150 sounds like R.E.M. vacationed in the wilds of Appalachia and got lost on their way home," says bassist/vocalist Ed Yashinsky. "We categorize ourselves and throw around 'alt-country,' but most people scratch their heads about that, too. It's something to call ourselves, but you just sort of have to hear the music and see what you think."
While Case 150 isn't exactly trying to be avant garde, they do distinguish themselves via an intense concentration on song structure and melody. Fans of rockers like Son Volt, Will Hoge, or Vigilantes of Love will take to the band immediately, thanks in part to lead singer/multi-instrumentalist Thom Bissey's utterly distinctive voice, a fragile, shimmery tenor.
Bissey and Yashinsky have been composing music since 1999; however, the band's current lineup has only existed since November 2001, when guitarist Ken Geist and drummer Tuck Lentz joined the band. Yashinsky's friendship with Jeff Feltenberger of The Badlees (the two co-wrote a song on The Badlees' Amazing Grace) led to a studio session in Saturation Acres, resulting in Case 150's debut CD, Ephemera (2001). The band makes it a point, according to Yashinsky, to recapture the disc's roots rock feel during their live sets. "[Our live show] is pretty straight-forward rock, kind of country-tinged, and sort of laid out on a platter for you. ... I would say in some ways it's a little less textural than the record is, but we try to keep it pretty close."
Case 150's immediate plans include a number of juicy gigs with great like-minded bands such as The Cellarbirds and Philly's resident lap steel virtuoso, Slo-Mo. Long-term plans, however, remain a question mark. "Well, it would be nice if someone wants to, like, pay for us to put a record out," Yashinsky laughs. "We're willing to put time into [the band], and we want to have a lot of fun doing it, but it's not like we're doing it to necessarily be a bar band. So we're trying to pick and choose, and have fun, and play the gigs that we think are good for us."
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