Though Tina Schlieske of Tina & the B-Sides has lived in California for the past 25 years, with some time there even earlier, she said her Minnesota roots still give her away.
“My sister Laura lives out here too, and when the two of us get together our Minnesota accents really come out,” said the Chicago-born, Minneapolis-raised musician. “They definitely know we’re not from California, especially when Laura starts talking about the Minnesota Vikings.”
Schlieske still spends plenty of time in Minnesota, whether performing solo, playing with one of her many bands, or retreating to the family cabin tucked into the woods near Ely.
“We spent every summer there since I was five or six,” she recalled. “So much of my childhood was up north in northern Minnesota. Whenever I go back, it’s always nostalgic, and I love it. The North Shore is so beautiful.”
She will bring Tina & the B-Sides to Silver Bay on Friday, August 29, for the Rocky Wall Entertainment Free Music in the Park series. The band will stay for the Rocky Wall Benefit House Concert the next evening, with all proceeds supporting music in Silver Bay.
She has played shows locally over the years, but her upcoming performance will be her first in Silver Bay, and she is eager to finally experience it for herself, saying, “I can’t wait. A lot of people have talked about how beautiful it is. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Schlieske’s musical life extends far beyond The B-Sides. Over the years, she has fronted the feminist-punk band Genital Panic, explored jazz standards in her Sinatra to Simone project, and formed Graceland Exiles with her sister Laura in California. She has also performed with Minneapolis all-stars in Lola and the Red Hots.
“Too many band names,” she joked in our interview when I asked about the origin of the name “B-Sides,” but each band tends to reflect a different shade of her voice.
The name B-Sides came together on the fly when Schlieske’s band landed their first gig in the 1980s, opening for the Urban Guerrillas, a gritty Minneapolis post-punk group. At the time, her band was inspired by Adam and the Ants, whose early lineup had a side project called the B-Sides. They borrowed the name temporarily and it ended up sticking.
Schlieske joked that for a time, some of her audience didn’t know what a B-side was. (For younger readers: B-sides are the flip side of a vinyl record, often home to the weird, the raw, and the wonderful. And please, stop making me feel old.)
Whether fronting a punk band or crooning jazz standards, Schlieske brings a raw, magnetic energy to the stage. Her voice, equal parts grit and grace, has been described as soulful, powerful, and precise. At the Silver Bay show, she said fans can expect a mix of B-Sides originals and older covers, delivered with the chemistry that only decades of playing together can create.
“Playing with the B-Sides, it’s like putting on your favorite sweater or your favorite pair of socks,” said Schlieske. “It’s that ease and how everybody feels so comfortable. We just get together and we just laugh. We’ve got so much time that we spent with each other that when we get together it’s like no time has passed.”
With Schlieske’s sister lending vocals, Jeremy Plumb on bass, Troy Norton on guitar and vocals, Ron Caron on drums, and Brian Ziemniak on keys, the B-Sides’ current lineup is full of talent. The band released three albums in the 1990s, took a hiatus, and returned with another album in 2014.
“I love playing with these guys so much,” Schlieske said. “They know where I’m going, no matter what— mid-song or whatever. They anticipate everything. It’s just all the best parts of being in a band when you play with them.”
Over the years, they have won multiple Minnesota Music Awards, earned a coveted First Avenue Star on the exterior wall of Minneapolis’s legendary venue, and had their music featured in several motion pictures.
Through it all, the band members have remained close friends, a bond that has helped them navigate the challenges of the music world. Their friendship shows on stage, creating a natural chemistry that makes every performance feel effortless and full of life.
“There are a lot of bands that get together and they’re all talented but that’s all they have is talent. They don’t really like each other as people,” Schlieske explained. “For this band, I just feel like we’ve been so fortunate. We all love each other as people and as humans and respect each other so much as musicians and artists. It’s a very special thing that we have and I’m very grateful and thankful for it.”
Schlieske also expressed gratitude for the Minneapolis music scene. When asked about a mentor, she pointed to the scene itself, describing it as a kind of family.
“I’ve watched and been a part of that scene and it’s almost like being with an older brother or older sister. Of course there’s bickering here and there and fighting here and there but, as a whole, how they take care of their own and in the depth of talent it’s just incredible,” she explained. “The Minneapolis music scene is the best thing. It’s how I mentored, got mentored, cut my teeth, and learned so many things from so many musicians. Being part of that scene was just incredible.”
Throughout her career, Schlieske has collaborated with many talented artists. When asked if it ever felt surreal, she replied, “Yes, I don’t think I could say that fast enough. It felt very surreal.”
Some of the artists she has worked with include Rose Stone of Sly and the Family Stone, Benmont Tench, Tom Petty’s longtime keyboardist, and James Burton, Elvis Presley’s guitarist.
“When you hear Elvis Presley songs, that particular guitar line and sound? That’s James Burton,” Schlieske said. “Getting the chance to be in the same studio and have him play on a couple of my songs was pretty incredible.”
For Schlieske, these experiences were proof that she was headed in the right direction.
“It’s crazy, but when you just keep your head down and you’re just working towards a goal, and if you’re doing it right, of course you should be crossing paths with people that you admire and aspire to be or aspire to play with,” she said. “That’s when you know you’re doing something right.”
The musician is also doing something right with her most recent release, The Good Life, which consists of jazz standards.
“As an artist, you get bored, and the best way to grow is to keep learning new things,” she said. “[Jazz] was a style I loved but never had the courage to tackle as a singer. Right before COVID, I was feeling restless and thought, ‘You know what? I’m just going to do this.’ It was petrifying, but I’m so thankful I did because I learned so much and met incredible musicians I’m still close with in the jazz world.”
Jazz can be a different animal in the world of music. Schlieske explained that rock and blues are largely emotion-driven, with simpler chord progressions where the focus is on feeling. Jazz, however, requires a different kind of balance.
“A three-chord blues song can be so moving and so amazing,” she said. “But with jazz, there’s a complication. It’s that you almost need to temper your emotion, because there’s a technique. You’re the vocalist and just another instrument in there. There’s no note bending in the sense of blues where you can kind of get away with that. You can get away with a lot in blues and rock n’ roll as a singer, I think.”
She continued, “But with jazz there’s a melody you need to follow that is an unspoken thing. Then if you are good enough, you can jump around and dance around that melody. But it needs to be in tune. You’re just another instrument within the ensemble and there’s something exciting to me about that because it’s all equal form.”
Schlieske credits her family for her love of all kinds of music. Her mom played everything from Janis Joplin to Kris Kristofferson, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, classical music, and opera. Her dad enjoyed Tammy Wynette and George Jones, while her sister brought home Aretha Franklin and jazz from college.
“I feel like I was just like a sponge, absorbing it all,” she said. “I truly just love music so much. I feel that you can live on this earth for 100 years and still not come close to listening to all the different genres and artists that are out there interpreting different genres.”
Whether it’s punk, jazz, or a lakeside concert in Silver Bay, Tina Schlieske keeps proving that the good life is wherever the music takes her.
Mark your calendars to come listen to Tina & the B-Sides play some original rock and blues as well as some older covers. Don’t worry, I asked Schlieske to be sure to bring some California sunshine to the show in Silver Bay to allow for the concert to be outdoors.
Find out more about Tina’s music at tinaschlieske.com. For tickets to the benefit concert and other event details, visit rockywallentertainment.org.
