In its 1980s heyday, the band found great success in Minneapolis and the Midwest, and scored radio and dance-club hits with the songs "Music for Boys", "Waiting", and "Love Is the Law". The band released four albums and two EPs, including the well-regarded In Combo, Credit in Heaven, and Love Is The Law. The band frequently headlined at Minneapolis's most influential music clubs, including Jay's Longhorn Bar and First Avenue.[1][2] Ira Robbins of Trouser Press called the band "one of Minneapolis’ major musical resources of the late ’70s and early ’80s".[3]
Band history
Pre-Suburbs: 1974–1977
Keyboardist Chan Poling and guitarist Beej Chaney, who had met in high school at The Blake School in Minneapolis, were inspired to form a band after being inspired by the punk scene in Los Angeles, where they had gone to art school in 1974. While still in Los Angeles, they formed a band called The Technocats in 1976 along with Sue Tissue of post-punk band Suburban Lawns.
After returning to the western suburbs of Minneapolis the next year, Poling asked his friend Chris Osgood of Minneapolis punk band Suicide Commandos if he and Chaney could join that band. Osgood instead introduced them to drummer Hugo Klaers, guitarist Bruce Allen, and bassist Michael Halliday, who had been playing in a group called Tsetse Flies. The Suburbs were formed in November 1977.[4][5][6]
Twin/Tone era and major labels: 1977–1987
The Suburbs' sound crossed the sophisticated glam rock of Roxy Music and David Bowie with the rawer energy of punk-inflected groups like Talking Heads and Devo.[5] Poling and Chaney both sang, and Chaney's unique sound on guitar came to be known by fans as "beejtar."[7] The band's energy was described by music writer Martin Keller as the interplay between the "accomplished and often romantic" Poling and his "manic foil" Chaney.[8] Cyn Collins, author of Complicated Fun: The Birth of Minneapolis Punk and Indie Rock, 1974–1984, described Chaney as "a riveting front man, menacing and hilarious at the same time."[5] Chaney's quirky, unpredictable stage presence was often compared to Iggy Pop,[5] while Trouser Press' Robbins compared Poling favorably to Bryan Ferry for his "cool in the eye of the storm."[3]
The band released its first record, a nine-song 7-inch red vinyl EP titled The Suburbs, in early 1978. It was also the first release for its label, Twin/Tone, which would become one of the most influential indie labels of the 1980s. The band also saw two songs, "Urban Guerrillas" and "Ailerons O.K.", included on the compilation Big Hits of Mid-America, Volume Three. Allen did the art direction for the compilation. He also designed the Suburb's iconic logo, five generic men in a circle, seen on many of their albums. He also designed Twin/Tone's logo.[9]
After building a following playing basement parties, the Suburbs had their first major success at influential Minneapolis punk/New Wave nexus Jay's Longhorn Bar; Klaers said that after getting regular gigs at the venue, "we went from nobodies to this super popular band. It was just crazy. The Longhorn shows were always packed." One notable audience member at the Suburbs' shows was Bruce Springsteen, then on tour supporting his album The River, who was so impressed with the band that he nearly joined them on stage for an encore.[10] The band's popularity increased during the early to mid-1980s, and during this time, their new wave dance sound, eclectic lyrics, and stage presence gained a following that broke out of the Midwest and reached both coasts. In 1980 Twin/Tone released their first full-length LP, In Combo.
The single "World War III" (and its B-side, "Change Agent") showed development of the band's songwriting abilities and improved sound. A year later, they released the double album Credit In Heaven, which added elements of jazz, funk, and disco. The single "Music for Boys" was taken from the record and became a radio hit.
In 1982, the band released the 12-inch single "Waiting", which frequently found its way onto dance club playlists. The EP Dream Hog followed on Twin/Tone, featuring three new songs and a remix of "Waiting" on the B-side, all produced by Steven Greenberg of Funkytown and Lipps Inc fame.
Greenberg then brought the Suburbs to the attention of the label Phonogram in 1983. Phonogram started by re-issuing Dream Hog on the Mercury label.[11] Keyboardist/vocalist Chan Poling commented, "We love what Twin/Tone did for us, but we've always wanted to sell records, to join the big time, and you just can't do that on a little label."[11] By this time, the band's live performances were muscular and funky, attracting rabid fans and keeping the band busy as an opening act for the likes of Iggy Pop and The B-52's, as well as headliners in their own right. They often went on stage wearing matching dinner jackets.[11] In 1983 Polygram released Love is the Law, a harder-rocking album that included a horn section and some of their most off-beat lyrics, also produced by Greenberg. In 1986, The Suburbs signed with A&M Records and released The Suburbs, produced by Prince's Revolution drummer Bobby Z. (credited as Robert Brent). Frustrated by a lack of radio play and abandoned by the major labels, the band broke up in 1987.
The group was nominated for numerous Minnesota Music Awards, winning three: Best LP for Credit in Heaven in 1982,[12] and awards for both the Love is the Law album and its title single in 1984.[13]
Post-breakup and reunion: 1990–2009
Chaney moved to Los Angeles in 1990. Although the Suburbs reformed in the early 1990s, Klaers noted that the physical distance between Chaney and the rest of the band contributed to Chaney's growing sense of creative dissatisfaction, as the other musicians evolved together without him: "Everything changed. It kind of put a dent in his creative juices." Although Chaney continued to play with the band, his presence diminished over time.[5]
In 2002, the Suburbs reissued the albums In Combo, Credit In Heaven and Love Is The Law on CD on the band's own Beejtar Records. In 2003, the band issued Chemistry Set: The Songs Of The Suburbs 1977 - 1987 (a best of CD with a few bonus tracks and a DVD of their 2002 performances at Minneapolis' First Avenue).
In 2004, Chan Poling formed The New Standards with John Munson and Steve Roehm. The jazz group's live set included rearranged melodies of Suburbs songs such as "Love Is The Law".
On December 7, 2009, guitarist Bruce Allen died at 54 after numerous health problems.[9][14][15] Bassist Michael Halliday retired in 2009 due to arthritis.[4]
Reformation and new albums: 2013–present
On November 19, 2013 Si Sauvage, the band's first new release in 27 years, was released. Si Sauvage featured founding members Poling, Klaers, and Chaney, plus new bandmates Steve Brantseg and Steve Price and guest vocalists Janey Winterbauer and Aby Wolf. The album grew out of the band's reunion shows in tribute to Allen.[5]
The Suburbs' star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue
On August 26, 2014, the Suburbs announced that founding member Beej Chaney was taking a temporary leave of absence.[16]
The band's new lineup included original members Poling and Klaers, sax player Max Ray of The Wallets, guitarists Brantseg and Jeremy Ylvisaker, bassist Steve Prince, backing vocalist Janey Winterbauer, Rochelle Becker on baritone saxophone, and Steven Kung on horns and keyboards.
The band has been honored with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue,[17] recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue.[18] Receiving a star "might be the most prestigious public honor an artist can receive in Minneapolis," according to journalist Steve Marsh.[19]
In July 2021, the band was the first group to play First Avenue after its closure during the COVID-19 pandemic by playing two sold-out shows at the 7th Street Entry to celebrate the release of their new album Poets Party.
In January 2025, Beej Chaney died while swimming in the Pacific Ocean near Hermosa Beach, California, where he had been living. Officials called the death an accident. Chaney's surviving family included three daughters.[20] Outside of the Suburbs, Chaney also released two solo works, the 2003 album Windows and the 1992 EP Reckless Heart.[21] He had also owned the Malibu recording studio Shangri-La from the late 1990s to 2011. Before his death, he had been working on a rockabilly/punk album called Shake It All Up with Robby Vee, the son of 1960s singer Bobby Vee. Chaney co-wrote, sang and played guitar on all the songs. The album had been due for release in early 2025.[20]
The Suburbs were voted among the "100 Most Influential Minnesota Musical Entities of the Twentieth Century" by The Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Chan Poling was voted #6 in Rake Magazine's "Favorite Minnesota Rockers" poll (alongside Prince, Bob Dylan, and Paul Westerberg).
The Minnesota Music Awards honored Chan Poling with their POP (Perpetually Outstanding Performer) Award.[23]
Media
In 1993, the song "Love is the Law" was featured during Darlene's prom dance scene during the season 5 episode "Promises, Promises" of the sitcom Roseanne.
"Rattle My Bones" was featured in a television ad for Target, and is also played during Minnesota Vikings home games.[23]
The Replacements were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1979 after nineteen-year-old Bob Stinson gifted his eleven-year-old brother Tommy Stinson a bass guitar. The band was composed of the guitarist and vocalist Paul Westerberg, guitarist Bob Stinson, bass guitarist Tommy Stinson, and drummer Chris Mars for most of its existence. After two albums in the style of punk rock, they became one of the main pioneers of alternative rock with their acclaimed albums Let It Be and Tim. Bob Stinson was kicked out of the band in 1986, and Slim Dunlap joined as lead guitarist. Steve Foley replaced Mars in 1990. Towards the end of the band's career, Westerberg exerted more control over its creative output. The group disbanded in 1991 and the members eventually found various projects. A reunion was announced on October 3, 2012. Fans affectionately refer to the band as the 'Mats, a nickname which originated as a truncation of "The Placemats".
The Suicide Commandos are an American punk rock trio from Minneapolis. They formed in 1975 and released two 7-inch EPs on an indie label in 1976 and 1977 before signing with Blank Records in 1977 and releasing one album, Make a Record. Despite their short original 4-year stint together, the Suicide Commandos are considered the pioneers for jump-starting a punk rock music scene in the Twin Cities, which eventually produced bands like The Suburbs, Hüsker Dü, The Replacements and Soul Asylum.
Twin/Tone Records was an independent record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which operated from 1977 until 1994. It was the original home of influential Minnesota bands the Replacements and Soul Asylum and was instrumental in helping the Twin Cities music scene achieve national attention in the 1980s. Along with other independent American labels such as SST Records, Touch and Go Records, and Dischord, Twin/Tone helped to spearhead the nationwide network of underground bands that formed the pre-Nirvana indie-rock scene. These labels presided over the shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock that were emerging.
Trip Shakespeare was an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota and active from the mid 1980s to early 1990s. The band included Dan Wilson and John Munson, who would later go on to be founding members of Semisonic.
Jay's Longhorn Bar was a small scale concert venue, known for being a nexus of the punk rock and New Wave scenes in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Chandler Hall "Chan" Poling is an American musician and composer. He is best known as the leader of Minneapolis punk/New Wave group The Suburbs.
Polara is an American alternative rock band formed in 1994 by Ed Ackerson, a musician and producer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band was considered one of the most prominent and creative groups to emerge from Minneapolis in the 1990s. Billboard writer Deborah Russell called Ackerson and Polara the front of "the emergence of a new local scene" more interested in pop music and postpunk than the punk rock of bands like Hüsker Dü and The Replacements.
Curtiss A is a musician and visual artist from Minneapolis. One of the original artists on the Twin/Tone Records label, he performs one of the most popular shows in the Twin Cities, an annual tribute to John Lennon held at First Avenue. He was the first musician to headline at First Avenue's sister club 7th Street Entry, and opened for Prince's first concert at First Avenue.
In Combo is the debut album released by the American New wave band The Suburbs, released in 1980.
Credit in Heaven is an album released by the American New wave band The Suburbs, released in 1981.
Dream Hog EP is an EP released by the band The Suburbs. Initially released by Twin/Tone Records, it was later reissued on the Mercury label, making it the band's first major label release.
Love Is the Law is an album by the American New wave band The Suburbs, released in 1984.
Suburbs is an album by the American new wave band The Suburbs, released in 1986. It was their first and only release on A&M Records. The album has never been released on compact disc. It was produced by former Revolution drummer Bobby Z..
Si Sauvage is an album released on both 12" vinyl and CD by the American New wave band The Suburbs, released in 2013. It was recorded 27 years after their last studio release.
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Suburbs Have Left the Building is a compilation album by the American New wave band The Suburbs that focuses on their releases from 1978 through 1984. The album does not contain any songs from their 1986 self-titled release. It was released by Twin/Tone Records in 1992.
Little Man's Gonna Fall is a single by the band The Suburbs. It was released by Buy Record's in 1987.
Viva! Suburbs! Live at First Avenue is a live album by the American New wave band The Suburbs that was recorded "mostly" on April 24, 1993 at First Avenue, a music venue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Viva! Suburbs! Live at First Avenue was released by Twin/Tone in 1994.
High Fidelity Boys - Live 1979 is a full-length live album by the band The Suburbs recorded between March and October 1979 at Jay's Longhorn in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was released by Terry Katzman's Garage D'or Records in 2006.
Chemistry Set: Songs of the Suburbs 1977–1987 is a compilation album by the American New wave band The Suburbs, released in 2003. The two-disc package contains selected studio tracks and a DVD featuring 37 minutes of live footage of a series of 2002 reunion shows at the Minneapolis club First Avenue. It also include the band's last single, "Don't Do Me Any Favors".
Blaine John "Beej" Chaney was an American musician. He was best known as singer and guitarist for Minneapolis punk/New Wave group The Suburbs from 1977 to 2014. He also owned Los Angeles recording studio Shangri-La for about two decades from the late 1990s to 2011.
References
↑ Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements 0306822032 Bob Mehr - 2016 "In hopes of finding a new band to round out the roster, Twin/Tone threw an audition party at Blackberry Way in January 1978. Half a dozen groups turned up and played, including the one they signed: the Suburbs. The Suburbs were a ..."
↑ The Trouser Press Record Guide - Page 643 0020363613 Ira A. Robbins - 1991 The Suburbs EP (Twin/Tone) 1978 In ... (A&M) 1986 One of Minneapolis' major musical resources, the Suburbs maintained the same lineup from their vinyl debut (and the first single on the extraordinary Twin/ Tone label), via a 1978 nine-song ..
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