The Tender Bone

The Tender Bone is not your father’s jam band; however, we hear your mom is pretty fond of them. Whether it is lead singer and guitarist Peter Rodenberg’s insatiable fetish for card-carrying AARP members, or the Justin Bieber good looks of guitarist Zach Walker, or the dark, brooding sensuality of bassist Robbie Frazelle, or even drummer Kenny Osia’s insistence on calling all women “Shirley,” moms everywhere agree that The Tender Bone is a musical force to be reckoned with.

A growing iPod favorite among the menopause set, The Tender Bone’s reach and impact on the Midwest music scene has grown from a small following of dedicated “Boners” to a full-throttle phenomenon that has rocked house parties and intimate venues across the region, fueled by indie hits such as “Cougar Night,” “Shaped Like a Pear” and Rodenberg’s homage to classic reggae soul with “I Think This Bitch is Freaky.”

From their humble beginnings as a tuxedo-wearing lounge act, The Tender Bone took root amidst the well-publicized armed band battles that tore the region’s music scene asunder during the dark days of the Bush presidency. After all the original members were killed in a series of exploding effect pedal attacks, Rodenberg searched the Internet to make sure there were no standing claims to the band name and set off to seduce his bandmates with his iconic promise of “Great Grey Beavers for All!”

Walker, whose previous claim to fame came as guitarist for Infinite Catfish, was languishing in a Thai massage parlor, forced to provide noodling guitar riffs meant to cover the sound of successive happy endings for the shop’s clientele. Frazelle, who previously shared the stage with Rodenberg in the long-lived Mississippi Flapjacks, had abandoned music altogether and was reportedly living in seclusion in Taos, N.M., under the alias “J. Thomas Funkmeister.” The origins of one Kenneth Osia remain shrouded in mystery and sealed by a federal judge who cited “national security concerns.”