We are a group that:
Formed in 1973, loves classic rock ‘n’ roll music… and it shows! Has done 5 original albums and 3 music videos, and is easy to work with
Doesn’t mind if you just listen, but plays the best classic rock ‘n’ roll beat music to get up and DANCE TO
Usually brings a good crowd
Advertises our shows with well-placed posters at your request
Plays our music in the authentic style as you remember it
Brings you a professional sound, and
Will make you feel as good about this music as we do!
Bios:
Current Members:
Paul Musikov (bass, keys, vocals) was on the road with Prince on his early tours, as well as Rick James and locally with Daisy Dillman. He has also run sound for the best in the business and traveled the world working with the Children’s Theatre.
Wayne Liebhard (guitar, vocals) considers himself fortunate to be surrounded by such talent. He has played shows with a number of rock bands since age thirteen, and has won national awards both as a music composer and as an author (www.wayneliebhard.com).
Terry Lee (drums, vocals) is an accomplished guitarist, but is at his best when laying down the groove on drums. He has graced the stage with a number of bands, including Moon and the Stars, Mindy Gunn, Rock Solid, and Rank Bull, and has opened for ELO, Foghat, and Redbone (among others).
Gary Barnes (guitar, bass, vocals) has played professionally since age sixteen in rock and country bands throughout the Midwest. He has opened for (among others): John Michael Montgomery, Three Dog Night, Diamond Rio, and Gary Puckett.
On Hiatus:
Ron Johnson (keys, sax, vocals), was, along with Sandy Silfverston, one of the founding members of the Solid Gold Band. His versatility, both vocally and instrumentally, is unmatched, as is his mastery of a great variety of musical styles and influences.
Some Past Performances:
| Lakefront Days – Prior Lake, MN | Medina Ballroom – Medina, MN |
| Taste of Savage – Savage, MN | River City Days – Chaska, MN |
| Nickel Dickel Days – Waconia, MN | Bar-B-Q Days – Belle Plaine, MN |
| Lincoln High School 30-Year Reunion (Bloomington, MN) |
Several large street dances (~2,000 attendance) Dundas, Lonsdale, Prior Lake |
| World of Wheels – Mason City, IA | Motorhead Madness – Prior Lake, MN |
| 1950s High School Prom Re-Enactment (Para Dice Car Club – Medina, MN) |
Minnesota county fairs/Minnesota State Fair Rhythm on the Rails – Shakopee, Mn. |
| Earle Brown Days – Brooklyn Center, MN | Minnesota Street Rod Association Annual Party |
| Steamboat Days – Carver, MN | Sauerkraut Days – Henderson, MN |
| Cherry Creek Days – Cleveland, MN | Kolacky Days – Montgomery, MN |
| Heimatfest – Jordan, MN | Emergency Day – Le Center, MN |
| Eagan Art Festival – Eagan, MN | Corporate events |
Available for:
Weddings / Ballrooms / VFW’s / Legions / Private Parties and Lounges / Class Reunions / Car Shows / Fairs / City Celebrations / Street Dances / School Dances / Clubs / Fundraisers / You name it!
Local References:
Sue Scherer Mcneal – Prior Lake VFW, Prior Lake (952-226-6208)
Dr. Tim Siebenaler- River City Days, Chaska (952-448-9908)
Amy (Manager) – Hopkins Legion (952-993-1881)
Song List:
Rock In The USA-W E
Gimme Some Lovin-W E
Walk of Life-G E
Pink Cadillac-W E
Roll Over Beethoven-P A
House Is Rockin-W A
Love Is All Around Us-W G
Funky Music-W E
Sharp Dressed Man-G C
The Middle-G D
Drivin My Life Away-G E
You Wreck Me-T E
Fast As You-G E
Hurts so Good-W A
Hard To Handle-W A
Authority Song-G D
Dark Side-W E
I Feel Good-W G
Mustang Sally-P A
Bang The Drum-W A
What I Like Bout U–W E
Stormy Monday-P G
Sweet Home Chicago-W A
Brown Eyed Girl-W G
The Breeze-G A
Workin For a Livin-W A
Can’t Get Enough of Your Love-G C
Hands to Yourself-W A
867-5309-G F#m
I Saw Her Standing-W E
White Wedding-G Bm
You Really Got Me-W A
Roadhouse Blues-G E
God Blessed Texas-P A
Can’t You See-G D
Margaritaville-W D
In The Still of Night-W F
Slow Down-P C
You Send Me-W G
Midnite Hour-P A
Twist & Shout-W C
Honky Tonk Women-P G
Green River-T E
All Over Now-W G
Jailhouse Rock-T A
Folsom Prison-G E
Next Broken Heart-W G
Tush-G G
Mony Mony-W E
HISTORY OF THE SOLID GOLD BAND
Solid Gold Band–One of Minnesota’s longest running active rock bands, entered its 50th year in 2023!
1968 – 1969: Sandy (Alexander) Silfverston, formerly of Duluth, now living in Cologne, Mn. forms a band with his neighbors Eugene Kamann (guitar) and Randy Wilson (drums). Sandy plays bass in the band known as “Beethoven’s Mafia,” a name suggested by Randy Wilson.
1970: “Beethoven’s Mafia” morphs into “New Morning Dew,” both bands playing rock.
1972 – 73: Eugene Kamann leaves the band, and Sandy becomes a member of “Obadiah Smith,” which included singer Mike Lucarelli, who would later go on to perform with the 70’s band “Fragile.” Per Sandy, the band plays a gig in northern Minnesota, and after the gig, fires Sandy. He nonetheless still needs to tow home the band’s trailer full of their equipment.
Fall, 1973: Seeking to capitalize on the retro 50’s craze inspired by the recently released film “American Graffiti,” Sandy seeks to form a band known as “Solid Gold,” playing music mostly from the 1950’s, and also from the early to mid ‘60’s. Sandy stops in at “Ron’s Music” in Waconia, Mn. looking for a guitar player. After graduating from college, Ron Johnson had spent one year as a high school band director in northern Minnesota before opening his music store. Ron shows up at the band’s first practice with a trombone, and ends up playing keyboards, saxophone, and doing vocals.
Spring, 1974: The band’s first gig in 1974 was in the spring, and at the Cologne Pavilion. The band’s lineup at the time included Jerry Miller on drums, Sandy on bass, Ron on keyboards, sax and vocals, Greg Kinvall on guitar, and Sue Ries on vocals. The band quickly got on the ballroom circuit at venues like the Gibbon Ballroom, the Paradise Ballroom in Waconia, the Pla-Mor in Glencoe, the Majestic in Cottage Grove, the Pine Camp in Pine City, and Brook’s Ballroom in St.Paul (at the time, the largest ballroom in the northwest). Other haunts included Schlief’s Little City, the Chaska Bell, Prior Place, and various street dances/city celebrations. By the fall of 1974, Sue Ries was being billed as “the area’s top rock gal vocalist.” In September, 1974, the band opened for national act “Cain” (from St. Paul) who recorded their seminal album, “A Pound of Flesh” in 1975. By late 1974, Sue decided to leave the band. Jerry Miller and Greg Kinvall (who felt that 50’s music was on the way out) had also left and formed the new band “Flight.” The rest of 1974 was a revolving door of musicians until the lineup got set again in 1975, and had included Jim Plowaki. Jim had been with the band “Woodrows” who had broken up, and Jim eventually rejoined them. Ron estimates that by the end of 1976, 25 to 30 musicians had passed through.
1975: The band stayed busy throughout the year and continued with a 1950’s stage look that included wearing gold tuxedos and ruffled tuxedo shirts. Greased back hair completed the look. With an amazing voice and stage presence, Ron Johnson becomes a local heartthrob. Eventually the band settled on a lineup that included Sandy, Ron, Bob Eichoff on drums and Drew Peterson, an accomplished guitarist who had previously been with the band “Hot Half Dozen” and the “Coronados.” The 50’s and 60’s theme continued, though a few 70’s tunes crept into the repertoire. Ron had purchased his Farfisa keyboard new from Torps music, and had already possessed a “C-Melody” saxophone, which had a particularly sweet tone for the band’s song list. Drew had his Fender Telecaster, and as far as anything else, the band bought “whatever Charlie at Wagener (later LaVonne) Music sold.” The band’s club PA included Shure Column speakers and a powered vocal head with spring reverb that would thunder whenever an excited Sandy would jump on stage. Sandy liked “SG” amplifiers and his “SG” bass “because of their initials.” On a particularly crazy night at the Chaska Bell, the strap came loose on his SG bass, which fell and hit the stage floor, and bounced back up into his hands. He kept playing as if nothing had happened. Sandi would often check on what Pat Fitzgerald of “Teen King and the Princes” had added to his song list, and act accordingly.
Late 1975: Sandi Silfverston and Wayne Liebhard of Belle Plaine have a chance meeting in Waconia. Wayne was fresh out of high school and had started playing guitar and singing in bars in Belle Plaine when he was 13, with bands “The Ends of Time,” and later,”Evil Eye.” Wayne had learned to play guitar after sneaking down the basement stairs at home and watching local “Chet Atkins” style guitarist Mike Keating teach his older brother. After starting in the band with a Silvertone guitar, Wayne quickly picked up a Fender Jazzmaster guitar and a Fender Twin Reverb amp. His first gig with the band was the night before Thanksgiving at the Jug Lounge in Shakopee, Minnesota. When Wayne later started booking the band, he made it a ritual to play the night before Thanksgiving, as he met his future wife Joy on that night.
December, 1975: Sandy books the band at the Faribault VFW on a particularly cold night. He goes out to his truck during a break, and notices that someone has opened his unlocked door and stolen his CB radio. Realizing that his door was unlocked when the CB was stolen, he “accidentally” breaks his driver door window. He drives home to Prior Lake that night, freezing in his truck with a weak heater. The next morning, he discovers that he does not have insurance that would cover the CB radio, nor does he have glass coverage.
January, 1976: Wayne decides to start college at St. John’s University midyear and leaves the band. Solid Gold continues to play through 1976 with some further personnel changes. Bill Webb and Dick Parish joined the band, and later went to the band Cimmaron after Solid Gold slowed down. John Hughes, who had previously been a member of the Chancellors, also had a stint as a drummer with the band. Through the year the band continued to play venues and ballrooms across the upper Midwest, but by the end of 1976, the early version of Solid Gold had slowed down.
1976 – 1986: Wayne attends St. John’s University, and then finishes medical school and a medical residency through the University of Minnesota. During this time, he also keeps the Solid Gold brand alive in various venues.
1987: Wayne has kept in touch with Sandy Silfverston, who also now lives in Prior Lake, and they discuss jump starting the early band. Wayne makes attempts to find Ron Johnson – unsuccessfully – and Sandy laughs as his connections find Ron in about five minutes. The band adds Terry McKinley, Wayne’s wife’s brother, as drummer. Turns out that Terry had also done fill in work with the band earlier, in 1975. The first job for the “new old” band is for the city of Jonathon on July 4th. To keep everything “authentic,” the band purchases vintage Vox Super Beatle amplifiers. Wayne plays a 1960 Fender Stratocaster, Sandy plays a 1967 Hoffner “Beatle” bass, and Ron resurrects his 60s Farfisa organ.
1987-1991: The band thrives, and is a hit at a variety of venues, including street dances, city celebrations, class reunions, bars and lounges, and ballrooms such as the Medina ballroom. They also do “50s and 60s” only shows for specialized venues such as the Minnesota Street Rod Association, and the World of Wheels in Mason City, Iowa, where their music was featured on KRIB radio.
1991: Paul Musikov joins the band – at first to run sound, and, as time progressed, to be integrated into the band, playing bass and keys. Paul had worked along with Terry McKinley’s wife Ann at LaVonne music in Savage. Paul’s background was extensive, having traveled around the world working with the Children’s Theater in the 1980s. Paul was also on early tours with Prince and Rick James, and had run sound with Naked Zoo and Common Ground for bands such as Sha Na Na, the Commodores, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Conway Twitty, and Minneapolis’ own (worldwide sensation) “The Jets.” He also previously run sound for the Daisy Dillman band and had worked with former Castaway Denny Libby in the band “Allison Flyer.” Paul also ran his own recording studio in the 90s, doing commercials for companies such as 3M. He also did recording work with Bonnie Raitt’s brother, Steve, and the Twin Cities singing group The Steeles. Paul also recorded the Solid Gold Band during this time, and the band is currently preparing some of that early material for a CD release.
1991-1999: The band continues to be quite busy in a number of venues in the Midwest. By 1999, Sandy had decided that it was time to retire from the band. While the band had remained quite busy, it had become increasingly difficult to book venues with a primarily 50s and 60s song list, even though Sandy had somewhat reluctantly allowed an expansion of the band’s repertoire. (Sandy unfortunately passed away in 2000.) In 1999, Terry McKinley had also decided to go back to over the road trucking, and, being unavailable for performances, left the band. Jeff Behrendt, a friend of Paul Musikov, took over on drums.
2000-2003: The band continued on, until Jeff and Paul decide to go a different direction in 2003. Ron and Wayne meet Bob Weierke and Mike Rasmsburg at that time. Both had been in a band called the “Cruisers.” Both had played in a number of bands over the years, and Bob had been friends with Wayne’s older brother Gene, who had been taught guitar by Mike Keating. Bob had also been in a band called “Cactus Wine” that had backed Don Gibson and the Hagar Twins from He-Haw at the Met Center in Minneapolis in the 70s.
2004-2008: The new band decides to continue “Solid Gold” for various events, but to also roll out “Rock Solid,” intended to be more attractive to the Twin Cities club scene.
2008: Bob Weierke retires from music, and Mark Burmeister from Faribault takes his place.
2009: Mike Ramsburg retires from music, and Ron takes a short hiatus. Jeff Krumm offers to come on for a short term to bridge the gap at drums, with Bob Weierke doing the same on bass when Mark Burmeister decides to return to a different style of music. Jeff Krumm owned Savage Audio, a high-end audio repair shop. Jeff also had gotten into the amp building business in the 90s, creating hand built “Savage” amplifiers that he built for stars such as Pearl Jam, R.E.M., and Beck for use on the road.
2010: By this time, there are increasing calls for the original lineup of “Solid Gold” to return, and the original band re-forms, with Wayne on guitar, Paul on bass, Terry Mckinley on drums, and Ron on keyboards and sax.
2012: Wayne writes and produces an all-original album entitled “Here – In Flyover Country.” The album is an eclectic mix of rock, country, and Christmas songs – including a jazzy little number entitled: “I Want You To Unwrap Me.” The song is honored by the “Great American Song Contest,” and is used as a basis for the band’s (later) second music video of the same name. The band records the album in an all-analog fashion, replicating the methods used at the famous Sun Studio in Memphis. Shortly after, an updated new album: “Here – In Flyover Country (Recorded Live – In Analog) is also released. The new album also contains a new song (“The Molly’s Hill Boys”) which was recorded entirely digitally. To promote the new albums, the band makes a music video called “A Doctor Sings The ObamaCare Blues” – filmed after- hours in a brand-new hospital operating room suite. The video gets significant YouTube viewership.
2014: Ron Johnson retires from music and Terry Partington joins the band. Terry was a proficient musician who had filled in previously with the band playing drums, but this time came in as a bassist and guitarist. He had previously played with groups such as Mindy Gunn, Rank Bull, and Moon and the Stars, and had opened for ELO, Foghat, and Redbone.
2015: Wayne writes, “The Vortex Effect,” a Minnesota – based suspense novel that also delves into the Minnesota music scene. Solid Gold and some of its history are included in the book as well as the “protagonist’s” interactions with Minnesota musicians like Charles Schoen of the Del Counts, Jim Donna of the Castaways, and Pat Fitzgerald of Teen King and the Princes. One of the characters in the book is based on Pete Wagener from LaVonne music.
2016: Terry Partington joins another band to be able to play his instrument of choice – drums. Gary Barnes joins the band, playing bass and guitar, with Paul Musikov moving to bass and keys. Gary brought a new dimension on guitar, having previously travelled across the country opening for the likes of Three Dog Night, Gary Puckett, Diamond Rio, and John Michael Montgomery. He had also played with Gus Dewey of the Gestures (national hit: “Run, Run, Run”) in a band called “Double Deuce” in 1989-90.
2018: Terry McKinley, whose first love had always been country music, gets offered the chance to play with The Dakota Ramblers – an accomplished country group that had previously been inducted into to the South Dakota Music Hall of Fame. Terry Partington rejoins the band, taking over for Terry Mckinley when the drumming job opened up. The band begins work on a new original dual album written by Wayne containing both a country and a rock record. Eventually the project morphs into 3 separate albums: “No Rules” (Rock/Pop), “I LIke Livin Here” (Country/Americana), and an eclectic solo album by Wayne called “Reflections.” In the fall of that year, the band also films their third music video, entitled “Old White Guys.” The video was a lighthearted poke at all the crazy things that “old white guys” do, in order to help promote unity everywhere. The video is saved to use as a promotion for the release of the albums.
2020: The band continues to work at finishing the albums. Jim Donna of the Castaways does some keyboard work for the album as the band experiments with unusual recording techniques on some of the tracks (ala Brian Wilson’s “Smile”) in the bottom of an empty swimming pool. The band hopes to release the albums (as well as “Old White Guys”) in 2021.
2021: The band releases “No Rules,” and “I Like Livin’ Here” and Wayne releases “Reflections.” ‘Old White Guys” Comedy Video is also released to help promote the new albums.
2022: The band performs at the Minnesota State Fair for the first time.
2023: The band enters its 50th year of existence, and is nominated to the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame.
2024: The band begins work on a new 5-song EP of original music, and embraces a full slate of performances for the year, including a full schedule of outdoor summer gigs.
The Solid Gold Band 