An American and a European walk into a bar... Sounds like the start of a joke, but it’s how J and Lis met — J hailing from the Twin Cities, Minnesota, and Lis from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Meeting randomly at a karaoke night in Minneapolis, the two started talking and soon discovered they had something in common: a passion for music.
Combining J’s experience from playing in Pert Near Sandstone for the last 15 years and Lis’s experience as a singer/songwriter, they joined forces in 2021 and started Frog and the Bog.

J Lenz has been playing and teaching music professionally in the twin cities for over twenty years. He has performed across the U.S. and Europe with his string band Pert Near Sandstone, and also plays a variety of string and brass instruments in many other regional music projects. J is an accomplished songwriter, he studied music composition at UW Oshkosh, UW Eau Claire, and the U of M. He uses a balance of practical methods and personal experience with a wide variety of music styles to cater lessons around each individual student. J has a passion for teaching, and focuses on making his music lessons enlightening and fun. 

The Matt Arthur Contraption