Tom Krause can get a concert pitch A out of an empty bottle of Boulevard Pale Ale.

Hy-Vee Spring Mint Antiseptic Mouth Rinse rings an A in the octave above, he has discovered.

“I put wax in the ones that I can’t find the notes for. My goal is to find every note without wax,” Krause said. “Eventually, I’ll make that knowledge available to the public.”

For now, Krause is probably the only person you’re likely to see performing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” on a yard-long row of glass vessels he calls a bottle flute. His unique propensity to whistle a happy tune on everything from whiskey jugs to glass test tubes has earned him the moniker Bottle Man.

What folks might not know is that Krause also plays a mean pan lid piano, dueling penny whistles, aluminum bunt cake pans and virtually anything he can get his hands on that has the potential to create a melody.

“I just like sounds,” he said. “I like the interesting, odd sounds.”

Krause, a 51-year-old mailman and self-taught musician, will share his uncommon instrumentals at this year’s Three Minutes or Less, a distinctly Lawrence variety show that’s about as unique as Krause’s singular brand of music.

The “theatrical equivalent to channel surfing” will take the stage for its sixth run at 10 p.m. Friday at Liberty Hall, 642 Mass. Proceeds from the show will benefit Tenants to Homeowners, Inc., a Lawrence nonprofit organization that builds and helps people secure affordable housing.

Worthy cause

The Lawrence tradition will feature some 25 odd acts that run the gamut from musical groups — such as Midday Ramblers, Lance Fahey, Michael Paul and Mel Smith — to more eccentric performers, like an Elvis impersonator who hypnotizes chickens and Charles Moore, who will unveil his skittering machine.

True to the show’s name, the acts can run no longer than three minutes. Enforcing that rule will be the Hags — women in wild costumes with names like Miss Construed, Miss Led and Miss Cellaneous — who serve as the unofficial hostesses of the show. They’ll also perform “Hagistrata,” a three-minute version of the classic Aristophanes comedy “Lysistrata.”

Deborah Hag, left, and Miss Cellaneous entertain the crowd as they promote Three Minutes or Less at a past Art Tougeau parade. The Hags are the unofficial hostesses of the variety show, which will be at 10 p.m. Friday at Liberty Hall, 642 Mass.

“I think the good thing about this show is that it features people in town who have these interests that might not be able to be featured elsewhere,” said Robert Baker, founder and producer of Three Minutes or Less. “Our definition of variety might be a bit broader than what you’re used to. You will get the traditional singer and dancer, but you’ll also get some odd things, like tap dancers wearing trash can lids on their feet.

“It’s kind of this unholy balance between an Ed Sullivan variety show and maybe the Jim Rose Circus — somewhere in between.”

In years’ past, Three Minutes or Less has been held in and benefited the Lawrence Community Theatre, which seats about 150 people. It always sold out. The show moved this time to Liberty Hall, which seats about 600.

Baker is hoping for a good turnout. As a HUD-certified credit counselor, he knows firsthand the struggles low-income families encounter trying to get into good homes. Tenants to Homeowners helps those people through its HOOT Financing Program for first-time homebuyers, by building new homes and rehabilitating old ones that are sold to low-income buyers, and by educating the community about the importance of affordable housing.

“I can tell you right now there’s a number of people who’ve gotten loans through Tenants to Homeowners that probably wouldn’t be able to do it any other way,” Baker said.

A great match

Krause is an authority on doing things in new ways — at least when it comes to making music.

His home near the Kansas River is a whimsical instrument workshop. A bevy of colored and clear bottles brim from cabinets, shelves and piano tops. A wooden frame supporting a collection of metal pan lids, tuned to concert pitch, occupies a corner of the front room. Whistles of every variety peek out of canisters.

It’s the musical version of a pack rat’s paradise.

But you have to be resourceful if your passion is making music and you’re not a millionaire.

“One of the reasons I make instruments is because I can’t afford to buy all these things,” Krause said. “I can go someplace and spend a couple bucks and have a whole stack of pan lids. It’s like going for buried treasure.”

There’s more expertise to it than just scavenging, though. Krause pours hours into making sure his makeshift instruments exude just the sound he’s looking for. Take the pan lids, for example.

“You put it on a grinding wheel,” he said. “The average time it takes to tune a pan lid, I’ve found, is about nine hours.”

Krause’s dedication to his unusual craft has earned him a spot in every Three Minutes or Less since the show’s inception in 1999. He’s part of the eclectic mix that makes the show so popular year after year.

“It’s really community-oriented, which is what Tenants to Homeowners is about,” said Alan Bowes, executive director of Tenants to Homeowners and a regular volunteer on the show’s tech crew. “I think it’s a great match.”