JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS: Freestyle at The Des Moines Social Club on Mar 7, 2018

"FREESTYLE is an energetic quintet of talented professional musicians from the Des Moines area. Each member's experience contributes to the group's broad musical background performing in dance and night club groups, cabaret jazz, show bands and appearing in shows with national concert artists from Dionne Warwick to country's Sawyer Brown to rock legends Bobby Vee & Little Richard...we've done it all!

"Our SHOWMANSHIP and VERSATILITY has been on display at hundreds of weddings, conventions, corporate and private parties, festivals and school events in the Midwest for over 25 years.

"PRIDE as a professional comes from knowing you have met the needs of the customer. Our pride is the versatility in musical styles we can present to your listening and dancing audience, aged 9 to 90. We tailor music to your needs!"
- from their home page

Jazzman Joe from the video's YouTube page: "THE ROCK & ROLL BAND "FREESTYLE" PERFORMED AT THE DES MOINES SOCIAL CLUB BASEMENT VENUE THIS EVENING, 3/7/18, IN A FUNDRAISER FOR THE CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK. LED BY ED KELLY GUITAR & VOCALS. OTHER MUSICIANS INCLUDED DAVE KING, GTR & VOCALS, JERRY PEOPLES TENOR SAX, SOPRANO SAX, & VOCALS, GARY MERRILL DRUMS & VOCALS, & SCOTT DAVIS,TRUMPET, PFLUGELHORN, HARMONICA & KEYBOARD."

FESTER RAGE VIDEOS - House of Large Sizes at People's in Des Moines on Dec 30, 2007

"A succinct dadaist approach to contemporary power trio dynamics"
- from Joe Carducci from "Rock and the Pop Narcotic"

"House of Large Sizes is by far the most successful, prolific, and well-known band in the history of the Cedar Valley. Began in September of 1986 by core members Dave Deibler and Barb Schilf, the band released 8 full length albums and a smattering of EPs and singles. They have toured the country extensively, most notably with ex-Pixies front man Frank Black.

"They were signed to Columbia Records in 1994 and released their major label debut, My Ass-Kicking Life, on that label. Due to internal mismanagement at the label, they did not receive the support and attention for their record, and they left the label as a result. Undetered, they continued to play music and make records with What Are Records? and The Tyros Label until 2003.

"The band broke up due for unknown reasons in late 2003. Barb and Dave currently own and operate Mohair Pear, a vintage/retro clothing store on College Hill in Cedar Falls."
- from their page on the Secret History of the Cedar Valley website

"House of Large Sizes was an alternative rock band from Cedar Falls, Iowa, in the United States. The band's lineup was primarily Dave Deibler and Barb Schilf, and featured a number of drummers throughout the group's run...

"House of Large Sizes, often abbreviated HOLS, played a unique style of rock with a driving beat, lots of rhythmic changes, unexpected rests and false endings. Although the group's music was unusual, it drew on common influences--punk rock, funk and heavy metal. Punk shows itself in the short duration of many HOLS songs. The gut-level emotional energy of the music (largely attributable to Deibler's voice and guitar style) and the band's DIY ethic also show their punk roots. Deviating from the DIY standard, HOLS released one album, 'My Ass Kicking Life,' on Red Decibel/Columbia in 1993. They worked primarily with small labels like WAR (What Are Records?) and Toxic Shock or released recordings on their own.

"Funk can be heard in Schilf 's bass playing and the throbbing, danceable rhythms of the music. Heavy metal elements are present in Deibler's powerful guitar technique and the short musical phrases from which the songs are constructed."
- from their Wikipedia page

YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 20: Bleujack

Bluejack joins me in the studio to play some folk rap tunes and talk about his musical and writting style. I learned a lot from him, and it was a really good conversation!

This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm All Recordings done in the Studio at [88.5 KURE Ames Alternative]

YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA is a podcast produced and hosted by Richard Sutton. We feature any new episodes the Wednesday after they were recorded.

OTHER SOURCES: The Des Moines 4 Track Compilation Vol​.​1

Coming up next week, we have our first of two episodes highlighting the music from the Iowa record label, Sump Pump Records.

In the meantime, to help sorta give you a taste of what's to come, we are presenting a special compilation album that they put out.

"This compilation features 13 Des Moines bands recorded from April 2013-Feb. 2014, on a Tascam MKII 4 Track Cassette Portastudio. Comes packaged in a beautifully screen printed black & white sleeve illustrated by John Huffman. Package also contains a full download of the LP, liner notes and a collage..."

"I wanted to release a compilation that was representative of the music of Des Moines, regardless of age, genre, personal connections, etc. All the bands were asked to contribute one unreleased song 4 minutes or less (give or take a little). The decision to use the 4 track to record them was to level the playing field for everyone: creating a consistency by allowing access to the same engineer & equipment, the same options and the same limitations. I wanted to capture a black and white snapshot of what these bands sound like when you're standing right in front of them.

All tracks were recorded by Dan Hutchison on the same Tascam 414 MKII 4 Track cassette Portastudio."
- from the compilation's Bandcamp page

In case you're interested, Sump Pump Records also released a compilation of Madison artists:
https://sumppumprecords.bandcamp.com/album/mesmerized-in-madison-2

UPDATE: The Madison compilation was mistakenly said to have been made by Sump Pump Records instead of just released by them. Thanks for correcting, Dan Hutchison!

And a 4-track album of artists from across the country:
https://sumppumprecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-national-4-track-compilation

Sump Pump Records' home page:
http://sumppumprecords.com/

Sump Pump Records on Bandcamp:
https://sumppumprecords.bandcamp.com/

More OTHER SOURCES posts from IMSC:
http://iowamusicshowcase.blogspot.com/search/label/Other%20Sources

More IMSC posts featuring compilation albums:
http://iowamusicshowcase.blogspot.com/search/label/compilation%20albums

More IMSC posts featuring Sump Pump Records:
http://iowamusicshowcase.blogspot.com/search/label/Sump%20Pump%20Records

More IMSC post featuring Des Moines area artists:
http://iowamusicshowcasesongs.blogspot.com/search/label/Des%20Moines%20area

Album cover by John Huffman

YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 19: Evan Campbell

Evan Campbell and I sat down and he played some fantastic acoustic tunes. We got pretty deep and talked about all kinds of weird stuff like weed t shirts and drinkin' Schlitz! It was a fun show with a dear friend.

This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm All Recordings done in the Studio at [88.5 KURE Ames Alternative]

More episodes of Your Own Private Iowa:
http://iowamusicshowcase.blogspot.com/search/label/YOUR%20OWN%20PRIVATE%20IOWA

More IMSC posts featuring interviews:
http://iowamusicshowcase.blogspot.com/search/label/interviews

More IMSC posts featuring acoustic music:
http://iowamusicshowcase.blogspot.com/search/label/acoustic