IHEARIC PODCAST - Episode 58: Mill Show Preview (01/20/2019)

We have a concert coming up this Friday at The Mill! At 8pm! It's free! Featuring performances by Maul of America, The Twisted Roots, and Treecloud! RSVP and invite your friends here: facebook.com/events/386069291938789

We'll be back on KRUI (krui.fm) at 4pm next Sunday (1/27) to review some highlights from this week's concert.

This episode features music by:
Maul of America (maulofamerica.bandcamp.com / facebook.com/maulofamericaisopen)
The High Water Mark (facebook.com/thehighwatermark)
The Twisted Roots (facebook.com/thetwistedroots.ic / soundcloud.com/twisted-roots-16071477) Wombat (facebook.com/wombatnoise / justinkcomer.com / soundcloud.com/will-yager / carloscotallosolares.zohosites.com)
Sasha Burdin Quartet/Quintet (sashaburdin.com / facebook.com/thesashaburdinquartet / facebook.com/sashaburdin1)
Asher Brown (asherbrownmusic.com / facebook.com/asherbrownmusic / youtube.com/channel/UCQKJMRoU5X_QJPvM9yItymA / soundcloud.com/asherbrownmusic / bandsintown.com/a/12250694 / open.spotify.com/artist/3vlkFn8yanHZrVDgsxZMj7 / instagram.com/asherbrownmusic / twitter.com/asherbrownmusic / asherbrown.bandcamp.com)

CULTURE MYTH - Days 8: San Francisco

Written by Chad Taylor. Originally appeared on the Culture Myth website on March 26, 2016.

Rae Davis and Sara Routh
all pics by Chad Taylor

California gets progressively more lovely, the further north you head. In the matter of the Great Divide within the state, it is clear that I sit firmly on the NorCal side of things. The greens are greener, the hills are lovelier, and the people are -- if you'll excuse the ad hominem painting -- more chill and genuine.

Rae Davis and Sara Routh are spending their time here quartered in different locations. Davis is staying with friends in Oakland, while Routh and a couple of her friends have rented an AirBnB in The City. After splitting up to unpack at their respective host homes, everyone heads into town for a gig at the Revolution Cafe, and right into a situation that has the potential to be the biggest clusterfuck of the entire tour.

The Mission District is one of the most vibrant, vital parts of the San Francisco landscape. It is exactly what you would expect any large city's heartbeat to look like: colorful, loud, frenetic, slightly gross, beautiful, dirty, and eternally entertaining. Looking for the best cafes? The best little places to eat? The best art? This neighborhood--no matter what each city calls it--is the place to go.

The one potential drawback to that much going on in one small area, however, is the chance for overlap in events. Like, for example, today, when Routh and Davis rock up to the Revolution, and find a full-on street fair happening on the street outside. A street fair including an actual stage with musical performers, literally 10 feet from the Revolution's front door. This could be interesting.

YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 43: Dan DeGeest

"Dan DeGeest is a jack-of-all-trades in the Ames community. He works as a senior software engineer at Workiva, ran for Ames City Council in 2015 and is a relatively new addition to the music scene.

"'If I'm gonna live here, I want to make it the kind of place that I want to live in,' DeGeest said when speaking for his reason to seek the city council seat back in 2015. When he didn't win the seat, he got back into playing guitar with a push from members of the local music scene.

"'I've had a guitar since I was 20, but I never really believed in myself, got busy with family and careers and hadn't picked up the guitar in eight years,' DeGeest said. 'I've always had it in the back of my mind — it's a dream come true for me.'"
- from the Iowa State Daily article, "Acoustic Lounge recap: Dan DeGeest", by Jill O'Brien

Ames singer-songwritter Dan DeGeest joins me in the studio. Dan and I talk about the Ames music scene, the projects he is working on, and playing Max Ames this past year. It was a lot of fun getting to talk with Dan and listen to his music.

IHEARIC VIDEOS - Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards, and Steel Drums

Katie Wedmore

As per usual, we have a rather eclectic mix of videos from IHearIC. We had acoustic guitar player, Katie Wedmore, keyboardist Matt Smart, and Tyler Swick, Aaron Ziegler, and Blake Shaw playing electric bass and steel drums.

IMSC is back!!!!

Howdy all!

Starting this week, Iowa Music Showcase is back!

Last of the Family Farms
by Kinsey
https://www.freeimages.com/photographer/Kinsey-52803

I took some time off to deal simultaneously deal with a divorce and unemployment. The div'Lorce is finalized and I'm ready to do temp work if I have to. So there's no excuse to get this thing back up and running.

We'll be featuring the same stuff as before, and when we can, try to play catch up with the stuff we missed while the site was down!

So I just want to say thanks to my dozen or so regular readers and followers! And if of you want to help me out, so I can keep this site going when I run into trouble, I would greatly appreciate it and you can write me at iowamusicshowcase@gmail.com.

So please let all your friends, neighbors, enemies, frenemies, people you meet on the streets, or whatever that we are back!

As a bonus, here's an updated Back playlist from another time we were gone for a while!

LISTEN UP IOWA - 5 Iowa Music Festivals You Need To Visit

Listen Up Iowa was a school project for University of Northern Iowa student, Olivia Novak, from September to November of 2017. We will feature some of her pieces from time to time.

This was originally published the Listen Up Iowa website on Sep 18, 2017.

When people think of music festivals, they probably think about notorious ones like Lollapalooza, Coachella, or Bonnaroo, but Iowa has plenty of music festivals worth checking out. To make it easier on you, I’ve gathered five Iowa music festivals that stand out.

80/35
I couldn’t make this list without including 80/35. For two days in early July, Western Gateway Park comes to life with progressive indie and jam music. The festival is organized by the Des Moines Music Coalition, a non-profit company dedicated to building up the music community in Des Moines.

Boasting both free and paid stages, anyone is welcome to come an enjoy. DMMC brings in well-known artists like NAS, Weezer, The Decemberists, and Wu-Tang Clan, but also features many local artists. They even dedicate time to high school performances, encouraging young musicians.

80/35 celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, hosting artists like The Shins and MGMT. And it doesn’t show any signs of stopping.

PLAYLISTS - Random Iowa Music YouTube Playlist 3

Once again, using a random sampling method, we picked out 5 videos featuring Iowa artists.

And diverse lot this is! We start out with the countrified pop of The Nadas, then some experimental music with saxaphone, a polka parody, some more experimental music, and finally close out with some hard rock, showing once again the diversity of Iowa music!

If you're an Iowa (or Omaha, Quad Cities, or Sioux Falls) music act, and you have a YouTube channel, let me know at iowamusicshowcase@gmail.com and I'll follow you!

PLAYLISTS - Vacation: Iowa Style

Well, since I've been on break, I'd thought I'd just be a playlist about that! So here are some tunes by Iowa artists about vacation, relaxing, and taking a break!

CULTURE MYTH - Day 6: Los Angeles

Written by Chad Taylor. Originally appeared on the Culture Myth website on March 23, 2016.

There are people who feel that Los Angeles is a city you know about right away: you pull in, and immediately know in your gut if you're going to love it or hate it. Conversely, I've heard that LA is so big, so diverse, that you really need to spend a couple of years submerged in it before you really have a handle on how you feel about it.

For me, as the most superficial of interlopers into the greater LA biosphere, I can say that it seems very much to be a place with a purpose. Not so much a city, as a tool. As such, I can understand why some people live here. If you're involved in entertainment in just about any way, LA is where you have to be. So for actors and screenwriters and directors and media types, I get it. I can see why people are here. What I haven't figured out quite yet, is why people would WANT to live here, all things being equal. The greater allure of the city, outside of the entertainment industry, has so far eluded me.

There's a shabbiness to LA. Part of that is affected. Shabby-chic is a definite way of life here. But another portion--I'd wager the greater portion--is just how the city has become. It looks tired. The people and their cars are all very shiny and well maintained and beautiful. But the city around them, the set upon which everyone plies their trade, is worn and frayed at the edges. You can see it in the trees and on the faces of buildings. A lot of it is unquestionably the fault of this great drought that is ravaging much of the American west, and hitting California particularly hard. But it's not the only explanation, because there is a general weariness that you can feel in the spirit of the place. I don't know if I've seen more than a handful of genuine expressions of emotion or desire in my time here.

IHEARIC PODCAST - Episode 21: May Concert Preview (04/29/2018)

Folks, we have a concert this Saturday, May 5th at 2pm. That's the main motivating factor for this week's episode of iHearIC Radio, where we listen to recordings of poet Laura Felleman, musician Joshua Johnson, and members of the iHearIC Oliveros Ensemble. The show will be at Riverside Festival Stage in City Park, and you can check out all the details and rsvp here on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/190222161704598. This is the last concert of our Spring 2018 season, so it's your last opportunity to catch one of these before we take our Summer break. Come hang out with us at the park!

Make sure you also check out the upcoming Black Stork*/Asher Brown show on May 11th at Trumpet Blossom: https://www.facebook.com/events/1781343651887209 (*iHearIC organizer Carlos Cotallo Solares)

And the day after that you can also enjoy the Iowa Dance Festival Concert in Coralville, featuring some music by our very own Justin K Comer: https://www.facebook.com/events/185419328927494

Next week's radio show (May 6th) will feature recordings from the May 5th concert and some guests from Professor Trevor Harvey's Diversity in Music class!

This episode features music by:
Joshua Johnson (https://www.facebook.com/thehighwatermark)
Louis Andriessen (http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main?composerid=2690)
David Beyer (https://www.facebook.com/pg/paleonathmusic / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKIlJw5eWrmC9nQScRuAFEQ / https://twitter.com/paleonath)
Justin K Comer (http://justinkcomer.com / https://www.youtube.com/user/JustinKComer / https://justinkcomer.bandcamp.com / https://soundcloud.com/justin-comer-1 / https://www.facebook.com/justinkcomer / https://twitter.com/justinkcomer)
Marissa Flemming
Kenken Gorder (http://www.kenkengorder.com)
Alex Spenceri (https://soundcloud.com/alex-spenceri / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrTsq6rhxIIEwt_NFdN4WXQ)
Teddy Van Winkle
Will Yager (https://soundcloud.com/will-yager / https://twitter.com/willyager)
Merrill Miller (https://www.facebook.com/merrillmillermusic / https://merrillmiller.bandcamp.com)
David Clair (https://davidclair.bandcamp.com)
Asher Brown (https://asherbrownmusic.com / https://www.facebook.com/asherbrownmusic / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQKJMRoU5X_QJPvM9yItymA / https://soundcloud.com/asherbrownmusic / https://www.bandsintown.com/a/12250694 / https://open.spotify.com/artist/3vlkFn8yanHZrVDgsxZMj7 / https://www.instagram.com/asherbrownmusic / https://twitter.com/asherbrownmusic / https://asherbrown.bandcamp.com)

spoken words by:
Laura Felleman (http://formandpower.blogspot.com)
Kassia Lisinski (https://substration.wordpress.com)

and inaudible dancing by:
Dot Armstrong

CULTURE MYTH - Day 5: A rest

Written by Chad Taylor. Originally appeared on the Culture Myth website on March 22, 2016.

Rae Davis booked Sara Routh's tour. All three legs of it, in fact. For this west coast swing, Davis focused on finding gigs close to friends houses, which allowed Routh and Davis to save a ton of money on lodging.

We've talked about it before, but one can not put too fine a line on it: indie artists know they aren't going to make money on their self-funded tours, so every expenditure becomes vital to track. Anywhere you can find to cut costs, and potentially extend your tour one more day, you do it. This is what most galled indie artists who read about Pomplamoose's horrendous debacle of a tour back in 2014.

IOWA MUSIC SHOWCASE PODCAST - Episode 63: Iowa Country and Folk Music

We have featured both country music and folk music on this podcast before. But to be frank and honest, I have huge backlog of submissions. And by combining them, I can get a bunch finally out of you people, so you can hear them instead of just me!

So mosey on up to the porch, grab a rocking chair, lean back, lift up your poop-kickin boots up, and pull down your cowboy hat, and have a listen to these fine Iowa artists bringing some of that western flavour!

Original painting by Monique Booker
Stretched and trimmed to make into a square

IHEARIC PODCAST - Episode 19: Come to Our Concert this Friday (04/15/2018)

Usually when we have a concert, I do a preview on the preceding radio show. I don't really feel that's necessary this time as Friday's show will be Wombat with special guests. I'm pretty sure our radio listeners are already familiar with Wombat. If not, check out episodes 10 and 15 of this podcast. Otherwise, enjoy this week's selection of music from Iowa City-associated artists.

Two more iHearIC concerts for the Spring 2018 season:
April 20, 8PM at The High Ground Cafe (RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/2545495305675710)
May 5, 2PM at Riverside Festival Stage in City Park! (this place: https://www.thinkiowacity.com/listing/riverside-festival-stage/265)

This episode features music by:
The High Water Mark (https://www.facebook.com/thehighwatermark)
Jonah Elrod (http://www.jonahelrod.com)
Collidescope (https://acollidescope.bandcamp.com / https://www.facebook.com/collidescopemagick / https://twitter.com/collid_e_scope)
Jason Palamara (http://jasonpalamara.com / https://jasonpalamara.bandcamp.com / https://soundcloud.com/jason-palamara / http://jc-jp.com)
Blake Shaw (http://blakeshawbass.com / https://www.facebook.com/blakeshawbass / https://twitter.com/blake_chyeah / https://www.instagram.com/theeblakebass / https://soundcloud.com/bshawbass)
University of Iowa Saxophone Quartet (John Cummins, Elissa Kana, Greg Rife [https://soundcloud.com/greg-rife], Dennis Kwok)
Jill Abruzzio
Will Yager (https://soundcloud.com/will-yager / https://twitter.com/willyager)
Christine Burke (https://www.burkechristine.com / https://soundcloud.com/burkec2)
Purcha$e (https://purchase.bandcamp.com / https://www.facebook.com/PVRCHASE / https://twitter.com/pvrchase)

IHEARIC PODCAST - Episode 18: Back to Basics

The snow's got me down, but not down enough to stay out of the KRUI studio to record another episode of iHearIC Radio! No guests tonight, just me alone on a mic playing recordings from past concerts. Just as it was in the beginning. Back to basics.

Two more iHearIC concerts for the Spring 2018 season:
April 20, 8PM at The High Ground Cafe (RSVP here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2545495305675710)
May 5, 2PM at Riverside Festival Stage in City Park! (this place: https://www.thinkiowacity.com/listing/riverside-festival-stage/265)

Come see JCϟjp (http://jc-jp.com) in Chicago this week. April 12th and 13th, 7:30PM at The Chicago Moving Company (3035 N Hoyne Ave).

This episode features music by:
- Jonah Hatten (https://soundcloud.com/jlhatten / https://jonahlyddonhatten.bandcamp.com)
- Asher Brown (https://asherbrownmusic.com / https://www.facebook.com/asherbrownmusic / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQKJMRoU5X_QJPvM9yItymA / https://soundcloud.com/asherbrownmusic / https://www.bandsintown.com/a/12250694 / https://open.spotify.com/artist/3vlkFn8yanHZrVDgsxZMj7 / https://www.instagram.com/asherbrownmusic / https://twitter.com/asherbrownmusic / https://asherbrown.bandcamp.com)
- Peter Naughton (https://soundcloud.com/peter-naughton / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzJjMM4JV4y575jspFUp85w)
- Sarah Burgess Talons (https://soundcloud.com/soulphlegm / https://www.facebook.com/SoulPhlegm / https://soulphlegm.bandcamp.com / https://www.youtube.com/user/SoulPhlegm)
- Carlos Cotallo Solares (https://soundcloud.com/carloscotallo)
- Lisa Neher (http://www.lisanehermusic.com / https://www.facebook.com/LisaNeherMusic / https://twitter.com/LisaNeher / https://www.instagram.com/lisanehermezzo)
- Merrill Miller (https://www.facebook.com/merrillmillermusic / https://merrillmiller.bandcamp.com)
- machine gun clam (words by Kassia Lisinski [https://substration.wordpress.com] - music by Justin K Comer [http://justinkcomer.com / https://www.youtube.com/user/JustinKComer / https://justinkcomer.bandcamp.com / https://soundcloud.com/justin-comer-1 / https://www.facebook.com/justinkcomer / https://twitter.com/justinkcomer])
- Joe Sorensen (https://www.joesorensenmusic.com / https://www.facebook.com/joesorensenmusic / https://twitter.com/jsorensenmusic / https://www.instagram.com/joesorensenmusic / https://soundcloud.com/joesorensen / https://www.youtube.com/joesorensenmusic / https://joesorensen.bandcamp.com)
- Christopher Gainey (http://christophergainey.com)

And spoken words by:
- Dot Armstrong
- Jonathan Wilson (https://www.jonathanjawilson.com / https://soundcloud.com/jonathanjwilson) - - -- Laura Felleman (http://formandpower.blogspot.com)
- Jared Krauss (http://www.jaredkrauss.com / https://twitter.com/jaredkrauss)

JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS: Mississippi Jake and The Bootlegger's Orchestra at The Whiskey House in Ankeny, Iowa, on Apr 6, 2018

"Mississippi Jake is storytelling, working class, folk music from the Midwest. Not the kind of folk that lulls you to sleep, the kind with teeth...

"Mississippi Jake brings folklore from the hills of the Ozarks to the Midwestern stage. He tells fact and fiction with honest guitar chords and gravel in his voice. Solo or alongside his Bootleggers Orchestra, Mississippi Jake showcases one-of-a-kind folk with teeth."
- from his Facebook page

"Mississippi Jake and the Bootleggers Orchestra are working to bring folk music back to where its roots originated. Telling stories of the common person, hard lives, lost love, travel, vices, and adventure are at the core of the songwriting for the five piece band from the Midwest. Modern music has a focus that is fairy tale and fantasy but run from the raw issues that most people deal with on a daily basis. The aggression and victories felt by most are being expressed by Mississippi Jake and the Bootleggers Orchestra in bars and street corners throughout the Midwest."
- from the Mississippi Jake and The Bootlegger's Orchestra's home page

Jazzman Joe for the videos' YouTube pages: "MISSISSIPPI JAKE FROM AMES, IOWA PERFORMED WITH HIS BOOTLEGGER'S ORCHESTRA AT THE WHISKEY HOUSE IN ANKENY, IOWA ON 4/6/18"

YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 28: T&A

This last week T&A joined me in the studio. It was such a fun show. We read from Weird Al Trading Cards, they played a bunch of covers, I had my Terot read and they finished the set with a song they wrote the day before! This little Marshalltown band is something special.

This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm All Recordings done by Jonathan Free 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.

CULTURE MYTH - Day 4: Albuquerque and Santa Fe

Written by Chad Taylor. Originally appeared on the Culture Myth website on March 22, 2016.

We haven't even gotten the New Tour Smell out of our clothes yet, and Sara Routh and Rae Davis already find themselves in the middle of the longest, hardest stretch of the whole thing.

Leaving Omaha on the morning of day three, they drive eight hours to Oklahoma City for a show that night, then pile right back into the car for another seven hours of driving to Santa Fe where they grab a few hours sleep before playing an afternoon show in Albuquerque, followed by an evening house show back in Santa Fe.

Everything after this is cake.

IHEARIC PODCAST - Episode 2 (10/29/2017)

Our second episode ever! Featuring music by:
Christian Cripe (facebook - performance at Mt. Vernon Porchfest)
Sarah Burgess (her show at Uptown Bill's)
Ramin Roshandel (soundcloud)
The High Water Mark (facebook)
Will Yager (soundcloud)
Jonah Hatten (soundcloud)
Carlos Cotallo Solares (soundcloud - Black Stork's soundcloud)

Come to our concert this Friday (Nov 3) at 8PM at Java House! (facebook event)

Direct mp3 link: https://archive.org/download/20171029ihearic2/2017-10-29%20ihearic%202.mp3

CULTURE MYTH - Day 3: Oklahoma City

Written by Chad Taylor. Originally appeared on the Culture Myth website on March 20, 2016.

There's nobody here. That's not even that big of an exaggeration: the crowd is so small, that at one point Sara Routh makes everyone go around the room and introduce themselves. And yet, this place is what you wish every show could embody.

The venue. Holy shit, the venue. JJ's Alley Bricktown Pub is a tiny, dirty, glorious clusterfuck of kitsch. The walls are covered with such a jumbled, eclectic collection of doll heads, signs, doors, toys, glasses and various random fuckery as to be nearly overwhelming in their incomprehensibility. The first thing one does when entering JJ's for the first time is gape.

JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS - Kelly's Clan at Snus Hill Winery near Madrid on Mar 17, 2018

"Formed in 2005 and currently a favorite for Irish pub music at many festivals and pubs in Central Iowa.

"Kelly's Clan revels in the traditional melodies and acoustic instrumentation of the Celtic music genre. The fun-loving trio channels the communal feel of an Irish pub on raucous sing-alongs, and delivers the mellow richly beautiful ballads and stirring rebel songs of the 'auld sod.'

"With guitars/mandolin/percussion/horns the Clan's infectious tunes infuse roots/blues/world music influences, along with the jigs and reels of Ireland, into each performance.

"Based in the Des Moines area, Kelly's Clan is available to add a Celtic musical touch from Eire to inspire 'Ol, ceol agus craic' (a good pint, great music and wonderful entertainment) at any event."
- from their Facebook page

Jazzman Joe from the video's YouTube page: "IN CELEBRATION OF ST PATRICK'S DAY, SNUS HILL WINERY PRESENTED THE LOCAL IRISH GROUP, KELLY'S CLAN, TO ENTERTAIN THE PATRONS OF THIS POPULAR WINERY LOCATED JUST EAST OF MADRID, IOWA. LED BY ED KELLY, ON GUITAR & VOCALS, THE BAND INCLUDED JOHN MYERS, GUITAR & VOCALS, & JERRY PEOPLES, MULTI TALENTED MUSICIAN ON FLUTE, TENOR, SOPRANO SAX, BONGO'S & VOCALS."