Website for Iowa music of ALL and ANY genres. Showing the wonderful and diverse music our state offers!
We feature music podcasts, interview podcasts, videos, among other media, to present to you what is happening and has happened in the Iowa Music Scene.
To submit a song or website, app, playlist, etc, send audiofile or link to iowamusicshowcase@gmail.com!
TRANZIG is an instrumental solo project founded, written, and performed by Erich Tran of Des Moines, Iowa. Over a two-year period he wrote and recorded all of the album's guitars, drums, and bass parts producing a heavy metal journey through thrash, hard rock, and solo guitar pieces.
With unconventional song structures, this self-titled album is meant to be heard as a whole piece of music rather than individual songs. It also features guest appearances from David Ellefson, Randy Walker, and Stephanie Tran.
- from the Tranzig Facebook page
Erich Tran is a multi-instrumentalist from the Des Moines area. He recently recorded a self-titled solo album "Tranzig" in which he played all the instruments on the album. He also plays drums in Horror Business (a Misfits tribute band), bass in Facecage, and has an acoustic project with his wife.
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!
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!
Anybody who knows me (Dan OlderMusicGeek) knows that I am a huge fan of punk rock. My favorite Iowa band is the underrated pop punk outfit, Lipstick Homicide.
So I was superexcited when I stumbled upon this site! Unfortunately, by the time I found it, it was already defunct.
But from 2010 to 2013, it presented to Iowans, and the world, the various punk bands from out state! It covered 16 bands in the time it ran. And with free downloads that you can still get!
And then for their swansong, they put together a compilation albums featuring Iowa punk music going as far back as the 80s!
So if you're into punk or hardcore music, then this is definitely a website you want to check out!
This episode, we just continue presenting some of the different and various artists that you can find on the Des Moines record label, Sump Pump Records.
Sump Pump Records NOT only produces their own records, but distributes a shit ton of Iowa music that you can find on their web page right here - http://sumppumprecords.com/promoted-1/
And in case, you didn't read the little history we presented last episode, here's how they describe themselves on their "About us" page on their website:
"SUMP PUMP RECORDS WAS FOUNDED IN 1998 BY DAN HUTCHISON, BRIAN WIKSELL AND BILL HEARD. WE RELEASED A VINYL 7" EP FOR WHY MAKE CLOCKS IN 1998 AND A FULL-LENGTH CD FOR CHAD O'NEALL IN 2000...THEN WE GOT PREOCCUPIED WITH OUR BANDS.
"NOW, IT'S A 5 WAY PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN DAN, BRIAN, WILL TARBOX, CHUCK HOFFMAN & TOM REELITZ RELEASING RECORDS WITH A DIY APPROACH, BY OURSELVES AND OTHER BANDS WE LOVE."
This month on the Iowa Music Showcase podcast, we present to you a sampling of some of the offerings you can find from Des Moines record label, Sump Pump Records.
This actually started with Chuck Hoffman of Sump Pump sending me a few submissions. So I suggested he send a few more and we could do an episode. He and one of his partners in crime at Sump Pump, Tom Reelitz, ended up sending me enough material for two episodes!
So, if any of you are involved in a record label based somewhere in our fair state, feel free to get a hold of me here at iowamusicshowcase@gmail.com! I'll be happy to promote any of your Iowa (or Omaha, Quad Cities, and Sioux Falls) artists!
Cover by Stutterin Jimmy
But back to Sump Pump Records!
"The story of Sump Pump Records officially begins in 1998 when Dan Hutchison and Bill Heard formed the label to release the debut 7" EP of Why Make Clocks, then a duo of Hutchison and Brian Wiksell. A second release, Chad O'Neal's Evolution No. 9 CD, followed in 2001 before the label went dormant as its proprietors focused on their bands.
"In 2013, Hutchison embarked on a project of his own devising to release a compilation of music from artists based in Des Moines recorded entirely on 4-track cassette. Recording the majority of the tracks himself in his own basement, Hutchison enlisted Wiksell and a few other trusted former members of Why Make Clocks to re-launch Sump Pump Records for its release.
"Since then, Sump Pump Records has produced an eclectic selection of vinyl releases, and amassed a distribution inventory of other releases, largely by artists based in, rooted in, or connected in some way with the label's home state of Iowa, all available through their online store at sumppumprecords.com."
- from an email sent to us
"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
Well, yours truly, Dan OlderMusicGeek, had to take a few weeks off to get some things in my life back in proper order, leaving me no time for Iowa Music Showcase.
But we're back now! And to celebrate, I created a playlist of songs from Iowa artists about coming back and returning, or just doing something again.
Again, as with most of our Spotify playlists, these songs are in no particular order and are best listened to in shuffle play.
And now, starting since last month, we have added a new interview podcast, Your Own Private Iowa, featuring one- to two-hour interviews from Richard Sutton with Iowa musicians. And once a week, we present a video of a live performance from an Iowa jazz or classical act on Jazzman Joe Videos. And once a month, we present a video of an alternative act on our Fester Rage Videos.
And soon, we will be reprinting Culture Myth articles from former Cityview music writer, Chad Taylor!
Also, on the Iowa Music Showcase podcasts, I manage to get covers by Iowa artists or photographers on them! This is a trend I would like to continue. So if you know any Iowa artists or photographers who would be interested, please send them my way!
Welcome back, you who dare come for a fourth and final installment of horrific hymns from the musical children of the corn.
We have quite the rock collection for you in this terminal installment, 90s punk, 10s punk, bluesy grunge rock, indie pop rock, lo-fi buzz punk, old style heavy metal, and just plain old horror rock. But all tunes to bring a chill to your back.
And to help with that back-chilling, we give you a little presentation of Iowa's evil spirits.
Some may not know this, but Iowa has NOT just one black angel in their graveyards, but TWO! One in Iowa City and one in Council Bluffs.
The one in Oakland Cemetary in Iowa City has many legends attached, such as that it went from bronze to black of the evil of Teresa Feldevert. Her husband's grave is where the angel sits.
It is said that any girls who kisses its feet will die in six months, unless she is a virgin. And supposably, if a pregnant woman walks under the wings, she will miscarry.
The other one is in Fairview Cemetary, or "The Old Burial Grounds", in Council Bluffs. This cemetary originally started as Native American burial grounds.
This statue is based on a spirtual being to have visited Ruth Ann Dodge, wife of the chief engineer of The Union Pacific Railroad, three times before she died.
The myths of this statue include that it comes to life and flies around, it shoots fire from its eyes after midnight, children who run behind her base diappear forever, and those who stare into her eyes at midnight will die early.
Iowa City musician, Kate Kane, did a song about it. I didn't put it on this podcast, because I played it in an earlier Halloween episode and I've already accidentally put one of her songs on two Halloween episodes! But you can hear it here - http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=930553&songID=7397908
At The Edinburgh Manor, abandoned now but once housed the insane, in Scott Grove, Iowa, a spirit< nicknamed The Joker, is said to reside. He apparently enjoys choking visitors.
And in Fort Dodge, at The Banwell Bridge or "Terror Bridge", you might bump into a floating head. This is supposed to be the head of a woman who hung her children from the bridge where they got hit by a train.
But watch out if you go there, it has been told that the head likes to try to run and scare people of the bridge. And reports have been given of a furry creature spotted under the bridge.
And before The Evil Doctor OlderMusicGeek leaves for another year, I would like to thank Dean Sturtevant for providing all four covers of our Halloween podcasts this year. Especially the first one, where he only had a day's notice!
So with those haunted histories floating in your mind, please enjoy the last installment of Iowa's tunes of terror....
Well, anyway, you useless lot, I have again made a second playlist. Okay, it's first time to make this second playlist. I mean I made second playlists before. But this is the first second playlist for Iowa Halloween music. I think!
Damn you, lot! You have made my brain befuddled as your own!
*Sigh* Okay, I have made a second playlist of Halloween music from Iowa (and Omaha) music acts. This time from YouTube.
If you can't manage to make your own playlist, you can dare provide suggestions for mine at iowamusicshowcase@gmail.com.
I have also made a few additions to the Spotify playlist I made last year and have included it too!
Sorry this is so late. Family matters kept me from working on my side project, this website.
This week is, I hope, the first of numerous playlists featuring acts from the Iowa Stock music festival going down this Labor Day weekend.
If you haven't heard, for 4 days, in St Charles, you will be able to check all Iowa music acts from various genres on various stages. You can check out all the details here - https://iowastock.com/
This month's podcast features rock music from Iowa that really hasn't fit nicely or neatly into any other category we featured before. So we have thrown all this mish-mash together in this one episode for your listening pleasure.
But it should give you an idea of the variety and breadth that Iowa's rock music can and does take.
Well, all, this is just the first in a series of playlists I plan on doing from time to time featuring the latest Iowa music on Spotify. If someone is missing, let me know, and I'll add them to my follow list so I catch them next time!
Damn, I am started to feel like the kiss of death. By the time I get to a number of websites and such, it seems they have already died! Or maybe it's because I'm an old man and can't keep up with the cool happenings and going-ons of the youths!
I don't know, but here is a recently died website and show that featured a lot of bands from the Sioux City area as well as other parts of western Iowa and from Nebraska and South Dakota too!
"Before the Lock N’ Load Show aired live musical performances by local musicians on its Internet radio program, it was a sports talk show...
"It was a disaster, according to Foster. The interview didn’t go well and there were unwanted moments of silence – a rough start but the show must go on...
"The show has since found its niche with mixing comedic banter with fun segments like “Craigslist Missed Connections” and “Love and Lust Advice” while also including special guest appearances from local bands looking to promote their music. Episode 39 featured Johnny V and Big Earl from the blues rock band Premium Draft, who also performed live on air. The show brought in more than 1,200 viewers/listeners.
"MUTUAL PARTNERSHIP
"But 'back in the day,' the show was struggling to find background music to fill intermissions. Mainstream music was out of the question for obvious copyright reasons, so Foster and Lock N' Load producer Brandon Sorgdrager reached out to local artists to fill that empty portion of the online broadcast.
“'In return, we would do interviews with them,' said Sorgdrager. 'We were looking for a couple guests to come on and join us and it kind of went into the music and that went really well for us.'
"After a while, more musicians showed up on the Lock N’ Load Show, which is now becoming a promotional stop for local bands. The interviews are fairly relaxed and time is not a big factor.
“'It’s a half hour to an hour of them getting to talk about their stuff,' said Sordrager. 'It gives the audience a chance to get to know the artists.'
'Guests talk about their bands while their music gets played on the show during breaks. Foster said the show strives for an “equal opportunity” perspective when it comes to music genres featured on Lock N’ Load.
“'With the different artists, we like bringing in different genres,' he said. 'We have something for everyone. We’re not just hip hop or rock or country.'
"LOCAL MUSIC, WORLDWIDE AUDIENCE
"Clemons does not consider himself a rapper, per se. He condemns lyrics with violence and drug use, so instead he writes about his experiences. Clemons makes semi-regular appearances on the Internet radio show either as a guest promoting his new songs or just another guy to talk. He said he’s grateful for Lock N’ Load.
“'It means a lot knowing that we have someone that’s here in town able to push the music as well as they have,' said Clemons. ''They get it mainstream and give it to other listeners and viewers. This is the best way for everybody to share what they love doing.'
"Thanks to Lock N’ Load, Clemons was able to share his music video for the song 'Iowa Anthem,' a shout out to Sioux City. The video has received more than 3,500 views on YouTube and has maintained more than 80 likes.
"Dusty Ferris, bassist for local pop metal band Left Astray, said the Lock N' Load show is a 'blessing' for Sioux City musicians.
"'Local artists really don't have a voice anymore,' said Ferris. 'These guys are working with local artists so they can become regional, too.'
'Foster said he sets up a page for artists that appear on the show. He includes the links to bands’ and musicians’ social media and music (ReverbNation, Bandcamp) sites.
“'People worldwide can find them, read all about them, listen to their music and know how to get their music,' said Foster. 'It’s bringing the local music that we have here in Siouxland and making it worldwide.'
'The relationships the creators of the Lock N’ Load show made while supporting the Sioux City music scene have grown over time, according to Sorgdrager.
“'The artists have a need for us and we have a need for them,' he said.
'Foster describes it as a “mutual partnership” and never expected the success the show has gotten.
