The first time I encountered the man now known as “Daddy” was at a Kickass Tarantulas show at the old Gabe’s. Dressed in a Speedo, he was rolling around in the cigarette butts, spilled beer, and broken glass in front of the stage, bellowing like a wounded wildebeest. Whilst living in Iowa City he performed in various guises, ending up founding and fronting the legendary Family Van.
Music Reviews
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Steve Grismore Trio – Bésame Mucho!
Steve Grismore is a guy who has had a huge influence on jazz in Iowa City, being a lecturer in the University Department of Music and co-founder of the Iowa City Jazz Festival. But above all, Grismore is a jazz guitarist, and Bésame Mucho! is his latest CD release, performing with organist Sam Salamone and drummer John Kizilarmut. To any jazz-head there’s an immediate, strong connection between this trio’s instrumentation and the work of Jimmy Smith, the famously funky Hammond organ player, whose 1960s trio and quartet records on Blue Note Records defined a certain cool, funky sound.
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Samuel Locke Ward – Major Surgery at Discount Rates
Major Surgery at Discount Rates finds Samuel Locke Ward in full power pop mode. After some eerie organ pulses, “Uninspired” leaps off the starting line.
Posted inAlbum Reviews, Arts & Entertainment
Album Review: The Men from…BEYOND! – Surf Solaris
My first exposure to the L.A. punk scene was through the soundtrack to the 1984 movie Repo Man. This scene would be documented much more extensively in the movie The Decline of Western Civilization, but there is some overlap. I watched Repo Man when it aired sometime in the 80’s on late night USA Network when I was in my early teens and it opened a whole world up to me–junk culture, beer swilling angry punks and aliens. The soundtrack has the amazing Iggy Pop theme song and bands like The Plugz, Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, Fear and Suicidal Tendencies.
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Samuel Locke Ward – Panther Puss
For his second in a year-long series of monthly releases, Samuel Locke Ward has dipped back into more familiar territory. After the top-40-skewering electro-pop on his January release, 7 AM New Year’s Day, Locke Ward leans heavily on his trusty acoustic guitar and Casio keyboard for a 16-song collection of weirdo pop-ditties on Panther Puss.
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: DJ 500 Benz – Geometrics II
DJ 500 Benz though still in his early 20s has been very active in Iowa hip-hop scene for the past few years, producing beats for a variety of MCs—notably Rahlan Kay’s excellent Relationships from the summer of 2012. Geometrics II is a different sort of thing, comprising tracks that fall under the electro house heading. Electro house has little to do with actual electro or house; it’s the synth heavy dance pop that seems to be swamping the pop charts these days.
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Haunter- Perishing Road
The full-length debut, Perishing Road, from Haunter (a.k.a. Kyle Arthur Miller) is ideal for late nights, headphones and staring out at the frozen tundra. Miller’s new collection of ambient compositions rewards those who put in the time, with headphones bundled around the ears. Perishing Road is a feast of guitar drone interplay.
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Angle – White Andy
Angle and Coolzey are Iowa hip-hop veterans, but to my knowledge White Andy is their first collaboration. They don’t pussyfoot around; “White Andy” is a character Angle (Jarid Catrenich) uses to take on the issue of hip hop and race in possibly the most ridiculous, over-the-top manner, including appearing in White Face on the cover. “Two white dudes making music for people of all colors,” drawls Coolzey at the end of “Blazee.”
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: The Blendours – Level 99
The continuing influence of The Ramones’ music on the face of rock years after their breakup is a testament to the idea that simple and direct is the most effective approach to getting to the hearts of youth. Directly or indirectly, any variation of punk rock today owes a debt to the amphetamine-driven sped-up version of ‘60s rock that The Ramones made.
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Alex Body – No Event
The title of Alex Body’s sixth release, No Event, is actually an apt description of my first impression of the album. After a string of increasingly better releases, No Event showcases a more confident artist, one willing to re-explore many of the sounds and textures that have comprised previous efforts. But the album is definitely a grower.
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review – Yacht Club 10th Anniversary CD
Has it really been ten years since the Yacht Club opened? Really, the story goes back a few years before that. Owner Scott Kading bought the Yacht Club building and set about recreating his favorite college hang out. Renovating the building was only the first part of his journey.
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Eric Pettit & Tim Buhmeyer – We Are In Rome
Guitar, Banjo, Harmonica and Voice. Stop me if you’ve heard this one already. Eric Pettit and Tim Buhmeyer have the folk musician’s most glorious delusion—that they can make something new and unique with the same tools everyone’s been using since forever. Or maybe they have the folk musician’s perfect addiction—it feels so good to play this kind of music that you just can’t stop doing it.
