This weekend is made of music!

Click on the links and observe the shiny, beautiful pictures for more information about these events and the artists who will be there.

FRIDAY

THUNDERFEST. Have you seen Knubby yet? Das Thunderfoot? Dead Emperors? If the answer is no to any of those - OMIGAWD! Remedy that and donate to a good cause. Six kick-ass bands and camping for a $5 donation? Um...yes, duh.

Knubby

getting their cow bell on with help from the audience

CLICK

SATURDAY 

Gabe's - Canthrammer. 3 Metal Bands / 3 Country Bands. Also for a good cause - The Wounded Warrior Project. 6 Bands. Cover. Seriously, Cantharone will blow your mind.

Joe Anderson of Cantarone

ICYC - Maiden Mars, The Passes, The Ultrasounds, & Remod. $5 cover for the out-of-town bands.

Maiden Mars

Trumpet Blossom - FREE. All local musicians. And very cool people.

I will be spending a considerable amount of time trying to figure out how to navigate all 3 venues this Saturday so I can see everyone i want to. I haven't had to be this strategic since Riot Fest. Only Riot Fest was rainy and muddy and cold and a thousand times more difficult to navigate than the streets of Iowa City. I got this though. Here's to hoping you all like to plot and scheme to maximize your listening experience. See you there(s)!

*

If you live in Iowa City under some sort of rock (obviously not the punk kind), you probably haven't yet listened to Codependent Music. This, my stone-dwelling friend, is exactly what you need. Tune into 89.7 KRUI Sunday nights (Monday mornings?) at midnight for 2 hours of punk and insane hilarity. Do it - shed your dreary, heavy burden-home and live in the sunshine with the rest of us. Well, at midnight it'll be pretty dark, actually...
It's a super good time is really all i'm trying to say. Click the KRUI link above to stream.

Be excellent to each other, peeps.. ~ mandab

Weekly Music Scene - Iowa City

Before I start getting into reviewing bands and venues and all that blazz, I want to plug some cool on-going events in Iowa City that are open to artists of all skill levels and genres. It's just a small part of the huge music scene, but one that I really appreciate as it gives me access to musicians who are up-and-coming, as well as established artists trying something new or working with new people.


A short list (if I missed any, please let me know in the comments below):

Monday Night Open Mic with J. Knight - Mondays, 8pm. The Mill, Iowa City
An Iowa City institution. So many great acts have played their first show at the Mill’s Open Mic. Many seasoned pros test out new material before a live audience. Come check it out – you never know when you’ll catch the next great Iowa City songwriter. To sign your act up, call J. Knight in advance at 319.338.6713.

Underground Open Mic - Tuesdays, 8pm - 12ish. Iowa City Yacht Club - 13 S Lynn St. Iowa City
FREE!

There is also an open mic at Studio 13, which is 20 feet away, at the same time on Tuesdays. However, every time I have been there it was just comedy, not music. Still fun.


Free Jam Session & Mug Night @ ICYC Free Jam Session every Wednesday. Bring your axe or just sit back and listen to some great music.We also have mug night every Wednesday. $5 gets you a mug filled with beer that you get to keep - bring it back and you get $1 refills!

Thursday Night Live: Open Mic and more!
Thursdays, 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Uptown Bill's Coffee House (map)
Celebrating 13 years of Uptown Bill's Open Mic.Ten minute slices of music and other performances. Open to all ages and abilities. Sign up beforehand at the coffee house. Or by email: uptown bills@gmail.com.

LOCALLY OWNED @ Gabe's - Thursdays
Doors: 9:00 pm / Show: 9:00 pm (event ends at 11:00 pm) - Free - This event is 19 and over. Highlighting local bands.
During Locally Owned, which happens downstairs, there is a dance party going on upstairs. $2 admission for those 21+ and $5 for the youngins. Called Mixology, this event is local DJs spinning until bar close.

Of course, if you're looking for free music in Iowa City during the summer, all you have to do is wander into the Ped Mall on a Friday or Saturday evening thanks to Summer of the Arts. Not always my bag, but they have really good shows once in a while and it's cool that our city has so much going on.

Without fail, I can be found at the Yacht Club on Tuesdays for the Underground Open Mic. There is such a mix of acts that it's always a good time. Acts are not limited to music - poets and comedians grace the stage right along with mellow aucostic soloists, full plugged-in metal bands, screamy punk bands, and rappers. Hostess Kate Kane keeps things moving between sets with bits of trivia which can win you prizes, some of which are lovingly hand-crafted by her mother. Radical, right? In addition, there is always a raffle with prizes ranging from giant baskets of candy to kites to big-ass containers of twizzlers to Ouija boards (which i won, hot damn!). It's a blast every single week - just don't show up with your instrument expecting to play the first time you walk in. Slots are booked 2-3 weeks in advance due to popularity and Kate's mad organizational skills.

This week's line up is totally killer:
8:00 Maiden Mars
8:30 warren terror
9:00 Jenny Watkins spoken word
9:05 Kitten Crisis
9:35 J Ace
9:45 Rational Anthem
10:15 Benny The Jet Rodriguez
10:55 Peter Stolp
11:05 Lipstick Homicide...

I plan on blogging about most of these bands already and a couple of them I have been dying to see. It's going to be so much fun! I will post a link to Shadow Fox Photography's pictures of the event later this week for those of you who can't make it (lame).


Hope to see you there! ~mandab

Welcome to Eastern Iowa Rocks

Iowa has a reputation for being a big, boring, flat state with bi-polar weather where there isn't much to do besides tip cows, shovel snow, and watch corn grow. That couldn't be further from the truth. It's beautiful place with many varied pockets of culture and wonder. But, I'm not even going to get into that blazz. I'm starting this blog to highlight the rich music scene here in Iowa. In fact, if I tried to get to all the music being created here, I'd have to quit my jobs - there is simply too much going on. So I will be focusing on Eastern Iowa (from the river to the Capital), and particularly on rock, punk, and metal. Because that's what I like. And because these ladies and dudes around here are KILLING IT! I want to share what I experience and help spread the music. And, sometimes, I might put some bands on blast. Why not?

I also intend to write about bands that come through. At least here, in Iowa City, the music scene is so open and supportive of each other. I see other bands come through and am always grateful for new sound, as well as delighted to see the help traveling bands receive from the local artists. Shout-outs will be many. Venues will be discussed and rated, in hopes of helping out-of-state bands more easily make decisions about where and when to play. I just want to assist in connecting all the music lovers and makers out there in Interwebs Land.

Any bands or solo artists out there who would like to be featured here, please feel free to hit me up with links to your info and music in the comments below or at wickedmanda78@gmail.com

Thanks for stopping by. Regular blog posts will start next week.
Rock on! ~mandab