Monday, October 30, 2017

IOWA MUSIC SHOWCASE PODCAST - Episode 55: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 4 of 4 - The Black Angels and Other Iowa Evil Spirits



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....

Art by Dean Sturtevant

IMSC Ep 55 - Song 1: "Zombie Girls from Outer Space" by Horrorshow Hoods



"Horrorshow Hoods was a psyco-billy band from Des Moines that was founded during the late 1990s."
- from their entry in The Underground Archives

"Horrorshow Hoods (the EP) was issued as a 4-song 7-inch on transparent green vinyl. These were basically the first songs we wrote and were our core rockabilly/psychobilly songs at all of our shows. We recorded up in Ames with one of the guys from Grubby Ernie. This has our full 6-piece band including keys and sax. I don't know if you are familiar with our live shows, but we always switched to a more horror-punk sound at the end and closed out with B.R.A.I.N.S.

"Screams from the Basement was issued to capture those songs separately from our other stuff. We recorded it in DSM at Scott/Billy's basement. I think we were down to a 4-piece at that time and Clint/Eddie took over on bass. It's a little bit of a concept album with some movie clips worked in and bleeding between tracks."
- from an email by Brendan "Jimmy Kill" Sapienza sent to us

"They were good & nice guys to boot."
- from Nate on the 515 Crew Forum

"Yeah they were always really nice..."
- from Davo Wilkins on the 515 Crew Forum

"i had a 60-something year old lady bring her granddaughter into the ED. she (the grandmother) was wearing a Horrorshow Hoods shirt. i got excited and she was like, 'i got this shirt at Goodwill. what is Horrorshow Hoods?'

that's all i got."
- from ilikehorses on the 515 Crew Forum

Lineup:
Austin "Richie Gore" Sapienza - vocals
Brendan "Jimmy Kill" Sapienza - guitar
Tanner Strutzenberg - upright bass (1999-2001)
Clint Knox - upright bass (2001-2002)
Scott "Billy Bloodbath" O'Gara - drums
Adam Horning - sax

From their MySpace page
https://myspace.com/horrorshowhoods/photos

An extremely short clip from Davo Wilkins...,


MySpace:
https://myspace.com/horrorshowhoods

Underground Archives:
http://underground-archives.com/content/horrorshow-hoods

Discussion on the 515 Crew Forum:
http://www.515crew.com/msgbrd/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5763

To download the whole podcast, right click on the link below and hit "Save as...":
https://archive.org/download/IowaMusicShowcaseEpisode55/Iowa+Music+Showcase+-+Episode+55_.mp3

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Ep 55 - Song 2: "Satan's Floor" by Raw Mojo



"Nikki, Adam, & Dan are exploring dark, moody, angry, revolutional, good time, fuzzed out, skitzoprenic, no rules rock and roll! You get it or you dont. Do you?"
- from their Twitter page

"Iowa City trio Raw Mojo are yet another rising band from the Midwest, the trio fusing a gritty and powerful blend of rock, blues, punk, and garage rock into a quick listen of infectious riffage and charged basement rock."
- from a review by Tom Haugen on the Daily Vault website

"I really don’t know where to place Raw Mojo as simply, their style encompasses so many different styles and approaches that it would be unfair to put them in one particular category or genre."
- from Dave Nichols on the Loud Stuff website

“Raw Mojo riff like their lives depend on it”
- from Kent Williams on the Little Village website

"Raw Mojo is a rock band, full stop. Not to be reductive about what Raw Mojo does, but there’s something really basic and elemental about what they do. Hard hitting drums, loud fuzz guitars fused tightly to a deep bass into 10 strings of fury. Lyrics that don’t try very hard for profundity. To go looking for precursors try the 1970s; there’s a Grand Funk, Joan Jett, Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne and an insouciant soupçon of Black Sabbath.
- from a review by Kent Williams in Little Village Magazine

"Raw Mojo is a 3 piece rock band you may have seen at shows around Iowa City. Their M.O. is to deliver short, concise stabs of pure rock and roll, without frills, pretension or irony... each song comprises the same ingredients — raw-throated singing, overdriven guitar, bass, and heavy drumming... And yet the songs don’t all run together — perhaps relentless brevity pays off. And besides, Angus Young of AC/DC has never done anything but plug a Gibson SG into a Marshall Stack, so there’s a strong precedent for Raw Mojo’s willingness to pick a formula and stick to it.

"As for the songwriting, well here’s the curious thing. I like the songs fine, but there’s nothing stellar about them in and of themselves. The personality, attitude, and execution is the thing with Raw Mojo; it’s as though they don’t want to waste time on song-writing that could be spent on rocking. And on the whole it works... Nikki fully commits to the persona of Rock&Roll Mama, and has the pipes to back it up.

"I’ve only got MP3s of the album so it’s hard to comment definitively on the production, but the choices Raw Mojo made during recording seems to be stripped down and, err, raw. I can hear Miss Nikki’s bass and the kick drum, but the sound is almost all midrange, which emphasizes the sharp edges of their live sound. There’s so little studio trickery on this CD that the few songs on which the vocals get treated with a wet reverb it stands out as a surprising texture. What comes through most of all is how tight the band is, as though they’ve been practicing these songs in their basement forever. And that’s Raw Mojo’s secret: they’ve focused on the pure joy of playing rock music so completely that virtuosity or ‘originality’ or sophisticated song writing would be an unnecessary distraction."
- from another review by Kent Williams for Little Village Magazine

"Independently rocking through your veins since 2006. Sometimes hard n' heavy, sometimes dark and scary, at times slow and heartfelt, always fun. You either 'get' Raw Mojo or you don't...

"Imagine what happens when you mix elements of rock, blues, punk, grunge, and a touch of shoegaze together in a meat grinder. What you end up with is Raw Mojo. Sure, it sounds tasty...but wait until you hear it!

"Hailing from the Midwest, Raw Mojo's music comes straight from their gut - or as they like to call it, 'the basement.' Unlike some bands, Raw Mojo is never afraid to embrace and flaunt their influences. The weird thing is that the band probably shouldn't work when you take each member's individual traits, tastes, and influences. But yet somehow, everything falls into place to create much more than just a sum of its parts. This is a group that writes and plays what they feel: no guidelines, no certain genres need to be met, just pure music. With Raw Mojo it's always music first, bullshit second.

"Raw Mojo is like a family. They stick tight together and support their fans as much as their fans support them. What this family of Mojomongers provides is music for the young at heart (though probably not your grandparents' music). Mainly, the band has a 'take what you will from us' punk like attitude as well as that 'let's leave the stage in burning embers' feeling once they have rawked it. It's this kind of attitude that has many listeners saying, 'I want to hear that again!' song after song. If the band has one bad habit, it’s to leave the stage leaving the audience wanting more...

"There is only ONE band around that brings that genuine, no-bullshit, genre-bending music experience that strives to rock your face! And that band is RAW MOJO!!"
- from their Facebook page

"Mojo is defined as many things. The one definition that I thought fit this piece was one I found on Urban Dictionary. Their definition of Mojo is 'The word originally means a charm or a spell. But now it’s more commonly said meaning sex appeal or talent.' That definition is exactly how I would describe the band Raw Mojo. Their music is charming, full of sex appeal and talent...

"'Adam (drums) and I have been friends since 5th grade and playing music on and off together since 95. We worked together at a small town fast food joint that year and he was always beating the tables in rhythm so I did what I could to convince him to buy a drum kit and the day he bought them we set up in his bedroom and started an original band with 2 other guys we knew. Flash forward to 2006 after we both had been in several bands, we got together on a recording project I had going with a local songwriter. We did a whole album and started to tour when out of nowhere our bass player met someone online and decided to move to be with her. The project was falling apart but Adam and I were determined to play these songs after putting half a years work into them. One song we had was called “Goosetown” and it just so happened to be the Myspace handle of a woman who came up on our page looking to play bass. This is where we met Nikki Lee. By the time she officially joined the band the old project had fizzled out and we encouraged Nikki to step up and be the musician she wanted. At this point it was clear we were an entirely new band, it felt very back to the garage raw and there was a feeling of magic about playing music again, hence the name Raw Mojo.'...

"'The writing can happen in a number of ways. Sometimes Nikki will have a words and melody she is humming and we figure out what sounds good behind that. There are times we just need to break the repetition of rehearsal so we start jamming on riffs and if it strikes us as fun or interesting we explore what we can do with that. Other times one of us will flat out write something and show it to the band and they "mojoize” it. In the end it has to pass for good by all 3 members or we lose interest and eventually we never come back to it. It’s a good way to filter out what works and what doesn’t.'"
- from the article, "Raw Mojo - Brickbat Theory", by Chris Axe on the Word Krapht website

Lineup:
Nikki Lee - Vocals/Bass
Dan Bee - Vocals/Guitar
Adam Calyton - Drums


Home page:
http://rawmojo.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/rawmojoband/

BandCamp:
https://rawmojo.bandcamp.com/

To download the whole podcast, right click on the link below and hit "Save as...":
https://archive.org/download/IowaMusicShowcaseEpisode55/Iowa+Music+Showcase+-+Episode+55_.mp3

IMSC Ep 55 - Song 3: "Great Costumes" by Chrash



"Quirky Pop Phantom Rock"
- from their Facebook page

"Quirk Rock power trio. Craft rock."
- from their Iowa Stock page

"Chrash is a band formed after the conclusion of Iowa rockers Tripmaster Monkey. With Chris Bernat on guitar/vocals, Paul Blomquist on drums and Kim Murray on bass, Chrash has been making quirky pop and touring parts of the Midwest and parts of the east coast for almost 6 years... Chrash has described their sound as a cross between Gabriel era Genesis and Roger Miller. It is not certain if that is what they achieve, but the territory in between provides a great playground for the head. Accessible and catchy with a noticeable progression from previous recording, Chrash entices the listener to want more."
- from their ReverbNation page

"From Davenport, Iowa, comes a band as fluid and strange as its name: Chrash. "Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Chris Bernat (Tripmaster Monkey), along with Kim Murray on bass, keyboards, and backing vocals (Darling, The Winter Blanket) and Paul Bloomquist on drums (The Winter Blanket), Chrash as we know it has been together for over a decade – after fates conspired to bring these three talented musicians together. "Their quirky, self-described “phantom rock” (a genre they lay claim to creating) has had a fan base for many years...

"Accessible and catchy pop-rock, Chrash entices the listener to want more, ever more."
- from their page on the Cartouche Records site

Lineup:
Chris Bernat - guitar/vocals
Paul Blomquist - drums
Kim Murray - bass
Eric Stone - lead guitar


Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/chrashmusic/

ReverbNation:
https://www.reverbnation.com/chrash

BandCamp:
https://chrash1.bandcamp.com

To download the whole podcast, right click on the link below and hit "Save as...":
https://archive.org/download/IowaMusicShowcaseEpisode55/Iowa+Music+Showcase+-+Episode+55_.mp3

IMSC Ep 55 - Song 4: "Ghost Glasses" by Goldblums



"Des Moines area shapeshifting reptilian overlords, ft. World Heavyweight Champion Brandon Paul Moses of Deep Sleep Waltzing"
- from their Facebook page

"Their songs are grimy and gross garage punk.

"They last about 90 seconds.

"They’re rad as hell...

"I often find myself completely unclear on what is happening in the songs.

"I think that sort of delirium and confusion is intended."
- from a review by Dave Murphy on the Iowaves Music website


Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Goldblums/

BandCamp:
https://goldblums.bandcamp.com/

To download the whole podcast, right click on the link below and hit "Save as...":
https://archive.org/download/IowaMusicShowcaseEpisode55/Iowa+Music+Showcase+-+Episode+55_.mp3

IMSC Ep 55 - Song 5: "Double Creature Feature" by 1 Trak Mind



"Put together 5 musicians with a collective entertainment experience of over 150 years ... who have known each other since the 80's ... who have performed in almost every live music venue in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, and what do you get? ... 1 TRAK MIND!"
- from their home page

"Forever True..Red White and Blue..Rock from the Great Plains!"
- from their Facebook page

Lineup:
Brian Kent - Lead Vocals
John Kent - Drums
Stan Liberty - Lead Guitar
Barry Engle -Lead Guitar
Alan Ramsier -Bass


Home page:
http://1trakmind.webs.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/metalheadsplayingallamericanmetal/

To download the whole podcast, right click on the link below and hit "Save as...":
https://archive.org/download/IowaMusicShowcaseEpisode55/Iowa+Music+Showcase+-+Episode+55_.mp3

IMSC Ep 55 - Song 6: "By the Jack-O-Lantern's Light" by Joshua Mutant



"Joshua and his brother escaped along Jimmy Hudson from a mutant concentration camp and brought the injured Jimmy to the Morlock Tunnels, where they found the X-Men."
- from his entry in the Marvel Database

Josh Mutant of our world is a punk musician in Ames, Iowa, who is in The Disasters and was a member of Personal Vendetta. He also runs the music venue, Mutant's Lair, which specializes and often features punk rock music.

Lineup:
Josh Mutant - vocals, guitars, bass, drums



Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/mutantpunk33/

The Disasters on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Disastershardcorepunk/

To download the whole podcast, right click on the link below and hit "Save as...":
https://archive.org/download/IowaMusicShowcaseEpisode55/Iowa+Music+Showcase+-+Episode+55_.mp3

IMSC Ep 55 - Song 7: "Waking Call of the Dead" by Grave Corps



"Grave Corps is a band from Cedar Falls, Iowa. Their unique blend of punk, metal, and rock n' roll with a horror movie twist, creates a band that is unlike any other. With a wide range of influences containing The Misfits, Avenged Sevenfold, Kiss, Samhain, Rob Zombie, AFI, Guns N' Roses, Danzig, and Alice Cooper. They thrill audiences with their huge horror anthems and high-energy stage show. Their vision of a post-apocalyptic, monster filled world comes alive on stage with a plethora of face melting, chant worthy songs that keeps the audience singing along throughout the set.

"Grave Corps originally began in October 2007 and quickly became one of the bigger bands in the state of Iowa. Their diverse influences allowed them to share the stage with national acts such as the L.A. Guns, Britny Fox, Faster Pussycat, Steven Adler of Guns N' Roses, Michale Graves of the Misfits, Wednesday 13, The AKA’s, Saves the Day, Alkaline Trio, Dope, Soil, Powerman 5000, and Creature Feature. After hundreds of shows all over the Midwest, the band was signed to Crypt Of Blood Records out of New Jersey. The band released their debut album, "Blood Soaked Serenade", to a lot of buzz. The physical release of the album sold out quickly, and the online plays topped 40,000. Throughout this era, they went through various line up changes. They finally decided to let the beast rest in November 2009, until the time was right to resurrect the Corps with the right people in place. Well that time is now.

"The band consists of Arly Von, lead vocalist, and the ultimate front man. Arly's voice is melodic, yet gritty. His ability to command a crowd is unlike any other. He is truly the voice of a new generation. The ratty, raw, punk rock bass lines of Kodie Krypt, along with the precise, yet hard hitting, stick trick drumming of JJ Priest make the unique rhythm section that is the pulse of Grave Corps. On guitars are Scott A.D. and Christ LaViene. Scott delivers a rapid-fire, solid punk rhythm that can't be matched while the melodic licks, shredding leads, and memorable solos of Christ add the perfect amount of sleaze to the songs.

"With the fresh blood pumping life back into Grave Corps the band has set out to regain it's throne. They have all new songs (although you might hear a couple classics from time to time) and are working on a bigger then ever stage show to match the music. That's not to say they're not willing to play some down and dirty in your face rock shows as well. The time has come for them to bring their Horror anthems back to the masses. Are you ready?"
- from their Facebook page

"After the clouds have cleared, and the chilling sound of silence and death falls on the city of Cedar Falls, the middle of nowhere, Iowa, six silohettes of soulless creatures of the night assembled. And formed an unstoppable army of the un-dead known simply as GRAVE CORPS. Their mission is to play shows to amass a trail of death to feed there undying blood lust and add to the ever growing army of the damned, known simply as “Grave Slaves", who have no choice, but to follow there masters feeding on the flesh and brains of the living. Together on a never ending quest to take over this world, city by city! Fronted by Corey Corpse, the blood soaked re-animated demon seed. His haunting presence, and raw blood curdling vokillz entice the victims before the slaughter. Scott A.D. provides the deadly, driving rhythm to lead the kill machine to their untimely demise. Kodie Krypt’s low end signals lull the masses into a false sense of security before the slaughter. Arly Von screaming leads offer a foresight to your demise. Erich Allen Poe offers a lovely taste of heaven from the keys right before a signing your ticket to hell. Daniel DeKay pounds the rhythm of the war drums, aiding the band with deadly beats to make you feel your chest cave in right before your heart explodes. They are on a mission to create an army of the un-dead to join us on our blood lust that wont be fulfilled until the world knows the haunting presence that is Grave Corps."
- from their entry on the Vampire Freaks website

Lineup:
Arly Von - Vokillz
Christ LaViene - Lead Guitar
Scott A.D. - Rhythm Guitar
Kodie Krypt - Bass
JJ Wolf - Drums


Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/gravecorps/

ReberbNation:
https://www.reverbnation.com/gravecorps

To download the whole podcast, right click on the link below and hit "Save as...":
https://archive.org/download/IowaMusicShowcaseEpisode55/Iowa+Music+Showcase+-+Episode+55_.mp3

Ep 55 - Song 8: "Dragging the Lake" by Switchblade Saturdays



"Dark punk conceived during your hottest nightmares...Songs of Love, Murder and Vengeance ..When there's nothing left to fight for we fight for salvation...

"Conceived in fire, from the ashes of The Albino Spiders, is the cult- Switchblade Saturdays. An ambitiously hard-hitting band, well-traveled, with a strong foundation within their home base, Des Moines, IA. Switchblade Saturdays is known for their amazing live show, dark imagery and stage presence with a passionate background anthem haunting of love, loss, death, and life. Switchblade has woven their blood into every lyric and every melody, 'We bring the crowd into our music the way a phantom entices it’s prey...we play every show as if it were our last, with a vengeance!' hisses Zarrie Solum, lead vocalist/bassist and founding member. 'Our fans are our family and blood!!' says Switchblade, who’s fans are reminiscent of a cult or gang displaying the Switchblade Saturdays logo patches, buttons, and bandanna’s. Pumping fists, chanting, singing, fans hang onto every harrowing word of talented lead singer Zarrie. The music is brought into harmonious alignment with Josh Darnell on guitar / background vocals and rounded out with Ben Watson thundering rhythms only ones’ heart could dream.

"The Switchblade sound was formed by the take of various influences, Misfits, The Damned, AFI, Alkaline Trio, Dillinger 4, Guns n Roses and Social Distortion. 'I took a little influence from each band and wanted to have a live show reminiscent of the old days of Alice Cooper, Kiss, and Iron Maiden' hails Solum. 'Our sound is shedding it’s skin and being reborn.'...

Switchblade storms, “We are preparing for war! KNIVES OUT!!!"
- from their Facebook page

Lineup:
Zarrie Solum - Vox/Bass
Josh Darnell - Vox/Strings
Ben Watson- Drums


Home page:
https://www.switchbladesaturdays.com

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/switchbladesaturdays/

SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/switchblade-saturdays

To download the whole podcast, right click on the link below and hit "Save as...":
https://archive.org/download/IowaMusicShowcaseEpisode55/Iowa+Music+Showcase+-+Episode+55_.mp3

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