On November 10th at 8 PM, the Crossroads Music Showcase comes to Des Moines. Start the evening off at our networking reception which gives you a premier opportunity to connect with others in the field. Unwind after a day of seminars, enjoy some appetizers, and then stick around to see the region’s best emerging artists on two stages! Playing on two stages at People’s Court, the lineup features these 8 Midwestern bands.
Lubriphonic
Digging deep and giving it all in everything they do, Chicago’s Lubriphonic specialize in a unique offering of funky rock n’ roll. The septet’s tight and raw sound is immediately familiar, fusing the roots of soul with explosive in-your-face delivery and sensuous R&B dance music. The best description of the band’s sound comes from Relix Magazine: “Superb, adventurous, diverse, simply mesmerizing instrumental work. Steeped in soul, rock, pop, and blues Lubriphonic’s members play with a tenacity and precision that sets them apart”.
Lubriphonic is the brainchild of guitarist Giles Corey & drummer Rick King which began as a residency at Chicago’s legendary Checkerboard Lounge, where they recruited some of the best blues, funk, and rock musicians in the city for improvisational live sessions in which the kinetic energy that make a band were initiated. The evolution from performing as sidemen for the city’s most legendary blues stars such as Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Koko Taylor into an original group came from the hunger of each musician to develop their emerging funky sound. Guitarist Corey explains “Everyone in Lubriphonic comes from the Chicago blues or gospel music pools. I met Rick King while playing in blues bands in Chicago, and when we eventually wanted to start a band together all of the cats we knew played the blues. There were and still are all these cats that had a strong foundation in Chicago roots music who understood the feel and the nuances, but were dying to stretch out. Lubriphonic turned out to be a good vehicle for that.”
It’s this expression of creativity and energy at each performance that is paramount to Lubriphonic. “We are a live band first and foremost. There’s a palpable energy emitted by any large gathering of people,” Giles continues. “When you perform for an audience and give them positive energy, they take what you give them, amplify it and then throw it back to you. It’s a fantastic feeling.” Lubriphonic – made up of Giles Corey (vocals, guitar), Richard King (drums), Pennal Johnson (bass), Garrick Patten (saxophone), Norman Palm (trombone) – tour extensively, crisscrossing the country playing festivals, theaters and clubs spending over 220 days a year on the road.
Sold out shows, national tours and their evolving sound are proof enough of how relevant Lubriphonic is going to become in the coming years. The group’s recent studio debut “The Gig Is On” manages to contain the trademark explosive live energy an accurate studio portrayal. Ivan Neville was a featured guest on keys. Since first forming in 2002 Lubriphonic already boasts a nationwide fan base, playing to crowds opening for such acts as Buddy Guy, George Clinton, Maceo Parker, Dr. John, Galactic, Bruce Hornsby, Derek Trucks Band, Karl Denson, The New Mastersounds, Jon Popper Project, Karl Denson, and Buckwheat Zydeco.
Entirely committed to continuing their mission, Lubriphonic is happy to be playing the music they love and winning over new fans each new night at each new city. “As a sideman one of the things you learned is how to be professional. I learned how to give to an audience, no matter what. That’s what you’ll get at a Lubriphonic show.”
Vanity Theft
The band started in 2005 as “Vanity Pledge” when the members were still in high school, and was made up of Brittany Hill (guitar, vocals), Alicia Grodecki (keyboard, vocals), Elyse Driskill (drums), and Staci Farfsing (bass). Starting out playing cover material, the band shifted to writing and playing original music after Lindsey Keene replaced the college-bound Farfsing on bass, and the group was renamed “Vanity Theft”. Keene left the band to pursue schooling and was replaced on bass shortly after their 2nd Album was completed, in April 2010 by Lalaine Vergara-Paras, previously best known for her role in the early 2000s on the TV show Lizzie McGuire. Lalaine was asked to leave in January 2011 just before touring was to resume, currently the band remains made up of its 3 original founding members. They have since toured with Amanda Dellevigne, Kelly Riot and currently, on The Lady Killers Tour, Allison Kelly.
The band has described itself as having a sound “somewhere between the work of Sleater-Kinneyand the Ting Tings.”In 2010, the band signed with Vigilante Music/Adamant Records.
Mathien
Mathien is the brainchild of singer/songwriter Chris Mathien, who describes the band as an aural representation of the music and ideas constantly going through his head. Inspired by vintage reggae, soul, and hip-hop, Chris has developed his own unique style that combines funny stories and spiritual truths with serious, self-effacing subject matter such as interracial love affairs and infidelity. After a stint with bands from his native Chicago, Chris entered Southern Illinois University in Carbondale as a freshman in the fall of 2003 full of high musical ambitions. Performing his own vocals, guitar, bass, drums, and any number of other instruments, Chris started writing a recording a sizeable catalog of over 50 original songs. Meanwhile, he began to perform limited engagements around SIU and garnered a small but dedicated local fan base. In the fall of 2005, Chris recruited a talented quintet of student musicians from the halls of SIU’s music program to form Mathien. After an impromptu show at Carbondales Hangar 9 in early September, Mathien began to make a bigger impression on the local music scene, with several appearances around the SIU campus and several dates at Big Boys Qn on the Carbondale Square.Chris Mathien’s solo material has also been gaining attention from advertising agencies, producers, and Chicago-based booking agents. Fans can look forward to Mathiens first release, Genius, in the summer of 2006. In the mean time, check out the band’s music and latest touring information at their MySpace page, www.MySpace.com/ChrisMathien.
Michelle Lynn
With literate, transformative lyrics and a luminous, soulful voice; singer-songwriter Michelle Lynnconnects the personal with the universal–and the spiritual with the profane–by confronting broader themes such as sustainability, feminism, dreams, love, & the global economy through the various archetypes she finds in and around her. Michelle assembled a studio band, The Bad Passengers, for her fourth album Sundial Tree. The release explores nature, numbers, and time while showcasing an idiosyncratic style of New Age Folk that is uniquely hers.
NE Iowa arts monthly Tapestry Magazine described her 2005 debut album Jump Roping in Chains as “A fearless collection of songs that strips away any pretension…” Her second album Hospital Radio was released in the spring of 2008 to a warm local response. La Crosse, WI arts weekly Second Supper proclaimed that “Michelle Lynn blew us away at this past summer’s Culture Shock festival…” and Decorah’s Inspire(d) Magazine was “…impressed by the depth and experience of her lyrics”.
Michelle has come into her own with her last two recent records, Pre-Echoes for the Postmodern (2009) and Sundial Tree (2010). Inspire(d) Magazine publisher Benji Nichols declared her “a regional favorite amongst music enthusiasts”, while a Second Supper staff writer noted that “It doesn’t take more than a few minutes of listening to Michelle Lynn’s unique, soulful voice…to realize that this young woman has talent.”
Currently based out of Decorah, Iowa, Michelle earns her living as a full-time artist and is known for her steady performance schedule, which regularly brings her to every corner of the Driftless Region in the Upper Midwest. She is occasionally joined on stage by a rotating cast of musicians dubbed The Bad Passengers; most regularly featuring Matt Olson (Brahman Shaman; Rearview Mirror) on drums and Adam Ptacek (Rearview Mirror) on bass. She is currently busy writing her fifth album.
Rebel Creek
A fusion of jam, psychedelia, and throwback rock-Rebel Creek attracts everyone from hippies to old timers to hipsters. Their energetic sound tempts the crowd, and gets bodies moving. Rebel Creek has been creating beautiful music since 2009, and only want to further their career as a band as they each attend Iowa Sate Univeristy. Give them a listen, and they just might shock you with a sound that is mature past their years.
The Sexual Undertones
The Sexual Undertones are a dirty funk and groove, polyester jam band. Early originators of White-sploitation music. (Meaning; four white guys getting as funky as four white guys can). Their music first burst on the scene as a popular Vietnamese Wedding march. It then seaped it’s way into America by dominating the car chase sequence soundtracks from the early 70’s; in shows such as The Rockford Files, Kojak and Barnaby Jones. Additionally, their chica chica bow wow sounds have been featured in multiple John Holmes, Long Dong Silver and Charles Nelson Reily films.
To preserve the integrity of their art form, each of their songs are improv and never the same version twice intentionally. In respect to their namesake, every performance is cutting edge and relative to current news topics and political events within a double entendre’ format. Many shows consist of hula hoopers and scantily clad dancers working tall, thick, strong brass poles. The combined styles of funk and erotic dancers have provided titilating excitment to arouse crowds of men and women alike. Some credit T.S.U. as the original fathers of Girls Gone Wild.
The true catalyst for their fame and fortune came at a gathering in Earlham, Iowa when they failed to perform in front of a teenage audience due to the youngsters blatant disrespect of afros and the bands lack of lubrication. The boycott made headlines at the local Casey’s and the night went down in infamy. It is still in question of how the band actually formed. The band reportedly came together through osmosis with members from different parts of society. One speculation was that each of the members enrolled in the same hot yoga class at Stanford University. Another possible scenario was that ties were formed when each member sought refuge from the bitter cold inside a polar bear carcass after being separated from their group during a seal hunt in the far reaches of Alaska. And yet another theory was that they were all simultaneously dating Michael McDonald and accidentally contacted one another as they found out about his alleged infidelities.
The Sexual Undertones have been revered by many experts as pioneers in “Red Stag” music theory. It is not known exactly where The Sexual Undertones have gone, it has been said that the tension continues to run underneath their music. One thing is certain, that they have forever changed the face of polyester on honkys in the heartland.
Datagun
The Iowa City-based band is currently doing a few shows in support of their latest project “Fake Your own Death” on a split 7″. There is no doubt that the crowd’s reaction will be an interesting one, but keyboardist/guitarist Andre Perry is up for the challenge.
Datagun came together in 2008. The basis of the group was simple: three people very active in the Iowa City decided to come together and make their own music.”We all have disparate music tastes, but we are all into noise music and house shows and stuff like that,” Perry said. “Although, our tendencies go toward more pop. We try to find a space between noise and pop.”
A lot of their inspiration came from the album Street Horrrsing by the band Fuck Buttons. While Datagun may not sound anything like them, it ended providing a cornerstone for some great music that can at times be beautiful, abrasive and very, very emotional.”We can get sounds that express what’s on our minds, sounds that express something, like poetry,” Perry said. “People write so they can capture human feelings. We’ll have things on our mind and capture a sound musically, that will inform lyrically what will happen.”
He is quick to point out, however, that while what they are doing is not always the most accessible, it’s not even close to as crazy to some of the things coming out of the Iowa City scene.”Even though we are interested in that noisy, out-there aspect, we can’t get away from just writing a traditional song,” Perry said.
Get your tickets here, you won’t want to miss this!
The 80/35 Festival, our beloved local music festival, is currently soliciting and considering bids on ticketing for the Festival. Needless to say there is some national competition with deep pockets, signing bonuses and fee kickbacks (If you wondered why you have to pay ridiculous service fees, this is it. We don’t do it. Read on our ‘About Us’ page on this blog.). We’ve put together a solid proposal with you, THE FANS, in mind and we need to add your voice to the cause. If 80/35 stays local with their ticketing, so do your service fees; supporting local jobs and local investment back into the arts and entertainment scene here. Let 80/35 know you want deals done with fair fees that stay in DES MOINES. How do you do it? SIMPLY POST “CHOOSE MIDWESTIX” ON THE 80/35 FACEBOOK PAGE NOW, AND SPREAD THE WORD THROUGH YOUR PAGE. 
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