23 May 2006

Doing It Themselves: The Bowmans, May 24 at the Redstone Room

By Administrator
The story of the “anti-folk” musical duo the Bowmans – twin sisters Sarah and Claire Bowman – might be tired and cheap if it weren’t so compelling and poignant.

They grew up in the Quad Cities, operate out of New York City, and are making their return this week, opening for Lowry (a band in which they also play) at the Redstone Room on May 24. Hometown girls made good!
17 May 2006

At the Crossroads: Fueled by a Simple Idea, Daytrotter Could Put the Quad Cities on the Musical Map

By Administrator
The complaint is painfully common. You look at the list of hot indie-cred-heavy bands playing at Gabe’s in Iowa City, or in Des Moines, and they’re the same bands that are playing in Chicago a few days later or earlier. They’re already driving Interstate 80 – hell, they’re probably stopping near the Quad Cities to pee – yet they rarely play here.

Sean Moeller has heard it. “We’re right on the way,” he said last week. “Everybody who’s anybody drives on I-80. They’re passing right by us every time. It gets to a point where you get really sick of that. You get sick of people ignoring you. ...

“When you are feeling like you’re bypassed every time for a different place, it’s easy to think that this place is crap. It’s easy to think that every place else is better.”

So Moeller gave people a reason to stop: Daytrotter.com.


17 May 2006

Content to Fly Under the Radar: Charles Davis Quartet, Thursday, May 18, at the Figge Art Museum

By Administrator

Neither Tardo Hammer nor Charles Davis can explain their success in jazz.

Hammer, who has been called “the best jazz pianist you’ve never heard,” said he never planned on a music career when he was starting out in the late 1970s.

“To me it was ridiculous to think of a career,” he said in a phone interview this week. “There wasn’t a lot of work, and jazz was really not popular. ... You hardly saw an upright bass player, and almost every piano player had to get a Fender Rhodes. If you played ‘Straight Ahead,’ that was considered something that was just about to vanish off the planet, holding onto something that was ready to expire.

“I was thinking, ‘I’ll do this now because this is what I love to do. I’ll go where this is and see what happens. I’ll worry about tomorrow tomorrow.’”

Nearly 30 years later, Hammer has stumbled into that jazz career, performing regularly with singer Annie Ross and also releasing three discs as a bandleader. He’ll be playing in a quartet with the venerable saxophonist Davis at the Figge Art Museum later this week. (The pair will be joined by drummer Jimmy Wormworth and bassist Lee Hudson.) 

 

02 May 2006

A Voice Poured from the Heart

By Jeff Ignatius
Not many people have heard of Mia Zapata, a punk singer who was murdered in 1993. At the time of her death, Zapata's group, The Gits, had released just one recording, Frenching the Bully. The CD is in many ways unremarkable, except for one thing: Zapata is a force of nature, and her powerful, un-self-conscious voice makes it impossible to keep your ears off her.
25 Apr 2006

The Accidental Band

By Jeff Ignatius
It's not quite miraculous that The M's will be performing on Friday at the Redstone Room, but given the group's origins, it's a surprise that the band is making public appearances at all. It started out as a lark, four guys recording dozens of songs at home.
18 Apr 2006

A Multicultural Festival with a Backyard Flavor

By Jeff Ignatius
Multicultural festivals might bring to mind images of food and music from Asia or Africa, but Augustana College's inaugural Pulse of the River "multicultural music festival" is staying much closer to home. The free event, which kicks off at 1 p.
18 Apr 2006

Redstone Room Puts the Spotlight on Its Sound

By Jesse Virgil
National touring acts Martin Sexton, Greg Brown, Bo Ramsey, and Pieta Brown were the main draws for the grand-opening celebration of the River Music Experience's Redstone Room, but the new nightclub's star attraction could be its sound.
11 Apr 2006

Symphony Finds Comfort and Triumph in Requiem

By Abbie Dombrock
Death. Everyone will face it. The Quad City Symphony Orchestra and the Handel Oratorio Society jointly presented a concert April 2 that addressed the power of death, the frailty of life, and the comfort we seek in the face of both.
11 Apr 2006

RME Brings in Internationally Known Jazz Pianist

By Jimmie Jones
It has been more than a dozen years since Quad Citians have had the opportunity to catch an internationally known jazz act playing in a local nightclub, but on Sunday, April 30, jazz pianist and educator Willie Pickens will perform with his trio at the brand-new Redstone Room on the second floor of the River Music Experience in downtown Davenport.
04 Apr 2006

An Evolution of Scots Music

By Jeff Ignatius
Most bands are extensions of their leaders, but Scotland's Battlefield Band is something else entirely, nearly a living organism beyond its members. The group has been around since 1970, and a full-time affair since 1975, but Alan Reid is the only original member still in the band.

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