Iowa Basement Tapes blog #1-10

~ Thoughts and track lists from Kristian Day, host of the weekly program, Iowa Basement Tapes, which airs Thursday nights from 9-10 p.m. ~

(Most recent at the top of the page.)

Iowa Basement Tapes #10 - 9/6/2018

Night Listeners of 98.9FM KFMG -

It's September and it is our tenth week on air. Who could have imagined I could keep this up for this long? Most of my friends can't, but that's OK. This week I have Luke Dickens on the program who recently opened the doors to his own record shop in the Beaverdale neighborhood in Des Moines called Vinyl Cup. Luke brings a playlist of tunes that I have never played on the show before. I felt like the odd man out as he and studio manager Gary Monte connected on their mutual love for Catfish Keith. Luke's choices are a breath of fresh air, although I disagree with him on the idea that William Elliot Whitmore is underappreciated... especially among his lady fans. So to offset his playlist I spin some tracks from Captain Three Leg, Broken Ones, and Fetal Pig. Also, a long forgotten band called Beef Wellington from Cedar Rapids makes their debut tonight.

If you miss the broadcast make sure to subscribe to podcast edition on iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher.

-Kristian
#trustkristianday

Iowa Basement Tapes #9 - 8/30/2018

Night Listeners of 98.9FM KFMG -

As you are listening to this I am up in the far northeast corner of Iowa in the town of Lansing. I never thought I could drive 4 hours in one direction from Des Moines as still be in Iowa, well I found the one place that I could. I am here producing Jack Megger's short film, The Burial. Its been nearly four years in the works and we are finally here. Jack is originally from Mason City and has a pile of his own basement tapes that he is giving me to digitize for a future show.
Tonight, I have replaced our opening movie sample with a track from The Tape Beatles, tape collage group from Iowa City. They might be replacing Deerslayer as a weekly "must play" on a temporary basis. Their material reminds me a lot of Negativeland or a more commercial version of Aaron Dilloway. I also have a new track from Forest Lonefight's (The Maw) new solo album, Tend to the Soul. From the world of Iowa doom, I have tunes from Son of the Morning, Dead Emperors, and Mr. Nasti (doom pop, but still doom). For all my 319 listeners, I got two tracks from the music world of the late Mathew Davis (Brazil & Ten Grand).

If you miss the broadcast make sure to subscribe to podcast edition on iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher.

-Kristian
#trustkristianday

Iowa Basement Tapes #8 - 8/23/2018

Night Listeners of 98.9 KFMG -

I don't think there could be a more diverse show tonight. We got a track off the brand new self-titled LP from Son of the Morning, Des Moines' newest doom occult band. From the ashes of The Horrors from Cedar Rapids comes CR Dicks (featuring both Andy Caffrey & Paul Cary). I also welcome Mr. Bruce Bales who is sort of the music video king of Iowa. He brings us his own playlist of tunes for us to check out including tracks from The Multiple Cat, Land of Blood and Sunshine, & Jack Lion. We also get a fun cameo from KFMG studio manager Gary Monte who chimes in with his history of eastern Iowa radio. The show closes out with a track off the newest Annalibera album, Opia.

If you miss the broadcast make sure to subscribe to podcast edition on iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher.

-Kristian
#trustkristianday

PS. The Dogs track goes out to Kyle Munson. Cuz I know he is listening.

Iowa Basement Tapes #7 - 8/16/2018

Night Listeners of 98.9 KFMG -

I hope all of you have made it to the State Fair this week. I have spent my last four days working on the grounds with Viceland News. I usually make it the fair one day each year and to be honest I feel like I get my fill of the experience. However, four days at the fair is a whole other thing. I have seen sights that I never knew were there including the 4-H pig competition (I'm not talking largest boar) and the weird wonders of the poultry, pigeon, and rabbit compound. Anyways I dig deep into the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City archives with some Stiff Legged Sheep who rocked the house party scene from 1985 to 1988 (or around this time), Jonestown 4 with their cover of "Hey Joe" by Hendrix, and the second track off of the Star-Throne album from When Bitter Spring Sleeps.

Make sure to go out and check out the Iowa State Fair before the doors close for another 365 days. I used to be sort of an anti-state fair guy but really didn't have much of a reason to be except I was anti-everything. But I really don't think there is a place for that mentality these days.

If you miss the broadcast make sure to subscribe to podcast edition on iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher.

-Kristian
#trustkristianday

David Brooks - "Music Boy" / The Iowa Compilation
Stiff Legged Sheep - "Sleepless" / Garden full of Secret Graves (Iowa City)
Bottledog - "Postmen VS Doctors" / Another Product (Iowa City)
Jonestown 4 - "Hey Joe" / Jonestown 4 (Cedar Rapids)
Honeycreeper - "Alone" / Honeycreeper EP (Des Moines)
Swing By Seven - "Hoof Style" / Swing By Seven/Meth and Goats Split (Cedar Rapids)
Spectral Aeons - "The Scythian Score" / Hymns to the Ashen Skies (Cedar Rapids)
Deerslayer - "Spider Poised, Spider Walks / Guitar Cryer (Cedar Rapids)
Delvis - "Red Light" / Delvis Demos (Iowa City)
GhostCat - "City Walls" / Useless Fairytales (Sioux City)
Kyle Numann - "Windshield Glare in the Drivers Seat" / Clumsy Morning Noises (Burlington)
When Bitter Springs Sleeps - "Lost Amidst This Moonlit Verdure" / Star-Throne (Cedar Rapids)

Iowa Basement Tapes #6 - 8/9/2018

Night Listeners of 98.9FM KFMG -

The Iowa State Fair is upon us and you would think that I would have made a playlist that had some correlation. Like maybe a playlist of bands from the all the different towns that have previously hosted the state fair (Des Moines, Fairfield, Muscatine, Oskaloosa, Iowa City, Dubuque, Burlington, Clinton, Keokuk). But I didn't. Instead, I have a 15-minute interview with one of Des Moines' longest running punk bands, Die Mutts!

Die Mutts have been active for 17 years. That's insane to think about. Broken Josh and Matt Mutt sat down with me at my home studio and we talked about they met at the now-closed gummi bear factory in Creston, Iowa along with the band's evolution over nearly two decades (this was a run on sentence). I feel like I need to print a t-shirt that says "Die Mutts, the drunk skater punk you can count on".

I also drop some tunes from the 5th Iowa Compilation, titled A Few Works After Drinks. This comp is available for free download from the quadcitiesmusicarchive.bandcamp.com. Don't you worry, I did find a place for some Deerslayer this week as well.

Happy State Fair!

Cheese curds & goat sticks

-Kristian
#trustkristianday

Die Mutts - "Destroy You" / Old Videos (Des Moines)
House of Large Sizes - "Tired of Feeling Good" / My Ass-Kicking Life (Cedar Falls)
Love Songs For Lonely Monsters - / The Des Moines 4 Track Compilation (Des Moines)
Made Ya Look - "The Dreamers" / It's Another Iowa Compilation - Uncharted Territories
Otis - "Cranston" / A Few Works After Drink - Iowa Compilation Vol 5 (Davenport)
Die Mutts - "Teenage Zombies" / Demo (Des Moines)
Die Mutts - "Now We Skate" / Old Videos (Des Moines)
Galleons Lap - "Lady Velvet" / Mystery (Quad Cities)
Luxury - "Stupidest Thing" / Stupidest Thing (Des Moines)
Tripmaster Money - "Straight From Atlantist" / A Few Works After Drink (Quad Cities)
Deerslayer - "Music Table 7" / Music Table (Cedar Rapids)
Ted Cutler - "Crawl" / t's Another Iowa Compilation - Uncharted Territories

If you miss the broadcast make sure to subscribe to podcast edition on iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher.

Iowa Basement Tapes #5 - 8/2/2018

Night Listeners of 98.9FM KFMG-

I am back from Montreal and I have packed a fresh load of tunes for this evenings program. I stumbled upon a new (new to me) Bandcamp archive: quadcitiesmusicarchive.bandcamp.com. There is a little overlap from some of the stuff on the 319dude.bandcamp.com since technically they are the same area code but the majority of the material on here is exclusive to the archive. Some of the tunes I feature include The Afterdarks (rockabilly psychobilly), The Ballet (folk rock? I don't know), and Paper Children (90s skater pop punk). The Quad Cities will always hold a special place in my heart since I was born in Rock Island and lived there until I was almost 14 years old.

I also got to spend some time cruising on some 45rpm singles from back in the 60s and the 70s. Some of the material includes The Orphans and Al's Untouchables, both from Cedar Rapids. From Sioux City, I got dirtballs Sioux City Pete and Kidd Death. Of course, it wouldn't be an Iowa Basement Tapes show without tracks from Deerslayer or Captain Three Leg! I made a Deerslayer sandwich with a track from Stickdog in the middle. We close out with the instrumental rocker "Juke Box Boy" from C3L's A Few Lixx recording.

Next week I'll be joined by members of Des Moines' oldest punk band DIE MUTTS.

-Kristian
#trustkristianday

Theme Music for Davenport's Junior Theater (Quad Cities)
The Afterdarks - "No Good" / Rock N Roll Is Dead (Quad Cities)
Sioux City Pete - "John The Revelator" / Necro Blues (Sioux City)
The Contents Are - "Head Collect" / Four Each Other (Davenport)
The Ballet - "The UAW Hall" / We Were Wild Buffalo (Quad Cities)
The Horrors - "I Don't Need A Woman I Need A Nurse" / The Horrors (Cedar Rapids)
The Orphans - "Without You" / Back From The Grave Vol. 10 (Cedar Rapids)
Al's Untouchables -"Come On Baby and Stick Around" / The Dark Side (Cedar Rapids)
Deerslayer - "Music Table 3" / Music Table (Cedar Rapids)
Stickdog - "Evolution" / Human (Iowa City)
Deerslayer - "Memory in a Bruise You Gave" / Guitar Cryer (Cedar Rapids)
The Eclectics - "Big Tough Dreams" / It's Another Iowa Compilation (Cedar Falls)
Paper Children - "Far Away Place" / Paper Children (Quad Cities)
Kidd Death - "Junk Bound Ghost" / Lowbrow (Sioux Cities)
Captain Three Leg - "Jukebox Boy" / A Few Lixx (Ottumwa)

Iowa Basement Tapes #4 - 7/26/2018

Night Listeners of 98.9FM KFMG -

July is coming to end! Coeds are moving back to college and towns like Iowa City, Ames, and Cedar Falls are slowly coming back to life. Tonight we open with my homeboy's SIRES and their song "My Everything" which just rips my face off every time I hear it. It's from their album Soul For Sale released on Station 1 Records back in 2016.
I pulled a few tracks from the first two Iowa Compilation LPs that South East Records put out back in the 80's. Listening to these two records is a good reminder that Iowan's have known how to shred for many decades. Snuck in some Deerslayer to tie the show together. I am going to try and get an interview with the mastermind behind this project, A. Stanley Groves who was also a member of Brazil, The PeePees, and Wheel The Fence.
Anyways, I am off to Montreal for a few weeks.

Goat Hails

Kristian

IBT Playlist #4

SIRES - "My Everything" / Soul For Sale (Waterloo)
Captain Three Leg - "257" / 356 (Ottumwa)
The Wych Elm - "Ballad/Beat Combo" / Woodward (Des Moines)
Stone Wakening - "A Thought"/ It's Another Iowa Compilation - Uncharted Territories (Cedar Falls)
Luxury - "Bible School" / EP#1 (Des Moines)
Deerslayer - "AZ Pink" / Infinite Island (Cedar Rapids)
Mr. Nasti - "Caught Up in the Hype" / Mr. Nasti (Fairfield)
23 Lies - "A Pale Blue in the Muddy Grey" / It's Another Iowa Compilation - Uncharted Territories
Hot Carl - "Now I Want To Be A Martyr" / It Hits the Sauce (Dubuque)
House of Large Sizes - "One And A Half On A Hill" / The Iowa Compilation (Cedar Falls)
The Huns " Sex Cannibal From Outer Space" / Rednecks Under The Moonlight (Iowa City)
Tripmaster Monkey - "Valium" / Goodbye Race (Quad Cities)
The Dangtrippers - "When Time Runs Out" / Days Between Stations (Iowa City)

Iowa Basement Tapes #3 - 7/19/2018

Night Listeners -

We made it to week three. That's impressive at least to me. Tonight we played some tunes and we talked with John Huffman of The Autumn Project, Mantis Pincers, and Karen Meat. We discuss growing up in Fort Dodge back in the 90s as wells all of the music projects he has been involved in.
I recently discovered a super rad punk band that was around in Decorah in the late 70s called The Dogs. Discovering new music is always exciting, but discovering a band from a very small town in your home state that is several decades past their existence makes my head explode. I want to track down some of these guys and have them on the show.

Speaking of guests on the show, John Huffman came on to talk about his introduction to DIY music back in Fort Dodge/Otho and what lead to the formations of both The Autumn Project and Mantis Pincers. Plus we end the show with a never before released track from a project John and his wife have called Pussy Willow.

-Kristian
Twitter: @kristianmday
#trustkristianday

IBT Playlist #3

X-Ray Mary - "Vincent Price and His Zombie Girls" / Manzilla (Ottumwa)
The Dogs - "Teen Slime" / Rot N Roll (Decorah)
Emperor's Club - "Sham Sham" (Iowa City)
Head Candy - "Mesmerized" / A Few Works After Drinks Comp. Vol 5 (Quad Cities)
The Brown Note - "Set Sail" / Better Than Music (Cedar Rapids)
David Hearn - "Forgotten Road" / Forgotten Road (Fort Dodge)
The Autumn Project - "Four" / La Luna De Negra (Des Moines/Fort Dodge)
The Autumn Project - "Song One" / This We Take With Us (Des Moines/Fort Dodge)
Mantis Pincers - "Dracula's Casserole" / Mantis Pincers (Des Moines)
Mantis Pinchers - "Berlin" / Mantis Pincers (Des Moines)
Pussy Willow - "Untitled" (Des Moines)

Iowa Basement Tapes #2 - 7/12/2018

Night Listeners -

I return this week a heavier dose of tunes from the basement of our blessed heartland. Station manager Gary shared a Hawks LP with me that I am really digging. They were out of the Otho/Fort Dodge area back in the early 80s. They have a really catchy rock-pop vibe to them that always gives me an amazing sense of freedom. I also spent some time jamming The Des Moines 4 Track Compilation that Sump Pump Records put out back in 2014. I love this concept for a compilation. It wasn't just bands submitting tracks that were recorded on a 4 Track, Dan Hutchinson recorded every single artist using the same Tascam 414 MKII recorder.
Cedar Rapids/Iowa City music archivist Ben Smasher sent me some new tunes from experimental artist Deer Slayer along with a collection of tracks from the Des Moines band, Luxury. Ben runs the 319 Dude Bandcamp page which has an amazing selection of music from the Eastern Iowa music scene.

Iowa Basement Tapes #1 - 7/5/2018

Nearly ten years in the making and almost 20 years of collecting musical output from my home state of Iowa. It was 2010 when I first stepped into the studios of what was then 99.1 FM KFMG. A community-based radio station that at the time was broadcasting out of the top floor of the Hotel Fort Des Moines. I would park my car on 10th street and walk into the lobby that looked like it was straight out of the 1930s. I would take the elevator all the way up to the top floor which was almost like taking your life into your own hands. It would shake and slow down on floors that you weren’t planning on stopping at. I would come and do interviews with either Gary Monte or John Busbee. They were some of the few people that gave me an outlet to pitch what nonsense project I was involved in.

Here and now, 98.9 KFMG have opened their doors for me to produce a show that covers my obsession with Iowa made music. I went to my first show when I was 14 years old. It was at a place called Peabody’s over in the Quad Cities. During the day it was a hipster coffee shop but at night the back room would open for hardcore and punk shows. It changed my life. I felt like I was witnessing both a crime and a collective enlightenment. The band I saw was Provoke, a terrible metal whom I purchased a cassette of their LP. I remember walking outside and seeing my first DIY merch table full of 7″ records, zines, and demo tapes that were displayed inside of a propped open suitcase. This was music I couldn’t buy in a store. I wanted to find as much of this music as I could and keep in mind there was not an easy way to do this. You had to go to the shows to find them. Over the last 20 years, I have collected hundreds of records, tapes, and CDRs of bands that may have only lived for a short time. Although I have collected music from all over the world, I have really focused my attention on Iowa.

It goes against all my talk of minimalism and not having excess junk in your life, but if I ever find these types of releases out in the wild I have to acquire them.

PS. Gwar is playing at Woolies on July 14 and Provoke will never be played on my show.

-Kristian
Twitter: @kristianmday
#trustkristianday