Iowa City Yacht Club: Press

Not quite a decade after the Yacht Club closed its doors for the first time, in 1995, the venue reopened, and it will now celebrate its five-year anniversary on Saturday beginning at 5 p.m.

"[The old Yacht Club] was one of the cooler live music places when I was in school," said current owner Scott Kading. "And when it closed, all I thought was that it should be open again."

The Iowa City staple supports dozens of local acts, ranging from brand-new musicians to such successful acts as Public Property and Hunab.

"There's definitely a community around the Yacht Club," said Hunab frontman Joe Kalb. "It's a very cozy basement-type feeling. The stage is right there, and the band's right there. It's the closest thing to our own basement. If we aren't playing in ours, then we're on our way to playing there."

The Yacht Club's focus on area bands distinguishes it from its local brothers.

"I think these local bands need a place to play," Kading said. "I love how the bands are able to come back and play every six weeks or so."

Essentially, he said, he looks at the bar as a "place to throw a party" every night with his closest friends.

"It's a blast," he said. "It's a really rare thing to have something like this."

During the celebratory evening, the Yacht Club intends to simultaneously release its third live album: Yacht Club Live 2007: Coverin' Our Asses features prominent community musicians such as Euforquestra, Public Property, and Hunab, as well as a cover picture of Kading's 3-year-old son Jackson's tush with two small Yacht Club stick-on tattoos on each cheek.

"Being part of that was a huge compliment to us," said Kalb, 25. "The whole album's going to be of covers - and we really wanted to make it onto that CD." The group learned all of Pink Floyd's The Wall but chose to perform "Run Like Hell" for the free compilation disk.

Hunab will headline the Saturday night show, which will include Samba Nosso, Mad Monks, Mint Wad Willy, The School of Flyentology, Max Eubank and Joe Losh, and Ra Sol performing a tribute to Jamiroquai.

Hunab began in Iowa City just two years ago, and since then, it has built what Kalb calls a "pretty stable" fan base. The same can be send for reggae rockers Public Property, which will leave its Yacht Club roots to lead a two-month tour through Iowa, Colorado, California, and Hawaii.

The Iowa State graduate Kalb said that while the Yacht Club remains Hunab's favorite place to play in Iowa City, he isn't positive the group will be around here forever.

"Iowa City is such a transient place," 42-year-old Kading said. "But even despite its transience, we've made some pretty good friends out of this."

E-mail DI reporter Brigid Marshall at:
brigid-marshall@uiowa.edu


Iowa City Yacht Club Five-Year Anniversary
Featuring Hunab, with Samba Nosso, Mad Monks, Mint Wad Willy, The School of Flyentology, Max Eubank and Joe Losh, and Ra Sol
Where: Yacht Club, 13 S. Linn
When: 5 p.m. Saturday
Admission: Free

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Dennis McMurrin & company demolishing the norms by still going strong

Band an Iowa City staple for 22 years

By Deanna Truman
Iowa City Press-Citizen

If you go

• What: Dennis McMurrin & The Demolition Band.
• When: The band plays at 10 p.m. the first Saturday of each month at the Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S. Linn St. Cover is $6.
• Information: Call 337-6464.

It is the first Saturday of the month, and the Iowa City Yacht Club is packed.

The big draw is Dennis McMurrin & The Demolition Band.

In a town where bands come and go like wildfire, the group is an oddity.

Dennis McMurrin & The Demolition Band, 22 years strong, continues to increase its fan base.

At any given show, there are 20-somethings dancing and having a cold one next to patrons twice their age.

Patrick Scott of Iowa City is a fan of McMurrin's guitar playing.

"He's one of the best guitar players alive," said Scott, 56. "If you think I'm kidding, just listen."

Audrey Wiedemeier enjoys the band's "funky blues" sound.

"It's groovy," Wiedemeier, 21, said when taking a break from dancing.

Both came to the Dennis McMurrin & The Demolition Band's 50th show Saturday at the reconstituted Yacht Club, 13 S. Linn St.

In honor of the group's anniversary, the club indulged patrons with 50-cent pints and tater tots.

The band's big show originally was slated for Dec. 1, but an ice and snow storm pushed the date back a month.

The band's fans didn't seem to mind as they started arriving as early as 9 p.m. in anticipation of the 10 p.m. show.

Dennis McMurrin, who fans warmly call Daddy-O, is in his 45th year of playing guitar.

He picked up the instrument at age 9, influenced by his maternal grandfather, who played guitar for fun.

In addition to his guitar chops, McMurrin, the band's lead singer, is known for his entertaining short stories.

He enjoys interacting with the crowd and jokes as much as possible.

If a photo is taken, he'll say he forgot to get a manicure. If a video is shot, he'll say he'll send it David Letterman.

In addition to McMurrin, the band consists of drummer Paul Cunliff, saxophonist Bob Thompson and bass player Dan Johnson.

Marty Christenson played bass for the band for years, and every now and then he still plays with the group.

Such is the case at Friday's 9 p.m. show at The Mill Restaurant, 120 E. Burlington St. Cover is $6.

The Mill and the Yacht Club are the band's local haunts.

The band plays at 10 p.m. the first Saturday of each month at the Yacht Club. Cover is $6.

Owner Scott Kading is always glad to bring the band in.

"It's old-school fun," he said. "They are one of our favorites, without a doubt."

McMurrin began the band in 1986 when he needed a group to record the self-titled Dennis McMurrin album.

"We did it right," he said. "They are all really good musicians. There are none better."

In a dot-com world, the band does not have an official Web site, but prefers to gather its fans through gigs and word of mouth.

All records currently are out of print, but the group is considering putting out a compilation CD later this year.

It's hard to juggle, though, because members are busy with side projects, McMurrin said.

He plays in two other bands -- McMurrin & Johnson and Dog and B Bits.

In addition to music, McMurrin writes and produces radio and TV commercials for businesses.

One of his biggest accounts is for Hometown Restyling in Cedar Rapids.

The group's music is all blues-based. Though mostly originals, the band plays covers now and then.

"Blues is the real thing for me," McMurrin said. "It's what I dig."

One of the band's most popular songs is titled "LA," a tune McMurrin wrote about the excitement of the fast-paced city.

Over the years, he's played with U2 and Tower of Power.

Whether he's playing for dozens or hundreds of people, McMurrin said his goal is the same -- to put on the best show he possibly can.

The fans also have a place in his heart, McMurrin said.

"I care about those people," he said. "I absolutely do, hopefully that comes across.

"They are No. 1 in my book."

Reach Deanna Truman at 339-7360 or dtruman@press-citizen.com.

To have fun.

That's what Scott Kading set out to do when he re-opened the Iowa City Yacht Club three years ago.

"I wanted a nice, clean, dark place to go see live music where you could go by yourself or with 20 people and have fun," said Kading, 39.

To celebrate all the fun he's had, Kading has put together the club's first CD, titled "ICYC Live 2005."

The CD features works of several of the club's staple artists including Jensen Connection, Joe Price, Euforquestra, Dennis McMurrin & The Demolition Band and Shame Train, among others.

All of the music was recorded live from the Yacht Club.

"It is some really good music," Kading said. "It is all over the place. There is some roots rock, reggae, blues.

"I gave it to my parents, friends, college students."

At the Yacht Club's Third Anniversary Party at 8 p.m. Saturday, Kading will be handing out the $10 CD for free.

Cover charge is $10. Performing will be the Colorado band Storytyme, as well as the Iowa City rock/soul band the Jensen Connection.

Though the original Yacht Club, which closed in 1995, focused on blues and rock shows, Kading books a variety of shows.

Kading said he wants to give area residents as much local music as he can. Plus other venues, such as The Green Room and The Siren closing, has brought a wider variety of musicians to his door.

The fact that he offers live music five nights a week is rather extraordinary, said Joe Price, a well-known blues musician.

"I've been in this business for over 35 years. It is not often that you run into a cool little bar like that that has music," he said.

Price said he thinks Kading has done a wonderful job with the live CD, on which he is featured.

He's not alone.

"I think it is a pretty cool idea," said Emmett Sheehan, singer of the Jensen Connection. "I expected him to do something like that a long time ago. He takes a lot of pride in the shows."

And while a lot of clubs are just interested in the mighty dollar, Kading takes a personal interest in the local bands that play there, Sheehan said.

For example, when the Connection was just beginning and figuring out what it was doing, Kading could have just turned his back on the band and booked others, but instead he offered constructive criticism, Sheehan said.

"He gave us a lot of time to figure stuff out," Sheehan said. "It is a different ballgame playing in front of people."

The Jensen Connection formed during Wednesday night jam sessions at the Yacht Club.

With the constant turnaround of the town, Sheehan said Kading has a real opportunity to help mold young talent.

Eric Quiner, a musician with the world-beat ensemble Euforquestra, agreed.

"One of the biggest things for me is just working with Scott," he said. "He is always pushing the club to be better and for us to be better."

Yes, the club has had its share of big names grace its stage, including The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, but it is known for local music, Quiner said.

"Scott's main thing is the local acts and he does a great job," he said.


Reach Deanna Truman-Cook at 339-7360 or dtrumancook@press-citizen.com.

"ICYC Live 2005"

Various artists

Self-released

Released in conjunction with the Iowa City Yacht Club's third anniversary, "ICYC Live 2005" provides a representative overview of the venue's stalwart acts (eleven tracks by nine bands), and serves splendidly not only as a souvenir for the club's denizens, but also as a robust sampler of Eastern Iowa's prime purveyors of blues, roots-rock, reggae and all-around jam-ification.

The Jensen Connection and the astonishing Dennis McMurrin & The Demolition Band each get two tracks, with one each by David Zollo & The Body Electric, Public Property, Euforquestra, Kelly Pardekooper, Shame Train, Joe Price and Clean Livin.'

The performances are stellar, and the sound is clean and punchy throughout.

For best results, throw a bag of tater tots in the oven, crack open a cold brew and crank it up.

-- Jim Musser

ICYC Live 2005 Showcases Local and Regional Acts
Story by Tom Swanson


Article Posted Wednesday, January 25 2006 ~ 9:09am

On ICYC Live 2005, there’s a track by the Iowa City world-music ensemble Euforquestra called “Tramba” that illustrates what’s so great about live recordings: In a live setting, anything can happen, and strange things often do. When I first heard “Tramba,” the snare drum sounded a little out-of-time. Then, about 35 seconds into the song, the band stops playing and one of the members says, “Okay we’re going to start that one over again,” and another member says, “That guy knocked the cymbals over!” With a snappy drum fill, the band jumps right back into the groove and takes the listener on an Afro-Cuban journey � la Buena Vista Social Club.

I love the fact that the entire episode was left on this new album, which features regional and touring artists captured live at the Iowa City Yacht Club last year. (Well, most of them were recorded in 2005.) In the liner notes – authored by Scott Kading, the club’s co-owner and chief album producer – we learn that the person who actually knocked those cymbals over was Kading’s “friend and tattoo guru Ray ‘Stingray’ Parrish.” Cool.

Via those liner notes, Kading claims that more than 20,000 people saw more than 200 shows in 2005 at the Yacht Club, and that the venue released this compilation because it thought it “appropriate to try and document some of those memorable nights – especially since it is sometimes hard to remember what happened anyway … .”

Kading and his crew did an admirable job. The recordings aren’t stellar, but they’re pretty close, especially for a live application; you can tell that the sound in the room was good and there is a lot of energy packed into the songs that were chosen to represent what goes on at the Yacht Club. Most of the artists included on this disc are from the Iowa City area (at least originally), and you’ve probably heard of popular acts such as Kelly Pardekooper, David Zollo, Public Property, Shame Train, Joe Price, and the aforementioned Euforquestra.

The tunes on ICYC Live 2005 range from rootsy, blues-oriented numbers to funky, world-beat grooves to hip-hop-laced reggae, and it all works well together, demonstrating that, though sense of place has a lot of impact on the process of making music, it doesn’t dictate what genres that music will fall into. The Yacht Club has been a haven for these original, yet diverse, performers to converge and share their interpretations of what being a Midwestern band means since Kading and company opened the doors in 2003, and ICYC Live 2005 is a good showcase for regional talent.

Much of the album consists of the kind of music you might expect to hear from Midwestern musicians, illustrated perfectly by David Zollo & the Body Electric kicking off the album with “Shake It in My Face,” a fairly straight-ahead, upbeat blues number made popular by Dave’s first band, High & Lonesome. Jensen Connection follows with a similarly flavored boogie tune called “Distracted,” on which Mike Tallman and Adam Grasso of Euforquestra sit in on mandolin and steel drum. This allows the reggae-influenced breakdowns in the song to emit more of a Caribbean flair than they might otherwise, but the rest of the song is a sturdy study in two-chord progression, and it relies primarily on its energy for effect.

No compilation featuring Iowa musicians would be complete without Kelly Pardekooper, Joe Price, and Shame Train, and this one features Pardekooper doing his haunting dirge “House of Mud” by request; Price churning out a shuffling, Delta-blues instrumental appropriately titled “Yacht Club Boogie”; and Shame Train performing its somber ballad “Homewrecker.” The biggest standout is Public Property’s track, “What’s Goin’ Down,” mostly because it’s so different from everything else on the album. A combination of reggae-inspired instrumentation and current-event-laden lyrics delivered through hip-hop stylings, the song sounds like the lovechild of 311’s Music-era material and something off Dr. Dre’s The Chronic.

In the liner notes, Kading concedes that the producers did “cheat” a little when they put ICYC Live 2005 together. A few of the tracks weren’t actually recorded in 2005 but were included because the producers felt that artists such as Pardekooper, Dennis McMurrin & the Demolition Band, and Derek Perez and Brad Rieks of Clean Livin’ were so integral to the success of the Yacht Club that they shouldn’t be excluded. A fair statement indeed.

Kading’s liner-note comments about each song shed some light on the inclusion of certain songs, as well as lend personality and a great sense of time and place to this album. Kading, for example, explains that McMurrin’s outfit is “so special to us because we thought we would never be so lucky to get to see these guys together again but miraculously, starting 2/1/03, we were graced by their R&B … .” In reading these liner notes, it’s clear that Kading and company are true live-music fans and that they love what they do.

For someone who would like to find out more about regional artists and the music they’re producing, ICYC Live 2005 is a good primer. Many experienced, reputable acts are featured on the album, and thanks to the quality of the recording, it’s easy to get a sense of what they’re all about. It’s also nice to know that there are clubs out there recording the great original music that can be found right in our own backyard, and the Yacht Club should be proud of its effort to spread the word about the performers it features.

For more information about the Iowa City Yacht Club or ICYC Live 2005, visit (http://www.iowacityyachtclub.org).

Tom Swanson is lead singer and guitarist for the Quad Cities-based Jim the Mule.