The Des Moines Arts Festival

This event just gets better and better every year--we know people who spend literally THOUSANDS of dollars at individual artists' booths, and we love that about them.

 http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/entertainment/arts/2016/06/21/everything-you-need-know-des-moines-arts-festival/86159004/

Date Night Fun in River City

Lorado's, 18 S. Federal, on the downtown plaza in Mason City, is hosting a Glow In The Dark Party tonight, featuring DJs and a laser show. Sounds pretty awesome!

The Band Boulder Road entertains the crowd tonight as part of Cannonball Day in Mason City's East Park Lots of other activities, too, including BBQ, tours of the Cannonball locomotive, lots more.

Bash On The Farm continues today at Heritage Park in Forest City; BIG music event, a couple of dozen bands, and quite family friendly, which is not often the case. Great local event, now in it's 15th year--more info at http://www.bashonthefarm.com/. 

Check our Facebook page for Bruce's Song Of The Day, today and every day!

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More Tunes Tonight

At Rich's Muskie Lounge in Ventura, you can boat on in and grab a refreshing drink tonight. Live music on the patio starts at 6:00 pm, with Holly Hejlik playing guitar and singing. Music, cool drinks and good food on the lake--doesn't get much better.

At the Clear Lake Tiki Bar, on the other side of the lake, they're rockin' a little harder tonight, with The Old No. 5's, some great Kansas City powerhouse blues. Great food and beverages available here, also, of course, and.....it's the Tiki Bar!

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Diamond Rio Tonight in Allison

Veteran country-rock band Diamond Rio plays the Butler County Fair in Allison, IA tonight, with the show scheduled to start at 7:30. The band's latest release, "I Made It," contains all new music and is available now on iTunes or on a CD, on the band website at http://www.diamondrio.com/.  Tickets to tonight's show are available at the door, although we don't see prices anywhere. Nonetheless, it should be a good show.

The MacNider Museum's 50th Anniversary Celebration Continues Tonight.

Although the Museum’s actual anniversary is in January, it's too cold and the chance of storms too great to have the party in winter. Thus, the Museum is hosting a week-long celebration culminating tonight.

During this week special guest and Iowa native Tim Jenison has been at the Museum for a variety of special activities.  Jenison, inventor of such notable computer applications such as Video Toaster and owner of the software company NewTek, became fascinated with the 17^th century painter Johnannes Vermeer.  He set out to prove that Vermeer used simple technology, most specifically a basic camera obscura and mirrors, to create his master paintings.  The journey of Jenison’s findings were documented in the 2014 film Tim’s Vermeer (click here to view the trailer).

The Gala Schedule: Cocktails @ Charles H. MacNider Art Museum 5:00-6:15 p.m. and unveiling of exhibition Drawn to Abstraction; Dinner @ Music Man Square 6:30-7:30 p.m.; Screening of  Tim’s Vermeer 7:30-9:00 p.m.; Q&A with Tim Jenison 9:45 p.m. –
Tickets are $50 each, available at Charles H. MacNider Art Museum.

Documentary Short
Museum Trustee Paul Micich and intern Christina Newton interviewed many persons affiliated with the Museum, from all different walks of life.  Interviewees discussed their roles within the Museum’s development, as well as their favorite elements of the Museum.

Miss Ross Herself.

Diana Ross, one of the most iconic female singers of all time, brings her "In The Name Of Love" tour to the Des Moines Civic Center on July 21. Her musical repertoire encompasses R&B, soul, pop, disco and jazz, and includes “Stop! In The Name of Love,” “Where Did Our Love Go,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “Endless Love,” which remains one of the most successful duets in pop history.

Her career was celebrated by the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors in 2007 and the Grammys acknowledged her with a Life Time Achievement Award in 2012. The Guinness Book of Records has named her the “Most Successful Female Vocalist of All Time. Diana Ross helped shape the sound of popular music, and continues to perform as one of the most identifiable, unique, beloved and influential singers of successive pop generations. Here's a link for ticket info:

http://www.desmoinesperformingarts.org/events/other/544-diana-ross/

Music And Art In North Iowa Tonight!

Lots of music and art choices in North Iowa tonight! Here's the rundown:

Oklahoma's Swon Brothers, recent finalists on NBC's starmaking series "The Voice," have been performing and recording music on their label for years, and tonight they're at the Historic Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. Opening act is Tom Wurth and The Mockingbirds; doors open at 8:00, tickets are $15.00 in advance, $20.00 at the door. Here's a sample:  https://youtu.be/GzHOqYG9LHI?t=12

GRIN is gigging tonight at The Landing, at the South Shore Inn, 1603 South Shore Drive in Clear Lake. No cover charge!

Bash On The Farm, a two-day Christian music festival, has become a North Iowa tradition in itself, and is being held Friday and Saturday, June 24-25, at Heritage Park of North Iowa in Forest City this year. Music from a variety of genres, including gospel, rap, hip hop, alternative rock, punk, metal, hardcore, folk and more will fill three stages. Admission FREE, although there will be a charge to participate in games. Camping is available, and food vendors will be on the grounds. This event gets bigger and better every year! If you need to know more, check www.bashonthefarm.com.

Charles City's next Party in the Park is set for 5-9 p.m. tonight, with music from New York-based Redline, laying down some slammin' '80s rock. Should be a great show!

Lots more to come!

My Column, by Bruce Wasenius--June 2016

This month, answers to the questions I am asked the most and other goodies. First the easy stuff, born in Minneapolis, high school Robbinsdale (50th reunion this year), enlisted in the Navy at 17 and discharged before my 21st birthday. To radio at Brown Institute in Mpls. first radio job September of '71, moved to radio stations in Yankton, S.D., New Prague and Eden Prarie Minnesota. I moved to North Iowa in January of 1978 to work for KZEV FM to be the night guy for the Mad Hatter. I worked for each of the major radio stations in North Iowa for about 31 of the 38 years here, I went to work for the Post Office and was off the air from 1988 to 1995. At different times I also helped my friend run his store in Mason City called various names including Little Pleasures, Cabeco and Southside Digital in a number of ways. My first concert was the Lovin' Spoonful in the summer of 1965 in St. Paul. The shows that have most impressed me would have to include Pink Floyd for pure showmanship, mind blowing visuals and the musicianship. In a top ten I would say Leon Russell in 1971 and Mason Proffitt, and every time I saw Santana. Several bands coming to our area this summer I'm looking forward to. Over a career that spans so many years there are many stories and tales to tell...some will never be told, but I have some to tell you about. A question that always comes up is who is my favorite of the musicians I have had the great good fortune to have met, spent some time with or emceed for, which is tough, in good part because of all those I met during the Winter Dance Parties in the early days of KZEV, later through emceeing shows at the Surf. I've been on tour buses and got my share of autographs but the one that mattered most to me personally took place on the Friday before Labor Day of 1978. I had a call from a friend who managed a bar/nightclub in Mason City that frequently had bands play there, she told me a friend of hers was going through the area on the way to a Saturday gig and was doing a show that night at her place and would it be all right to meet at the radio station for an interview. I said it was probably o.k. and asked who it is she told me it was Willie Dixon. You might not know his name, but chances are good you have heard a song or two that he wrote. If you've heard the first couple of Led Zeppelin albums or the first album from the Doors from I Can't Quit You Baby to Back Door Man. Cream did a fantastic live version of Spoonful on their Wheels Of Fire album. Not only did he write an incredible catalouge of what are now blues standards, as part of the "house band" at Chess records he produced and even played Bass on the earliest rock and roll recordings in the mid-50's. As a life long fan of the blues this was a dream come true, I hurried to the radio station and sat in with the board operator for a ten minute on air interview, plugging the show that night and his schedule of upcoming shows. After the interview he said he wouldn't mind hanging around for awhile so we went back to the production room and continued our talk for another hour, the tape is long gone unfortunately but we covered all kinds of ground that afternoon. The show he was performing was going to be while I was at work, and since this was the days of live radio I was going to miss it. He told me that if I could get to there close to midnight he would do a second set for me. I set a new speed record and was there in time, he and his band played for an hour to about 15 people, what a treat. I stopped to thank him for the night, and he thanked me, and said I love you too...from one of my favorite people and a man who has been associated with some of the best music ever recorded and one of the founding fathers of rock and roll. That's one that will never be forgotten. Who would think that all this and so many more stories would take place in North Iowa. That's it for this time.

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My Column, by Bruce Wasenius--May 2016

May: the month to see if all those April showers will produce any flowers. One of the best times of the year, first the tips of the tree branches begin to take on a light green hue as the early buds show themselves, then the bushes begin to change too. Warmer temps and more sunlight makes it easier to be out longer. A good time for being outside whether it's in the yard or at a park or just taking a stroll around the neighborhood and appreciating the beauty of nature. It's a funny thing, yard work doesn't seem like work when it's your own yard. An hour or two goes by quickly, getting the ground ready for the garden and the plants to come.
Our family moved almost three years ago to a town with a population of less than my high school graduating class, and it's a whole different lifestyle. Actually, it's more reminiscent of growing up in the 50's, lazy days, not much traffic...on a lot of days I could stand at the crossroads downtown and look all four ways and not see a car. It gets busy at harvest time, that is if you think busy is waiting behind some farm equipment for a quarter of a mile... Vacation time coming up as school gets closer to ending for another year. Time to make plans for the summer. Time off, whatever you do with it is necessary for your mental and physical health. Having some time without schedules can be fun and useful, even if you just put up a tent in the yard, take your camper twenty miles from home, or you might be fine tuning plans for a vacation trip, searching for places to stay and things to do is exciting. Look for points of interest around your town or state and visit them, it's o.k. to be a tourist. Music festivals will be happening througout the country all the way into the fall no matter the genre and lots of them are free or have special rates. It all comes down to one thing, renewal, time to forget the cold and dark of winter, and celebrate the beginning of better days.

My Column, by Bruce Wasenius--April 2016

We're coming into the time of year when more and more musicians are traveling around the country playing live shows for crowds in the hundreds, to the tens of thousands. Whether it's concerts in the park, at the local high school, or a night at the opera, chances are there is something not too far away from where you live, with something to enjoy.

There is something special about the experience of listening to music being created in the moment--that can't be the same as hearing that same music recorded and heard from that perspective, no matter how sophisticated the music system is. We in North Iowa are fortunate to have some places to go for that, including, of course, the legendary Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. When I first moved here there were more venues than there are now and there were a number of local musicians in bands that played regularly. I had the opportunity to support quite a few in the mid-80's by giving them a voice to the radio listeners and to let people hear some of their recordings. A lot of those musicians remain my friends all these years later.

Practically every genre of music has celebrations through out the spring and summer months. My first day-long rock festival was a couple of months after Woodstock, in October of '69, a showcase of mostly Northern California bands, from It's A Beautiful Day and Cold Blood, to the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, complete with the Ikettes, to Santana. We camped out the night before and had to leave about 3 hours into Santana's set. The very next summer people around Iowa may remember the three nights at Wadena, and all the bands that played over the course of that long weekend; one year after that, two day long festivals in St. Paul in July and August that were headlined by the Allman Brothers and the Band, respectively.

In a previous column I mentioned the Surf in relation to the Winter Dance Parties in 1978 and '79. If the memories of those years were all I had to remember the place by I would still be grateful for the times I spent, but it's 38 years later and I'm going to a concert there next week, with more over the next two months. If you've never been in the building, you owe it to yourself to make the trip and take a tour. Better yet, take in a concert, be it big band (they still have shows), country, rock, or even the next Winter Dance Party; it's an experience you have to see for yourself. North Iowa Area Community College has several shows in the auditorium every year, music in the park in Clear Lake and concerts at the Diamond Jo Casino as well.

There will be festivals all over the country with almost any kind of music you prefer going on all summer long. Watch for news here in MusicArtLife, or go online at www.musicart.life to find where and when. Over the summer and all year long, we'll share information on festivals in the area and beyond, and have some concert reviews and photos as well in the magazine.

Put on Bob Seger's Rock & Roll Never Forgets and sing it while you're on the way to some live music...

MusicArtLife--April 2016 Issue

Profile Of The Month: Dallas Clark and Train Wreck Winery

This month, we're spotlighting recently-retired NFL champion and former Hawkeye Dallas Clark! We don't do sports stories here at MusicArtLife, and this isn't one--Dallas and his family are owners of Train Wreck Winery, located in the historic Chicago North Western Railroad station in Algona, Iowa. The vineyard is on the Clark Century Farm, south of Livermore, Iowa, adjacent to the site of a famous train wreck on the old Minneapolis-St. Louis Rail Line, for which the winery is named.
For more than 100 years, Dallas Clark’s family has farmed the land that now includes the vineyard; a century or so later, Dallas purchased the rundown train depot, and spent five years renovating the building, which now includes a tasting room and 40-person banquet room. The wines are made and bottled in a nearby building, with wines ranging from sweet to dry. The Clark family plants Marquette and Brianna grapes, and Train Wreck also purchases Iowa-and-Minnesota-grown Frontenac, Frontenac Gris, Edelweiss, Niagara and St. Vincent. Since opening its doors in Dec. 2011, Train Wreck Winery has earned awards at the World Wine Championships and gained recognition at other regional, national and international competitions. Bottles can now be found on the shelves at many locations throughout Iowa, and can be ordered online via the website: www.trainwreckwinery.com.

“There are a lot of great wineries in Iowa,” Clark has said. “We’re trying to build a niche in a competitive industry and get our name out there. The ultimate goal is to be a part of people’s experiences and celebrations by making quality wine that can be enjoyed with friends and family.” Indeed, family plays a central role at Train Wreck. Steve Larson, Clark’s father-in-law, serves as head winemaker and manager, and the former Hawkeye’s brother-in-law is a distributor of the wine in Central Iowa. “Dallas has a good sense for marketing,” according to Larson.

“I have a lot of pride in where I came from,” Clark says. “Representing Iowa has made my entire journey and this business that much more enjoyable. I’m excited to get back to Iowa and be more involved in the community and with the winery.”

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My Column, by Bruce Wasenius--March 2016

 My column, by Bruce Wasenius

The importance of music.
It's funny how certain things can trigger a feeling of happiness, from a favorite smell, a work of art and for many, music.
In the Lovin' Spoonful's song Do You Believe In Magic, there's a line "the magic's in the music and the music's in me", simple but true. Music is magic or certainly magical as all forms of art can be from a floral arrangement, painting or sculpting or even preparing a meal. Something special is triggered in our souls that brings delight from the simplest smell, taste or touch.
For me it's always been the music. I'm sure it was ingrained, my dad was a musician and he gave me an appreciation of a lot of types of music, but primarily big band, jazz and rhythm and blues. 
I've always thought that if I had been smarter, more industrious or rich I might have gone to college and studied music therapy, but I knew that wasn't going to happen so I got into radio as a small way of providing some happiness for the listeners. Do I miss being on air? The answer would be sometimes, mostly because I miss the contact with my friends. Working with Musicartlife gives me the opportunity to still bring some of my favorite tunes to everyone on line and that is fine for right now. On line radio is in flux currently due to some legislation on royalties.
So, I guess the thing is that to be happy we need to find the artistic part of ourselves and work on getting to the point in our lives where we are able to pursue them. Good luck. 

MusicArtLife March 2016 Issue

MusicArtLife's first author profile!

Sydney Hedberg is the oldest daughter of former Mason City residents Mark and Kristi Hedberg, who owned and operated KLSS-FM/KRIB-AM radio stations here. Sydney, now a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Ole Miss with double majors in Risk Management and Insurance/Managerial Finance, has written her first book, "Barneys, Bergdorfs & Bill$: A Girlfriends' Guide to Finance." Here, she shares with us her inspiration for writing the book.

"At 22, in the summer of 2015, I had returned to Houston, Texas to work an internship in the oil and gas insurance brokering industry (the company I will begin my first job with this fall). I extended my college career one extra semester to double major, so most of my friends had recently graduated and started calling me for advice on their new "adult" life. I decided the best answer would simply be to write a formal book to help out my sorority sisters.
During college I really developed a love for my finance and business courses. I loved understanding the stock market, the in's and out's of the federal reserve and simply being well informed about the world. Picking up a copy of the Wall Street Journal or Barron's wasn't a chore for me, I just wanted to be as smart as I could which would enable me to be as savvy as I possibly could.
When big CEO's would come to speak at our business school it inspired me tremendously.  Many of them had been the pioneers of industry. They took calculated risks to get to where they were, and mostly, they saw a need and filled it, which is how the most successful entrepreneurs are born.
That was the reason I wrote "Barneys, Bergdorfs & Bill$." There is a need to enhance financial literacy in the U.S., especially among young women. My goal with this book is to empower women. There is no greater confidence booster than enhanced knowledge."

"Barneys, Bergdorfs and Bill$: A Girlfriends' Guide to Finance" is available on Amazon.com, as of March 11, in paperback, for $12.99.

My Column, by Bruce Wasenius--February 2016

February 1st 1978 was a Saturday, the beginning of decades of a different way to listen to rock and roll on the radio in North Iowa. It was the day KZEV-FM went on air for the first time. For two days nobody spoke a word, no advertising was run, nothing but rock, not just the top 40, in fact a lot of it was music nobody had heard before. It was new and exciting, fun and a group of announcers and personalities that had been hand picked by the owner/salesman/morning man, the Mad Hatter aka Darryl Hensley. Along with the Hatter in the mornings was Kent Fletcher, Brad Johnson, the late great Jackson F.Wilcox and the Hatter's invisible on air friends. Bob Ellefsen, Denny DeWard, the "disco duck", and myself. We signed off at midnight, or around then, depending on how much fun I was having.

It was a textbook case of let's see what we can get away with...one of the things most people remember is (if the FCC regulations haven't expired, I will deny this), he loved to put someone on the air on the phone without them knowing, he had particular fun with overseas operators (kids ask your folks about operators and the phone company). For a long time he tried to contact Idi Amin an Ugandan dictator who was in the news a lot at the time, but because of the time difference there was never anyone there, so he would chat with the operator.

One of my favorites was when he put through a call to the State Department after having read an article on the US government was auctioning off some old battleships. In the conversation with the woman at the office he said he'd like to submit a bid, she asked him what did he want with it the Hatter told her he wanted to put it in Clear Lake to bring the level up. She wondered how he would get it to North Iowa and he told her he would cut it up, ship it and put it back together again.

Before the station went on the air the Hatter had been meeting with local merchants and business people and started putting into motion what would become the Winter Dance Party at the legendary Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, a venue that was, twenty years after that winter night still in operation and having groups play there on a regular basis. Much more on this coming up.

January of 1981, at the same moment Ronald Reagan was being sworn into office I was getting my first pink slip from the Z. The Program Director told me has listened the previous night and didn't hear a song he recognized...

A couple of years later the Hatter called and asked if I would consider coming back to the station and I said sounds good and that was the beginning of the Night Train which would run into 1987, but by then there was a new owner. I still say it was the most fun I ever got paid to have, and my life would not be anything like it is today if it wasn't for him.

One year into it's existence KZEV announced a concert at the legendary Surf Ballroom to remember the "day the music died" by showing that rock and roll not only didn't die it thrived. The first Buddy Holly tribute as it was originally known was a one night only event, and nobody knew what was going to happen, had no idea how many tickets would sell and how far away anybody would travel to the city in February for the show. Arrangements had been made at the hotel, trailers had been rented for dressing rooms for the artists and Wolfman Jack. The show was sponsored by a number of local businesses, promotion was done and the Surf was thrown back to the era with classic rock and roll from Jimmy Clanton, the Drifters, original Hollie Niki Sullivan, Del Shannon, a great rock band from Mpls. The White Sidewalls and a Mason City Band, Corn Fed. Even though Wolfman Jack was the emcee of record the Hatter was everywhere that night. By the second year it was sold out and continues to be year after year. The station and the event got national and global attention and it became a yearly party to have the artists come by the radio station for a media day. As many reporters as could fit into the building gathered together for interviews and photo ops. The early shows were actually recorded and broadcast live which led to some colorful moments. The second tribute was headlined by Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band and was a very long night, nobody had really set any kind of time limits for the early bands and so by the time Rick Nelson came out it was long after midnight, he rocked the house down.

All these years later the weekend draws people from around the world most notably the English Buddy Holly Memorial Society. It has evolved into not just a three night fun fest but a week of special events related to the weekend. As long as people come to be a part of the history it will continue.

My special memories include getting to meet the Wolfman and Del Shannon, singing along with Randy Chesterman to all the Drifters songs, and what truly nice people the artists were. Over the years since then there have been a lot of highlights. One to remember was 1800 plus people singing along with Don Mclean on American Pie as he stood on that same stage.

Over the past 38 years I have had the pleasure of emceeing a number of shows and it still puts me in awe to be in that dressing room and stepping up onto that stage.

January/February Issue

Welcome to the January/February issue of MusicArtLife! The year's young, but it's been eventful already, in the classic rock music world, with losses including David Bowie, founding Eagles member Glenn Frey, and Jefferson Airplane's Paul Kantner.  In North Iowa, we commemorate similar losses of the past, but celebrate the lives, with the Winter Dance Party, centered at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. Other activities, displays and live music happen around the area including at the Clear Lake Arts Center, the Best Western, EB Stillman auditorium, the Anchor Inn, all in Clear Lake, and the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum in Mason City, among others.  Links appear on our Facebook page and website at www.musicart.life.

Our music columnist, Bruce Wasenius, was there pretty much from the beginning of the revival of the Winter Dance Party in the seventies, and shares his memories in this issue. Sounds like it was fun!

In other news of fun things, MusicArtLife is proud to be a sponsor of the Humane Society of North Iowa's annual Chocolate and Romance fundraiser at the National Guard Armory in Mason City. This event grew quickly into a popular one, and this year it's at 2:00 pm on  Valentine's Day. Do something good for our local humane society and put a little romance in your life, all in one fell swoop! (Gentlemen, this is a no-lose situation for you.) Tickets are only $15, and include the fashion show (human and canine), wine-tasting and chocolate buffet with chocolate fountain (courtesy of Mason City Hy-Vees), silent auction, and much more. See you there!