Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Java Blend Exclusive Hour With Dan Dimonte and the Bad Assettes

Tune in for Dan Dimonte and his Bad Assettes with a full hour of multi-faceted, homegrown music.

In this episode of IPR Studio One's "Java Blend," host, Ben Kieffer will chat with Iowa City's own, Dan Dimonte and the Bad Assettes.

Listen to and download the podcast to find out more about the making of their new fusion of inspired jazz.

Dan DiMonte is an Iowa City-based multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer transplanted from the southwest suburbs of Chicago. His band, The Bad Assettes, is comprised of many familiar faces to the Iowa City and Chicago music scenes. In a single show, DiMonte will sing and play guitar, piano, percussion, and trumpet. Sometimes, he will do two instruments at once! DiMonte’s compositions have a vast number of influences shining through (Jazz, Rock and Roll, Latin, Reggae/Ska, Folk, Blues, Funk, Gospel, Classical, etc.), so to put a title on such a genre-bending artist’s music is difficult. It is like early-mid 70’s Springsteen collaborating with Carole King and Bob Marley alongside Chicago horn licks, Phish jams, and a soulful Hammond B3 player. DiMonte calls it: jazz-influenced rock with added spices.

DiMonte has played his original compositions in venues around the Iowa City area, Chicago, and Northwest Indiana, including a couple of nights at Chicago’s Hard Rock Café and a marathon set of almost 3 hours at Iowa City’s Summer Concert Series. He has shared stages with touring musicians such as Jon Wayne and the Pain, Sami Grisafe, and Tony Memmel, as well as extensively touring as a multi-instrumentalist for Joe Mattingly and the Newman Singers. Coming off of a 2nd place finish at the Iowa City Yacht Club’s Battle of the Bands, the band enthusiastically ran to Iowa City’s Earthtone Studios this past winter to record their debut album entitled The Runner, The Ends, The Space Between. The album was released on April 18th to a rowdy crowd at the Yacht Club, and after performing on Java Blend, the band is gearing up for a few slots at the Iowa City Jazz Fest followed by a five stop Midwest tour in mid-July.

Stay tuned for more Java Blend, Saturdays at 2PM on IPR Studio One!

Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's River to River