Iowa Public Radio - Java Blend

Java Blend

part of our Studio One Service

Email: bkieffer@iowapublicradio.org
Hosted by Ben Kieffer

Every week Iowa Public Radio's "Java Blend" with Ben Kieffer serves up fresh-brewed performances and conversation with musicians from around the state and around the country. Recorded before a live audience at The Java House in downtown Iowa City, the one-hour show offers an eclectic mix of live tunes from the vibrant independent music scene. Ben Kieffer infuses the performances with lively chats to find out about the artists' music and lives.

The public is invited to be part of the live audience for this free show (Fridays at 2:00pm), which will be recorded for broadcast across the state on Iowa Public Radio's Studio One network. You can hear "Java Blend" Saturdays at 2:00 PM, repeated the following Friday at 11:00pm.

"Java Blend" is also videotaped for several TV broadcasts on the UITV cable channel (UITV schedule) in the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids area. The audio version also can be heard worldwide on the internet via the respective stations' live webcasting.

Upcoming Performances and Broadcasts

Note: The Java Blend broadcast takes place several weeks after the live performance.

The Beggarmen

Free, Live Performance at the Java House: Friday, September 03, 2:00 PM (map)

Broadcast: Friday, September 24 and Saturday, September 25

The Beggarmen find their roots in the traditional music of Ireland and other Celtic regions, supplementing the rich variety of traditional tunes with original compositions. Known for fine instrumental work on fiddle, guitar, tin whistles, mandolin, pipes and bodhran (the Irish frame drum), the members of this popular eastern Iowa band also lend their voices to the mix for a varied, eclectic, and entertaining show. Their most recent album A Soft Day was funded by a Major Artist Grant from the Iowa Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. More info at http://www.myspace.com/thebeggarmen

Ida Jo

Free, Live Performance at the Java House: Friday, September 10, 2:00 PM (map)

Broadcast: Friday, October 01 and Saturday, October 02

It is easy to wonder where Ida Jo came from. A student of violin from the age of 7, her life has been full of honors including the prestigious Emerson Scholarship to Interlochen Arts Center at the age of 14, and the first of several performances at the Winnipeg Folk Festival at 15. Having grown up listening to The Band and Van Morrison, Ida Jo combines classic rock passion with violin virtuosity giving her new record "Providence" its unique sound. These days, Ida Jo employs a seldom heard violin technique that is developed from a folk fiddle style called "chopping". There are maybe a dozen violinists in the world who use the chopping technique and closer to 5 who use it with such sophistication as Ida Jo.
Ida Jo approaches the songs of Providence with the immediacy of a jazz improviser, the honesty of a folk singer, the humility of gospel seeker and the genuine passion of a classic rocker. More info at idajoandtheshow.com

Noah Earle

Broadcast: Friday, September 10 and Saturday, September 11

Noah Earle ushers in Java Blend’s return from its summer hiatus. Born in Topeka, Kansas, and surrounded by a musical family, Earle absorbed various strains of influence. His musical involvement began in early childhood when he would listen to the traditional country and country-gospel music that his family would play and sing at their gatherings. Between the ages of about 5 and 18 he underwent classical training for piano, voice and fiddle (his grandpa said "never let anybody call it a violin"). By the age of 10, he had decided that he wanted to write songs, like his uncle and grandfather. Throughout this time, he was also exposed to blues and jazz by his dad and uncle, both of whom performed in a number of bands. From these surroundings Noah has emerged as a formidable solo artist, displaying unmistakable talent through his deft and varied guitar style and an agile, soulful approach to his singing.

In 2006, he won the solo category of the Kansas City Blues Challenge and was a finalist in the International Blues Competition in Memphis. More recently, he was chosen as a New Folk finalist at the renowned Kerrville Folk Festival in 2007.

Earle's first release for MayApple Records, Postcards From Home, found him focusing his songwriting solidly in the Americana vein. His second, This is the Jubilee, which was released in April of 2010, represents an evolutionary leap toward greater confidence and stylistic originality.

More info at noahearle.com

This program was recorded on 08-20-2010.

Caroline Smith

Free, Live Performance at the Java House: Friday, September 17, 2:00 PM (map)

Broadcast: Friday, October 08 and Saturday, October 09

Since her arrival in Minneapolis during the fall of 2006 as an 18-year-old, singer/songwriter, Caroline Smith has utilized her proximity to a music scene bursting with notable venues and like-minded musicians. One such venue was the 400 Bar. Hearing of artists like Elliott Smith, Conor Oberst and Mason Jennings making their names and performing residencies there, Smith approached owner Tom Sullivan and was signed on for a residency of her own. A growing audience and favorable press was to follow, not to mention supporting Mason Jennings and even a spot opening for B. B. King. Smith separates herself from the usual female singer-songwriter pack with a distinct style of song-writing and a genre of music she’s begotten and named “story-book folk.” More info at myspace.com/carolinesmithmusic

The Surf Zombies

Broadcast: Friday, September 17 and Saturday, September 18

Something Weird is the title of The Surf Zombies latest album and also what you’ll experience with this Java Blend performance. Cedar Rapids self-proclaimed “sons of surf and hot rod Instrumental rock n roll” rely on Fender amps from the 50’s and 60’s for raw, hand-wired tube-powered American made tones. The inspiration for their songs comes from B horror films, hotrods, rat bikes and kooky characters they have met in their many years of rockin’ and rollin’. More info at myspace.com/thesurfzombies This program was recorded on 08-27-2010.

Daphne Willis

Free, Live Performance at the Java House: Friday, September 24, 2:00 PM (map)

Broadcast: Friday, October 15 and Saturday, October 16

In the four years since she grabbed her acoustic guitar and took the stage for the first time, Chicago-based singer/songwriter Daphne Willis has grown from a feisty neophyte into a self-assured, marvelously expressive artist with a bracingly seductive sound. The 23-year-old’s Vanguard debut album, What to Say documents Willis’ voyage of self-discovery, while also standing as a captivating introduction to a remarkably fresh voice with a distinctive point of view—one that both reflects and scrutinizes the social patterns of her generation. More info at daphnewillis.com

Previous Shows

Click the for details.

August 20, 2010: Summer Break - Live events open to the public return August 20th!

Enjoy and encore broadcasts of Java Blend

August 13, 2010: Summer Break - No live event

Enjoy an encore broadcast of Java Blend.

August 06, 2010: Summer Break - No live event

Enjoy an encore broadcast of Java Blend

July 30, 2010: Sarah Cram & The Derelicts

Sarah Cram and the Derelicts are a fun & original rock band from Cedar Rapids. They take their inspiration from music of the 50’s and 60’s, including the sounds of old country, Honky Tonk, and Rockabilly. Sarah Cram is the vocalist, songwriter and rhythm guitarist. Kyle Oyloe plays lead guitar, Brook Hoover is the bass player, and Mike Martinez works the drums. Their debut album Little Secrets will be released August 2010. More info at myspace.com/cramband

July 23, 2010: Ray Bonneville

Ray Bonneville is a roaming blues poet, inspired by the road and the many other places he has called home—New Orleans, Colorado, Arkansas, Alaska, Boston, Seattle, Paris, France, Montreal and Austin Texas. Born in Canada and raised in the United States, Bonneville has lived all over. No place, however, has been more influential than New Orleans. Like the great American writers of the south and his favorite authors Cormac McCarthy and Flannery O’Connor, Bonneville is inspired by the places he has been and the unusual people he has met throughout his travels. Honing his craft for the last 30 years, Bonneville’s gritty storytelling and deep-grooving blues style has won him much critical attention. He has toured all over the world, sharing the bill with such blues legends as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, J.J. Cale and Robert Cray. His latest CD is titled Goin’ By Feel. More info at raybonneville.com

July 16, 2010: Danika Holmes

Quad Cities-based singer-songwriter Danika Holmes takes the Java House stage for the first time with her band to introduce her debut album Second Chances, which she describes as a collection of her life experiences. Danika’s been in front of piano since that age of five. By the age of 13, she was recording her songs in a studio and had been selected as finalist in a songwriting competition. However, it wasn’t until Danika was in her 20’s that she picked up a guitar. After an attempt at a “normal career” and nearly finishing her PhD, Danika’s heart pulled her back to music. More info at danikaholmes.com

July 09, 2010: Tom Feldmann

Minneapolis-based artist Tom Feldmann of The Get-Rites returns to The Java House stage, this time for a solo performance. In a time when negativity bombards us continually and hymns of despair are praised as lyrical masterpieces, Feldmann stands poised as a positive voice spreading the Good News in song with his unique mixture of back-woods blues and sloe-eyed country ballads. Feldmann’s probing lyrics and yearning growl will echo in your soul and lift you up. More info at tomfeldmann.com

July 02, 2010: Rebecca Williams & Kayla Brown

Rebecca Williams and Kayla Brown stop by The Java House stage to give a performance in as they set out on their US Dulcet Darlings Tour.

Singer-songwriter Rebecca Williams hails from Louisville, Kentucky. Her music carries an edgy folk-noir, neo-soul style with soft acoustic guitar picking and a sultry, engaging voice. Her debut EP is titled The Lion and The Unicorn.

Singer-songwriter Kayla Brown is the recipient of numerous awards including 2009 Honorable Mention for Original Composition in the Billboard World Song Contest, as well as 2008 Champaign- Urbana Local Music Awards Best Singer/ Songwriter. The music of this Champaign/Urbana, Illinois native reflects a wide variety of folk, indie, and blues electric and features acoustic guitars with sprinkles of ukulele. Her debut solo record Steady Now was released in March 2010.

More info at myspace.com/rebeccawilliams, myspace.com/kaylabrownmusic, and dulcetdarlings.com

June 25, 2010: Adam Levy of The Honeydogs

Lead singer-songwriter Adam Levy of the St. Paul-based indie rock and pop band The Honeydogs delivers his first solo performance on The Java House stage.

Starting with 2001's brilliant day darkener, Here's Luck, The Honeydogs charted a course of capturing "the Zeitgeist of this anxious era" (Paste Magazine). The follow-up, 10,000 Years, was hailed as the bands' masterpiece--a concept album based on Levy's experiences in social work telling the story of a poor urban test tube kids’s rise and fall during a genocidal apocalypse in the not-so-distant future. In 2006, the band released Amygdala, a record thematically exploring fear in its varied forms--abandonment, losing children, war & death, aging, social decay. In 2009, the band emerged with Sunshine Committee, an offering that is considerably more hopeful in these desperate times.
More info at honeydogs.com

June 18, 2010: Mike Droho & The Compass Rose

Mike Droho & the Compass Rose hails from Madison, Wisconsin, and has toured tirelessly throughout the country over the last three years. In addition to recently winning the Project M songwriting competition, the group is also fresh off of three showcases at the legendary SXSW Music Festival. Featuring a one-of-a-kind set up of a guitarist/singer accompanied with classically disciplined electric violin and a stage-shaking beat boxer, the group covers much stylistic ground, jumping from genre to genre, drawing comparisons to Jason Mraz, OneRepublic, and Brett Dennen. Their newest release is titled And The World Makes Sense Again. More info at mikedroho.com

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