After a short summer trip (Bonnaroo!), it was great to be back spinning records in the friendly confines of Mars Café. I missed sipping from a Millstream Ale while listening to and talking about music with new friends. What could be better?
One of the things that I noticed with this session and was really fun to think about was how different the shows are week to week. I’ve pretty much covered all genres of music in our scene; from rock, pop and blues, to hip-hop and soul. It feels like I’ve seen Iowa music from all angles; which is why it was great to have on a band that seemed to encompass all of these things and more, Lady Blue.
The records for the evening once again showcased the taste of music for each member in the group. We took turns choosing two records at a time, which helped keep things moving in different directions when we switched. Here is some of what we played…
Fleetwood Mac – Rumors Buckingham Nicks – S/T Weezer – Red Album Rory Gallagher – Tattoo Bee Gees – Best Of Big Brother and the Holding Co. – Cheap Thrills Sea Level – Cats on the Coast Neil Young – Harvest Tower of Power – S/T Grateful Dead – S/T Cat Stevens – Teaser and the Fire Cat Radio Moscow – S/T
Tina Haase Findlay has an incredible voice; I just needed to put that out there. She is the driving force of Lady Blue, but is fortunate to have an excellent band backing her. They released their debut album “The Meaning of Grace” in the spring of last year, and since then have been doing what they love to do, play live. Not only has Lady Blue been busy on the road, they have also been busy with their own label and studio. We talk all about it in the interview…
Before the show we again stopped by Sonic Factory Studios to record a couple of live acoustic tracks. Lady Blue usually performs all electric, and actually was planning on doing so until that afternoon. I love hearing bands that normally play plugged in, come into the studio and completely rock out acoustic style like they do it all the time. The songs turned out pretty damn good...pretty pretty good.
Of all the times to catch Lady Blue live, this Saturday will probably be your best bet this summer. They are headlining the Des Moines Art Festival, playing right before the fireworks on the 28th. Similar to what The Roots will be doing a week later at the 80/35 Festival!!!
Find out more about Lady Blue and listen to some songs at their website
