One thing I’ve been learning each and every week doing Scented Vinyl, is that Iowa has a thriving music scene, we’re just kind of spread out a bit. From Rock and Bluegrass to Pop, Country and the Blues, there are so many different bands in this state that have great things going. Last night Mars Café got a taste of our Blues scene when The Soul Searchers stopped by with some records.
After recording them playing live in the Sonic Factory Studios (www.sonicfactorystudios.com), we hurried it over to Mars to start playing some of the stack of records they brought in. As soon as we did, the café was transformed into a Chicago style blues bar. With the lights dimmed more than usual we got right into some killer records; well I guess that was after we all enjoyed some delicious ham/swiss panini's.
The highlight for me, and I’m guessing the band as well, was the opening of an almost 30 year old record, a record which according to The Soul Searchers has been one of the biggest influences on their sound. Erich recently found 4 un-opened copies of The Fabulous Thunderbolts self-titled debut album, and bought them as gifts for the band…so we had to open one and play a few tracks.
Here is some of the rest of what we played…
Ahmad Jamal Trio – Vol IV Chico Hamilton – Man From Two Worlds Herbie Hancock – Secrets The Fabulous Thunderbolts – Girls Go Wild Pee Wee Crayton – Blues Guitar Genius Best of Chicago Blues – Vol. I Freddie King – All The Hits BB King – 16 Hits Otis Rush – Live in Europe
The Soul Searchers have been playing music around Des Moines for about 15 years, and finally put out their debut self- titled album this year. We talk all about it and their love/respect for classic blues music during the interview, which you can download for free!!
Playing well over 100 shows a year, with gigs booked already into the end of next year, while holding down full time jobs, maintaining families and school, I wonder how these 4 guys have time for anything else. They simply love to play live, and have a list of shows on their website… www.thesoulsearchers.net
