One of the chief contributors to the Corridor’s quality of life is
its arts and culture community. Our theaters, museums and concert
venues feature a wide variety of local talent who entertain, enlighten
and inspire. A few of them are lifelong rock ‘n rollers who are now
getting some special recognition for what they’ve Created in the
Corridor.
“They actually can’t believe it when they see me in the
office and they don’t know anything about the music side of me. They’re
stunned,” says Karie Skogman, administrative assistant by day and
rocker by night. Skogman leads the popular heavy metal band “Lipstick
Slick.” It’s a passion for Skogman who started playing guitar when she
was sweet sixteen. That’s when she heard “Aerosmith” for the first time.
“My bedroom was full of Leif Garrett and Donny Osmond posters and they
went down and Aerosmith went up…seriously!”
Skogman really
started to rock ‘n roll after college, hitting the stage with different
bands for 35 years. Now, she’s being inducted into the Iowa Rock ‘n
Roll Music Association’s Hall of Fame in the Women Who Rock category.
“I’m over the moon! Very excited.”
The Surf Zombies are getting
the organization’s Spirit Award. Brook Hoover started recording the
band’s all-original surf music a decade ago and through several
collaborations produced a half-dozen albums with more on the way. “A
studio album (is) in the can and a live one at CSPS in the can that we
could release pretty soon,” explains Hoover. He says the Surf Zombies
love touring the Midwest and have even played the legendary Surf
Ballroom. “When we go for a weekend out to like, Green Bay or Illinois
or Indiana, it’s just like a vacation. We just have a party on wheels.
it’s super fun.”
Nick Stika knows the feeling. “Music keeps you,
somehow, young,” concurs Stika, a two-time Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Music
Association inductee. Stika has played with Dogs on Skis for thirty
years and now sits on IRRMA’s board of directors. “It’s much deeper than
music. It’s about education, preservation of rock ‘n roll. The legacy
in the state of Iowa.”
Adding
to that legacy, Stika tapped Craig Erickson for hall of fame
recognition. Known by many through the Music Loft and his frequent
performances in several bands, Erickson is a national recording artist
whose latest release features some prominent players. “Two members of
Paul McCartney’s band—the drummer, the guitarist—and Tal Wilkenfeld on
bass from Jeff Beck, Ringo and different people. And also Ansley Dunbar
from Zappa and Starship,” says a proud Erickson who’s had the privilege
of playing with many top artists throughout his lengthy career.
Erickson’s
come a long way from his very first band who performed at Franklin
Junior High under the name “Nobody.” “So our first cassette was called,
“Nobody’s Playing, Live,” says the smiling guitarist.
Not all
IRRMA Hall of Fame inductees are musicians. Steve Soboroff--known as
Captain Steve Bridges on KCJJ radio in Iowa City--also launched 99-Plus
KFMH in the Quad Cities. “June the 4th of 1973,” remembers Soboroff of
the day KFMH initially hit the airwaves.
The first progressive
rock radio station in the Midwest, KFMH lasted twenty-one years before
signing off. But then a few years ago Captain Steve held a fundraiser
on KCJJ to bring his old station back on the internet. “It was 2013,
March the first. (We) went on the air at three o’clock and by midnight
we had twenty-five grand,” says Soboroff, still surprised by the
response.
Soboroff says KFMH now has between 17,000 and 23,000
daily listeners…and he’s getting IRRMA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
“This is all I ever wanted to do with my life was radio and…I got to do
it,” says Soboroff gratefully. “I mean; I have been ridiculously
blessed.”
http://cbs2iowa.com/news/created-in-the-corridor/created-in-the-corridor-irrma-hall-of-fame
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