My day started at North Hall, where me and two other students, Julia and Sierra, were primed for some university transport, provided by MSW Program Director Stephen Cummings and Assistant Professor Aynsley Scheffert. We depart at 8:20, and Julia, Sierra and I get cracking about our plans for the future. Aynsley was loading us with information on her life trajectory and tips for work after graduating as a social worker, and Stephen gave me the lowdown on his experience teaching overseas.

It was 10:20 when we arrived at the Iowa State Historical Society building, or museum, really. The hanging biplanes and enormous mammoth skeleton made it seem that way. The place is packed with students, some I recognized and most I did not. A desk is set for us to check-in, and as we go through we are set up with nametags. There I find Rigby, a good friend I’ve had a couple classes with.

After a half-hour wait and a good deal of chit-chat, we are all ushered into a big lecture room. The smell could only be described as a used litterbox. Many struggle to hold their laughter, especially me, as a speaker tries to pull up their email, with increasingly less success. It’s kind of sad that in a room full of social workers, no one gets up on stage to help, but it was too funny. At one point the app-store was pulled up… Anyways, Dana Wickwire Cheek takes the stage, the Northeast Branch Chair for NASW Iowa, alongside Peggy Trosper, the Southeast Branch Chair, and Denise Rathman, the Executive Director for both the NASW Iowa and NASW Kansas Chapters. We get a good lecture on proper communication with legislators, which in the way they described it seems more like gambling than fruitful communication.

Here comes Ross Wilburn, a social work alumni of the University of Iowa and House Representative for the Story County District, alongside Johnson County Representative Adam Zabner. They’re here to answer questions, and oh boy are there a lot of them. I question Zabner about the progress of Senate File 2293 regarding the abolishment of the Iowa City Historical Society Building, asking “Where are the court proceedings and decisions at, and when can we expect the day for voting,” and though he gives a very descriptive assessment of the bill and what his future plans are, I don’t actually get a direct answer to my question. Should have been an easy one, considering Zabner is on the board supporting the continued funding of the Iowa City location.

I make it out of the lecture hall with a mild headache, courtesy of the litterbox smell, and grab my lunch. From there we set off to the capitol.

Iowa’s capitol is a great reason to be proud of our state. It’s consistently voted the most beautiful state capitol building in the states, and for good reason. Its massive golden dome is reason enough, but getting inside reveals its true beauty. Giant pillars made of scagliola stretch towards the ceiling, with capitals decorated by golden white oak leaves. Enormous murals depict settlers making their way into the west, religious imagery, native plants, and esoteric symbols, such as the roman god Mercury. Inside the senate chamber are four enormous chandeliers, each highly geometrical yet still so intricate I find them hard to describe. The ceiling is covered in more murals depicting flowers and leaves, with a stained glass window at the center.

By 1:15, we’ve made our way into the Senate chamber to watch the debate. We find
good spots in the gallery, and wait for the debate to begin. Senate files 2263 and 2280 are first up for debate. One senator uses hypothetical scenarios to defend his point, which becomes a theme for this senator. This is evident in the next file, which is refuted by another senator with concrete questioning and reasoning, making a very good case against the bill, but then our first senator stands up and goes on a rampage. He’s smacking his desk and practically screaming. I get so annoyed I decide it better to go explore the capitol.

I find the capitol library, a breathtaking space with books going up four floors flanking the walls. Aynsley finds me there and encourages me to write a message to a senator, but I just want to get up another floor, so I find a spiral staircase and ask two girls taking, suggestive pictures, and ask if I can go up. I’m good to go, so I walk through a gate I don’t notice and make my way around the first floor. I notice that I have to pass through an office to continue, until I find a woman in the second office. She immediately chastizes me and escorts me down, along with the two girls.

I figure it’s a sign to fill out a message, but I’ve forgotten my clipboard with all my notes in the senate gallery. I pull out the fastest speedwalk I can manage and make the confusing there and back. I address mine to the senator with the concrete argument. I wait and wait, but I am not offered the chance to go speak with him, cut short possibly by my previous effort to retrieve the clipboard and more probably by the picture scheduled on the main staircase at 3:00.

Just like that, the day is over. We file back into the van and I have a good nap on the way back, reflecting on how amazed I was at the capitol building, and conversely disappointed with the conduct of the senate chamber.

The post First Person POV of NASW “Legislative Day on the Hill,” February 24, 2026 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Twin River Revivalists are a recent addition to the fantastic local music scene in Iowa City. Comprised of Haden Collett (Lead guitar and backup vocals), Roderick Rath (Lead vocals and rhythym guitar), John Haus (Drums), and a rotating lineup of bass players, including Caleb & Chris Dicken who played at the Halloweekend show. I hear a certain Wes Helmke, who also got some action up on stage, is gearing up to be their new bassist. Their set included covers of modern country songs by Zach Bryan and Toby Keith, rock songs by The Backseat Lovers, Kings of Leon, and Cage the Elephant, plus tons of classics, favorites of mine being Take It Easy by The Eagles, I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers, and The Chain by Fleetwood Mac. The band’s favorite tunes to perform on stage are Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon and Everlong by Foo Fighters. These are not half-assed covers, either; some covers were so accurate I felt as if I was hearing the songs from their originators! I’d use just three words: Precise, determined, and fun. Don’t get me wrong, there were some accidental tempo drops, re-tunings, and missed lyrics, but for a band with only a few live performances under their belt, they passed with soaring colors (Red, white, and blue, even?). Twin River certainly puts the Revival in the songs up on stage!

As of now, the band is playing mostly bar-gigs, having already played at Giddy-Up and Elray’s, which is a great fit for their type of music. Halloweekend specifically garnered a huge, fantastic crowd. People were meshing with each other like it was one big family. I suppose that’s generally the feeling of a Halloween night, the costumes creating that sense of community, but it really got amplified through the songs. I have to admit I’m no Zach Bryan enthusiast, but it didn’t matter, because when his songs were playing I was swept away with the bar crowd mania and let the bass vibrate up through my soul. I met the likes of Bob Dylan, Luffy, Joe Dirt, Shaggy, Tom Cruise, and the Stepbrothers, to name a few, and we all shared the joy of music!

I will say the experience of getting into the show was rough. Doors opened at 7, and I got first in line at 6:10. Unfortunately, I only had 7 bucks on me, so by the time I got back with more the line had stretched out to about 50 feet long and four shoulder widths thick. About halfway through the show I had to run out and do my fiancée a favor, but when I got back I was forced to wait 20 minutes until I got back in. But that’s the bar scene on Halloweekend in Iowa City for you.

Twin River Revivalist got their start when Haden and Rod started out jamming and playing their favorite songs in the streets, eventually making their way to house parties as a duo. John was interested and brought his drum-kit with the pair, creating a killer sound. With a couple connections produced by Haden’s previous band experience, they cemented their place in the bar scene. When asked about their future plans, Haden had this to say, “we all just love music and the experience we get to have making others happy doing something super fun for us, so we’d love to ride it out as long as we can, and maybe take a crack at getting back into the street and playing outside of the IC bars sometime soon.”

Check them out on Instagram @twinriverrevivalists. They’ll be playing at Elray’s this December 5th, so don’t miss it!

The post Review: Twin River Revivalist at Elray’s November 1st appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The performance at Gabe’s is put on by The Englert Theater as a part of their Track Zero Series, more information on tickets can be found here from the Englert Theatre (tickets discounted for students). Opening acts will be performed by Dearborn, a four piece alt-rock band straight out of Iowa City, and pianist Sam Blasucci, a founding member of California-based indie band Mapache.

Dearborn

Dearborn playing in someone’s basement, from left to right: Jonah Marcussen, Aaron Knight, Elijah Mickey, and Elias Smith. Photo via Dearborn.

The funky mask-wearing fellas in Dearborn are hot-on-the-block, forming just last year and released their first EP June 20th of 2025. Leaning heavy on resonance and reverb, Dearborn finds a balance between heavy noise and space to breath. The band features Elijah Mickey on vocals and guitar, Elias Smith on bass, Jonah Marcussen on lead guitar, and Aaron Knight on drums.

Sam Blasucci

Sam Blasucci comes from the avenues of Ojai, California, breaking off from his band Mapache in 2023 to pursue music as a solo artist. His latest album, ALL BLUE, was released last June 6th of 2025, a vulnerable album that invites love through smooth vocals and instrumentals that will fill your ears.

Night Moves

Night Moves has been turning heads since their inception in 2009, and with their latest album Double Life, whole bodies have been contorting to get closer and get their ears on the sound. John Pelant plays his beloved Gretsch guitar and belts out starry vocals, Micky Alfano slams down the bass, Mark Hanson bounces on the drums, and Charles Murlowski gets to twang his own guitar. It was with this ensemble that their latest album Double Life took shape, taking sound fonts from the likes of MGMT, Daft Punk, and Tame Impala. Pelant’s vocals reminds me of a younger version of myself, in a way, setting apart their vibe from those artists. But what is the vibe? According to Pelant, it’s “cosmic twang-rock pop sludge.” Makes sense to me. 

Pelant graduated high school in 2009, his band moved away from the music scene in Minneapolis. Alfano and Mark Ritsema were in the same boat, so the three got together and started working on their vision. As they were on tour, drummer Jared Isabella was recruited to play after talking with Alfano. Two and a half years of work later, and Night Moves released its first studio album, Colored Emotions. They were quickly picked up by Domino Recording Company, an independent record label known for signing other acts like Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys. The next four years were swathed by tours, and it was during this time that Pelant discovered legendary indie music producer John Agnello. Agnello went hard on Pelant to push his voice and feel comfortable in it, resulting in their next album Pennied Days from 2016 and future vocal work. They kept on, adding drummer Mark Hanson and guitarist Charles Murlowski to release their third album in 2019, Can You Really Find Me. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic intercepted their momentum, leaving Night Moves paradoxically still. It would take six more years until their next and latest album, Double Life, which just released on July 25th, 2025.

I’m most excited to hear their new material from Double Life. The first track, Trying to Steal a Smile wastes no time busting a killer groove. State Sponsored Psychosis slows it down, eliciting the feeling of fading away, in a good way. White Liquor is a fantastic blend of folk-rock with their current style, being the main stand out for me. Especially with that soothing harmonica…. Though they have made no promises on their lineup, whatever they play is going to be mega swag money. It will be 3 years and 12 days since Night Moves has played at Gabe’s, so I think we should all be there to give them a warm re-welcoming this Wednesday the 15th.

Tickets are still available from the Englert Theatre (tickets discounted for students), or may be purchased at the door.

The post KRUI Big Room Show & Concert Preview: Night Moves at Gabe’s this Wednesday, Oct. 15th! appeared first on KRUI Radio.

As the sequence ended, the band hopped up and got straight to groovin’ Find Your Way Back, a perfect song to reel us in. Though we’d never heard Jefferson Starship live before, we felt that the band was waiting all along for us to find them. Album by album they went, rapping off their best songs while recollecting stories of old that our souls had somehow always known. Cathy Richardson, their current lead female vocalist, had this great story about how David Freiberg, the last founding member still playing, had the opportunity to join The Grateful Dead before they went off to play live at Egypt in 1978.

It’s not often you go to a concert and get to hear the band play your favorite song, and it’s almost impossible to go to a concert and hear every and only your favorite songs for the entire set. But that’s what happened. I felt bad that the congregation of old-heads weren’t standing up and dancing, because I know I would if I got to hear my favorite band from fifty years ago play live. But I know it was enjoyed by all. Between clapping beats, standing ovations, and hoots’n’hollers, I could feel the love shine through.

Jude Gold absolutely crushed some guitar solos, holding back nothing. Danny Baldwin kept the beat alive and got to sing a few. David Freiberg looked like the happiest man alive, I swear he didn’t stop smiling for a second up on stage. Chris Smith was doing so much work on the keyboard I’m surprised his hands didn’t catch on fire. Best of all was Cathy Richardson, enveloping herself in the mantle of Grace Slick and evolving from it, belting out vocals like it was still the 70s. Once they started playing Jane I knew I couldn’t resist getting up and dancing. Izzy and I were the only ones dancing for the whole song, and Cathy caught on about halfway through. She stepped to the left side of the stage near our seats, singing and strumming, as we were in the heat of a crazed whirl, when she jutted out her pointer finger right at us. In that moment, she was singing for us, and we were dancing for her, and it was like magic. No concert have I ever been to has elicited such a magical feeling in me. 

Jefferson Starship ended with an encore of Volunteers, which really got everyone up and going, feeling patriotic and inspired to make our country a better place. And like that, after just an hour and a half, they were gone. They got up, played their best songs, gave me a memory I’ll never forget, and moved on to do it again in St. Charles, Illinois the next Friday. Funny how quickly the best times move by in a flash. 

Thank you, Jefferson Starship, for keeping the spirit of rock’n’roll alive.

The post Concert Review: Jefferson Starship, September 21st appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Assembling The Band

To know Starship’s history, we have to go back to 1970. Paul Kantner, a leading creative force behind the band, was on break from touring. He assembled Grace Slick, Joey Covington, and Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane; David Crosby and Graham Nash; and Grateful Dead members Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann for his new album: Blows Against the Empire. It would be credited to Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship!

Kantner began to assemble his crew. Slick was already on board. David Freiberg was a founding member of Quicksilver Messenger Service, a popular band during its time, and had played with Kantner during the early sixties. Freiberg supplied him with planetary musicianship throughout his solo career from 1970-74, enough to earn him a spot on the real starship.

Craig Chaquico was a high school english student playing in his teacher’s band Steelwind. The teacher introduced Chaquico to his friend Paul Kantner, who found his guitar playing so out-of-this-world during their collaborations that he earned his position as lead guitar.

Grace Slick was in studio working on her first solo album, and so was Pete Sears, a bassist co-producing an album with a different artist, yet he had no trouble assisting Slick in her project. He had previously played on Papa John Creach’s first solo album, an electric violinist who played with many blues legends. Discussions with both Sears and Creach quickly flew into orbit as they joined the starship.

Last but not least is John Barbata, a drummer who previously worked with The Turtles and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. It was during a break in 1972 for CSNY that David Crosby introduced Barbata to the members of Jefferson Airplane. He played drums for their last two albums before the official breakup in 1974, when Kantner approached Barbata with an idea for their next stage: Jefferson Starship.

Golden Years & Hit Songs

So the starship took flight on a mission to spread love with Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, David Freiberg, Craig Chaquico, John Barbata, Pete Sears, and Papa John Creach. After their first album Dragon Fly, previous Jefferson Airplane singer Marty Balin got onboard and helped write one of the band’s most successful albums in 1975, Red Octopus. Hits from this album include “Miracles” and “Play on Love.” Next was Spitfire in 1976, with great tracks such as “With Your Love” and “St. Charles.” Their final album with this lineup produced Earth in 1978, including the awesome songs “Count on Me,” “Runaway,” and “Crazy Feelin’.”

The starship began to run out of fuel in late 1978 after the firing of Grace Slick for her alcoholism. Marty Balin quit just a few months after, and John Barbata was seriously injured in a car accident that forced his resignation. The other members were not deterred. Former drummer for Journey Aynsley Dunbar was brought on board, along with vocalist Mickey Thomas and producer Ron Nevison. With this refuel, the starship flew on.

Their next album Freedom At Point Zero found immense success with the song “Jane” in 1979. Grace Slick returned to grace in 1981 during the recording of Modern Times, in which she sang “Stranger.” Other hits include “Find Your Way Back” and “Stairway to Cleveland,” which hilariously criticized its fans for disliking their change in style over the years. Next was Winds of Change in 1982, with great tracks “Be My Lady” and “Winds of Change.” Aynsley Dunbar was phased out for Donny Baldwin, and their final album was completed in 1984, Nuclear Furniture. Hits from this album include “No Way Out” and “Layin’ It On the Line.”

Kantner became bored with the band’s direction and left it in the remaining member’s hands, but not without enacting a lawsuit to prevent them from using the name “Jefferson Starship.” Kantner left with a cash settlement, and ownership of the name was split between Grace Slick and manager Bill Thompson. However, the core of Jefferson Starship was still there in Slick, Thomas, Chaquico, Sears, and Baldwin (Freiberg got mad and left because he got replaced on piano), so they renamed themselves “Starship” and turned on the thrusters to max power.

Starship went on to produce two albums with these core members, the first arriving in 1985 as Knee Deep in the Hoopla. This album spawned not one, but two number one hits in “We Built This City” and “Sara,” as well as “Tomorrow Doesn’t Matter Tonight.” Their other album in 1987, No Protection, had ANOTHER number one hit with “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” and other bangers Not Over (‘Til It’s Over),” and “Beat Patrol.” Unfortunately, most of the core members left after this album between 1987-89. That was until Paul Kantner came back to re-establish Jefferson Starship in 1992.

Jefferson Starship onstage at Marriott’s Great America (now known as California’s Great America), June 23, 1984, not long before their breakup into Starship. (Left to right: Grace Slick, Mickey Thomas, Pete Sears, Paul Kantner, Craig Chaquico, Donny Baldwin, and David Freiberg.)

Current Day

Over time, Jefferson Starship re-recruited old members and got some new ones. They continued to tour with a new lineup and work on projects from that point forward until Kantner’s death in 2016. In an act of goodwill, Slick and Kantner’s family approved of letting the current members of the band perform as Jefferson Starship for their entire lifetimes.

Today, Jefferson Starship tours with David Freiberg (vocals & guitar), Donny Baldwin (drums), Chris Smith (keyboards), Jude Gold (lead guitar), and Cathy Richardson (vocals, guitar). Their latest album, Mother Of The Sun, includes an awesome rendition of “Embryonic Journey” that I recommend everyone go check out. Jefferson Starship has roots all the way back to the early sixties, and though the style, songs, and members have all changed, the soul still remains.

The show begins at 7:30 this Sunday the 21st, and student tickets are $31.25. I hope to see you there! (I’m especially excited to see Freiberg on stage, still playing at 87 years old!)

Poster for Jefferson Starship’s current 50th anniversary tour.

The post Jefferson Starship landing at the Englert, September 21 appeared first on KRUI Radio.