I usually profile farms and growers in the column, but this holiday season I’m excited to write about MUSIC that’s grown on the Range. It’s a revival! The bands of the Iron Range Original Music Association (IROMA) have been relatively quiet as of late. When the 218 Taphouse closed, IROMA lost its most reliable and trusted venue for local original music performances, and when Covid hit, the pandemic further curtailed live, in-person performances. Despite the hurdles presented to artists worldwide over the last two years, the musicians who hail from the Range have been busy writing new music, and plans are underway to bring it all back in the spring of 2022 in several new venues.
The Range currently boasts upwards of 20 bands and performers who write and perform original music all around our part of the state, and the area is also home to a nationally renowned recording studio located in Sparta MN. (https://spartasound.bandcamp.com/) Rich Mattson opened Sparta Sound in 2005 when he moved back to The Range from Minneapolis. He went to look at an old church for sale and it struck him that it would be a perfect studio. There he has recorded, among many others, Dave Rave and the Governors, Trampled by Turtles, Leslie Rich and the Rocket Soul Choir, the Holy Hootenanners…and his own music. He and his partner Germaine Gemberling and friends make up Rich Mattson and the Northstars, and their latest album, Skylights, was given rave reviews in Duluth Reader, Goldmine, No Depression and several other national publications.
Last year the Iron Range Tourism Bureau contracted with Sara Softich to write and record a song touting the Iron Range. She recorded her song with her band playing outside in the woods around a campfire. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jg95w7wuzk) Who wouldn’t want to come visit the Range after hearing this? When the love of a place unites musicians, their music builds its culture---that’s our culture! Their life experiences, told in their songs, reflect the life experience of all Iron Rangers and we share that resonance when we hear the music. It’s different than going to a concert performed by strangers—these are our neighbors. They wake up to the same sunrises, fish the same lakes, ski the same trails, and hear the same loons and wolves at night that we do.
It's economically challenging to be a full-time musician, and many band members have “day jobs” that keep them fed, but evenings and weekends are for music, for writing, practicing, and performing. Guitarist Eric Krenz, for example, spends his days working for the Virginia Housing and Redevelopment Authority and plays with Sara Softich and Friends and with Heather Surla as Horse Fzce. Heather Surla works as a mortgage loan originator at American Bank. IROMA co-founder Karl Sundquist works as an attorney by day and plays with his new band, Pocketknife, whenever they can. Ellen Root of Van & the Free Candies is a social worker by day and she and Van also have a big farm.
Early followers of IROMA may recall the group’s inception in early 2009 when Mac’s Bar hosted IROMA’s inaugural day-long multi-band showcase. The group produced three compilation CDs including music from Iron Range Outlaw Brigade, Hobo Revival, the Josh Palmi Band, the Wheeler Dealers, Matt Ray, Mark Henderson, the Prodigal Sons, Four Horse Johnson, Shotgun Daisy, Mellowdrama, the Modern Antiques, Swing Dogs, the Christopher David Hanson Band, and Mojosaurus. Since the reactivation of the organization’s social media accounts, a buzz has flowed through the local music community creating new connections with additional performers such as Van & The Free Candies, Kim Nagler, Gene LaFond and Amy Grillo, James Girard and BossMama & the Jebberhooch. Everyone is clearly ready to rock and roll again with fresh shows this spring!
IROMA is planning monthly acoustic “house concerts” at Mesabi Unitarian Universalist Church, a sweet 110-year old building with an intimate atmosphere and great sound located on the south side of Virginia, along with regularly scheduled singer-songwriter shows at local bars in addition to one or two larger day-long rock shows later in the season. They’re starting something totally new to generate support for local music, and there will be something for everyone. Following the model of CSA (community supported agriculture) groups where shares are sold in the spring for regular deliveries during the growing season, they’re going to offer Iron Range Original Music Shares for sale starting this holiday season. Making the move to community supported local music, a $50 share will provide admittance to all six concerts at the Mesabi UU venue. Other groups across the U.S. have successfully used this model to support community music scenes, and based on the past outpouring of support from Iron Rangers proud of their own unique brand of local music, the group anticipates that regional music fans will step right up to purchase shares. Music is a vital part of our collective culture, and IROMA has a vested interest in building community resilience through promoting local artists and strengthening the bonds between musicians and audiences. IROMA intends to re-establish their brand, elevate the stature of all local musicians, and proudly broadcast the stories and sounds of the Iron Range to the world, and they invite everyone here in N.E. Minnesota to join them in achieving those goals.
To purchase an Iron Range Original Music Share, message the IROMA Rangemusic Facebook page, order online at www.iroma.live or mail a $50 check made out to IRPS to this address: IRPS P.O. Box 1165, Virginia, MN 55792 Attn: IROMA. What a great LOCAL holiday gift idea!
