By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

Talkin’ ‘Freight Train,’ Botanical Center blues

Willie McKnight & Alan Smith, winners of the 2007 Solo-Duo Iowa Blues Challenge, are among the many local blues acts to play the 2008 Botanical Blues series that starts Sunday and runs through Feb. 24. Admission is $4. Showtime is 1 to 3 p.m. followed by an open acoustic jam from 3 to 5 p.m. At right, “Freight Train” Frank Strong.

We need more people like “Freight Train” Frank Strong Jr. if we’re to grow the Des Moines music scene. He’s passionate about live music and sincere and self-effacing in his efforts to promote it.

Sunday marks the start of the 2008 Botanical Blues series, an eight-week string of Sunday afternoon shows by local blues musicians at the Botanical Center that Strong founded last year. Strong took a page from the popular summer series Blues Before Sunset held outside the State of Iowa Historical Building that he co-founded in 2001 when creating the winter series. The shows not only add some variety to the run-of-the-mill options most Iowans pursue this time of year to beat cabin fever, but they augment the live music scene by doing what few venues can do during the winter — merge late night music with a family setting.

“I didn’t want to compete with the bars, I just wanted to fill a void because there’s not much happening on Sunday afternoons,” Strong said. “The other part of my strategy was to offer live music to those who can’t go to the bars and create a place that was G-rated where you can bring your children or grandchildren. I want kids to see the shows and think ‘I can do this stuff,’ because I never saw a musician perform live until I was an adult.”

For more than 35 years, the 57-year-old Strong has been playing blues in Des Moines and he knows a thing or two about them. In high school, Strong began to lose his eyesight to juvenile macular degeneration, and by the age of 18 he was legally blind. After working at factories, truck stops and gas stations during his youth, he went to college and got a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco. For the past 12 years he has helped other disabled Iowans working as the Associate Director of the non-profit group Central Iowa Center for Independent Living. Strong describes his vision as “looking through wax paper,” but his poor eyesight hasn’t limited his vision for finding ways to promote local live music.

“There are not many venues for solo-duo blues acts, yet that’s where the blues started with acoustic guitars and harmonicas,” said Strong, who in addition to playing bars performs for seniors at nursing homes and children. “Those gigs are pretty scarce, and I wanted to cultivate an awareness and appreciation for that kind of music.”

Judging by attendance figures from last year’s inaugural series, Strong isn’t alone in his thinking. The average attendance for each concert was 300 people. This year, Strong hopes to build those numbers by adding a post-concert, acoustic jam open to all players of all skill levels. Concerts will be held each Sunday through Feb. 24 from 1 to 3 p.m. followed by a jam from 3 to 5 p.m.

“I want to make it more inclusive,” Strong said. “We have a lot of talented musicians in Des Moines.”

The following is the lineup for the 2008 Botanical Blues series, held at the Botanical Center, 909 Robert E. Ray Drive. Admission is $4 and discounts are available for seniors and children. Call 323-6290.

• Sunday — Rob Lumbard
• Jan. 13 — Alan Smith & Willie McKnight
• Jan. 20 — Scott Long and Greg Sutherland
• Jan. 27 — Dewey Cantrell and Jodi Bodley
• Feb. 3 — Tina Haase-Findlay
• Feb. 10 — Janey Hooper
• Feb. 17 — “Mojo” Jono Smith
• Feb. 24 — Matt Woods

Scene notes

Auditions for children ages 8-13 are being held Thursday through Jan. 12 for the Ames Children’s Choirs. Those who make the cut will perform a concert in May and participate in chorale school tours. For details call (515) 290-1422. … The Salisbury House will host a concert by Hudson & Hudson on Friday at 8 p.m. A pre-show reception starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for students. Call 274-1777. … “Memphis Money Merrymaking,” a fundraiser concert sponsored by the Central Iowa Blues Society and Blues on Grand for Des Moines’ own Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts and Willie McKnight & Alan Smith, both of whom will represent Iowa at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn., Jan. 31-Feb. 2, will be held Saturday at 9:30 p.m. at Blues on Grand. Admission is $7. Proceeds from the concert will be used to offset travel expenses for the bands. … Can’t make the trip to Cedar Falls, but want to catch “Live From Studio One” each Monday at 7 p.m. from the comfort of your home? Tune in to KUNI for live performances by folk rocker Melissa Faith Cartoun (Monday), Dubuque six-piece eclectic rockers River and the Tributaries (Jan. 14), eastern Iowa songwriter Johnsmith (Jan. 21) and folkie Debra Cowan (Jan. 28). … Dic Youngs, who spent 41 years at KIOA and is known for his “Saturday Night Oldies Show,” spins his favorite oldies every Thursday night from 5 to 9 p.m. at Prairie Meadows’ Finish Line Show Lounge. … If you haven’t purchased tickets for the SXSW Music & Media Conference & Festival, to be held March 12-16 in Austin, you might want to do so before prices increase Jan. 11. Lou Reed will be the keynote speaker. Visit www.sxsw.com for details and a list of performers. … Velvet Revolver plays the Val Air Ballroom Jan. 28. Tickets, $39.50, are on sale now. Also playing the Val Air on Feb. 23, The Newsboys, and on Feb. 1, hip-hop artist Plies. Tickets, $22.50 and $25, respectively, are on sale now. … Summerset Winery in Indianola is calling all Parrotheads for a night in “Margaritaville” when the winery hosts its annual Jimmy’s Buffet on Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. Festivities include live music, dinner, wine tasting and a roomful of flowered shirts and grass skirts. Tickets are $45. Call 961-3545 for tickets. … Ticket information isn’t available, but we hear folk music legend Gordon Lightfoot is playing the Civic Center April 1 (no fooling) and Greg Brown will play Hoyt Sherman Place May 3. … The Metro Arts Alliance has new officers and board members for 2008. Officers include President Mac Stanfield, President-Elect Colleen Kirkwood, Vice-President Brad Rippey, Treasurer Michelle Gowdy, Secretary Ken Watkins and Past-President Ben Allen. Board members are Stacy Berenguel, Nancy Betz, Nancy Prizant and Michael “Mikiel” Williams. … It’s been 25 years since Michael Jackson made history with his mega-album, “Thriller.” To mark the occasion, he has called on hit makers Kanye West, Akon and will.i.am to remix the original content. In case you’re wondering, the gloved one is working on a new studio album, too. CV

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