A snowstorm and a small crowd couldn’t stop five bands from playing high energy sets for the Pinnacle Record’s party at the Vaudeville Mews Friday, the 13th.

Despite bad weather, a crowd of around thirty people showed up to watch these five bands, each under the management of Darren Hushak, an Iowa State student who manages the record label.  Hushak juggles organizing these up-and-coming bands along with being a full-time student.

The gathering was small but the bands, Modern Day Satire, Outhouse Catastrophes, Twisted Youth, Revolution (soon to be For Now and Forever in April), and the Nasties worked to rile up the crowd with antics that included playing spur-of-the-moment marching band jam sessions and a stuffed Pikachu sitting on the stage as a mascot.
While the show got off to a late start, it progressed with only minor bumps from 5:30 until 9:30 p.m.

The bands were all young, high school students ranging in age from 15-19 years old. The bands were brought together under Hushak’s label due to associations through school, previous bands, and friends. Each has completed an EP or album this summer with Hushak.

The genres of music played on Friday were extremely varied. Starting with an indie rock band, the following sets included a ska band, a hard rock band, and alternative punk bands.

The first band of the night, Modern Day Satire, is based in Ankeny, Iowa. This band played a version of indie rock, culminating in a very appealing and cohesive sound. During this set, however, a small mosh pit formed and nearly knocked out the lead singer of the band Twisted Youth. The singer was later feeling well enough to perform.

The next band, the Outhouse Catastrophes, also based in Ankeny, Iowa, was a culmination of six members (and one taco) each playing various instruments, making up an upbeat ska band. These boys seem to have found each other through their associations with in marching band, and their music holds a bit of the same sound. These boys seemed to be the youngest, with a unique sense of humor, including having a boy dressed as a taco dance on stage and then run in circles around the crowd.

A hard rock band known as Twisted Youth, based in Ankeny, Iowa, followed these two drastically different sounds. The lead singer, recovering from a headache due to the small accident in the first set, thrashed around on stage under a single red light. These boys seem to be extremely passionate about the hard rock they play, apparent by the band’s practiced performance and sound. One song in particular stood out, sung by the bass player, which was particularly well performed and stood out as possibly becoming a fan favorite.

The fourth band in the lineup, Revolution, soon to be For Now and Forever, is also based in Ankeny, Iowa. The band was an alternative punk band with a sound reminiscent of many up-and-coming bands of this generation. However, they held a strong stage presence, keeping the crowd interested with unique lighting effects that accompanied their first song. The band seems to hold a talent for slower songs, particularly a song that stood out from the rest during which the band swayed out-of-sync to a repetitious circus-like melody.

The last band seemed to be the oldest yet, a punk band known as the Nasties, based in Des Moines, Iowa. As the last set of the night, this quartet closed out the show with a strong show of energetic punk rock sounding engagingly similar to their influences, which include Rancid and Blink 182.

The next Pinnacle Record’s party is tentatively scheduled in April. The bands Revolution (soon to be For Now and Forever), Modern Day Satire, and Twisted Youth are all releasing their CD, EP, and Demo (respectively) at the Ankeny High School Battle of the Bands on March 23rd.

You can check out more photos of the Pinnacle Records party here.

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