Iowa’s own M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan will be making his debut into the world of contemporary art with his first gallery showing.  On September 24th Crahan, best known as the visionary and founding member of hard rock act Slipknot, will host a showing at the Kirkwood Hotel from 7:00pm-12:00am in celebration of his birthday.  The show will feature a wide variety of work by Crahan including a number of acrylic on canvas paintings, framed photography, prints, and some of the Polaroids from his upcoming book, The Apocalyptic Nightmare Journey.  Also on display will be the jewelry of Chantel Crahan, paintings by Frank Hansen, and paintings and films by Scott Kaven.  The evening will be curated by the Des Moines based Moberg Gallery.

(more…)

August 20th marks what would have been the 43rd birthday of Pantera and Damageplan guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott.  Abbott, one of the most beloved and respected musicians in hard rock.

Abbott was born to country musician and producer Jerry Abbott and his wife Carolyn in Arlington, Texas. He took up the guitar at the age of 12 and formed Pantera with his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, in 1981.  Initially starting out with a more glam rock style, the band recorded four independent albums before their 1990 major label debut, Cowboys From Hell, introduced a heavier sound and made them a favorite with metal fans. 1994’s Far Beyond Driven debuted at Number One on the Billboard Top 200 without benefit of a commercial hit single.  You know the rest…..

Happy Birthday.