So, latest numbers say some 36,000 Iowans have been displaced by recent weeks' flooding, and that's likely to rise as the cresting continues southward. I know some of them, so do you most likely. We're hoping to do at least a little bit to help them here in the Iowa City area, having secured The United Way of Johnson County's sanction on our big-ass all-star benefit show, which will be at The Mill on Burlington (between Dubuque and Clinton) this Thursday, June 19.
The Mill has been completely supportive, and, per its website, the show will be "free to a community that's worked so hard and faced unimaginable calamity in recent weeks, even as we'll encourage $5 donations, or whatever you can give, to the United Way in its vital efforts to help out individuals and families hardest-hit by the flooding in the Iowa City and Coralville area. Come blow off some much-blow-off-able steam at this all-night, all-star musical bash, and enjoy some much-deserved rewards for all your aching muscles and big ol' hearts."
Some of the names on the bill might be obscure to most Kos readers, but it's an awesome line-up for us locally, and I've still got more calls an emails out to the local music community to make it even better. The bill thus far:
Dave Zollo
Shame Train
Matthew Grimm & the Red Smear
The Burning Halos
Cellar Door
Nate Bassinger of the Diplomats of Solid Sound will also be putting something together for us, but the Diplomats, like a lot of IC-area bands, have their immediate line-ups scattered at the moment, with the rivers making it tough to even get from one side of town to the other, much less for some of the kids who might live outside of town a ways or up in Cedar Rapids.
The Iowa City Animal Shelter is also in need of "in-kind" donations, like pet care stuff and litter boxes, since they've had to abandon the shelter on the south side, so, per hannahlk's prescient suggestion, I've got a call into them to see if they'd like to put up a drop box and get some info materials out there. This also has me wondering if there's other informational/functional uses we can make of the The Mill's big rock room, to sort of make it a Trojan Horse for different kinds of community information and resources.
Any more suggestions welcome, and thanks so much to folks the Kos for their previous kind counsel and best wishes.