As new students find their way and returning students find their rhythm, campus is abuzz with new and exciting events for all.
This semester Rock the Stacks debuted, combining anthropology, history and rock and roll in the UNI museum.
Tay Ross, a fifth year anthropology major, has worked in the museum since it moved on campus from the Hudson road warehouse in January of 2015. She said the event was the idea of UNI Museum curator Nathan Arndt. It was a combination of an exhibition featuring artifacts of rock and roll from around the country, with an emphasis on Iowa, and live music from local bands.
“I am a huge, huge, huge [sic] fan of music. I listen to all of these bands regularly, and [Arndt] put me in charge of finding the music for the exhibit,” Ross said.
When thinking of bands to play at the event, Kitsch, Peas and Carrot and TWINS, immediately came to mind. “I’ve seen them live so many times,” Ross said. “And they put on a great show with a great atmosphere that we wanted to exemplify the rock and roll of Iowa.”
Rock the Stacks began with Kitsch performing, featuring UNI alumnus Emily Otis, followed by local bands Peas and Carrot and TWINS. The audience gathered, featuring students, faculty, staff and community members of all ages, and in true rock and roll fashion blasted through a dynamic and raucous set for the crowd.
“I think it’s really interesting to bring the element of live music,” Otis said. “In general, it’s always interesting when a museum can get something that’s… not just an artifact, or not just two-dimensional.” Otis graduated from UNI last December in anthropology, sociology and studio art.
“I think it gives it a more lifted feeling,” Otis said. “It’s really cool that they brought bands for the exhibit on rock and roll because it’s something you need to hear, looking at the microphones and guitars is just one element of it.”
The exhibit featured many artifacts from UNI’s collection, as well as some on loan from the Iowa Rock and Roll Music Association and the Cedar Falls Historical Society. The museum set up a small replica recording studio including guitars, drums and amps, as well as sound boards and microphones. Standout artifacts included a few well-maintained jukeboxes and a booth from the Fox Lake Ballroom. The plaque on the booth explained that Iowa once had more than 200 ballrooms across the state in the 1950s, but that number has since been reduced to around 15.
Hayley McCoy, a senior history major, explained that one of the most interesting artifacts on display to her is a briefcase that belonged to the owner of Stebs, the dominant live music venue in Cedar Falls during the 1990s that closed in 2000, which she worked on over the summer in her internship.
“He had a bunch of band pictures in there,” McCoy said. “I thought it was pretty cool to see something I worked on on display.”
Ross mentioned that the new exhibit has a lot to offer to students’ interests.
“It’s important to realize that there are so many opportunities here in the museum [many students] don’t even realize until they’re [in the museum],” Ross said. Kitsch, Peas and Carrot and Twins all perform often at the Octopus on College Hill, and Ross hopes to have more events of this nature in the future to show the students what the UNI Museum has to offer.
“I think it’s really interesting to bring the element of live music,” Otis said. “In general, it’s always interesting when a museum can get something that’s… not just an artifact, or not just two-dimensional.” Otis graduated from UNI last December in anthropology, sociology and studio art.
“I think it gives it a more lifted feeling,” Otis said. “It’s really cool that they brought bands for the exhibit on rock and roll because it’s something you need to hear, looking at the microphones and guitars is just one element of it.”
The exhibit featured many artifacts from UNI’s collection, as well as some on loan from the Iowa Rock and Roll Music Association and the Cedar Falls Historical Society. The museum set up a small replica recording studio including guitars, drums and amps, as well as sound boards and microphones. Standout artifacts included a few well-maintained jukeboxes and a booth from the Fox Lake Ballroom. The plaque on the booth explained that Iowa once had more than 200 ballrooms across the state in the 1950s, but that number has since been reduced to around 15.
Hayley McCoy, a senior history major, said one of the most interesting artifacts on display is a briefcase that belonged to the owner of Stebs, the dominant live music venue in Cedar Falls during the 1990s that closed in 2000. She worked on the display over the summer in her internship.
“He had a bunch of band pictures in there,” McCoy said. “I thought it was pretty cool to see something I worked on on display.”
Ross mentioned that the new exhibit has a lot to offer to students’ interests.
“It’s important to realize that there are so many opportunities here in the museum [many students] don’t even realize until they’re [in the museum],” Ross said. Kitsch, Peas and Carrot and TWINS all perform often at the Octopus on College Hill, and Ross hopes to have more events of this nature in the future to show the students what the UNI Museum has to offer.