Dandelion Stompers are re-planting the seeds of the roaring 20s

Fads come and go, but one era that never goes out of style is the roaring 20s. A century has passed, but there's something about the Great Gatsby years that continues to fascinate folks.

The iconic decade, which featured speakeasies, flappers in outrageous outfits and dapper gentleman, was a rebellious and joyous time in American history.

The soundtrack, swinging jazz, propelled the inspired period. That sound lives on in bands like Iowa City's' Stomping Dandelions, who will perform Saturday at CSPS Hall.

Dandelion Stompers vocalist Katie Roche details why '20s era jazz remains resonant.

"The 1920s trad jazz songbook still sounds relevant 100 years later because I think that people are still, generation to generation, fundamentally the same," Roche said from her Iowa City home. "We're trying to figure out love and survival in a single lifetime. And even when it's dealing in heartbreak, poverty or other heavy stuff, it still has a beat that makes you want to move and lyrics that are so clever or direct that it reaches out across the ages."

The band's New Orleans style jazz features swinging horn driven tunes, which complement the unique vocal stylings of the charismatic Roche, who demands attention.

"I've always had a deep voice, even as a little kid," Roche said. "My mom said that I loved screaming a lot when I was little, joyously and expressively, and between that and screaming in bands early on I did some real damage to my voice. I'm left with a voice that has some limitations that I've had to navigate, that some people think of as a vocal style. When I sing, I just really want to feel embodied, have power behind my voice, have it come out naturally, and tell a good story full of emotion, comedy or whatever the song calls for."

It's evident that Roche's unique voice works for the band live and on their debut double album, "Whirlwind Sessions: Vol 1. and Vol. 2.“ The former was released in 2023 and the latter in February.

The material was cut in Lone Tree's Flat Black studios.

"We had a great time recording with Flat Black," Roche said. "It's not easy to capture a project this big with drums, acoustic bass and guitar, brass and woodwinds all in one room. I was worried that having the vocals isolated, standing in a separate room viewing them through a window, would throw us off, but we were hooked in. We felt loose and knew we had something special, so (we) just tried to bring the same energy we bring to shows. I had written some new jokes into the songs that the band heard live in the studio for the first time, and it was fun getting a laugh out of them."

The "Whirlwind Sessions" title is apt due to the weather conditions when the album was recorded.

"We started our Stompers recording session knowing that we'd need to end day one of recording by 3:30 pm at the latest due to a funnel cloud that was spotted coming our way," Roche recalled. "Between every few takes we'd confirm that it was still hours out, and the pressure was mounting. We were recording live, wanting to capture that energy, with only the lead vocals isolated, and managed to get most songs on the first or second take. By the time we rushed to our homes safely, we had enough material for the album. The next day, the power had been knocked out, and the whole session had to be reset by the engineer. We still managed to get enough songs for two releases. Towards the end, everyone was exhausted: sore fingers, hurting ombisures, but my voice felt great. The recording studio is my favorite place to be."

Dandelion Stompers, which also includes Chris Clark on baritone saxophone and vocals, trumpet player and vocalist Katie Greenstein, percussionist Tim Crumley, bassist Brandi Janssen, guitarist Marc Janssen, clarinetist Suzanne Smith and alto saxophonist Devin van Holsteijn, have survived the departure of their musical mentor, multi-instrumentalist Ira Greenstein.

"We really lost Ira in phases, noticing that dementia was setting in over time and knowing how hard this was for his family, especially his eldest daughter, our bandmate Katie Greenstein," Roche said. "He was eventually unable to play with us, and we missed him both as a person who brought humor to our ensemble, and as a seasoned musician with more experience than most musicians get to acquire in a lifetime. It's been wonderful to see Katie take out his instruments and some of the quirky things he brought to make the audience laugh."

Each of the Dandelion Stompers are involved in other musical projects, but the band remains a focal point for each of its members.

"We're all busy musicians in multiple projects, so scheduling can be challenging, but our love of playing together means that we're playing more and more each year," Roche said. "We don't really have any band drama. It's just a really good time."

Roche tips her cap to Clark for being the glue of the band.

"Our fearless leader Chris Clark deserves an enormous amount of credit for sleuthing out such great tunes and writing our charts," Roche said. "He's dedicated to keeping our sound authentic, unearthing lesser played tunes, and finding songs that really compliment this ensemble. I like to say that I'm just a voice, but Chris Clark is the heart and soul of the Stompers."

Clark enjoys the band as much as Roche.

"We work well together and get along really well," Clark said from his Cedar Rapids home. "We couldn't stay together as a band this long if we had too much friction. And despite that, we still bring the fire when we are on stage together!"