Rural (2)

One of the first, if not the first Iowa rock bands to bring the “new rock and country sound” to the Midwest stage was Ames, Iowa’s Rural. Rural was formed in the Winter of 1970 when Ames area musicians Ralph Stevens (drums) and Charlie Grau (guitar) came together with the idea of starting a new group. They quickly brought on board Doug Campbell (bass), Jay Saul (guitar) and Tom Till (keyboards & guitar). Rural’s lineup was now complete, and amazingly enough, would NOT change throughout the life of the band. The band moved to a beautiful farm outside of Ames that they nicknamed the Depot, and it became home base of one of Iowa’s most successful bands of the 70’s. Their early song list included: The Band, Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, and even a little Dave Dudley (“Six Days On The Road”). But things were about to change. In the summer of 1971 they were asked to play Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, with the Ragin’ Cajun, Doug Kershaw. After working with Kershaw, Charlie Grau became inspired and took up fiddle playing. This added an entire new dimension for Rural as shown in their song list. Their sound became a country rock sound, and their career in Iowa jumped up to all new levels. Soon their popularity would grow and they were constantly on tour to such states as Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, and the Dakotas. Quickly, they would cover over a nine-state area. One of their favorite places to play at was our own Hollyhock Ballroom where they appeared four times in 1972 and 1973. They had the chance to work with many national acts including Mason Proffit, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and even Sha-Na-Na. With their territorial success, going into the studio and recording proved to be successful as well. In 1973, they released their first 45 single, “Country Boy” backed by “In The Morning”. (Front Porch Records 837). This was followed by their second single release, “Ripe Tomato Blues/Clear Blue Western Sky”. (Mole Records MR #1) In 1974, they offered up their only LP release, “One By One” (Mole Records MR #2), with all their records being good Midwest sellers.