Two and a half years ago, Larry Kaster returned from a stint in Nashville to his native Iowa, ready to start a band. He had few parameters for his vision, save for a stipulation that they play rock and roll; and so he beat down the barstools of Des Moines’ East side in the same manner Johnny Cash went door to door, once upon a long time ago, peddling wares. It wasn’t long before he met Gene Senn, a mechanic with dust on his boots who enjoys cheap bear and biker bars, and the project now known as Rumble Seat Riot was born. The “rumble seat” is an attachment to pre-WWII automobiles, that usually hinged out from the rear deck and over the rear tires. Thus, the person riding there was left unprotected from the elements, and experienced every shock of rubber on bumps in the road. But as the danger zone is always an apt place to party – such is the name apt for the band, who consider their themes to be: hot rods, lost women, and cheap beer. Frontman Gene Senn is quite the crooner, and a hot rod aficionado who had a repertoire of 3 songs written in his garage during breaks buffing the ’29 Ford, when bassist Larry Kaster met him. Now they are a tightknit group of three – recently ruinited with their original drummer, Butchie Spector, of former Slipknot fame. They have also gathered quite the following of tattooed, pin-up styled men and women of the rockabilly persuasion, though they maintain that they write with strictly rock and roll in mind. Rumble Seat Riot’s first album, “Locked, Cocked, and Ready to Roll” was recently released and a short Midwestern tour followed. This came on the heels of a gig opening for Reverend Horton Heat, and a video shoot in an old airplane hangar. They pack the house (and the dance floor) at nearly every gig, sending rumbling rock vibrations through the floorboards underneath the rhythms of Gene’s mean green guitar, Larry’s badass bass lines, and Butchie's first generation punk beats. At once fun, fearless, and feisty, with brief forays into heartache – these three should definitely be on the radar of anyone who considers themselves a fan of rock and roll, and hasn’t forgotten its beginnings. - Amy Clark