March madness is usually synonymous with basketball. While NCAA basketball games are on the national bill this weekend, Iola will experience its own version Saturday brought about by rockers and rappers.
In step with Scooter’s Bar’s annual spring bash, local rocker Chris Maddox and a handful of his cronies from Wichita will be tearing up the stage at 118 E. Jackson Ave.
Maddox, a 27-year-old Iolan, and his band Audiocloud 51 will be joined Saturday by Wichita-based artists D.J. Grand Wiz and Sarah Phoenix Price.
Maddox said the evening of music will be diverse, with Grand Wiz spinning records and mixing hip-hop beats, his band playing grungy-sounding garage rock with a throwback style to the 1990’s Seattle-scene era and Phoenix “well, just being Phoenix.”
Maddox described Phoenix’s show as rap-metal music behind a very feminine voice owned by his friend and colleague.
“It’s kind of like Pink or Rihanna but the music is better,” Maddox joked.
All three entertaining entities, Audiocloud 51, Grand Wiz and Phoenix, record at Planet Paul Studios in Wichita, a place Maddox has been tied to of late.
“I just came up here to do studio work and (Phoenix) and Hightower Records ended up using the song that I recorded for her,” he said.
At 10 p.m. Saturday, Maddox’s Wichita world will be revealed when Grand Wiz takes the stage, followed by a 30- to 45-minute set from Audiocloud 51.
“Phoenix will close the (show) out with everyone getting on stage … for the finale,” Maddox said.
All the while, as a part of Scooter’s spring bash, there will be games and party events, contests and giveaways.
The night also gives locals a rare chance to see hip-hop artists without having to drive outside city limits, Maddox said.
“We haven’t had anything hip-hop yet, not live anyway,” said Maddox, also a part-time bartender at the establishment. “Everybody’s been wanting real hip-hop and not just some D.J. hooking up his laptop to a play list.”
All the musicians expect a raucous crowd, Maddox said, and are eager to put their talents on display for local party-goers and music enthusiasts alike.
“Last year, Scooter’s was packed, and everyone is looking forward to it again this year,” he said. “This is definitely going to be a great opportunity to show (people) what we’re … made of.”