Iowan Jake Smith

From Karaoke & Contests To Showdown Winner!

by Barbara Hays-Ackley

   He’s a singing cowboy, no doubt about it.  Even if you didn’t see him, just heard him talking, you’d know - - that if you turned around - - there he’d be in a cow-boy hat and boots!

   Jake Smith loves wearing cowboy hats, he’ll tell you that! In fact, Jake Smith might even tell you that one of his goals is to sing the National Anthem at a rodeo, and another goal of Jake’s is already in the making: moving to Nashville in May 2009!

BORN & RAISED IN SOUTHERN IOWA

   Born and raised in Corydon, Iowa, Jake attended pre-school in Allerton, went to his junior year in Corydon, then moved to Moulton, Iowa where he graduated in 1996.  During his school years he wasn’t ‘into singing’ except for in church where his mother, Marilyn, was a song leader, and Jake’s voice was baritone - - kinda like dad Dave’s low voice, he says.

HOOKED

ON SINGING

   Once Jake walked into a tavern one night, where they were doing karaoke, he was hooked on singing! Strange thing about Jake, however, was the fact he never watched the screen. He knew the words, would sing them, and truly believes that if you like a song well enough to sing it, then you’ll know the words!

   Although Jake hasn’t done karaoke for a long time, he did try his hand at entering contests. Contests where he placed first, in fact, whether it be local or county fairs, and one contest he didn’t even have on his cowboy hat and boots! The first prize of $100 was won by Jake (who happened to be clad in shorts and flip flops), just last year in Corydon, Iowa.

COUNTRY SHOWDOWN WINNER

   When he entered the KMGO Country Show-down, Jake was among the top three the first year and had the privilege of opening for Sawyer Brown. When he won the 2007 Show-down with a Johnny Cash song, Folsom Prison Blues, Jake went on to open for Diamond Rio. By being the 2007 winner (out of 16 contestants) , he - - of course - - had the opportunity to go on to the State Competition where a female vocalist won the event.

   Jake likes singing Johnny Cash songs but says, being deprived of being raised on old country music, he doesn’t know a lot of the classic country songs. That doesn’t mean he isn’t learning them, however - - he’s ‘catching up’ so to speak, and you know that Jake will be working hard at it. Just as he’s working each and every day on his singing and guitar pickin’, working on songs such as those from 1995 to 2005.

HARD AT WORK: JOBS and MUSIC

   Jake wants to take his singing as far as he can take it. Just a year or two ago he realized that he’d regret it if he didn’t go for it - - so a plan was mapped out by this young Iowan who has never been afraid of hard work!

   For eight years Jake has been working at a steel mill in Centerville, Iowa, and for the past 3 ½ years has also been working for himself in construction. Even though he built his own house in 2006, a concrete home with vinyl siding, Jake is actually into dirt work which includes ‘anything that goes into the ground,’ even cattle tanks.

   Now, on top of his two jobs that will help make it possible for him to follow his dream - - to move to Nashville in 2009 - - he is working on his career each day. He sings and picks daily, and he’s booking at various places for the summer and fall.

   Jake loves performing, but doesn’t want to hang around bars: he’d rather do events such as county fairs, rodeos, and any place that is family oriented, he says, which is understandable. (When he speaks of his parents, his girlfriend, his sister Angie, his niece and nephew, you know that this cowboy’s very family oriented)!

SONGWRITING, GOLF WOES and BIGGEST FANS!

   Jake has written several songs, has made a CD and plans to keep recording and writing. Since he likes to sing upbeat, faster songs, and has fun doing them, he of course has written a few of those. But, being so versatile, he also has written some slow songs - - and wrote one or two songs for his girlfriend.

   The latter part of March, while teaching his girlfriend, Kim, to golf, during practice she swung the club only to accidentally catch Jake in the mouth - - which knocked out his two front teeth. Needless to say, that makes even talking a little difficult (like saying those f’s and s’s) so imagine what it does for trying to sing! But Jake’s new dental bridge will be the solution to his speech returning to normal - - and, in his true and good-natured cowboy style, Jake will tell you that Kim “is a God-send to me.” In fact, she and his mother are his biggest fans! They like to help out with ward-robe, even, to be sure he looks good when he gets on stage!!

UPCOMING SHOWS

   Jake likes to do fund-raisers and weddings so will be doing some of those in the near future, and on May 17^th will be appearing at the Soda Pop Saloon just out-side of Chariton, Iowa. That show will start at 8 p.m. so plan on attending - - and go early for the dinner that is also available. Jake performed there a few times in 2007 and is being asked back by popular demand!

   July 4^th Jake will be performing in Exline, Iowa; also performing there will be Nashville’s Sonny Burgess.

   August 29^th he will be at the Moravia Fall Fest, and pending is the Labor Day event in Centerville, Iowa, the 2^nd Annual Hay Stock.

NOW BOOKING

   Jake Smith will per-form with another band, or can use accompaniment CD’s as background music for your event.

   When asked how far he will travel to perform, Jake - - again, in that true cowboy good natured voice - - says, “it would tickle me to death to drive 100 miles to sing!”

   Whether it be weddings or other special occasions, town events, county fairs, or other family-oriented events, and you’re in need of entertainment, give Jake Smith a call at 641-895-5223.

Iowa Man Writes Some Songs For Kids. “Old Time Country Is Not Dead To All The Young,” He Says

Gene Reed: From Retirement to Writing Songs, Yodeling, And Rattling The Bones

by Barbara Hays-Ackley

   His name is Kenneth E. Reed, but most folks know him as  Gene Reed - - part of “The Iowa Hillbilly’s” duo that performs several times a week in a variety of Southern Iowa and Northern Missouri towns.

   Betty (Patterson) and Gene (Reed), The Iowa Hillbilly’s, make music everywhere! Gene lives on a farm near St. Charles, Iowa, and his lady friend Betty resides in Albia where she has a Daycare.

   Gene never sang in his life until one night, while dancing with Betty and singing in her ear, she says “we’ve got to get you singing,” and she did! That was just 6 years ago - - when Gene was 66 years old!

   Five years ago they wrote their first song and, of course, you know there’s got to be a story behind that song! “We were floating on the Raccoon River one sunny day,” Gene says, and proceeds to tell how they were a few miles down the river when it started pouring down rain! He had to go get the car, and when he returned - - Betty was underneath the canoe. Thus the first song came to be and was titled Floating Down The River. Gene writes the words, Betty helps put music to the songs, and they’ve written about 20 songs so far.

THE LONELY PUMPKIN

   In 2005 Gene wrote The Lonely Pumpkin for a three-year-old girl on her birthday (around Halloween), and since that time the CD is pretty much worn out because Betty’s day care tykes (ages 1 to 4) like dancing to the fast tunes!

  Little kids also like Gene’s yodeling songs, and ones like Gentle Mule and Floating  Down The River. One child, only 1-year-old, who doesn’t even talk, wiggles and jiggles to the cranked-up music.

YOUNG FAN

 AT THE FAIR

   Gene’s ultimate pay-back for the hours he has devoted to working and singing the songs he and Betty write, came in 2006 and 2007 at the Iowa State Fair. In his own words, he says “What is the expected pay-back? Is it that moment when the audience takes the roof off with applause, or is it when we sell that first thousand CD’s? Well, if those of you who are enjoying the music game have never had a little boy or girl, total strangers to you, run up, look you in the eye as though you were some-one special, then you have never experienced the ultimate pay-back.”

   It happened to Gene Reed an hour or so after the 2006 Iowa State Fair yodeling contest (he sang and yodeled his song My Horses Prove it’s True) when a little girl left her dad and ran over to him “chattering a mile a minute,” and said, ‘I saw you sing last year! I saw you sing this year! And I will see you sing next year!’ Those words hit him deeper and with more thrill than any-thing he could ever hope for through his music efforts, he says, and that her little voice will ring in his ears for the rest of his life!

   This year, 2007, Gene went back to the Iowa State Fair and sang and yodeled his song A Cowgirl’s Image. He asked if his little friend was in the audience, and if she would come up front when they were finished. She did, with her mother, and Gene gave Rebecca Osthus a special home recorded CD and DVD to remember him by - - and they sent him the picture (shown on this page) along with a warm thank you.

   “You have to understand the significance of all this,” Gene says. “I am 72. I write and sing old-time country while Rebecca is a new generation and enjoys this old music.”

RATTLING THE BONES

   If someone thinks that ‘playing the bones’ is easy, think again! Or try it! Gene started playing them 5 years ago; recently he ‘rattled the bones’ with the fiddle players in New Virginia. “With the old timers,” he says with a smile, and tells how the bones were the first known musical instrument to man. “They found bones in the caves,” he says. “Mine are made out of hedge trees.” (And he’s made several pairs for different people around the area).

GENE & BETTY

   Gene, born in Southern Iowa, grew up in West Des Moines where he later was a Design Engineer (but farmed for pleasure) before his retirement.  He remembers being young and crazy - - like playing at the Covered Bridges in Madison County where, when a youngster, he would swing off a rope and jump into water. Now, he says, he’s just “old and crazy.”

  Betty is from ‘down in the hills,’ and was raised around Bloomfield. Gene says of his good friend Betty, “she’s my music. I couldn’t do anything without her. Well, I do yodel.”

A FUN TIME

IN MUSIC

   Gene says recently someone said to him that the greatest thing there is to say about retirement - - it gets you out of the house. “You meet people who are just now picking up a guitar, several are just now getting into it.”

   Gene and Betty make music at least twice a week, sometimes three times a week. Whether it’s the jam sessions, or the shows they are invited to perform as guests, they do it for fun and strictly for the enjoyment of it.

   They play with bands, with musician friends such as Weldon Gourd and other oldtimers. They also play with the younger musicians, and a young bluegrass band.

   Gene and Betty make music at Humeston where jams are held on Wednesday nights, at Woodburn jams on Fri-day nights, and towns such as Decatur City, Promise City, William-son, Hopeville, Unionville, Melcher, Bloom-field, Redding,  Rathbun Country Music Theater, and at the junction of 65 & 2. Also at the jam on E. 42^nd (now and then) in Des Moines. Whether it’s jams, shows or festivals, Gene and Betty are enjoying what they’re doing!

BITTER-SWEET EXPERIENCE

   Gene says, “Stepping into the old-time country music world when you reach retirement age can be a bitter-sweet experience,” and tells how the sweet part is sharing a wealth of experience with groups of the best musicians in the country. “You be-come good friends, a family.”

   The bitter part is in “losing so much talent to another world where they play without us,” and Gene mentions the many-many wonderful new friends who have passed on - - well over a dozen, in fact, just during the past four to five years. That list includes musicians, but not the other many friends, now gone, who “came to listen, sing and dance with us so many times these past few years of my retirement experience. How wonderful it was to have experienced life with these wonderful people. We will remember and miss them all.”

“REVIEWING THE CD”

   I have truly enjoyed listening to “Just For You,” the title of  The Iowa Hillbilly’s CD, the one that boasts of a covered bridge on the front.

   Art Hogan, from Knoxville, Iowa (a great musician and friend of the couple), learned, sang and played the songs for Gene and Betty, and sang some of them himself.

   The CD features 12 songs; be listening for them when you attend an event where “The Iowa Hillbilly’s” are performing.

   Just For You: From The Iowa Hills - - original songs by Betty and Gene - -  River of Life, Come Home With Me, Someone, No Time To Be Shy, Thrilling is the Word, The Lonely Pumpkin, Drifts, A Cowgirl’s Image, Feelings, Look On Back, When You Came Into My Life, My Horses Prove It’s True.