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This Week's CBJ

NORWAY
Frontier’s
Aeroroot to compete in Fortune’s band battle

Reporter:
Gigi Wood
[email-masked]

Smile and have fun.

That’s what
the members of rock group Aeroroot tell each
other before they go on stage. It helps them
relax before gigs at charity events like Relay
for Life or venues such as Concert in the Park
in the Czech Village. Staying relaxed for their
upcoming performance June 20 will be another
matter.

“We’re not playing to be
critiqued, we’re not playing for the music
critics of the world who say, ‘You’ve got to
hear this band, they’re phenomenal,’” said Brett
Karminski, lead guitarist of Aeroroot. “We’re
just doing it for fun, for people who want to
dance and have a good time.”

Aeroroot is
a four-member rock group of current and former
employees of Frontier Natural Products Co-op.
For those who have not heard of the
international business based in Norway, north of
the Amana Colonies and southwest of Cedar
Rapids, it is a company that produces and
distributes natural and organic products, such
as herbs, spices and teas. The band is named
after arrowroot, one of the herbs with which the
company makes products. They changed the
spelling as a tribute to rock group Aerosmith.

“The company really got behind us and
it’s really brought everybody together,” said
Mr. Karminski, who is also Frontier’s brand
manager. “Frontier is about having a good time,
working hard, playing hard and they encourage us
to try new things beyond just work.”

The
band has played about 25 performances together
during the past five years. Last weekend, the
band was slated to play at Floodstock in Cedar
Rapids. Next up, California.

Aeroroot was
chosen as one of 16 finalists to compete in one
of Fortune’s Battle of the Corporate Bands
regional semi-final events. The battle
encourages friendly competition between
companies that recognize how music helps build
teamwork, discipline, creativity, passion,
harmony and commitment. The competition also
encourages workers to learn musical instruments,
a hobby that can be stress-relieving, according
to Fortune.
Corporate
bands will play at three regional competitions
next week. The field will be narrowed to eight
bands, which will compete at the finals at the
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Oct. 3 in Cleveland.

Aeroroot will
perform at the Key Club on Sunset Boulevard in
West Hollywood, Calif., the site where legendary
acts such as the Doors, Tina Turner and Van
Halen earned notoriety. And for the first time,
they will be critiqued by a panel of judges.

A former colleague tipped them off about
the contest, so they submitted a CD and applied.

“We said, ‘Let’s try this,’” said Curt
Landis, lead vocalist and chief marketing
officer for Frontier.

They went to Iowa
City, where they recorded a CD of three songs at
Inner Light Recording Studio.

“We
recorded four songs and picked the best three
and we really tried to polish them like we
hadn’t ever done before,” Mr. Landis said. “We
thought, ‘This is a long shot, but let’s at
least try.’”

They were expecting a
rejection letter.

“There were these
giant corporations, with lots of talent, like
Procter & Gamble,” Mr. Karminski said of
Procter & Gamble’s band from Geneva,
Switzerland, which won the 2008 battle. “We’re
thinking there’s no way we’re going to make
it.”

Then one day, an e-mail appeared in
Mr. Landis’ inbox from the competition
organizers.

“I didn’t look at the e-mail,
I called (band members) all in because I thought
we’d all look at it together,” he said.

“Everybody (in the company) knew we had
gotten the e-mail, so everybody was waiting to
see what was going to happen,” Mr. Karminski
said.

“So we’re just scrolling through
and there’s Johnson & Johnson and Symantec
and I think we were like the fourth band, we
scrolled down and it said Frontier Natural
Products Co-op,” Mr. Landis said. “I don’t think
we could have been in any more complete shock to
see our name there. And I think people knew that
we made it right away, based on the clamor.”

Although they are typically laid back,
the band members are ready to compete. Vocals
and musicianship are the criteria upon which
bands will be judged, according to Fortune.

“You think about playing, you’re playing
to please yourself; now there’s somebody
watching you and judging you,” Mr. Landis said.
“We’re also competitors, we want to do as well
as we’re capable of doing. We’re not going to go
out there and wing it; we’re going to be
prepared.”

Meanwhile, they are deciding
what to wear when they perform in Los Angeles.
Many times they will perform locally wearing
their company logo shirts. They bought designer
jeans and shirts to wear.

“Don’t worry,
we have gone shopping,” he said. “You can’t wear
these shoes or this shirt tucked in, they’re not
L.A.-worthy. But when you’re 47 and balding and
from the Midwest, there’s only so far you can
go. My hope is my clothes will go
unnoticed.”

When they compete, they will
play six songs in 20 minutes with no sound
check. They will take their guitars but will
play on the drums provided.

“For me
that’s most difficult part,” he said. “Usually
you get a sound check and get to dial everything
in and get to play a little
bit.”

Aeroroot formed in December 2004
and played its first gig at Frontier’s holiday
party. Only the drummer, Steve Krusie,
Frontier’s director of public relations, had
previously played with a band.

They play
mostly covers of recorded songs, although they
have written two originals. Their playlist
includes songs by artists such as Tab Benoit and
Gary Moore. They also play tunes by the Beach
Boys, John Lee Hooker and The Who, but not the
typical numbers other cover bands
play.

“We try not to do what everyone
else covers, we try to pick songs people like
that aren’t like ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ which is
just so embedded in people’s minds,” Mr. Landis
said. “When we do The Who, we don’t do ‘Won’t
Get Fooled Again,’ and ‘Baba O’Reilly.’ We do ‘I
Can’t Explain’ and ‘The Kids Are Alright’ from
the early ’60s. We stay away from the big
anthems.”

They also pick songs that are
easy to play, usually with three chords.

“If we find a new song we like, we try
it and we know immediately if we enjoy playing
it and see if we can pull it off, and if we
can’t we just move on,” he said. “We’re always
looking for stuff that’s fun with kind of a
catchy rhythm to it that’s not Top 40 kind of
stuff.”

Tracy Tunwall, a former Frontier
employee who plays bass guitar and sings
back-up, will also travel to California for the
competition. If the band makes it the next
round, a trip to the Rock & Roll Hall of
Fame will be reward enough for
Aeroroot.

“We surpassed our expectations
just by being able to go out (to L.A.),” Mr.
Landis said. “And I think if we play well, it’s
like a sport, if you play well and do your best,
then whatever happens, happens. I don’t think we
could be disappointed no matter what.”
CBJ

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