KALONA

Back in 2015, Lee Ebersole, Doug Schmieder, and Tony Stutzman were helping out the pep band one evening at what is today Hillcrest Academy. When the principal saw Stutzman carrying in his guitar, he teased, “Oh good, the old man band is playing tonight.”

Rather than taking offence, the trio of guitarists owned that remark, and thus Old Man Band was born.

They’ve come a long way from jamming on porches with friends and family. Today Old Man Band is six strong, with vocalist Trent Yoder, drummer Gilbert Perez, and keyboardist Steve Groenewold having joined in recent years.

In Washington County, they’ve become a household name, performing before large crowds at Music in the Park, the Mayor’s Classic Car Cruise, and Kalona Fall Festival, for example.

And they aren’t even that old.

“I would say we are in our 50s and 60s,” Yoder says. “I always joke that we will never need to change our name.”

In fact, the cover band, which plays every genre from classic rock to doo-wop, might still be considered in its adolescence. While they’ve averaged 10-12 gigs a year in the past few years, and “We’ve played in beautiful performance centers as well as cool old barns, metal buildings, on hay racks, and once on a stage I built out of old doors,” as Yoder says, there is still much room to grow.

In addition to designing and selling more band t-shirts, finishing the You-Tube video of their original “Yoder Miller Swartzendruber” song, and perhaps crossing state lines to perform – something they’ve yet to do – Old Man Band is working on leveling up their performance quality.

In 2021, Nate Nisly joined them to take care of sound and tech, and “that was a game changer,” Yoder says. “The audience hears whatever Nate wants them to hear, and he blends it as perfectly as he can.” Nisly’s expertise works in conjunction with the band’s new sound system, which includes in-ear monitors for the musicians so that they can fine-tune their performances as well.

In 2024, the band increased their number of gigs to 15, which will culminate with a ticketed performance at the What Cheer Opera House on November 16. The venue has hosted greats such as Glenn Miller, Hank Williams Jr., Kitty Wells, and John Phillip Sousa, which sets the bar a little higher.

“Wow,” Yoder says when he thinks about that. “I mean, impressive. It’s just fun to think we’re going to be on the same stage as Hank Williams, Jr. We’re excited.”

“We have to polish ourselves a little more,” he admits. “It feels like people are paying a ticket price and sitting down, and we’ve got to show them a great show.”

Even as their profile rises, Old Man Band remains humble.

“We practice at Gil’s house, which is in rural Kalona surrounded by farms,” Yoder says. “We’re just a handful of guys who enjoy making music together surrounded by corn.”

As the men are not actually of retirement age yet, they each balance band life with regular work and family commitments. But “it’s not work for us” to make once a week practices, Yoder says; “It comes naturally. I think we’re lucky, and that we have something special in that we enjoy each other’s company as well as making music together.”

Because they have developed a following from fans across the state, one might think that groupies could become a problem for the band members, but Yoder assures that they haven’t.

“We’re all married, so our wives are there to beat off those ok,” he laughs. “We definitely enjoy the fame, those who keep coming back to see us from town to town.”

Their backstage demands haven’t reached divo-level proportions either.

“It doesn’t take much to impress us,” Yoder says. “We’re always extremely happy to be involved with events that involve food.”

In fact, their ideal is Little Debbie snack cakes.

“I can’t even remember how that started, but Steve, our keyboard player, brought them and now continues to bring them,” Yoder says. “We joke about the fact that it doesn’t even matter how well he plays, he brings the Little Debbies so he gets to stay in the band.”

An entire buffet of Little Debbie snacks – Swiss Rolls, Nutty Buddy, Oatmeal Crème Pies, Star Crunch, Cosmic Brownies, you name it – is on hand at practice for the musicians, even as their performances climb the charts.

“It’s one of the things that makes us Old Man Band,” Yoder says.

Old Man Band performs at the What Cheer Opera House on Saturday, Nov. 16 from 7-9 p.m. Tickets are $10 each, available at whatcheeroperahouse.org/event-details-registration/old-man-band. Learn more about Old Man Band at oldmanbandrocks.com.