The self-described "swamp rock" trio the White Elephant will perform at the Blue Moose Tap House at 9 p.m. Saturday.
White Elephant, which formed in 2010, is named after an old, now closed, bar in Oakville, Iowa. Lead guitarist Chris Rohr said the band has come a long way since its formation.
"We all grew up together. Tim and I went to school together," Rohr said. "We played our first show in the back of a flatbed trailer in Muscatine, Iowa, in the middle of a corn field. I don’t know when I first knew I wanted to be a musician — I’m still trying to be one."
Brothers Tim Coleman and Ron Coleman play drums and vocals/rhythm guitar, respectively. Rohr said they were inspired by such bands as Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal, Ryan Adams, and Freddie King.
"We’re swamp rock, sloppy, with a dirty alternative blues sound and a lot of punk influences," Rohr said. "We’re not good at anything, so we try to do everything."
The Sapwoods, an indie-rock group, will open for White Elephant’s Saturday night show.
— by Georan Churchill