Band born at Central College to be inducted into Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame
Feb. 20—An Iowa band that had its beginnings at Pella's Central College in the late seventies and early eighties is slated for induction into Iowa's Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame later this year.
It was the first week of college, and Chris Hopkins just wanted to play guitar.
"When I came to college in 1978, at Central, I didn't bring my guitar up because I was afraid there [were] rules or something like that," Hopkins said. "So I went to my resident advisor and asked if I could bring my guitar up, and he said, 'Sure.' And he said 'Oh, you play guitar? I'm trying to put a band together.'"
That was the first step toward Iowa-based rock band Labyrinth being born.
"The origin of Labyrinth really took shape when I went and auditioned for the jazz band," Hopkins continued. "The drummer and the keyboard player that also made jazz band, the three of us were kind of the nucleus of the original labyrinth project."
Over the next few years, the band would continue to grow and gain new members, adding a new lead vocalist and Oskaloosa graduate Doug McCaulley on bass. The band cut their teeth performing pop and soft-rock covers at dances and a few clubs.
In 1981 the band began to shift direction and pursue a more professional-level route. Some college members left the group, while new faces joined, including Jeff Knight as another guitarist. The band began focusing on a more aggressive style and toured as far as Canada in the north, Texas in the south, Indiana in the east and Idaho in the west, according to Hopkins.
"We had quite an area of travel, and that's all we did for the next three years," he said.
Over their professional career, the band enjoyed varying levels of success. They were particular hits in Peoria, Illinois.
Now, after disbanding in 1986, the band is gearing up for a surprise celebration of their work after being nominated for induction into the Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. For Hopkins, the nomination came as an unexpected honor.
"To be inducted, somebody other than the band has to nominate you. I don't know who nominated us. I don't know if there's multiple people or one [person]," Hopkins said.
During his time with Labyrinth, Hopkins says he wanted the band to have its own identity, separate from simply performing covers.
"I wanted the band to have a unique identity, so the covers that we chose to play increasingly became a bit more, well, non-mainstream," he said.
The band also performed original songs, including a 1985 recorded album, "So Wild."
To this day, Hopkins is a supporter of up-and-coing musicians and locally-written original music.
The induction will take place on Sept. 1 at Arnolds Park on Lake Okoboji, but to celebrate the honor, the members of Labyrinth have decided to reunite and hold their own concert closer to home on a date yet to be announced, possibly in October.
Channing Rucks can be reached at crucks@oskyherald.com.
