Red Oak’s Durlin, and band Genocide, to be inducted into Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Nick Johansen
The Red Oak Express
A band with Red Oak ties will be named to the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year.
Red Oak High class of ‘76 alumni Butch Durlin and his band Genocide will be joining Kirk “Skinny” Webb as inductees this year.
Durlin’s family moved to Red Oak when he was 12. His parents lived on an acreage where he grew up until it got too much for them to take care of Durlin, who currently resides in Cocoa, Fla., said it was at a very early age that he became interested in music. He was in band from the age of 12 and was fortunate to have amazing teachers along the way.
“In the late 70s, I had Mr. Simpson as my high school band teacher in Red Oak. He was tough and taught with passion, but he was a musical genius. What I learned from him earned me a full ride music scholarship to Buena Vista College,” Durlin said.
Durlin’s high school and college music teachers taught him music theory and history, giving him a great appreciation for the art. He also gained inspiration from band performances on television.
“I have always prided myself on being a musician and not just a guitar player and singer. At age 16, I remember staying up way too late one night and watched my first episode of Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert. Kiss and UFO were playing with crazy stage production including lights, fire, and other pyro. It was at that point I said to myself, ‘this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’ Forty plus years later, I’m still doing it,” said Durlin.
While attending college in Storm Lake in the late 70s, Durlin was working on a farm to make some extra money up near Schaller. The people that he worked for asked him if he would like to go see a local rock band, Genocide. The members were Kevin Currie on vocals, Lee Hix on guitar, Jeff Sims on bass, and Kevin Witte on drums. From there, he became an official member of the band.
“We ended up in Galva, which is at the time was a very tiny town with one bar. When I got to the door, it was so packed we could barely get in. People were literally standing on pool tables and pinball machines going crazy,” Durlin said. “The band was playing rock songs that I loved and the fans were eating it up. I introduced myself to the band and asked if they needed a manager because I thought they had some serious potential. They asked me if I knew any guitar players because their second guitarist was about to quit. Of course, I said yes, and the rest is history.”
Genocide has opened quite a few shows for Vixen, Head East, Brownsville Station, and Starcastle. Durlin said they were good friends with Vixen as they had the same management company. He said there were a number of memorable moments over the years.
“During the first year being in the band, we opened for Head East at the Cherokee Ballroom. It was packed with well over 1,200 people; way beyond fire code, and our fans were there in force. They kept demanding encores, and we kept playing. Needless to say Head East was not happy. We were only about 18 years old at the time. Our manager requested we all quit college so we could tour full time. Months later my parents came to a show where we opened for Brownsville Station. Similar situation, it was a packed house and crazy. It was then that they understood that we were seriously making waves in the music world and why we quit college. I love my parents. They always supported me, even when I gave up a full ride scholarship to pursue my dreams.”
After Genocide Durlin went back to school, during which time he was in several local bands including Impulse and Zef. In the mid 1980s he worked for a concert promoter, producer, and booking agent producing shows with bands like Kiss, Scorpions, Quiet Riot, John Cougar, and Joan Jett, to name a few. When the band High Fever disbanded, they reformed as Sircus and spent the next couple of years touring the U.S. After that, Durlin relocated to Arizona and reconnected with the Genocide members.
“We did a handful of reunion shows in Schaller for Popcorn Days. It was crazy all over again. Our fans showed up, setting attendance records for the beer garden; records we just shattered with this past year’s performance. We decided to give back to our fans and recorded an EP of new Genocide songs. Currently I am playing in a couple of very successful cover bands in Florida doing what I love to do, only now in the warm weather and sunshine near the beach,” commented Durlin.
Durlin enjoys all music, from classical to heavy metal. The bands he currently performs in do a variety of styles including rock, pop, metal, etc. When it comes to performing, Durlin likes energetic music that gets the crowd moving. They keep a large and eclectic playlist to get most any crowd going.
When it comes to writing Durlin said he tends to write in the rock/hard rock genre. In the late 1990’s he released a solo album under the name Dorian Lord. The follow up to that album is in production. The band Genocide released a single with 2 songs in the late 70s and then recorded an EP released as a compilation CD with the singles on it. Durlin’s primary instrument is guitar and he occasionally will play bass, and ‘dabble’ in keyboards, drums, and brass instruments, as well as vocals.
Durlin is also enjoying a rich career outside of his music recording and performing.
“Currently I am a course director at a media arts college in the Orlando area teaching recording arts and show production. My entire life I have been passionate about performing, writing, recording, and producing music. This job allows me to do all of that and share my knowledge with students from all over the world. I have been here for almost 17 years now and loving it. The flexible schedule at my job allows me to perform and also work for a show production company. Now my son, and extremely talented musician and songwriter, is taking classes here at the university I work at. It has been an amazing journey,” said Durlin.
Although they have yet to receive the detailed itinerary yet, Durlin said he has talked to the producers of the induction ceremony, and a performance will take place.
“I believe it will be Sunday, Sept. 6 at the Roof Garden Ballroom in Lake Okoboji. It is an all weekend event on that Labor Day weekend with a banquet and other events. Genocide and several other artists will be performing a short set at the ceremony; along with another Red Oak rock star Kirk ‘Skinny’ Webb, who is also being inducted this year. I’m hoping to convince the committee to let us have an all-star jam.
Genocide has done four reunion shows over the past two decades, but Durlin said they decided to go out on top after the record breaking show up in Schaller, but that was before they got the call to be inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“Genocide has always broken boundaries, from the lavish stage clothes and large-scale light, sound, and pyrotechnics we brought to every show, to the music we wrote and performed. The journey was tough at times no doubt, and at times took a toll on our personal lives. We poured our hearts and soul into that band which created an unbreakable bond between us. Our fans know this and still, decades later, strong supporters. Looking forward to one last show with my band mates, family, and fans.”