Red Oak native selected for Iowa Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame

A songwriter, musician and music producer with Red Oak roots will be inducted into the Iowa Rock ’n Roll Music Association Iowa Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame Hall of Fame over Labor Day weekend.

Kirk “Skinny” Webb said it is quite an honor to be included in this year’s class of inductees.

At the age of 5, Webb’s grandfather showed him a guitar and told him if he could carry it to the car, he could have it. Being only 5, it was quite a feat to accomplish, but Webb found a way to do it and from that moment on; he was hooked.

“I made darn sure I got it to the car by myself,” Webb recalled.

Helping him learn the basics at such a young age was his great uncle Bill Webb, Tom Rhodes, Curt Griffey and the late Merv Laire.

“I took it from there and was self taught until I got to college. There, I studied music and classical guitar. Everything I could possibly absorb over the years I pretty much have gone into.”

In his early 20s, Webb was a full time professional musician and did a lot of touring around the United States. He eventually returned to college and obtained a degree in forestry. Webb said being a full-time musician isn’t all fun and games, and he feels splitting his time between music and his professional life, currently as a computer programmer, assists him.

“Over the years I have developed a balance that has paid off. I’m able to make the kind of music I want to, make choices of who I want to work with. My day job provides me with security so I can have a recording studio. Since moving to Kansas City, my music career has blossomed to where I’m working three to four nights per week doing recordings. In a way, I’m doing a professional and music career both full time.”

There have been many times while performing Webb has been “star struck.” One of his most memorable was when he was invited to play on stage during a music festival with Los Lobos

Webb doesn’t have a preference when it comes to the genre of music he plays, stating it depends on his mood.

“As an on-call musician around Kansas City and Omaha, I get calls from different types of bands. One week it might be country and the next week, it’s a gig where it’s more rhythm and blues or bluegrass. I don’t have a favorite; I enjoy doing it all and like the variety,” Webb said.

In addition to playing the guitar, Webb plays the mandolin, which he is self-taught.

“I got into the mandolin when I was a kid, but I really didn’t touch it until I was around 30 years old. I got better and better at it, and it has gotten to the point where I can play mandolin as good as guitar.”

The two main differences between a mandolin and guitar is the size of the instrument and the tuning. The mandolin is tuned like a violin, he explained.

Music production is another side of the business Webb is experienced in. He said in 2000, when he was living in rural Griswold, he created a recording studio at his home in a shed. Red Oak musician Eric Nelson contacted Webb and asked if he could use it to record. He and Webb co-produced the album and it expanded from there.

“He started putting the word out to musicians and I started getting musicians from Omaha and Des Moines coming to the studio. I ended up producing and recording three albums with Eric and then several with other artists from the Omaha and Des Moines area, as well as other local musicians.

When he moved to the Kansas City area about a decade ago, Webb closed up his home studio but over the years he continues to get phone calls for music production, including Open Interest, composed of Matt Pedergraff and Josh Wiig of Red Oak.

“There is a lot of talent in Red Oak and southwest Iowa,” Webb said.

Rick Hillyard contacted Webb in November with news he was being considered for the Hall of Fame honor. Official word came in January to keep his calendar open over Labor Day weekend in Lake Okoboji.

Webb will be a member of the All Star band and play throughout the entire weekend at various events.

Words of advice from Webb include playing to have fun and playing to create artistically. He said to not get into the business to be famous and make a million dollars.

“The most important thing is to have fun with it,” Webb said. “It takes so much work to maintain the physical and mental capacity and skills in whatever instrument you play; if you don’t love it, you won’t have fun doing it in the end. You don’t have to make it big to be a success in music.”

Kirk is the son of Claude and Sharon Webb and a 1988 graduate of Red Oak High School. He obtained the nickname “Skinny” during a performance in the 1990s, where the lead singer, Kevin Smith, also from Red Oak, said, ‘Take it away, Skinny’ before a guitar solo.