Saturdays Rock returns this weekend with the second installment of local favorites and top regional rock bands. This week, the show includes bands who have opened for several big-name national touring acts.

2nd Best

2nd Best is the first band in the lineup Saturday, hailing from the Quad Cities. Since its beginnings two years ago playing at the Leclaire Tugfest, 2nd Best has gone through numerous lineup changes.

After solidifying as a trio, the group then decided to add rhythm guitarist Shane Sikkema to fill out its sound.

2nd Best released its first full length album in March, and currently “Graduation Day” from the album holds the number 16 spot in the pop and rock charts in Iowa at MP3.com. The band recently brought back the dancing monkey to its live show, much to the delight of their fans.

Quazar

Quazar comes to town from Wisconsin, a state on the forefront of today’s metal. The band is experiencing growing success at every turn, with its first single shooting up to number 17 on the overall metal charts on MP3.com, beating out national acts such as Cannibal Corpse and The Dillinger Escape Plan.

With its success on the charts, Quazar’s live shows have been drawing increasingly more people, and continue to play sold out shows around the Midwest.

Mandown

Omaha’s Mandown is the next band on the bill, bringing its self-described “heavy groove pop rock” to Ames, drawing comparisons to the Foo Fighters and Weezer.

Mandown formed in January 1999 and has since released a 10-song album which has sold more than 1000 copies. After adding a new drummer in August 2000, the band has opened for Pomeroy and Blacklight Sunshine and has played at rock extravaganzas Rockfest and Testfest last summer in Council Bluffs.

Mandown is currently in the studio recording its latest album “Shoulders,” which is slated for release next month.

lower case i

The members of Omaha band lower case i met 8 years ago. But in 1997, the members decided to take the band more seriously, and have been aggressively recording and touring the Midwest. It released a full length album in 1998, an EP in 2000 and is currently planning to record another full length album later 2001.

lower case i boasts an impressive list of bands it has done shows with, including Static-X, the Urge, Finger 11 and Powerman 5000 and it has been asked to play Rockfest in Council Bluffs the past two years.

Remover

Remover was formed in January from the remains of Dropnickel and Levee. After the remaining members of Dropnickel placed an ad in the “musicians wanted” category, the group met up with two former members from Levee, in Wisconsin.

After three months of rehearsing long distance, the band joined together in Minneapolis, and began playing for fans of its former acts. Brett Johnson, the group’s bassist, also started Blue Worm Records, a collective of Minneapolis bands who promote and tour with each other.

Remover currently is a regular regional performer in Minneapolis, and this spring the band is set for a national tour with labelmates REDOVERLUNAR.

Purkle

Purkle comes to Ames from the Quad Cities and brings its Hum-influenced sound with them. Several members of the band have been playing together almost a decade. The band formed in 1994, and after several line-up changes, the group has solidified its lineup for the past 2 years.

Purkle released “The Haunting EP” in 1999, and continues to play around the Midwest and is currently trying to expand to become a regional band.

38th Parallel

The headliner for the second installment of the Saturdays Rock series is local favorite 38th Parallel. The band formed in the summer of 1997, and have been impressing crowds since their first show.

The group released “The Let Go EP” in the summer of 2000, and has recently been named the house band at Frank’s House of Rock in Des Moines. “Let Go” from the EP is currently number eight on the Iowa pop and rock charts on MP3.com.

Nathan Rippke, vocalist for the group, says they try to write songs that invoke emotion, and the group’s fans seem to have taken hold of its message.

38th Parallel continues to refine its sound and continues to write and perform new music around the Midwest.

Saturdays Rock begins this Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Boheme, admission is $7 for seven bands.