ARTIST was formed from the remnants of three early '80's bands from Mason City, IA... Joe Sampson(lead vocals, guitar, songwriter) and Joe Cordle(drums, vocals) from the pop/new wave band the Names; Ron Lewerke(lead guitar, vocals, songwriter) from the metal trio Gray James; and Jeff Dahlstrom(bass guitar) from the classic rock band Corn Fed.

The band entered into it's first rehearsal session in the summer of 1982- band management was handled by Al and Dave Barnes of Barnes/West Productions... rehearsals got serious and moved into the basement studio of Barnes/West in Clear Lake, IA. The band then purchased a green 1968 Ford school bus, gutted it and made it a fitting road vehicle for a bunch of rockers. After getting 3 hours' worth of material down pat, they decided to hit the road in early 1983, playing mainly northern clubs in Duluth, Minneapolis, etc.

Also about this time, the band began a partnership/friendship with producer Kirk Kaufman, former guitarist/songwriter from the Iowa band the Hawks. Kirk is/was the owner & producer for the 24 track recording studio Westminst'r Sound(later to become Junior's Motel) in Otho, IA. ARTIST began recording a ton of original material being churned out by Joe S. and Ron in 1983, and they never let up. When the band wasn't on the road, they could almost always be found laying down tracks at the studio(The ARTIST albums 'Never Lose(1984)' and 'This One's For You(1986)' were recorded here). To hear some of these compositions, go to the Music page.

Later that year, bassist Jeff Dahlstrom left the band and was replaced by Mike Harwood, an intense, Billy Idol-influenced musician from Minnesota. Unfortunately, Mike decided to leave within just a few months.

Enter bassist Bryan Fougner, a BIT grad and showman extraordinaire. With his addition to the band, along with Joe Sampson's leanings toward being lead vocalist only, ala David Lee Roth, ARTIST started to become the quissentential '80s hard rock band. In mid 1984, drummer Joe Cordle's brother Dan got the band a gig in Manhattan, Kansas at a back-to-school college event. The crowd response was phenomenal! ARTIST decided to focus on the many killer clubs in Kansas City, Manhattan, Salina, and Topeka, in addition to a few local clubs around North IA-- mainly the Rock C in Mason City, ARTIST's hometown club.

By 1985, ARTIST was in it's prime. 8 solid weeks on the road at a time was very common. The bands' originals started to get the attention of a few record labels, as well as the TV show Star Search. Clubs like Beethoven's (Davenport, IA), Prime Time(Salina, KS), the Blue River Pub(Manhattan, KS) and the Rock C became the rock property of the band(you could tell ARTIST was in the house simply by looking at their trademark red-and-black backdropped stage set)! Literally thousands of fans across the midwest came to every show on the circuit- in a word, it was fantastic.

ARTIST continued it's quest for rock stardom until the summer of 1987, and then abruptly decided to part ways. Ron, Joe S. and Joe C. eventually moved to Kansas City and started a new band called Big Richard(1989-1993)- Bryan tours in a variety of bands to this day. But on that day...

The members of ARTIST wish to thank all the people who supported them; it was a time they will never forget. This website is dedicated to you, the ARTIST fan--- This one's for you...