Prolific Iowa-based songwriter, performer, and comic zine illustrator Samuel Locke Ward makes music in numerous styles, ranging from folk-punk and garage rock to grindcore. Active as part of various groups since the mid-'90s, including the Eggnogs and Miracles of God, he has performed in backing bands for artists like Joe Jack Talcum of the Dead Milkmen, Harvey Sid Fisher, and Simon Joyner. He's also collaborated with R. Stevie Moore, sat in with Violent Femmes and the Frogs, and recorded albums with Minutemen's Mike Watt (2022's Real Manic Time) and Half Japanese's Jad Fair (2023's Happy Hearts). First active as part of a band called Yellow 5 when he was a teenager, Samuel Locke Ward was in the garage rock group the Eggnogs with brothers Jason and Josh Bollinger. Locke Ward then moved from his hometown of Ottumwa to Iowa City and began home-recording solo material, initially under the name Samb Eggnog, in addition to starting other bands such as Miracles of God and Kickass Tarantulas. He was injured in a car accident while on tour with Miracles of God in 2004, requiring reconstructive surgery on his legs. He recorded an extremely lo-fi album titled Boombox by Bedside while staying at a hospital, and Pittsburgh's Unread released it on cassette in 2005. He continued releasing albums on homemade CD-Rs, including Today Is the Tomorrow You Were Worried About Yesterday (2008) and Barely Regal Beagles (2010). In 2010, Locke Ward collaborated with Darren Brown (Boy Dirt Car, Violent Femmes' horn section) on an LP titled From the Privilege of the Grave. Locke Ward played with the founder of the Dead Milkmen in his band Joe Jack Talcum & the Powders; they released a split LP with Locke Ward's band the Boo Hoos, Just Add Tears, in 2011. He started a grindcore band called Cop Bar the same year. In 2013, Locke Ward released one album per month as part of a series called The Lame Years. Volume 11, Namedropper, featured numerous guests contributing guitar parts, including R. Stevie Moore, Little Fyodor, Weird Paul Petroskey, and Toby Goodshank. Locke Ward released a full cover of Nirvana's In Utero in 2014, and also recorded an album of fake Misfits songs, Too Dead to Die, under the name Admiral Cadaver & the New Pricks. He issued a two-song single at the beginning of every week from November 2014 to March 2015, compiling the tracks as The Complete Monday Singles Club. Locke Ward and frequent collaborator BBJR (Bob Bucko, Jr.) released the jazzy Discount Sacrifice at the Altar of Bargains on Already Dead Tapes in 2021, followed by Bubblegum Necropolis, consisting of 40 brief songs, in 2022. Locke Ward additionally released the cassette Let's Build a Logjam and LP Real Manic Time with Mike Watt, again focusing on extremely short songs and accompanied by comic zines. He also started recording one song per week with Jad Fair, and the duo released an album titled Happy Hearts on Kill Rock Stars in 2023. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi