Theta Beta Potata

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The Theta Beta Potata was a punk house in Iowa City, Iowa. The house was the site of numerous musical performances from a wide range of artists.

The Theta Beta Potata of Iowa City was modeled after another punk house in Milwaukee, WI, of the same name. Both houses had served as homes for the informal psuedo-anti-fraternity organization, the Theta Beta Potatoes. Their motto was "Theta Beta Potatoes: a non-gender specific anti-greek organization." The Potatoes actually got their start from a group of college students from Wisconsin who were visiting friends at the University of Illinois, at Champaign Urbana in the mid 90s.

Both the resurrected Milwaukee residence and the Iowa City counterpart played host to several hundred artists over the course of a few years. Notable artists included, Arab on Radar, Cursive, Liars, Spitalfield, Rivethead Ten Grand, William Elliott Whitmore, Thursday, Good Clean Fun, Hewhocorrupts, Signal to Trust, Hero of a Hundred Fights, Tragedy and Strike Anywhere. The band The Locust also slept over at the Iowa City house, but they didn't play a show. Also the Liars also had some exceptional words regarding the Theta Beta Potata in Iowa City when interviewed in Alarm Press.

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Alarm: What do you think, since you've been together, was your best show?
Angus: We played this one show before Julien was with us in Iowa City at this house called the "Theta Beta Potata". It was this rip-off of a frat house.
Aaron: It was this house on fraternity row and it was the one house that wasn't a frat, so the kids made up a name. It was just this tiny house.
Angus: It was just hundreds of kids packed in and you couldn't tell who was in the band and who wasn't. It was off the wall, there was blood, and I really hurt myself. It was really good.
Aaron: And then when you're done, we went and shotgunned bears with these kids. They were definitely not 21.
Alarm #17 (2004), page 40

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