By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

Stuck With Arthur continues growth with ‘Solstice’

The best of both worlds is a pipe dream for most bands. Spend too much time together and you risk burning out. Spend too little time together and you might lose touch with the music and rumors start to fly.

The key is to strike a balance. Just ask Des Moines-based pop-rockers Stuck With Arthur. Its members are barely old enough to drink at the clubs they play, but in the six years they’ve been together they’ve found a way to stick together and overcome a number of obstacles that would kill most veteran bands.

“I think it’s worked because we started out as a fluke, not for the purpose of creating a band,” says 21-year-old lead singer, songwriter and lead guitarist Adam Bartelt.

Bartelt, bassist Spenser Ford and drummer Chris Ford formed the band during their freshman year at Dallas Center-Grimes High School. As members of the school’s jazz band they were the first musicians to arrive at rehearsal each morning so they decided to make the most of their extra time and experiment with some ’60s classic rock tunes they heard on the radio. “After that we discovered distortion pedals and went on from there,” Bartelt says.

Playing in a band in high school is one thing. Graduating to college and keeping the band in tact at a time when most people forget their high school friends is another. Then there’s the issue of having members attend colleges across the state, only touring during summer vacations, and each member evolving as a player while bringing different influences to the band [indie rock, heavy metal, country] — not to mention adding a player, as they did two years ago with guitarist Thomas Logan.

“Our affection for the music is what has kept us together and the changes have helped our music,” says Bartelt, who returned to Central College in Pella last week after studying art and interning for a graphic design firm in London the past five months. “We’ve all gone in different directions but it all comes together when we play.”

Stuck With Arthur’s latest progression is best charted on “The Solstice,” their new independent album due this week. The quartet, which got its name from the television show “King of Queens” [Bartelt can’t decide if it’s the worst name for a band or if it still works], is hosting a CD release party on Friday at the House of Bricks to celebrate it. They started writing the album last summer while touring the country for five weeks. Last November, they recorded it in Chris Ford’s basement and this spring, Bartelt designed the cover while in London.

“Each album we have made has been a gradual progression,” Bartelt says. “You can follow our logic if you listen.”

This much is clear about “The Solstice.” It’s arguably their best effort to date thanks to the musical interplay, catchy melodies and mature songwriting. But it also document’s the band’s progression because the first four tracks like “Capital City Shake” and “Oh! My Barbara” are staples of the band’s live shows while the last four tracks including “Hot-Lead Magnum Nights” and “The Gospel Truth” were written specifically for the album.

“They reflect the sound where the band is headed, in my opinion,” Bartelt says, noting influences like The Killers, U2 and Hank Williams. “They’re more tonal and softer, not as fast and loud.”

The new tunes, Bartelt says, also reflect the band’s constant state of change, including each member’s look to the future as they graduate from college and decide what to do with their professional lives. “They’re about who you are and what you should be doing and how to bridge that gap.”

Then again, bridging gaps is Stuck With Arthur’s specialty. In the meantime, Bartelt says, the band plans to stick close to home this summer, play some local shows and record another album. Already, he says, they have 20 songs they’re working on.

“We’ll definitely be around,” Bartelt says.

Thunderbolts capture Blues Challenge title

Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts, which includes singer-guitarist Matt Woods, bassist Scott Cochran and drummer Michael Swanger, won the 2007 Iowa Blues Challenge last Friday, edging out The Smokin’ Mojo Kings and The Yetti Bluz Band during the final round of competition held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Johnston. The Thunderbolts’ victory capped multiple rounds of competition held in Des Moines and Davenport that were hosted by the Central Iowa Blues and Mississippi Valley Blues societies, among others. The Thunderbolts will represent Iowa at the 2008 International Blues Challenge in Memphis next February. For Woods and Swanger it’s a chance to return to Memphis where they competed last February in the IBC’s solo/duo competition as Bad Luck City after winning the 2006 solo/duo Iowa Blues Challenge. The Thunderbolts also win cash, studio time and gigs at the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival in Davenport, Nitefall on the River (opening for Indigenous) and Simply the Blues in Fort Madison. For more information about the contest, visit www.cibs.org.

Scene notes

The Vaudeville Mews is starting “Free For You,” a series of free shows to “generate more folks to check new music,” according to Ladd Askland who books shows for the downtown club. On May 23, the Mews hosts The Sky Drops and Christopher the Conquered. And on May 30, Break Your Glasses Beat Spectacle plays. In the meantime, if you have to pay to see a show at the Mews, don’t miss Joe Buck Yourself on Friday at 10 p.m. Buck is the quintessential anti-Nashville cow-punk, having played guitar and upright bass with two killer hellbilly acts — Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers and Hank Williams III. Admission is $7. … The Liar’s Club in downtown Des Moines is hosting two special events this week. On Thursday, actor Jason Mewes (“Clerks,” “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back”) will be on hand to sign autographs from 8 to 10 p.m. And on Sunday, starting at 6 p.m., the club will host a Court Avenue street party featuring a performance by rapper-turned-metal artist Rob Van Winkle, a.k.a. Vanilla Ice. Admission is $10. … The 2007 Budweiser Taste Louisiana Cajun and Zydeco Fest, which includes three days of authentic Cajun cuisine and Zydeco music, will be held Saturday through Monday at the Amana Colonies. Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band will headline the event. Admission is $2-$10. Visit www.cajunfest.com. … Blues and rock legend Bo Diddley remains in intensive care after suffering a stroke in Western Iowa last week. The 78-year-old musician was rushed to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha May 13 following a concert in Council Bluffs. Reports says tests indicate that he had a stroke that has affected the left side of his brain, impairing his speech and speech recognition. Diddley first topped the charts in 1955 with “Bo Diddley,” and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. CV

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