“Love Lines” Independent Make no mistake, The Maytags are straight baby-making music. Formed by frontman Dustin Smith as a way to indulge in his funky R&B side, the band quickly established itself as one of the most consistently popular acts in the city. “Love Lines,” the band’s debut
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Posted July 27, 2016in Belly Up To...
It’s nearly the end of July, and there aren’t any coats hanging from the Ducati motorcycle that’s been transformed into a coat rack, which hangs from the wall at GT’s, a neighborhood lounge on Ingersoll. The bar is decorated in a racing theme in which helmets are arranged in various
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Posted July 27, 2016in Book Review
In the year 1951-1952, Judy Blume was a teenager living in Elizabeth, New Jersey, when three separate plane crashes in the city killed a total of 118 people. Her latest book, while strictly a work of fiction, centers around those events and their effect on Elizabeth’s residents. Many characters fill
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Posted July 27, 2016in Civic Skinny
John Pappajohn and the late Robert Noyce will be given the Iowa Award later this year. The Iowa Award is the highest honor the state gives to a citizen, though most citizens have never heard of it. It’s given by the Iowa Centennial Memorial Foundation, and most Iowans haven’t heard
Read More →515 Alive went off without a hitch once again this past weekend, pulling an estimated 10,000 people down to Western Gateway Park for two days of dancing and bass drops. The event might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it stands as a lasting testament to the power
Read More →Drake University issued a request for proposals from a pre-determined group of 11 Iowa firms. The school is requesting plans to develop a plot of university-owned land on the south side of University Avenue between 25th and 27th streets, excluding First Christian Church. The site is nearly 2.65 acres
Read More →Not long after an ill wind blew Marty Tirrell into town years ago, he had lunch at a pub I owned. One thing led to another, and we agreed on some sort of short-term advertising pact. But I couldn’t bear listening to him blather on the radio, so I
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Posted July 27, 2016in Center Stage
A play outside the box, “Hooded” uses a box as a set. The design for Pyramid’s latest production — itself something of an experiment — is by Jordan Weber, an installation artist. Weber has come up with a rotating box, placed center-stage within a horseshoe seating arrangement. Players perch on
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Posted July 27, 2016in Film Review
All across the globe, in cities as diverse as Paris, Los Angeles, Sydney and Traverse City, Michigan, young, athletic men are being paid thousands of dollars to tickle one another on video. The people behind the videos — a shadowy organization called Jane O’Brien Media — are funding
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Of E.B. White, croquet balls and the press
Writer E.B. White has a well-deserved warm place in the hearts of millions of people. It would be nice if his writing also had a place among those who place profits ahead of informing people. White (1899-1985) gave us Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little and gave The New Yorker
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