Posted November 19, 2014in Sound Circuit
If you have been to a local music venue with any kind of regularity in the past couple years, or if you’ve made your way to the 80/35 festival in recent summers, odds are good that you have seen Jordan Mayland do his thing. Whether it is as the front
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Posted November 12, 2014in Sound Circuit
No Good Deed is refreshing, not only because there aren’t enough Des Moines area bands doing the post-punk sound well, but because it is a band without a single member younger than your faithful scribe. “I came from Ames, originally,” said guitarist Doug Hansen. “I was a part of the
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Posted November 05, 2014in Sound Circuit
Even in a world in which we’ve been conditioned to see ourselves as unique and beautiful snowflakes, Rae Fehring stands out. The front woman of both Rae & The Honeybees and Cover Girls, Fehring is intimidatingly smart, disarmingly sweet and endlessly passionate. In addition to playing a half dozen instruments
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Posted October 29, 2014in Sound Circuit
Their band name is ridiculous. Their EP is being recorded in another band’s practice space and produced by a guy they met on Omegle. This is the unconventional, unexpected world of Lake of Fat Kids. Started in 2011, Lake of Fat Kids is primarily comprised of guitarists Joel Smith and
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Posted October 22, 2014in Sound Circuit
Evelyn Taylor moved to Nashville from Des Moines two years ago. After spending 22 years in Des Moines, the Iowa girl felt that the Music City was the best place for her to explore her own sound and elevate her music to a new level. “You’re surrounded by so many
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Posted October 15, 2014in Sound Circuit
Abbie Sawyer is a child of music. Raised in church choirs by parents who loved all kinds of sounds, music is as much a part of Sawyer’s DNA as the color of her eyes. Sawyer enrolled in college fully intent on studying music; it seemed the obvious choice. “But then
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Posted October 08, 2014in Sound Circuit
Prettygirlhatemachine — a Des Moines hip-hop trio consisting of MCs Toby Diligent and D Average and DJ J Fresh — started as a Diligent’s solo project in 2005. Eventually Diligent and D Average met and started collaborating in the studio. “For the longest time, we didn’t play live shows,” Diligent
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Posted October 01, 2014in Sound Circuit
BeJae Fleming wasn’t born in Iowa. She doesn’t currently live here. But Fleming stands shoulder to shoulder with names like Joe Price, Bo Ramsey and Greg Brown as part of a group that was indispensable in creating the Iowa Sound: the Trailer Records artists. “I am not from Iowa,” Fleming
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Posted September 24, 2014in Sound Circuit
Viva Montesa is having an identity problem. Not with their live act; in person, the duo of Ted and Gary Schwick are every bit as fun and talented as they’ve always been. But when it comes time to translate that vitality to a recorded medium, issues arise. The band’s debut
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Posted September 17, 2014in Sound Circuit
Music, or so they tell me, is supposed to be fun. If it turns out that’s actually the case, then it’s safe to say that Pets With Human Names are doing it correctly. The band, a Des Moines power trio consisting of guitarist Alex Nickerson, bassist Andrew Pierson and drummer
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