Jason T. Lewis The Fourteenth Colony http://www.sadironpress.com/ A common problem fiction writers have with musician characters is that if the author isn’t a skilled songwriter, then the character is much less believable. Never mind the fact that we never really know what the character’s songs would sound like, either. Iowa City author and musician Jason...

The monochrome photo of Pieta Brown on the cover of her album Mercury (out Sept. 27 on Red House Records) carries a certain “Mona Lisa” inscrutability. The unusual lighting from beneath nearly washes out her face drawing you almost self-consciously to her gaze. While I usually don’t expect her album covers to directly represent the...

It’s tempting to classify Finnders and Youngberg as a bluegrass band based on the mastery of the fiddle, banjo and mandolin on display in FY5. But those aren’t the only ingredients in this recipe. “It’s definitely more of a country outfit than what Amy and I were doing… but probably where I was heading all...

Kerosene Circuit EP The romance of the long-haul trucker is born in the dust and roar of the engine and the kerosene smell of diesel fuel. The bleary hypnosis from the engine’s roaring roadsong, the buzzy florescent refuge of the 24-hour truckstop, faded coffee rings on the driver’s daily log books, permanent grease lodged in...

Greg Brown Freak Flag My first time in a bar, underage, was for a Bo Ramsey and the Sliders show at Potter’s Mill in Bellevue, IA. From then on, I caught as many shows as I could until I moved to Minnesota for work. When I later moved back to Iowa, one reason I was...

“Let the truth spring free Like a jack-in-the-box Like a hundred thousand cuckoo clocks From the Oregon corners to the Iowa corn To the rooms with heat lamps Where the snakes get born” – “Birth of Serpents” My first exposure to paranoia came as a child. I only saw my uncle at birthday parties and...