“One thing that people maybe don’t know about Canada is that the places above and below the border are similar to each other,” said Rollie Pemberton, a Canadian MC who performs as Cadence Weapon. “I live in Toronto now, and we definitely get kind of Detroit vibes over here, whereas Alberta, where I’m originally from, […]
Kembrew McLeod
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Good Morning Midnight’s Charlie Cacciatore knew he ‘made it’ when he snagged a job at Record Collector
“I went to Catholic school in Des Moines, and I guess my way of rebelling was to be a total snob about records,” said Good Morning Midnight frontman Charlie Cacciatore. “Some people are in debate and others play tennis, and me and my friends survived in that ecosystem by taking on that kind of identity. […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
From Marvel Comics to Chicago public schools, Eve L. Ewing pursues stories she sees as ‘essential’
When I mentioned that I was interviewing Dr. Eve L. Ewing to Matt Griffin, a Ph.D. student in my Communication Studies department, he recounted a moment that encapsulates her wide-ranging work that spans everything from poetry, comics and academic publishing to a recent novel for young readers, Maya and the Robot. During the 2019 Chicago […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Raunchy rapper Schäffer the Darklord is cleaning out his closet
Schäffer the Darklord, a.k.a. STD, is a 47-year-old rapper who’d probably have a few words to say to his 20-something self if he had access to a time machine. “I feel like I made an impulsive decision to adopt the stage name in 2003,” Mark Schaffer said, “and all these years later, I do have […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Iowa City is weird, you know? And I was a weirdo.’ Artist Lauren Haldeman on ghosts, puppets and pandemic comics
Lauren Haldeman isn’t a mere double-threat, or even a run-of-the-mill triple-threat. No, Iowa City’s resident polymath has more tricks up her sleeve than I can count on both hands and a few spare toes. Working across mediums and forms — poetry, puppetry, animation, illustration, printmaking, painting, film and music, to name a few — she […]
Posted inCommunity/News
New documentary explores Storm Lake, Iowa and its intrepid family of journalists
Art Cullen’s storied career in journalism began when he was a young man stumbling his way through school. “I flunked accounting,” he said, “and realized the only requirement to get into the journalism program at the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul was the ability to type 25 words per minute. It was 1975, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
With Harmony Festival, Sarah Driscoll marries her two talents: music and yoga
In one memorable scene from the Woodstock documentary, young music fans and counterculture kids are introduced to yoga poses and breathing exercises in a field, and the 1969 festival kicked off with a speech by a renowned spiritual teacher and yoga adept. My mind immediately flashed back to that when I first heard about the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Battle rappers are making a scene in Des Moines
“Sometimes, it’s real beef or real grudges that need to be settled on stage,” $ANTHI said of the rap battles he’s been part of over the past two decades. “Sometimes rappers get called out, egos clash, shade is thrown. Some people are picky about who they battle. Some don’t care, and will attempt murder on […]
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Inspired by hymns, farmland and Enya cassettes, Des Moines musician Annalibera is a retrofuturist mastermind
Nebraska native Anna Gebhardt is the mastermind behind Annalibera — a decade-long recording project that is synonymous with herself, and which also performs as a band. She came across the name via Quaderno Musicale di Annalibera, the title of a piano piece by Italian 12-note serial composer Luigi Dallapiccola, which translates as “The Musical Notebooks […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Mission Creek performer Billy Dean Thomas: ‘I choose to stand confidently in my existence and truth’
Billy Dean Thomas, a.k.a. “The Queer Biggie,” is a quadruple-threat: a rapper, singer, instrumentalist and charismatic performer whose dynamic presence permeates their live shows and music videos. In “Rocky Barboa,” the Harlem-raised MC can be seen rhyming and bouncing to a sparse, retrofuturistic beat while dressed in unique, stylish outfits tailor-made for this gender-nonconforming artist. […]
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Who owns indigenous music? Psychedelic duo Heavy Color collaborate across cultures to make ‘world music’ less parasitic
Heavy Color, a beat-driven psychedelic music duo founded by Ben Cohen and Sam Woldenberg, makes “world music” by way of Toledo, Ohio. These composer-producers are very careful to distance themselves from that problematic term — world music often treats music made by people outside of a European or American context as exotic culture ripe for […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
There’s something special about record stores
For those who view music as a vital necessity like food and shelter, being without Iowa City’s longtime institution the Record Collector leaves a gaping hole in the soul. “A record store isn’t really a record store without customers,” said co-owner Alissa Witzke. “It feels empty and sad, like we’re just a warehouse.” The store […]
