Undustrial Devolution I by Emery Clair Comer Hart Taylor Justin K. Comer and his friends who play on Undustrial Devolution 1 & 2 are on the vanguard for free improvisational music in Iowa. That means they’re somewhere out in a […]
Myth Arc by BCJsPs BCJsPS Myth Arc is a collection of pieces improvised over two days in Chicago by Brian Penkrot, Justin Comer and Jason Palamara. Myth Arc is more noisy and chaotic than Comer’s last release; it combines violin, […]
Justin K Comer & the Unblessed Rest of Us by Justin K Comer & the Unblessed Rest of Us Gabi Vanek is the “label boss” of Oxcart New Music, but she isn’t precious about it. She didn’t use the word […]
Lasting 100 years is clearly something for any arts organization to celebrate. “It gives an illusion of permanence,” says Orchestra Iowa music director Timothy Hankewich. “But nowhere is it written that a community will have a symphony orchestra.” In recent […]
Delia Beatriz (aka Debit) is a musician who crosses borders: She was born in Mexico and grew up in Texas. She’s a dance music DJ, but her latest album, The Long Count, uses machine learning algorithms to process the sounds […]
Ecotones by Jarrett Purdy & Dan Padley When Dan Padley played at the Iowa City Farmer’s Market a few weeks ago, I was impressed (as always) by the liquid elegance of his playing on the jazz standard “All the things […]
Had an interesting conversation with Phil Hemingway at the Iowa City Farmer’s Market July 2nd. I’ve known Phil for decades — he was our go-to auto mechanic for many years. He’s now running for Johnson County Board of Supervisors for […]
Music has done a number on Luke Tweedy. He was a record store guy with a uniquely acerbic bedside manner. He taught himself electronics and audio engineering and built his recording studio, Flat Black, from scratch. He’s documented (in first-rate […]
Stoopgoblin Suite – Live at Trumpet Blossom Cafe by Death Bag In Death Bag, Chris Wiersema (half of the ambient doom duo Lwa) plays electronics gizmos and Gabi Vanek, a veteran performer in the experimental live music scene who has […]
How Could We Lose When We're So Sincere? by Anthony Worden and the Illiterati In 1968, the Turtles released the album The Turtles Present the Battle Of The Bands, a cartoonish concept album that yielded the hit “Caroline.” Every song […]
Eve Maret will be a featured performer at this year’s Witching Hour Festival, an exploration of the creative process and a celebration of new work produced by Little Village and the Englert Theatre. Full schedule and ticketing for this year’s […]
Comedian Norm Macdonald passed away Tuesday, Sept. 14, at age 61. If you were born in the last millennium, you know Norm Macdonald. He was on Saturday Night Live from 1993-1998, including as the fake anchor on the “Weekend Update” […]