I'M STANDING ALIVE AND I WAS SINGIN'

They're just photos, after all. 

Earlier this month Nick Southall, who wrote for sadly defunct webzine Stylus, unveiled The Music Diary Project. The project's worthy goal is "to document, over the course of one week, how we listen to music: when we listen, where we listen, who we’re with when we listen, and how we choose what we listen to." This week a whole bunch of smart people I follow on Tumblr have been participating, dutifully posting listening logs and sharing their experiences. It's a great idea, and while I'm far too neurotic to take part, it's been a lot of fun seeing not only what people are listening to, but how they listen.

On Day Two of the project, Australian writer Jonathan Bradley posted some observations I found myself copying and pasting into my own media-consumption diary of sorts-- this weird little blog. Most of Bradley's music listening is solitary, he says. He writes that "I just don't give a fuck if I can't share music with other people, because usually I don't. I listen to a ton of stuff, and most of it I know of no other person who shares my liking for the music, just because I have my taste and other people have theirs and the two don’t need to meet for us to be friends... The music I listen to is for me, and it doesn’t worry me if I’m not sharing it."

These comments started me thinking. How much of my listening is solitary in the same way? How much is driven by this mad urge to share, share, share?

FALL CONCERT PREVIEW

The Eagles are set to play Wells Fargo Arena.

So last weekend after we got home from Kansas City, there on the doormat was our Sunday issue of The New York Times, which I tried canceling a little while ago because we read it mostly online anyway and I was thinking about cutting costs, but you have to call (you can't do it on the website) and the telephone operator was really persuasive, so-- well, now you know how you can get a discount on your Times subscription.

Anyway, the Arts & Leisure section this week was like a million pages, and I noticed there was a New York fall music preview. Which reminded me, along with college football starting again and Mrs. Des Noise going back to school, that it was almost fall. And that, hey-- I usually try to write seasonal music previews! Now, I realize I already missed Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. and local indie celebs the Envy Corps at Vaudeville Mews earlier this week, and the farewell roast to bartending legend Dirty Dan at the Mews on Sunday before he moves to Hawaii. Also: Hot Hot Heat got canceled, huh?

But there's a whole bunch of interesting stuff coming up the next few months. Probable highlights include, in approximate order of likeliness you might've heard of 'em: Band of Horses, Passion Pit, Tokyo Police Club, Best Coast with Male Bonding, The Books, Electric Six, Atmosphere, Candy Claws, Bear in Heaven, Scout Niblett, David Dondero, Retribution Gospel Choir, Tim Kasher (Cursive), Deakin (Animal Collective), Maps & Atlases, Strange Boys and, for the name alone, maybe +Blissed Out+.

As always, please don't hesitate to let me know what I'm forgetting. Thank you for reading!

ALL I SEE IS FIREWORKS

So Cow: "To Do List" (live in Brooklyn last summer)

It's a lot easier to write a summer concert preview when summer has already started, right? June has already seen some fine sets from the Beets, Coyote Slingshot, Wheels on Fire, and Damien Jurado, among others (still kicking myself for missing Pocahaunted). Interpol unfortunately canceled their June 28 gig at People's and failed to include Des Moines on their rescheduled tour-- all together now, let's shake our fists at Bono-- but there are still plenty of exciting live gigs coming up in Des Moines this summer. Off the top of my head, I'm very, very amped about So Cow, Woodsman, the Autumn Project, Maid Marian, 80/35 (of course!), the Poison Control Center's 80/35 after parties, Candy Claws, Devo, Phoenix, and Best Coast, for starters.

What follows is an incomplete, completely subjective lineup of shows I thought somebody reading this blog might be curious about. I tried to get a mix of local and national acts, but at this point I still only know so many local acts, so there's definitely nothing intentional if I forgot anyone. I put an asterisk next to shows I'm almost definitely gonna attend. (Unfortunately, I won't be at So Cow because I'll be out of town, but you should still totally go.)

Check the venue websites for times; Vaudeville Mews often has both an early show and a late show, due to liquor laws. Anyway, here goes nothing again:

June (what little is left of it)

Summer Jam: Night Ranger, LA Guns, Skid Row, Warrant, Winger, Dokken and Sweet. Saturday, June 26. Blank Park Zoo.

** Tyvek, with So Cow, Wolves in the Attic. Sunday, June 27, Vaudeville Mews. I was just regaining consciousness after a nap when Tyvek opened for Love Is All here in April. So I wasn't at all prepared for the Detroit lo-fi rockers' high-energy assault, and I don't have anything smart to say about it. Apparently I missed new Des Noise faves Coyote Slingshot, too. But Tyvek sounded pretty good, and they're on respected label Siltbreeze, so they're a strong bet for your Sunday night. The band it really kills me I'll have to miss this weekend is Dublin's So Cow. They're here all the way from Ireland, and lead singer Brian Kelly writes the kind of clever, sweet, endearing songs I can imagine anyone in town loving-- the edges are a bit ragged, yeah, but in a ramshackle, you-can-do-this-too way rather than to repel the uncool. I reviewed So Cow's wonderful self-titled album here; see some really intelligent things my Pitchfork colleague Nitsuh Abebe says about them here. Wolves in the Attic are one of my favorite local bands (and were before, full disclosure, I got to know basically all the members); expect really loud, Sonic Youth-inspired indie rock. Anyway, So Cow are the closest thing for most of the summer to the surefire awesome of past Mews bookings like Love Is All, Japandroids, Jonathan Richman, Josh Ritter, Jens Lekman, etc., so I really recommend going if you can; I've seen them live before, and they're for real.

The Melvins. Sunday, June 27. House of Bricks. These avant-garde California metalheads are legendary in their circles.

Big Country Bash: Gretchen Wilson, Rodney Atkins, Jason Michael Carroll, Trailer Choir, Jerrod Niemann, Sarah Darling and Jason Brown. Sunday, June 27. Blank Park Zoo.

Why Make Clocks, with Pink Kodiak. Monday, June 28. Vaudeville Mews. Solid local lineup. I mentioned Why Make Clocks before here. I'd go if I were going to be around.

** Woodsman, with the Autumn Project, Maid Marian. Wednesday, June 30. Vaudeville Mews. Denver's Woodsman are warm, woozy, electro-psych instrumental band with releases on a couple of the more interesting labels these days, Lefse and Mexican Summer. The Autumn Project are a towering local instrumental post-rock group I haven't seen in a while; anybody who went to the Mono show here last month should check them out (full disclosure: I hear it might be baritone guitarist and bassist John Huffman's birthday?). Ames' own Maid Marian come highly recommended as well, and I'm looking forward to checking out the tape on Sweat Power (Coyote Slingshot)-- so far sounds a bit like Beach House: slow, keyboard-based, elegant female vocals.

Justin Bieber. Wednesday, June 30. Wells Fargo Arena.


July



Spoon: "Is Love Forever?" (Live on "Jimmy Kimmel")

** 80/35 Festival: Modest Mouse, Spoon, Yo La Tengo, Walkmen, the Cool Kids, Holly Golightly, Avi Buffalo, the Heavy, Earl Greyhound, Dawes, William Elliot Whitmore, Christopher the Conquered, Canby, Dar Williams, Slightly Stoopid, Railroad Earth, Particle, Family Groove Company, and more. Saturday, July 3-Sunday, July 4. Downtown Des Moines. (Full disclosure: I volunteered for the booking committee this year. But I don't think I really did anything that felt like work.)

** The Poison Control Center. Saturday, July 3-Sunday, July 4. Vaudeville Mews. (80/35 After Party.) I've said enough about how great these Ames indie rockers are. Check out a little bit of the praise here. (Full disclosure: I've gotten to know these guys, too. Curse all these friendly, nice Midwesterners foiling my attempts to maintain critical distance!)

Waxeater, with Golden Veins, NERV, the Seed of Something. Monday, July 5. Vaudeville Mews. I wrote about Golden Veins (ex-Beati Paoli) previously here.

Ingrid Michaelson. Thursday, July 8. Simon Estes Amphitheater. I don't know much about this New York singer/songwriter, except that she has played 80/35 and friends tell me she's good. Might be one to check out!

Hanwell, with So Much Fun. Saturday, July 10. Vaudeville Mews. Another solid local lineup.

Abstract Rude, with Musab (Sab the Artist), DJ Tramlife, Gaiden Gadema w/ Richie Daggers, Young Tripp. Sunday, July 11. Vaudeville Mews. I met Richie Daggers at the Vaud when he overheard me talking about Nicki Minaj. I was wondering what rap Des Moines residents who really like rap listen to. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm totally down with Aeon Grey and Maxilla Blue, but it always seems like they're billed as rap for people who don't usually listen to rap, you know? Daggers gave me the name of Young Tripp, making comparisons to Nas's Illmatic. So maybe this would be a good one to check out.

The Autumn Project, with Why Make Clocks, others. Friday, July 16. Vaudeville Mews. I'll be out of town; otherwise there would be stars next to this local show. See June 30.

Samantha Crain, with Canby. Sunday, July 18. Vaudeville Mews. Same as above. I've seen and enjoyed Canby, one of the best local indie rock groups, a number of times, and I've liked what I've heard from Oklahoma roots-rocker Crain. I keep thinking I particularly love a song from her that the dude from Bon Iver covered, but I just spent the last 20 minutes searching Google and my computer for any trace of such a thing and I must've dreamed it. Should be a good show, though.

** YellowFever, with the Land of Blood and Sunshine, Deep Sleep Waltzing, the Seed of Something. Monday, July 19. Vaudeville Mews. (Early show.) Austin's YellowFever play skewed guitar pop with 1960s-style melodies and alluringly aloof female vocals recalling post-punk groups like the Slits. With local groups, including Marshalltown's Land of Blood and Sunshine, whom I've seen a couple of times now and am still trying to figure otu. If I can still stand after a weekend at the Pitchfork festival, I'll definitely be at this.

** Candy Claws, with Maid Marian. Monday, July 19. Vaudeville Mews. (Late show.) This Fort Collins, Colo. duo are very much a part of whatever the heck we're calling "chillwave" these days. Right bros? I wrote about them here.

Old 97's. Thursday, July 22. Simon Estes Amphitheater.

** Devo. Saturday, July 24. Simon Estes Amphitheater. New-wave legends within walking distance vs. $50 ticket price. I'd like to be there, so we'll see. In the meantime, here's New York rap duo Das Racist icing these bros backstage at The Colbert Report.

** Black Mountain. Monday, July 26. Vaudeville Mews. Sludgy Canadian psych-rockers on Bloomington, Indiana's excellent Jagjaguwar label should please Led Zeppelin fans for blocks around.

** June Panic. Tuesday, July 27. Vaudeville Mews. North Dakota's June Panic is one of those guys who can't stop writing songs regardless of the recording quality, in the mold of Capstan Shafts, Guided By Voices, etc.

Poppets. Tuesday, July 27. Vaudeville Mews. This Swedish punk duo played here last summer, but I don't think I gave them a fair shake. It'd be cool to see them again.

The All-Girl Boys Choir, with Squidboy. Sunday, Aug. 1. Vaudeville Mews. Not too familiar with the All-Girl Boys Choir, but longtime local indie-rockers Squidboy are always worth stopping by the Vaude.

Electric Leaves, with Why Make Clocks. Tuesday, Aug. 3. Vaudeville Mews.

Jamey Johnson. Thursday, Aug. 5. Val Air Ballroom. Here's what I said about this country outlaw's performance at last summer's state fair.

** The Delta Mirror, with Golden Veins. Friday, Aug. 6. Vaudeville Mews. Here's what I wrote for Pitchfork about the Delta Mirror; for Golden Veins, see July 5.

Black Keys, with Morning Benders. Sunday, Aug. 8. Val Air Ballroom. Morning Benders played here not too long ago, but I'd be curious to see them again.

Rooney. Monday, Aug. 9. Vaudeville Mews.


Toro Y Moi: "Blessa"


** Phoenix, with Toro Y Moi. Tuesday, Aug. 10. 7 Flags Event Center. French band Phoenix had one of the best records of last year, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, and it still blows my mind that they'll be playing in Clive. I once overheard somebody around town saying they're kind of weird, but they're really not at all, except for occasionally fanciful lyrics-- you've heard these guys in car commercials for a reason. With Toro Y Moi, who have one of my favorite albums of this year. Here's what I wrote about them for SPIN.

Keith Urban. Friday, Aug. 13. Iowa State Fair.

The Battle Royale. Saturday, Aug. 14. Vaudeville Mews.

** Vanilla Ice, with Tone Loc. Sunday, Aug. 15. Iowa State Fair. Hey, it's free! And I probably still know more of the words to "Ice Ice Baby" than I'd like to admit.

Tegan and Sara. Tuesday, Aug. 17. Hoyt Sherman Place.

Pat Benatar, with REO Speedwagon. Tuesday, Aug. 17. Iowa State Fair.

Broken Spindles. Wednesday, Aug. 18. Vaudeville Mews.

Darius Rucker. Thursday, Aug. 19. Iowa State Fair.

Sugarland. Saturday, Aug. 21. Iowa State Fair.

Sheryl Crow. Sunday, Aug. 22. Iowa State Fair.

American Idol Live Tour. Tuesday, Aug. 31. Wells Fargo Arena.


September


Best Coast: "When I'm With You"

** Best Coast, with Male Bonding. Friday, Sept. 17. Grinnell College.


November (OK, not even arguably summer, but just looking ahead here)

Electric Six, with the Constellations, the Jitz. Tuesday, Nov. 2. Vaudeville Mews.


All right, what did I miss? See you out there.

THE FALLING LEAVES. THE FOAMING ALES. THE BELATED DES NOISE FALL CONCERT PREVIEW.

I barely managed to post my summer concert preview before it officially became summer and my list would've no longer been even technically on time. I've been hoping I could be at least that punctual with my fall concert preview, especially after seeing the Cityview and the Des Moines Register's Datebook fall entertainment guides pile up on my coffee table. This is my best effort.

Britney Spears on Sept. 11, I'm sorry I missed you.

(Hat tip to Tom Ewing for the title of this post. Thanks to Patrick and Ashley Tape Fleming for making the adjacent photo with the IOWA shaved-head fan guy happen... it was our dirty iPhone, not any shakiness by Ashley, that caused the blur. Mrs. Des Noise is cropped out, to protect the innocent. And the jobs thereof.)

SEPTEMBER

Friday, Sept. 18: Grace Basement @ Vaudeville Mews
Catchy, jangly St. Louis guitar-pop with reverence for '60s psych: "Today I made some hummus for you" (listen)

Saturday, Sept. 19: Silversun Pickups and Manchester Orchestra @ Hoyt Sherman
Two popular indie rock bands I've never seen live. L.A.'s Silversun Pickups go for taut rythms, Placebo-pinched vox, and post-"Popular" Nada Surf mellow anthemics, while Atlanta's Manchester Orchestra do the "grandiose 1990s alternative (slight keyboard)" thing. If I can convince Mrs. Des Noise, I'll go.

Sunday, Sept. 20: Laura Barrett @ Vaudeville Mews
My favorite moment for the kalimba, or thumb piano, so far is former Vaud-playing Swede Jens Lekman's cover of late Iowa native Arthur Russell's "A Little Lost". Expect Toronto's Barrett to play the instrument-- and maybe keyboard, kazoo, bass pedals, and "other percussion"-- when she brings her low-key, minimalist folk-pop to Des Moines. (listen)

Monday, Sept. 21: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band @ Wells Fargo Arena
The Boss returns to Des Moines for the first time since 2006, this time with his longtime accomplices. OK, I really like Nebraska, "The River", "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City", and probably plenty of other songs I'm blanking on right now-- I'm not a total Philistine!-- but I've always found "Born to Run" ridiculous, winced after Springsteen got a career boost out of 9/11 with The Rising, and I don't have $90 to shell out on tickets, so since I'm sitting this one out anyway I'm gonna have to side with Richard Meltzer, who compared Bruce's blend of 1950s nostalgia (Roy Orbison!) and 1960s nostalgia (Bob Dylan!) to another 1970s phenomenon: the Fonz. This view is probably the real reason I could no longer live in the mid-Atlantic states.

Monday, Sept. 21: Trivium @ People's
Three years ago, friend of Des Noise Tom Breihan called Trivium "the Jackson 5 of Underground Metal." I'm not one of those indie rock guys who nurtures a pet metal obsession; the only aggressive bones I have in my body are passive. But still.

Monday, Sept. 21: The Chambermaids @ Vaudeville Mews
Pedal-pushing Minneapolis power trio (their MySpace bio invokes shoegazers My Bloody Valentine, art-punks Wire, the Auckland Sound of New Zealand's Flying Nun, and the heady foreboding of 4AD) gets Down in the Berries. (listen)

Wednesday, Sept. 23: (early show) Good Old War @ Vaudeville Mews
My God, Fleet Foxes already have their own Thorns. At least that's what I thought when I first heard this band, a splinter project of Philadelphia indie-rockers Days Away, but it was only a live acoustic track. The full-band material is more textured and forceful; my RSS reader suggests these guys, like Jersey's Gaslight Anthem, are affiliated with the punk world despite their easygoing folk-rock sound. (listen)

(late show) Yourself and the Air @ Vaudeville Mews
"I don't know why but I feel so strange," these shimmery Chicago indie-rockers murmur plaintively on "So You've Come to Mingle", a buzzing, chiming, handclapping, whoa-oh-ohing stop-starter from their record Friend of All Breeds. "I don't know why but I feel like a mess... with you." I've only heard a couple of tracks, as with most of the up-and-coming groups playing at the Mews this month, but I could totally see myself bouncing around and making a mess of myself to this energetic, emotive stuff. (listen)

Thursday, Sept. 24: The Love Language @ Vaudeville Mews
Red-lining North Carolina indie band rocks nostalgic for Western swing, Buddy Holly, and a girl named Mary Lou who stole their heart. Says Ladd: "I really, really love this band!" Consider me there. (listen) Also: Saddle Creek-signed Toronto indie-folkers the Rural Albert Advantage (listen)

Friday, Sept. 25: Dave Matthews Band @ Principal Park
I understand Dave Matthews fandom. I heard about the band from an older cousin in 8th grade. When I moved to Nashville a year later and everyone was freaking out about some Hootie and the Blowfish band, DMB was common ground. They were even my first concert, in Phoenix in 10th grade. I still have some of the bootlegs. And I find this video hilarious. Everybody who goes will have a good time! I get it, and I think there's something good to be said for it, but I don't think anybody wants to read my take on it.

Friday, Sept. 25: The Shirelles, the Crystals, the Chantels @ Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino
What are the chances these are the people who actually sang on the records?

Saturday, Sept. 26: Dogtown Fest
The Register's Sophia Ahmad has the lineup (I've only see Beati Paoli; curious about the others):

• Main stage at 23rd and University Street — 4:20 p.m. – Finn Miles, 5:30 p.m. – Menlo, 6:30 p.m. – Beati Paoli, 8 p.m. – Maxilla Blue, 9:30 p.m. – Cashes Rivers
• Acoustic stage at Mars Cafe, 2318 University Ave. — 6:15 p.m. – James Biehn, 7:30 p.m. – Seedlings, 9 p.m. – Curry & Red

Saturday, Sept. 26: The Airborne Toxic Event @ People's
Earlier this year, I wrote: "When I read the Don Delillo book from which this band got their name, I thought it was overrated, the sort of thing a celebrity might say is great just to feel smart-- the postmodern Old Man and the Sea. OK, I was still just a freshman in college. There's a very good chance I was wrong."

Monday, Sept. 28: Mark Mallman @ Vaudeville Mews
Minneapolis piano-rocker with grandiose guitar touches befitting Wells Fargo Arena performers Trans-Siberian Orchestra toes up to the Weird Al irony line. (listen) (Star Tribune profile)

Tuesday, Sept. 29: The Rosewood Thieves @ Vaudeville Mews
Rootsy recent Hold Steady openers have the double-track vocals, syllable-stretching tunes, and melancholy guitar arrangements to earn comparisons to Elliott Smith or Earlimart, if not quite John Lennon. The folk and country tinges also align the New York band with the likes of Blitzen Trapper, Fleet Foxes, or Whiskeytown. (listen) with Portland's slightly folksier rock howlers the Dead Trees (listen)

Wednesday, Sept. 30: Wovenhand @ Vaudeville Mews
Former frontman for Denver alt-country band 16 Horsepower gets heavy and Nick Cave ominous in support of last year's Ten Stones. (listen)

Thursday, Oct. 1: Wilco at University of Iowa Memorial Union, Iowa City
Wilco (The Des Noise fall concert preview item).

Thursday, Oct. 8: Owl City @ House of Bricks
Mrs. Des Noise has already instantly denounced this EXTREMELY Postal Service-like band's "Fireflies" as more or less a crime against humanity. So I may be in the minority here. But I like the Postal Service! I like the idea of a band revisiting the Postal Service/Discovery sissy electro-pop sound and translating it for a mainstream radio audience! I like "Fireflies"! And I hope to like Owl City live.

Friday, Oct. 9: Miley Cyrus @ Wells Fargo Arena
Miley's "Party in the U.S.A.", like Kylie's much better "Can't Get You Outta My Head" before it, sounds like a pop hit with both mass audiences and critics in mind. I don't know that I'd believe the KISS FM DJ I heard saying he saw a trucker blasting the Hannah Montana star's current hit with the windows down, but I do know that it's a fascinating song to talk about. Meta to the max, it's already been called "the first Michael Jackson tribute record," and it prompted Mrs. Des Noise to ask whether she's getting paid for all those endorsements: KISS FM, Britney, Jay-Z. The only people the Top 40 really matters to, though, in terms of IRL social impact, are teenagers and preteens, and I sort of hate how endorsing this song would suggest you're endorsing the conformity that makes Miley's tummy feel better. Hey young girls: Don't like KISS FM or Britney, let alone that sweet feminist Jay? You don't get invited to the party! I won't be showing up, either, but I am morbidly curious.

Friday, Oct. 9: Lamb of God, Gwar @ Val Air Ballroom
Yeah, so I probably won't go to this. I know that some of my friends probably would. Metal! And joke-metal! And unfair jokes about metal that write themselves, thereby perpetuating metal's embrace by indie kids who maybe used to joke about metal!

Friday, Oct. 9: Yo La Tengo @ the Slowdown, Omaha
I will, in fact, be heading to Nebraska to see Hoboken's post-Sinatra finest this night. New album Popular Songs is their second straight triumph after 2003's uncharacteristically middling Summer Sun. I wrote something about their song "Our Way to Fall" for one of Pitchfork's best-of-the-decade lists: here.

Saturday, Oct. 10: AC/DC @ Wells Fargo Arena
Totally worth $90, says aforementioned friend of Des Noise Tom Breihan, who wrote up the classic kilt-rockers' 2008 Madison Square Garden gig for the Village Voice. Almost certainly true, but anybody wanna get me on the guest list?

Wednesday, Oct. 14: Dethklok, Mastodon, High on Fire, Converge @ Val Air Ballroom
Finally! A metal show I really want to see!

Wednesday, Oct. 28: The Veronicas @ the M Shop, Ames
I'd still be curious to see this Avril-like band some time.

Thursday, Oct. 29: Matisyahu @ People's
Everyone's favorite Hasidic reggae-rapper from this year's 80/35 festival makes his autumnal return.

Sunday, Nov. 1: New Found Glory @ People's
Whoa, these pop-punks are still around? That one guy looks kinda like Morrissey with a skunk hair-stripe.

Sunday, Nov. 22: Minus the Bear @ People's
Mathy Seattle indie rockers.

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH... SAM SUMMERS

Sam Summers, of concert promoter First Fleet Concerts, shares some thoughts about what he sees going on musically here in Des Moines. (Neither of us are really fans of the word "scene.") Where he used to compare turnout against Boise or Madison, now the benchmark targets are Minneapolis or Kansas City. He digs not only Ames/DSM overseas sensations the Envy Corps, but also Wolves in the Attic, who I saw play a little while ago. And I curse myself for missing Gogol Bordello... even to see an I-Cubs game. (I'm hoping to check out Silversun Pickups on Sept. 19, also maybe Atmosphere next Tuesday.)

Sorry I've been quieter lately, keeping busy with writing and getting settled and stuff, I guess. Sounds like there are some great things going on over at Des Moines Social Club these days, from a short film screening of local screenwriter Ben Godar's short film Fatherland last night to a Readymade issue release/launch party (the do-it-yourself magazine recently relocated to Des Moines from Berkeley) on Wednesday night. I may hear a Grain Belt calling. Oh, and the 515 Alive Urban Music & Arts Festival hits the East Village this weekend-- I want to check this out, too. [Previous Five Questions: Derek Lambert, Amedeo Rossi, Patrick Tape Fleming, Ladd Askland]

1. I've never been to People's Court... what should I expect?

SS: People’s Court is really Des Moines’ first “venue”. On the small club level you can afford to have “indie”, “metal” and “rock” bars but when you start getting to the mid-sized to large-sized venues your programming really has to feed all the people. People’s is conducive to all genres. No one is going to feel out of place when going to People’s.

2. More generally, what's the Des Moines music scene like?

SS: The music scene here is greater than ever before. I look at it in terms of numbers. When I started doing shows I would base the success of any given show based on how the show did compared to places like Boise, ID or Madison, WI. Now my bar has been raised to.. “how did this show do in Des Moines vs. how it did in Minneapolis or Kansas City”. The great attendances have really made me take chances on things like Gogol Bordello or MGMT or The Kooks. Things I never would have thought about booking when I started. As a whole the good attendances are still heavily influenced by what is played on the radio. Des Moines should look to online music outlets as an alternative so I can start [to] bring more bands I like ;)

3. What shows are you most looking forward to this summer?

SS: shit… my favorite show of the summer was Gogol Bordello. You really get your money’s worth on Gogol shows. No bathroom or bar breaks. You have to make sure you catch their whole set. Pretty pumped for Silversun Pickups this fall.

4. Any local bands we should be watching?

SS: I would have to say The Envy Corps. Their hugely energetic set at 80/35 just reminded me why I back this band so much. Wolves in the Attic are great too. I was able to get them on my Faint show last year and I feel like they went over really well. Outside of Des Moines... will whitmore and old panther are a couple of my favs.

5. What would you change or improve about what's going on musically in Des Moines?

SS: I feel like with a lot of bands locally they are trying to create music that they think they are supposed to be making. There are very few bands that I feel have a natural sound. Poison Control Center is really one of the only bands that I get a “real” vibe from. Their energy and passion is so natural. I would love to see more bands writing music that is less predictable and more from the heart.
EDIT: P.S. Don't let me forget, free Why Make Clocks CD release party at Vaudeville Mews on Aug. 14. Sorry to the nice guy who e-mailed me from locals Hanwell for sleeping on their show at House of Bricks the other day-- next time, I hope. Oh, and I also happened to correspond with (I think-- Googled the name) a member of Iowa band the Postulates (a clever Newton pun?).