Little Village Central Iowa Issue 10: Reader-Submitted Photo Issue

Little Village (ISSN 2328-3351) is an independent, community-supported news and culture publication based in Iowa City, published monthly by Little Village, LLC, 623 S Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Through journalism, essays and events, we work to improve our community according to core values: environmental sustainability, affordability and access, economic and labor justice, racial justice, gender equity, quality healthcare, quality education and critical culture. Letters to the editor(s) are always welcome. We reserve the right to fact check and edit for length and clarity. Please send letters, comments or corrections to editor@littlevillagemag.com. Subscriptions: lv@littlevillagemag.com. The US annual subscription price is $120. All rights reserved, reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. If you would like to reprint or collaborate on new content, reach us at lv@littlevillagemag.com. To browse back issues, visit us online at issuu.com/littlevillage.

Sara neppl, Outdoor Pair

EDITORIAL

Publisher arts Editor

Genevieve Trainor genevieve@littlevillagemag.com

Managing Editor

Emma McClatchey emma@littlevillagemag.com

news Director Paul Brennan paul@littlevillagemag.com

art Director Jordan Sellergren jordan@littlevillagemag.com

Multimedia Journalist Adria Carpenter adria@littlevillagemag.com

Events Editor, Design assistant Sid Peterson sid@littlevillagemag.com

Staff Writers

Courtney Guein courtney@littlevillagemag.com

Lily DeTaeye lily@littlevillagemag.com

Social Media Manager Kim Bates kim@littlevillagemag.com

Spanish Language Editor Spenser Santos

Calendar/Event Listings calendar@littlevillagemag.com

Corrections editor@littlevillagemag.com

January Contributors

Amy Nolan, Britt Fowler, Cameron Johnson, Cat Dooley, Chad Rhym, Chase Schweitzer, Elly Hoffmaier, Endrit Ramku, Ethan Ellis, Gigi Vanderpool, Jack Howard, Jane Kirsch, John Moyers, John Rummelhart, Kate Kasten, Kent Williams, Kristel Saxton, Lary Belman, Lauren Haldeman, Madeline

INDEPENDENT NEWS, CULTURE & EVENTS

Since 2001 LittleVillageMag.com

Hart, Mary Palmberg, Matthieu Bigger, Michelle Sharp, Paras Bassuk, Peter Rodd, Phil Ochs, Quiara Vasquez, Ric Pier, Sam Locke Ward, Sara Neppl, Sarah Elgatian, Steve Sovern, Tate Hildyard, Tyler Erickson

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook @LittleVillageMag Instagram @LittleVillageMag Twitter @LittleVillage

PRODUCTION

Digital Director Drew Bulman drewb@littlevillagemag.com

Marketing analytics Coordinator Malcolm MacDougall malcolm@littlevillagemag.com

SALES & ADMINISTRATION

President, Little Village, LLC Matthew Steele matt@littlevillagemag.com

advertising Matthew Steele ads@littlevillagemag.com

Creative Services Website design, Email marketing, E-commerce, Videography creative@littlevillagemag.com

CIRCULATION

Distribution Manager

Joseph Servey joseph@littlevillagemag.com

Distribution

Bill Rogers, Ellen Keplinger, Ethan Edvanson, Huxley Maxwell, Justin Comer, Sam Standish distro@littlevillagemag.com

OFFICES

Little Village 623 S Dubuque St Iowa City, IA 52240

Little Village Creative Services 623 S Dubuque St Iowa City, IA 52240 319-855-1474

Meet this month’s contributors:

amy nolan, pg. 15

Britt Fowler, pgs. 1, 18, 22, 23

Cameron Johnson, pgs. 19, 24 Cat Dooley, pg. 15, 25

Chad rhym, pgs. 16, 20

Elly Hoffmaier, pgs. 24, 25

Endrit ramku, pg. 21 Ethan Ellis, pg. 20 Jane Kirsch, pg. 23 John Moyers, pgs. 22, 23

John rummelhart, pg. 18

Kate Kasten, pg. 18 Kristel Saxton, pg. 21

Lary Belman, pg. 19

Madeline Hart, pgs. 16, 18, 21 Mary Palmberg, pgs. 16, 21 Matthieu Biger, pgs. 20, 22, 19 Michelle Sharp, pg. 21 Paras Bassuk, pg. 17 Peter rodd, pg. 19 Phil Ochs, pg. 18 ric Pier, pgs. 17, 25 Sara neppl, pgs. 3, 18 Steve Sovern, pg. 22 Tate Hildyard, pg. 24 Tyler Erickson, pg. 20

Issue 10 , Volume 1 January 2022

Cover by Britt Fowler

Iowa State Fair

Fluffy clouds, baby birds, fields mid-plow, ill-placed toilets, electric crowds, captivating portraits—browse dozens of photos submitted by fellow villagers. Plus: Eight reviews of Iowan-made music and literature.

Chase Schweitzer is a Des Moines native/artist/producer and cocreator of the Iowa music podcast, Pretty Fort.

Gigi Vanderpool is a musician, student, Francophile, and corgi mama. She lives in Des Moines with her husband and two pups.

Jack Howard is a DJ, producer, occasional journalist, and lover of learning from Des Moines, Iowa, currently based in New York City.

Kent Williams lives, works, writes and complains in Iowa City.

Sarah Elgatian is a writer, activist and educator living in Iowa. She likes dark coffee, bright colors and long sentences. She dislikes meanness.

Send us a pitch!

You could see your bio here.

Culture writers, food reviewers and columnists, email: editor@littlevillagemag.com

Illustrators, photographers and comic artists, email: jordan@littlevillagemag.com

Top Stories of 2022

Catch up on Little Village’s most-viewed headlines from last year. Read more at LittleVillageMag.com.

‘a loaded gun in every aisle’: Hy-Vee is introducing a new retail security team

By adria Carpenter, Jan. 4, 2022

The shoulder patches say, “A Helpful Smile in Every Aisle,” but the police-style uniforms, complete with belts with holstered taser and possibly handguns, may send a very different message as Hy-Vee deploys a new retail security team in its stores. The program will roll out throughout 2022, but security teams are already present in some stores.

By the time its final section opened to traffic in late 1968, I-235 was already part of the fabric of Des Moines. Cutting across the city and running just north of downtown, it’s the most traveled roadway in Iowa. But its devastating impact on a community of color was largely ignored at the time, and for decades after.

July 28, 2022

Jim Leach, who represented Johnson County and much of southeastern Iowa in Congress for 30 years as a Republican, changed his party registration to Democrat ahead of the June 7 primary, the Quad City Times reported on Wednesday. “The Republican Party has just torn itself apart, and it’s got to pull itself together. I’ll lean toward the Democratic Party as long as excellent people are running.”

Forty years after the Johnny Gosch disappearance, fear continues to fuel conspiracy theories in Iowa and beyond

By Emma McClatchey, Sept. 7, 2022

Amid the new 24-hour news cycle of the ’80s, fear of child abduction coalesced into a moral panic nationwide. In central Iowa, the unsolved abductions of three paperboys, in particular 12-year-old Johnny Gosch, bred paranoia, misinformation and interstate conspiracy theories that have only multiplied over the decades.

Before I-235, Des Moines’ Center Street district was a bastion of Black commerce and culture

By Paul Brennan and Courtney Guein, april 8, 2022

Former rep. Jim Leach breaks with the republican Party, endorses Bohannan for House and Franken for Senate

By Paul Brennan,

THANK YOU TO THIS ISSUE’S ADVERTISING PARTNERS

Adamantine Spine Moving (35)

Bravo Greater Des Moines (44) Broadlawns (31)

Campbell’s Nutrition (8)

Catch Des Moines (30)

Christopher’s Fine Jewelry (28)

Curate (47)

Des Moines Art Center (11)

Des Moines Metro Opera (13)

Des Moines Performing Arts (14)

Des Moines Playhouse (4)

Des Moines Symphony (44)

Full Court Press (2)

Grinnell College Museum of Art (33)

Gruebel Legal Services (35) House of Glass (10)

Independent Historic East Village (36-37)

- Des Moines Botanical Garden - Wooly’s - Raygun

- The Breakfast Club Independent Highland Park/Oak Park Neighborhood (30-31)

- Ananda

- Bill’s Window and Screen Repair

- The Collective

- The Slow Down

Iowa City Downtown District (11) Iowa Department of Public Health (40)

Iowa Environmental Council (44)

Iowa Public Radio (35)

Mainframe Studios (7)

Nearwood Winery (34)

Noce Jazz & Cabaret (33)

Oasis Street Food (7)

Orchestrate Hospitality (42)

Primary Health Care (32) Science Center of Iowa (33)

Sierra Club (48)

The James (13)

Think Iowa City (46)

University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art (29)

Varsity Cinema (10) xBk (26)

recent Eastern Iowa reader Survey Data 25,000—40,000 per issue

LittleVillageMag.com readership 200,000 monthly article views 74,000 unique monthly visitors

rECEnT rEaDEr SurVEy DaTa

MEDIan aGE: 37 18-24: 14% 25-34: 20% 35-44: 21% 45-54: 17% 55-64: 14% 65+: 10%

aVEraGE nuMBEr OF CHILDrEn 1.85

MEDIan PErSOnaL

InCOME: $50k $40k—60k: 23.4% $60k—80k: 20.9% $100k+: 15.8% $20k—40k: 12% <$20k: 15.8% $80k—$100k: 12%

GEnDEr Female: 49.25 Male: 47.25 Nonbinary/other: 2.5%

EDuCaTIOn Masters: 35.8% Bachelors: 38.5% Ph.D: 12.3% Some college: 7.8% Associates: 4.5%

Join Little Village’s family of advertisers and start making a strong, personal connection with the local community today. request a media kit:

This issue of Little Village is supported by: ads@LittleVillageMag.com (319) 855-1474

Interactions

LV encourages community members, including candidates for office, to submit letters to Editor@LittleVillageMag.com. To be considered for print publication, letters should be under 500 words. Preference is given to letters that have not been published elsewhere.

after 37 years, Bob Dorr will end his IPr rock history show ‘Backtracks’ this month (Dec. 12)

Best wishes for your future endeavors Bob! I enjoyed your gifts for many years in many different parts of Iowa thanks to KUNI’s FM broadcast reach. —Thomas S.

I’ve been a long time fan and have enjoyed the years of listening, dancing, and the adventures of going to listen to you and your bands play. Congratulations on your retirement —Kelly L.

Bob Dorr got me through my pizza-delivering job in my college days. I didn’t have a CD player/ipod and there certainly was no spotify. I continue to enjoy his shows

today! What a treasure. Best wishes and thanks for the great times, Bob! —Wig W.

Thank you for this cool article! —Bob Dorr

Des Moines’ historic Varsity Cinema reopening after four-year, $5 million renovation project (Dec. 14)

Here’s to Des Moines finally having an independent movie theater and not just a mall multiplex with a surprisingly good selection of foreign films! —Emily H.

The grand opening was wonderful! Lawrence J.

Former UI President Sandy Boyd, who left an indelible mark on the university, has

HAVE AN OPINION?

died at age 95 (Dec. 14)

Sandy Boyd’s wise decision during the height of 1970 protest at UI that followed the Kent State deaths has been arguably credited with having prevented that happening here. Stellar leadership. —Julie V.

Iowan Doug Jensen sentenced to five years in prison for ‘leading role’ in Jan. 6 insurrection (Dec. 16)

He wasn’t a leader…he was a follower. The real leader has yet to be charged. Hopefully will be soon. —Craig A.

Damn besides the prison sentence that’s only 1/5 of the cost of a DUI. Not that DUI’s are in any way good, but I just fail to understand the metrics and logic behind fines for offenses. —Wesley B.

Never thought I’d see LV lauding the incarceration of any person, yet here we are… —Tim T.

INTERACTIONS

John

Never thought we would see an insurrectionist attempt to over throw democracy, either. —Lisita

Imagine trying to forcefully overthrow democracy. Good riddance.

Corey R.

Use of the UI food pantry is up, with international students disproportionately relying on the support (Dec. 14)

While no one should be ashamed of using the food pantry, this is entirely the fault of @uiowa admin and the @IowaBoard. International students and grad workers deserve better! No more poverty wages! End the fees and give us a real raise now!

COGS/UE Local 896 on Twitter

WORTH REPEATING

“People, not structures, make great universities. I look around and when I close my eyes, I don’t see buildings. I see the people who’ve been going through this university over time.”

—Former University of Iowa president Willard “Sandy” Boyd in a 2015 interview.

Boyd passed away on Dec. 13, 2022 at the age of 95.

“There are multiple different things that we’ve been trying to get done to restore freedoms in Iowa, and we’ve not been able to get across the finish line on some of those things. I’m not at a point right now where I’m going to discuss publicly what all those items are, but you can expect us after this victory to come back, revisit some of those issues and restore freedoms to Iowans that never should have been taken away.” —House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl, addressing reporters in vague terms after a ceremony marking the addition of “strict scrutiny” firearm protections to the Iowa Constitution

“The amount of financial burden on grad students is really significant. It’s kind of crazy. At the beginning of the week, [the University of Iowa Food Pantry is] fully stocked, and then by our last shift—our first shift is Tuesday evening and last shift is Thursday—it’s just completely empty. It doesn’t matter what foods are stocked. They just tend to be emptied.” —Stephanie Beecher, basic needs coordinator in the UI Office of the Dean of Students, on rising costs

“We do not accept or sell books by J. K. Rowling. She aggressively and personally pursues individuals who disagree with her, or who interpret her work in ways she doesn’t like. We cannot share books with children when we cannot trust the author not to attack them.” —The Haunted Bookshop (@BookshopGhost) in a Dec. 18 tweet after Rowling’s latest statements attacking trans people. The tweet went viral, and shortly after, the Iowa City business made their Twitter account private.

FREE

IOWA CITY DISTRICT DOWNTOWN

PHOTO: STEVE HALL

Courtesy of the University of Iowa

AT THE CIVIC CENTER

3-SPEAKER SEASON TICKET PACKAGE STARTS AT $50

JANUARY 31, 2023

Rae Wynn-Grant is dedicated to wildlife ecology research, but it wasn’t until life brought her to Kenya at age 20 that she had ever taken a hike, pitched a tent to camp, or seen a wild animal. While there, she studied East African lions—top carnivores that live in close quarters with local communities—and observed that problematic interactions between the two groups threatened conservation efforts. Now, Dr. Wynn-Grant is finding similar patterns for North American black and grizzly bears.

MARCH 21, 2023

Maureen Beck loves to prove people wrong. Born with one hand, she tried rock climbing for the first time after a camp counselor told her she could skip it. Her love of the sport was instantaneous, but there was no guide for climbing with one hand. Unfazed, she decided to figure it out for herself through trial and error—one of her early adaptive climbing innovations even involved taping a metal ladle to her arm. Before long she was leading a crew of passionate adaptive climbers around the world, forging a path for a new generation.

APRIL 30, 2023

In photographer Anand Varma’s hands, a camera is not just a tool to capture what he sees—it’s a way to illuminate the layers of beauty and complexity that are otherwise hidden from our naked eye. He has devoted years of his life to developing innovative techniques—even building some of his own equipment—to create intimate, dramatic, and surprising images of nature. His ultimate goal: to spark a sense of wonder about our world.

Welcome to

2023

ReaderSubmitted Photo Issue

Photos have not been cropped, edited or changed. Submitted captions have been edited for style, length and clarity.

Little Village’s

Cat Dooley, LG Kanioka

CLOCKWISE FrOM TOP LEFT: Madeline Hart, Gazing; amy nolan; Mary Palmberg, Five Seasons Ski Team; Paras Bassuk, A Take on American Gothic; ric Pier, Morning on the Mississippi; Chad rhym; Kristel Saxton, Tag Team

CLOCKWISE FrOM

TOP LEFT: Phil Ochs; Madeline Hart, Passing Moments; Cameron Johnson, Guttenberg; Peter rodd, Gothic Surveillance; Lary Belman, Gray Catbirds; Matthieu Biger, Gabe’s; Sara neppl, Square; Britt Fowler, Iowa State Capitol; Kate Kasten, Beetle on Okra; John rummelhart

CLOCKWISE FrOM TOP LEFT: Sid Peterson; Tyler Erickson; Endrit ramku; Madeline Hart, Light up the Night; Kristel Saxton, Ready For Harvest, Her First Morels; Michelle Sharp; Chad rhym; Matthieu Biger, Englert in Greenery; Chad rhym

CLOCKWISE

FrOM TOP

LEFT: John Moyers, South End Zone; Ethan Ellis; John Moyers, Climbing Wall; Britt Fowler, Downtown Des Moines; Jane Kirsch, West Side of Iowa River; Britt Fowler, Travelers Sign Des Moines; Mary Palmberg, Overcrowded Housing; Matthieu Biger, George’s; Steve Sovern, House on Hwy 30

CLOCKWISE FrOM TOP

LEFT: Elly Hoffmaier, Gigglebug; Sid Peterson, 80/35; Elly Hoffmaier, Alyx Rush; Cat Dooley; Sid Peterson, Flea Market; ric Pier, Neo Noir Iowa City; Ethan Ellis; Tate Hildyard; Cameron Johnson, Vincent

EVENTS: JANuAry

JANUARY 2023

Planning an event? Submit event info to calendar@littlevillagemag. com. Include event name, date, time, venue, street address, admission price and a brief description (no all-caps, exclamation points or advertising verbiage, please). To find more events, visit littlevillagemag.com/calendar. Please check venue listing in case details have changed.

Botany Book Club, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, Monday, Jan. 30 at 5:30

$8-48

p.m.,

The Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden and Raccoon River Press are starting a new plant-themed book club that will run from January to June in 2023. On the last Monday of each month, participants will gather at the Garden to discuss a new botanical book. The first book on the reading schedule is Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer and participants can receive 15 percent off by purchasing books from Raccoon River Press. A single book club session is $8 for members, $12 for non-members, or a season pass is $32 for members and $48 for non-members.

Literary Luxuries

Thursday, Jan. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Reading on the Margins, Franklin Ave Library, Des Moines, Free

Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 6:30 p.m. Meet the Author: Robert Nandell, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, Free

Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. Best of 2022: Book Chat’s Favorite Reads of the Year, Franklin Avenue Library, Free w/registration

Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 6 p.m. Books That Will Change Your Life: A Nonfiction Book Club, Central Library, Des Moines, Free w/registration

Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. Author Spotlight: Stephen Markley, Central Library, Free

Laura Peek, Teehee’s Comedy Club, Des Moines, Friday and

Saturday, Jan. 6 and 7, $15-20 Teehee’s first headlining show of the year features Nashville native Laura Peek; a stand-up comedian currently living in Los Angeles. Recently featured as a “New Face” at Montreal’s “Just For Laughs Festival,” Peek is hailed for her “sharp wit.” Peek will be performing two shows at Teehee’s Comedy Club on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. and on Jan. 7 at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $15-20 and are open to all ages.

Indulge: A Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate Affair, West

End Architectural

Salvage,

Des Moines, Friday and Saturday, Jan. 26-27 at 6 p.m., $55 The holidays may be over, but Des Moines is still indulging. On Jan. 26 and 27, West End Architectural Salvage is hosting Indulge: A Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate Affair at their gallery on 9th Street. Ticket prices include: a commemorative wine glass, artisan cheeses and chocolates, craft cocktails, wines from around the world, live music and a chance to explore all that Architectural Salvage has to offer. This event will feature performances by Mike Aceto on Friday night and Jenna Huston on Saturday night. Tickets are $55. This is a 21+ event.

Community Connections

Saturday, Jan. 7 at 12 p.m. Confluence Chili Cook-Off, Confluence Brewing Company, Des Moines, Free will donations

Monday, Jan. 16 at 4 p.m. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Observance w/Jacquie Easley McGhee, Forest Avenue Library, Des Moines, Free

Theatrical Thrills

Opening Friday, Jan. 6 Go, Dog. Go! Des Moines Community Playhouse, $14-19

Friday and Saturday, Jan. 6 and 7 Mike Recine: Stand Up Comedy, Teehee’s Comedy Club, Des Moines, $15-20

Friday-Sunday, Jan. 6-8 Cats, Des Moines Civic Center, $40-125

Saturday, Jan. 7 at 6 p.m. Broadway Karaoke, Tallgrass Theatre Co., West Des Moines, Free

Friday, Jan. 13 at 9:30 p.m. Alien Head Emoji: Improv Comedy Show, Teehee’s Comedy Club, $15-20

Friday, Jan. 20 at 8 p.m. No Sleep: Stand Up Comedy, Wooly’s, Des Moines, $20

Saturday, Jan. 21 at 11 a.m. Collision of Rhythm, Des Moines Civic Center, $12-25

Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. Dan St. Germain: Stand Up Comedy, Teehee’s Comedy Club, $15-20

Opening Tuesday, Jan. 31

Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation, Temple Theater, Des Moines, $20-48

FIND MORE EVENTS

Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. Game Night, Bellhop, Des Moines, Free

Sunday, Jan. 22 at 1 p.m. Conversation with w/Jeff Fleming, Des Moines Art Center, Free

Friday, Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m. Botanical Trivia, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, Free-$10

via West End Architectural Salvage

Friday, Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m. Sweet and Savory Pajama Party, Jasper Winery, Des Moines, $50

Saturday, Jan. 28 at 11 a.m. Winter Wonderland, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, $7-12

Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. Miss Gay Iowa USofA, Temple Theater, Des Moines, $26.50

Monday, Jan. 30 at 5 p.m. Yes, You Can Knit! Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines, $25

Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. Secret Life of Bears, Des Moines Civic Center, $15-48

Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 9 a.m. Free Legal Clinic for DMPS (parents, students, families), East High School, Des Moines, Free

Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m. Prism Tabletop Club LGBTQIA+ Game Night, The Slow Down Coffee Co., Des Moines, Free

FIND MORE EVENTS

DMMC DSM Soundcheck, xBk Live, Des Moines, Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7

p.m., $5-

10

in January. The series

all-ages music venue, xBk Live. The first show of 2023 will feature Lost Souls Found, Riley Jane, and 28 Days Later, a Des Moines rock band that made their first appearance on the Emerging Artist stage at 80/35 in the summer of 2022. Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 day of show.

Musical Marvels

Friday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. Jason Danielson & Co, Noce, Des Moines, $15-45

Friday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. Destrophy w/Widow7, xBk Live, Des Moines, $15

Saturday, Jan. 7 at 5 p.m. Joint Pain w/MORE CHEESE & National Treasures, Lefty’s Live Music, Des Moines, $10

Saturday, Jan 7 at 8 p.m. The Listening Room w/Chad Elliott, Noce, $15-45

Sunday, Jan. 8 at 3 p.m. Local Music Showcase, Teehee’s Comedy Club, Des Moines, Free

Sundays, Jan. 8, 15, 22, 29 Botanical Blues, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, Free-$10

The Des Moines Music Coalition’s DSM Soundcheck concert series kicks off another season

features local emerging artists under the age of 21 at Des Moines’s premiere

28 Day Later, Natalie Gaydar via 80/35

Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. Clarisse, Non-Zero, Bodiah, the LiFT, Des Moines, Pay-What-YouCan

Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. Slaughter Creek, BountyTX, Lefty’s Live Music, $15

Friday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. Danielle Nicole, xBk Live, $25-30

Friday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. Arch Allies, Wooly’s, Des Moines, $20

Friday, Jan. 13 at 9 p.m. Wave Cage, Hot Kunch, Allegra Hernandez, Gas Lamp, Des Moines, $10

Saturday, Jan. 14 at 5 p.m. Four Stars, The Fitness Gram Pacers, On Hiatus, JANA, Lefty’s Live Music, $15

Saturday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. Aviana Gedler & Co, Noce, $15-45

Saturday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Americature, Night Bees, Gas Lamp, $10

Saturday, Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. Purse Noise w/Fly Life UVT, HouseFire, TCfrmhonorroll, ANTILUV, Kahiii, IMMA & Cursed Existence, Wooly’s, $1215

Sunday, Jan. 15 at 5 p.m. A Benefit Cabaret for City Voices w/Napoleon M Douglas, Noce, $20-60

Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. Casey Donahew, Wooly’s, $25

Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. SOMI, Temple Theater, Des Moines, $20-45

EDITORS’ PICKS: JANUARY

Thursday, Jan. 19 at 8 p.m. The Astronomers, xBk Live, $13-15

Saturday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m. Good Morning Bedlam and Andrew Hoyt, Gas Lamp, $15-18

Saturday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. King Pari, xBk Live, $12-17

Saturday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. An Evening w/ Dionne Warwick, Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines, $75-250

Sunday, Jan. 22 at 3 p.m. Bloody Marys and Blues w/Avey Grouws Trio, xBk Live, $10-15

Thursday, Jan. 26 at 9 p.m. Sicaria Sound, PLATFORM, Des Moines, $15-20

Friday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. A Tribute to Billy Joel & Elton John, Wooly’s, $20-25

Friday, Jan. 27 at 9 p.m. MoonShroom w/Dead Line String Band, Gas Lamp, $15

Friday-Saturday, Jan. 27-28 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert, Des Moines Civic Center, $35-126

Saturday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. Drowning Life Farewell Show, Boggs’ Hull Avenue Tavern, Des Moines, Free

Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. Chris Falcon & The Spacetime Continuum and Jenny Kohls Band, Gas Lamp, $15

Saturday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. King Bartlett, xBk Live, $10-15

Saturday, Jan. 28 at 8:30 p.m. The Prince Experience, Wooly’s, $20-25

CITYVILLE

580 SW 9th Street, Ste 100 • Des Moines, IA 50309 Monday through Friday 7am - 7pm; Saturday & Sunday 8am - 2pm

EAST UNIVERSITY 2508 E. University Avenue • Des Moines, IA 50317 Monday through Friday 7am - 7pm; Saturday & Sunday 8am - 2pm

MAIN CAMPUS 1801 Hickman Road • Des Moines, IA 50314 Monday through Friday 8am - 8pm; Saturday 9am - 3pm Check the wait before you leave: www.broadlawns.org

Explore Ames!

Saturday, Jan. 7 at 3 p.m. New Year’s Belly Dance Hafla, Ames Public Library, Free

Friday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. Pert Near Sandstone & Armchair Boogie, Alluvial Brewing, Ames, $15

Sunday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. On Your Feet: Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan, Stephens Auditorium, Ames, $35-89

Monday, Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m. Story County MLK Celebration, Ames City Auditorium, Free

Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 12 p.m. Art Walk: Texts & Literacy in Art on Campus, Iowa State University Library, Ames, Free

Sunday, Jan. 22 at 2 p.m. Winter Gnome Craft, Prairie Moon Winery and Vineyards, Ames, $15

Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. Miann, Alluvial Brewing, Free

Sunday, Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. Mania: The Abba Tribute, Stephens Auditorium, $27.50-64.50

Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 5:30 p.m. Spring WelcomeFest, Iowa State University Memorial Union, Ames, Free

Cross Country Ski Clinic, Homewood

Golf Course, Ames, Saturday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m., Free

Let’s face it, January feels unbearably frigid, cold and long. By the time February comes around, we’re all going to be itching to get outside. Ames Parks and Recreation is offering free cross country ski lessons to help you get out there moving in a new way! The clinic features an outdoor and indoor session that is open to all ages and abilities. If you don’t have gear, simply contact one of the clinic’s two sponsors, Jax Outdoor Gear or ISU Recreational Services, and they will get you set up.

Within Our Gates, FilmScene–The Chauncey,

Iowa

City, Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.,

Pay-What-You-Can sliding scale Mark your calendar for the screening of Within Our Gates, the earliest surviving feature film by an African-American director. Oscar Micheaux’s 1920 released film was mastered in HD from 35 mm film elements, preserved by The Library of Congress and acquired by the American Film Institute from the Filmoteca Española, Madrid. The screening is a Martin Luther King Jr. Week event and is presented in partnership with Bijou and co-sponsored by the UI Department of Cinematic Arts. The Alvin Cobb Jr. trio will be performing Alvin Cobb’s original score for Within Our Gates in person at the event.

Eastward, ho!

Saturday, Jan. 7 at 10 a.m. Reading & Signing w/Dasia Taylor, Sidekick Coffee & Books, Iowa City, Free

Saturdays, Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28 at 12 p.m. Stay Cozy Winter Cycling Group Ride, Iowa City Bike Library, Free

Thursday, Jan. 12 at 10:30 a.m. Martin’s Big Words Storytime w/the African American Museum of Iowa, Iowa City Public Library, Free

Friday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. Maul, Chemosh, Dryad, Frontal Assault, Gabe’s, Iowa City, $14

Saturday, Jan. 14 at 9:30 a.m. Kids Ice Fishing Clinic, Pinicon Ridge Park, Central City, Free w/registration

Thursday, Jan. 19 at 8 p.m. MAVI w/Ahzia, Jim Swim, TéGwap, PB Dutch, Gabe’s, $1720

Friday and Sunday, Jan. 20 and 22 Cosi Fan Tutte w/Orchestra Iowa, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, $19-69

Saturday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m. Englert Local Showcase Series w/Younger, Sophie Mitchell, Death Kill Overdrive, Englert Theatre, $10-15

Sunday, Jan. 22 at 4 p.m. Lunar New Year Gala, Englert Theatre, Iowa City, Free-$10

Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. Lake Street Dive, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City, $58148

Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. Grant Wood Fellow Talk: Johanna Winters, Stanley Museum of Art, Iowa City, Free

Opening Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. A Walk in the Woods, Riverside Theatre, Iowa City, $15-35

Thursday-Sunday, Jan. 26-29 the wish, Mirrorbox Theatre, Cedar Rapids, $20

Friday, Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. Backcountry Film Festival, Big Grove Brewery, Iowa City, $15

Sunday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. Science & Technology House Party, Robert A Lee Community Center, Iowa City, Free

MOVING SOON?

Dear Kiki, I recently ended an emotionally abusive relationship with my best friend of one year. We met when we were both very lonely and are in a challenging graduate program together. Our friendship progressed rapidly but turned toxic.

She has high emotional needs, and I started to feel more like her therapist than her friend. I encouraged her to seek therapy, and she became incredibly angry. I didn’t bring it up again for the following few months. During those months, she became increasingly controlling, and I decided to end our friendship. I debated for a while how

rEMEMBEr, anGEr WOn’T HELP

have been at play are overwhelming. Should you have made sure she wasn’t, say, out of town when you delivered it? Maybe. But can you control or even predict whether she set it aside and ignored it, or a mail carrier took it as outgoing by mistake, or or or or—NO. You made your choice and bear no responsibility for the fallout. Frankly, neither does she. Sometimes, the timing just sucks, and there’s nothing that can be done about it.

Remember, anger won’t help you any more than guilt will, in terms of protecting yourself emotionally. To get her out of your head, you need to let go. Accept that your mutual friends need to make their own choices, based on their own understanding of your personalities and behaviors, and that neither you nor she can truly control that.

yOU any MOrE THan GUILT WILL, In TErMS OF PrOTECTInG yOUrSELF EMOTIOnaLLy. TO GET HEr OUT OF yOUr HEaD, yOU nEED TO LET GO.

to end things and ultimately decided to write a letter (1) because I thought I could better convey my feelings, and (2) she often twists other people’s words in conversation.

I dropped the letter off in her mailbox weeks ago, and we have not spoken since. Our final exams start next week. I have had friends tell me that she only read the letter this past week and is upset that I “decided to do this right before finals.” I think some of them believe her and think I’m in the wrong.

I just want this part of my life to be over, but now I feel guilty about how this situation played out. Was I responsible for making sure she read the letter? How do I finally get her out of my head for good?

—Cutting Ties

When two people distance themselves from each other, “right” and “wrong” often end up having surprisingly little to do with how the situation plays out. Even if all heroes wore capes and all villains had goatees, the people closest to the messy center of things would still always see in shades of gray. There may even be people who see the situation with perfect clarity and nevertheless “side” with her.

It’s not easy. But only you can decide if you want to be blameless or you want to be healthy. Letting go means both letting go of controlling outside perceptions and letting go of the self you were prior to breaking free. Pretend for a second that you actually were 100 percent in the wrong. Does that change what had to be done? Does that change the responsibility you bear to write your new future? —xoxo, Kiki

Dear Cutting Ties,

I must point out that, while I’m certain you intended your sign-off to represent an action—the gerund “cutting,” what you’re trying to do to the ties—the term works just as well as an adjective. Those ties binding you to your friend are, in fact, cutting into you, harming you. Yes, it is important to take other people’s feelings into consideration. But at this point, you have to protect yourself. Guilt is holding you back.

You were not responsible for making sure she read the letter.

The cacophony of circumstances that could

KIKI WANTS QUESTIONS!

Submit questions anonymously at littlevillagemag.com/dearkiki or non-anonymously to dearkiki@littlevillagemag.com.

Questions may be edited for clarity and length, and may appear either in print or online at littlevillagemag.com.

Charity Nebbe, Host

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “I’m homesick all the time,” writes author Sarah Addison Allen. “I just don’t know where home is. There’s this promise of happiness out there. I know it. I even feel it sometimes. But it’s like chasing the moon. Just when I think I have it, it disappears into the horizon.” If you have ever felt pangs like hers, Capricorn, I predict they will fade in 2023. That’s because I expect you will clearly identify the feeling of home you want—and thereby make it possible to find and create the place, the land, and the community where you will experience a resounding peace and stability.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Storyteller Michael Meade tells us, “The ship is always off course. Anybody who sails knows that. Sailing is being off-course and correcting. That gives a sense of what life is about.” I interpret Meade’s words to mean that we are never in a perfect groove heading directly towards our goal. We are constantly deviating from the path we might wish we could follow with unfailing accuracy. That’s not a bug in the system; it’s a feature. And as long as we obsess on the idea that we’re not where we should be, we are distracted from doing our real work. And the real work? The ceaseless corrections. I hope you will regard what I’m saying here as one of your core meditations in 2023, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A Chinese proverb tells us, “Great souls have wills. Feeble souls have wishes.” I guess that’s true in an abstract way. But in practical terms, most of us are a mix of both great and feeble. We have a modicum of willpower and a bundle of wishes. In 2023, though, you Pisceans could make dramatic moves to strengthen your willpower as you shed wimpy wishes. In my psychic vision of your destiny, I see you feeding metaphorical iron supplements to your resolve and determination.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “My life was the best omelet you could make with a chainsaw,” observed flamboyant author Thomas McGuane. That’s a witty way to encapsulate his tumultuous destiny. There have been a few moments in 2022 when you might have been tempted to invoke a similar metaphor about your own evolving story. But the good news is that your most recent chainsaw-made omelet is finished and ready to eat. I think you’ll find its taste is savory. And I believe it will nourish you for a long time. (Soon it will be time to start your next omelet, maybe without using the chainsaw this time!)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): After meticulous research of 2023’s astrological omens, I have come to a radical conclusion: You should tell the people who care for you that you’d like to be called by new pet names. I think you need to intensify their ability and willingness to view you as a sublime creature worthy of adoration. I don’t necessarily recommend you use old standbys like “cutie,” “honey,” “darling” or “angel.” I’m more in favor of unique and charismatic versions, something like “Jubilee” or “Zestie” or “Fantasmo” or “Yowie-Wowie.” Have fun coming up with pet names that you are very fond of. The more, the better.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): If I could choose some fun and useful projects for you to master in 2023, they would include the following: 1. Be in constant competition with yourself to outdo past accomplishments. But at the same time, be extra compassionate toward yourself. 2. Borrow and steal other people’s good ideas and use them with even better results than they would use them. 3. Acquire an emerald or two, or wear jewelry that features emeralds. 4. Increase your awareness of and appreciation for birds. 5. Don’t be attracted to folks who aren’t good for you just because they are unusual or interesting. 6. Upgrade your flirting so it’s even more nuanced and amusing, while at the same time you make sure it never violates anyone’s boundaries.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): When she was young, Carolyn Forché was a conventional poet focused on family and childhood. But

she transformed. Relocating to El Salvador during its civil war, she began to write about political trauma. Next, she lived in Lebanon during its civil war. She witnessed firsthand the tribulations of military violence and the imprisonment of activists. Her creative work increasingly illuminated questions of social justice. At age 72, she is now a renowned human rights advocate. In bringing her to your attention, I don’t mean to suggest that you engage in an equally dramatic self-reinvention. But in 2023, I do recommend drawing on her as an inspirational role model. You will have great potential to discover deeper aspects of your life’s purpose—and enhance your understanding of how to offer your best gifts.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Are the characters in Carlos Castañeda’s books on shamanism fictional or real? It doesn’t matter to me. I love the wisdom of his alleged teacher, Don Juan Matus. He said, “Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself, and yourself alone, one question. Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn’t, it is of no use.” Don Juan’s advice is perfect for you in the coming nine months, Leo. I hope you will tape a copy of his words on your bathroom mirror and read it at least once a week.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Teacher and author Byron Katie claims, “The voice within is what I’m married to. My lover is the place inside me where an honest yes and no come from.” I happen to know that she has also been married for many years to a writer named Stephen Mitchell. So she has no problem being wed to both Mitchell and her inner voice. In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to propose marriage to your own inner voice. The coming year will be a fabulous time to deepen your relationship with this crucial source of useful and sacred revelation

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche offered advice that is perfect for you in 2023. It’s strenuous. It’s demanding and daunting. If you take it to heart, you will have to perform little miracles you may not yet have the confidence to try. But I have faith in you, Libra. That’s why I don’t hesitate to provide you with Nietzsche’s rant: “No one can build you the bridge on which you, and only you, must cross the river of life. There may be countless trails and bridges and demigods who would gladly carry you across; but only at the price of pawning and forgoing yourself. There is one path in the world that none can walk but you. Where does it lead? Don’t ask, walk!”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): How might you transform the effects of the limitations you’ve been dealing with? What could you do to make it work in your favor as 2023 unfolds? I encourage you to think about these questions with daring and audacity. The more moxie you summon, the greater your luck will be in making the magic happen. Here’s another riddle to wrestle with: What surrender or sacrifice could you initiate that might lead in unforeseen ways to a plucky breakthrough? I have a sense that’s what will transpire as you weave your way through the coming months in quest of surprising opportunities.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian singer Tina Turner confided, “My greatest beauty secret is being happy with myself.” I hope you will experiment with that formula in 2023. I believe the coming months will potentially be a time when you will be happier with yourself than you have ever been before—more at peace with your unique destiny, more accepting of your unripe qualities, more in love with your depths, and more committed to treating yourself with utmost care and respect. Therefore, if Tina Turner is accurate, 2023 will also be a year when your beauty will be ascendant.

GOyF anD BODIaH Goyf/Bodiah Split LIMINALENNUI.BANDCAMP.COM

You don’t have to spend much time digging to discover talented contemporary artists in Iowa. Whether you’re a hardcore, a hiphop head, an indie-folker or a stoner-metal enthusiast, you’re bound to find something to satisfy your particular niche in one of the state’s population hubs.

When it comes to searching for electronic music in this state, however—particularly the lesser-listened-to styles you won’t hear in Court Avenue clubs or college town bars—you’ll need to put in more time to scratch that itch.

To that end, anyone dedicated enough to prowl Bandcamp, Soundcloud or Discogs for hours has felt the satisfaction of stumbling upon something refreshing and local. The new self-titled split EP from Iowa-via-Oakland producer Goyf and Des Moines-based Bodiah delivers that satisfaction for leftfield clubbers and open-eared music lovers alike. The debut release from experimental house and techno imprint, Liminal Ennui, released in November, showcases two unique approaches to abstract dance music.

Side Goyf is arguably the more immediate of the two, characterized by atonal and temporal aggression that recalls a hardcore punk ethos. Heavily overdriven and overtonal synths on the opener “Grokked” mimic the forceful strums on some hand-me-down Ibanez before giving way to rugged kick drum thumps and static-ridden low-end pulsations. The more sporadically

arranged “Biofeedback,” with its harsh yet alluring synth loop and filter effects, borders on the misanthropic missives of power electronics music. Side Goyf bores through with brute force and raw energy, an ideal soundtrack for a host of sweaty 20-somethings packed shoulder-to-shoulder in an unfinished basement, skanking the night away with abandon.

Side Bodiah, by contrast, provides the listener some more breathing room, favoring airier atmospherics and stereoscopic effects over the heavy distortion and direct-input feel of Side Goyf. Sputtering harmonic synth snatches expand and contract throughout “Con” in an almost aleatoric fashion, disintegrating and just as quickly reconstituting themselves via playful delay parameters, while the track’s stuttering rhythm section supplies forward momentum.

“Cocooned,” with a heavier lowend emphasis, skippy, compressed kick pounces, and elastic synth lurches, would fit comfortably in any left-of-center 140 DJ set. Its very title mimics the metamorphosing rhythm and atmospherics of its music that never tarry too often on the repetitive. Side Bodiah, meticulous in its sound design without sacrificing groovability, calls to mind the broken-beat excursions of London label Hyperdub or Bristol imprint Livity Sound.

What ties the two sides together is their shared penchant for atonality and rhythmic spontaneity, as well as a creative playfulness that, whether better-suited for four concrete walls or in an acoustically tuned club space, is often endearing and warrants multiple relistens to fully appreciate. Here, Goyf and Bodiah offer a taste of the musical avenues to be explored by Liminal Ennui, and any electronic music fan in Iowa worth their salt will be watching for what comes next.

The Goyf/Bodiah Split, out now on Liminal Ennui, is available digitally and on cassette tape on Bandcamp.

—Jack Howard

JInnOuCHI POWEr Kaleidokoi JINNOUCHIPOWER.BANDCAMP.COM

Apeek at the cover art of Jinnouchi Power’s recently released album, Kaleidokoi, offers a visual clue to the textured, hypnotic jazz/rock tracks that lie inside. The brightly colored koi encircled by clouds and lightning bolts look like whimsical madness, but with a collective goal. On first listen, Kaleidokoi evokes a feeling of curated chaos, in the best sense, with each song taking unexpected twists and turns.

subjects, such as kung fu.

Jinnouchi Power makes certain there’s never a dull second in Kaleidokoi from the moment it begins. Sprinkled throughout are crunchy guitar hooks, intricate picking and quirky lyrics that are guaranteed to keep you guessing. For example, the second track on the album “Motion Blue” lulls you into a trance-like vibe, then catapults into an energetic, solid rock outro, sudden yet delightful. “The Wind” flows in and out of a surprising two-step groove between crackling electric guitar transitions, ending with a pop chant catchy enough to get stuck in your brain for days.

The album feels intentional, with every musical decision seemingly deliberate, even amongst its playful humor. As the band states on their website, each verse of the song “Kung Fu” was inspired by a different martial arts film, an interesting challenge for any lyricist. I couldn’t help but laugh at the snarky line, “It’s not your technique, it’s you,” followed by the repeated refrain of “I love kung fu,” words you rarely, if ever, attribute to a song.

ODD SUBJECTS.

Based in the Sherman Hill neighborhood of Des Moines, the band has worked on the 11-track project for almost eight years. Patrick MacCready, Jinnouchi Power’s lead songwriter, describes the album as “soothing, but rock and roll,” a fitting portrayal for the web of soundscapes intertwined within the rock anthem hooks and folky sadness. Though common genre tags would be indie pop rock, experimental folk or even psychedelic rock, my personal favorite, and possibly the most accurate, would be the category of “nerd rock.” The album is made up of a combination of impressive technical ability, quirky song inspirations, and an unapologetic nod to specialized yet odd

“Wedding Song” begins with sweet melancholy, “I wear my heart on my sleeve, oh what a fool am I / Now I roam the streets at night like a cynical werewolf”—an absurd twist but weirdly relatable. The surprises continue with an introduction of saxophone on the ominously titled, “Get in the Van,” an eclectic instrumental track, reminiscent of experimental jazz.

Of course, no album would be complete without a ballad, a spot which “Kale & Eggs” beautifully fulfills, combining intricate guitar picking and spacious strings. The song includes the most poignant lyrics of the album: “And pay the price of art with your own skin / the shifting eyes will generalize, your self expression will be marginalized,” a jarring reality of the vulnerability required to create something from nothing. But Kaleidokoi masterfully conveys its voice, lawless and raw, with a dazzling result.

—Gigi Vanderpool

TECHnICaL aBILITy, QUIrKy SOnG InSPIraTIOnS, anD an UnaPOLOGETIC nOD TO SPECIaLIZED yET

KyLE JaMES Climbing KYLEJAMESBURGESS.BANDCAMP.COM

When Des Moines-area native Kyle James released his debut solo LP Datum in February last year, I was impressed, but disappointed. Not because the album was anything less than stellar. Across seven delicately composed instrumentals, James showcased everything he presumably learned studying jazz at Western Michigan University over the past four years. Datum served as a testament to James’ maturity and poise as a serious saxophonist, producer and composer.

But after listening through the record the first couple times, I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the teenage James I remembered from years ago—the dynamic multi-instrumentalist and vocalist I saw tear up 80/35 and the PBR-soaked stage of Vaudeville Mews (RIP) with his rambunctious high school alternative rock projects 515 and the Yelps. I couldn’t help but feel slightly let down with the release of Datum, despite how much I genuinely loved the record in abstract. I wanted a Kyle James pop record.

And only six months later, I got it. As if one debut wasn’t enough, James released his second album of 2022, Climbing, in September. Spanning nine alternative pop tracks (and clocking in at a breezy 25 minutes), James introduced a new side of the jazz aficionado he proved himself to be with Datum, returning to the more outwardly expressive singer/songwriter persona from years past.

“Fear,” the mellow, self-referential

opener to Climbing, sets the introspective tone of the project as James reflects on his own hesitation to deviate from the more behindthe-scenes world of producing and composing traditional jazz. The layered vocals and luscious synths of “Fear” gracefully ease the listener, both sonically and thematically, into the record before the bombastic “Fast” takes over with a rambunctious bassline, boxy punk drums and blistering guitar work performed by James himself.

Aside from a wonderful jazz interlude featuring bassist John Hébert, James carves out the middle chunk of Climbing on his own. His lyrical confidence blossoms in real time as he explores themes of personal growth and the unnerving tightrope walk of falling in love over plucky synths, electronic pianos and subtle, atmospheric percussion. On the record’s penultimate track, “Be Around,” James emerges from his metacognitive state as confidently romantic with help from featured vocalist Lauren Elliott and jazz producer Stratøs.

While “Fast” and “Be Around” are perhaps the most accessible and infectious cuts from Climbing, the record’s deep cuts (including its closer, “Why Would I?”) drive home what makes James such a compelling artist. The range of his vocal performance and the harmonic depth of even his most simple compositions cement James as a uniquely talented artist—one capable of delivering the deep, melodically complex jazz instrumentals of Datum and the dynamic, colorful R&B/alternative pop songs of Climbing

The timing of James’ double debut seems almost intentional—like he was almost expecting to disappoint biased scene junkies like myself with Datum. Intentional or not, the release of Climbing erased any doubt I had in James’ future as a singer/songwriter. I truly can’t wait for (nor can I predict) what else Kyle James has in store.

—Chase Schweitzer

JuSTIn K COMEr

Undustrial Devolution 1 & 2 JUSTINKCOMER.BANDCAMP.COM/MUSIC

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 cornfield where the other footprints stop, striking out in random directions. There’s focused intent here, but a personal, idiosyncratic one. Consider the opening track, “Animalia Tranquilalia,” a sequence of tightly constrained spare riffs on a few notes. Comer and David Clair play deviously syncopated and polyrhythmic drums that drop into a loose latin groove for a while. But the whole is spacious and skeletal, leaving room for the music of silence.

“Transportation Systemization” uses penny-whistles for wobbling, sweet/sour melodies, played in two or three parts. Each part shares no common pulse with the others. It has a strong connection to the contrapuntal vocal music of the Mbenga in Congo, with similar interwoven melodic lines. The parts are simple, but they rub against each other in complex yet accessible ways.

This music is part of a new tradition, in dialog with the African and Asian sounds they take as inspiration, without imitation. Comer and his collaborators have absorbed so much, from world music traditions to jazz, from classical to experimental noise. But when they play, it’s not just performance, it’s play; they mess around until something catches their ear, then they improvise further on the sounds they like.

“Festivities and Commercial Activities” is built around a Casio

MT-68 keyboard preset drum and chord pattern. Subtle layers of dark trombone, mandolin and beat-boxing make magic from the most industrially commodified music imaginable. One finger drum, bass and chord auto-accompaniment—the most perfectly fake music ever created—gives them license to subvert and transform it into something sinuous and sly.

In “Certartiodactyla Introductila,” Alex Taylor’s didgeridoo defies the clichéd use it’s been put to in new age music. It adds a rough, wild edge that blends seamlessly with Comer’s bass and baritone clarinets. The piece recalls Ornette Coleman and Art Ensemble of Chicago first and foremost, which is part of the musical canon Comer and his collaborators (Clair, Taylor, Chris Emery and Roland Hart) start from.

On volume two, things are a bit more abrasive, with occasional flashes of humor. “Vocontra the Vanquisher” builds on a weird combination of cheap keyboards processed with aggressive audio effects. The organ part that comes in at 80 seconds has a random, wonky pitch shift. It’s like Tom Waits’ carnie band music, but with lots more raw noise.

“Rumpus and/or Ruckus” is “composed spontaneously” by Comer, Emery and Hart. in the course of a live performance on prepared piano, mandolin and hand percussion. Neither arbitrary nor slapdash, it fits together as three people all having the same idea.

These artists have put their hearts into making the weirdest, most uncommercial music they can imagine. They’re seeking hidden corners of liquid beauty and hysteria. This is the academic style of jazz taught in U.S. high schools, adulterated with every corrupting influence, from Pharoah Sanders to Captain Beefheart to Nine Inch Nails.

This is the sound of musically talented people trying something new 500 different ways, for the pure joy of it. Then they made these recordings, as a snapshot of how their personal music fit together into a wooly, intricately simple whole.

—Kent Williams

Slippery Steps: Rolling and Tumbling Toward Sobriety

ICE CUBE PRESS

You may have read one of Don McLeese’s previous three books, or perhaps you’ve stumbled upon one of the many pieces he’s contributed to publications like The Rolling Stone, Chicago Sun-Times or No Depression. In his newest release, Slippery Steps: Rolling and Tumbling Toward Sobriety, the University of Iowa faculty member confronts the invisible entity present throughout his illustrious rock journalism career: alcoholism.

Since the age of 13, alcohol consumption was a regular part of McLeese’s family vacations, celebrations and life events, which only grew more frequent as he aged. Eventually, McLeese’s drinking brought him to the point where he chose to begin Slippery Steps: a drunken night at his West Des Moines home where he stumbled down his porch steps and passed out in the yard, covered in his own vomit.

It’s a daring endeavor to write something that covers as many years and as many personal details as Slippery Steps does. I reckon that there is no quick and easy way to do it. And while McLeese captured my attention with his personal narrative far longer than many others could have, this book still got tedious at some parts, relying a bit too much on previously stated information.

And that’s a fair criticism to say in a review. But it shouldn’t be the reason you don’t pick up this book. McLeese, through eloquent narration, thoughtful reflection and a few

rock and roll stories, provides us with a non-judgmental lens through which to take stock of our own relationship with alcohol, or anything else we may be leaning on a bit too much.

The magic of this book is that our personal relationships with alcohol are never framed as anything other than personal. Even as McLeese delves into his sobriety journey, he never projects or assumes his readers are in the same place. From the beginning to the end, the tenet McLeese holds onto the tightest is that every situation looks different to the people outside of it. The only one who can know if it’s time for you to stop drinking is you.

That said, sober-curious readers who feel a bit too intimidated to go to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting—this book may especially be for you. Not only does McLeese discuss how he stumbled (pun not intended, but necessary) into AA, but he also talks in detail about each

MarK LEVInE Sound Fury UNIVERSITY OF IOWA PRESS

Things not to do: read Mark Levine’s Sound Fury while battling a nasty rhinovirus. Here’s why: Levine (deftly) uses so many literary devices simultaneously that one really needs the full use of their faculties to experience Sound Fury

In my first round of reading, while sick, I thought I’d be compelled to warn that a book of poetry like this is for well-read intellectuals, people with encyclopedic knowledge of poetry and ships and religion and workers’ rights—but that didn’t turn out to be the case. I did have to use a dictionary. A lot. But a cleverer reader than me would have read the notes that Levine left stating that many poems are inspired by the work of Robert Herrick, a 17th century cleric and lyric poet, and Alexander Pope. This is probably the most background information necessary for getting into the weeds with Levine’s heady new book.

to Robinson Crusoe (“Without Robinson”), Robert Herrick (“His Poetrie His Pillar”), Zane Grey (“Zane Grey”) and surely more than I can parse out in the book’s anchoring opus, “Dire Offense,” which is 12 pages long and is a sometimes tongue-twister, sometimes documentary.

Worried for my own brain fog, I started to read the poems aloud and I want to urge all readers to do so. There is a magic (not unlike reading Dr. Seuss’s Fox In Socks if reading that book made you feel like an intellectual) in the way the the words move around the mouth, for example, from “Dire Offense,” “The EMTs are on him; but their art / Is no match for a bastard’s flatlined heart. / Time Fate Love

Beauty Power Ill-Nature Steel / Muse Goddess God Jove Neptune

Hermes Sol / Ulysses Dido Proculus

Propitious / Megrim Maeander

Cynthia Thalestris / Sylph Sylphid

Nymph Gnome Zephyretta Umbriel

/ Fay Fairy Pam Poll Ixiom Ace

Ariel / Brilliante Damon Dapperwit

Clarissa / Sir Plum Sir Fopling

Florio Crispissa / Belinda Betty Basto Partridge Spleen” this list of mythical characters goes on and slowly adds adjectives and qualifiers, and is followed by “Playing at violence with sharpened sticks is delaying / Onset of incipient male horror, saith the experts. Once at / Recess on the dirt patch, you see, our boy wrests / Weapons from beneath his blouse, shouting.”

of the steps, the logistics of finding a sponsor and how he did it all as a person unaffiliated with religion.

Alcohol is a part of American culture and it permeates even deeper into Midwest culture. And to deny its omnipresence is to lie about the facts. McLeese isn’t in the business of lying. His honesty, transparency and air-tight narration make Slippery Steps not only an informative read, but an enjoyable one. —Lily DeTaeye

These poems are interested in identity and the way that both sound and story—culturally accepted myths and nursery rhyme—influence us. They investigate the domestic on a macro level and pop-culture on a micro level. Somewhere between the double-entendre of nearly every title and the exacting internal rhymes and you can’t help but get lost in the matrix Levine builds, line by line. Levine flirts with intertextuality somberly but joyfully with responses

I think I could revisit poems like “Bantam,” “Los Toritos” and “strange shadows on you tend” daily and get something new from them. There are poems anchoring this book to Iowa City (“Auto”), poems on workers’ rights (“On Himselfe,” “Cape Cadaver”) and poems about marginalized people in general (“Poririo Diaz,” “The Vine”). This dance between sounds and imagery creates a depth in the poems that I wasn’t prepared for and I am excited to revisit this volume (and Levine’s other work) with the time and insight they deserve.

—Sarah Elgatian

DOn MCLEESE

rOBIn HEMLEy Oblivion GOLD WAKE PRESS

What to say about Robin Hemley’s Oblivion? The University of Iowa Writers Workshop alumni’s 16th book was released this year on Gold Wake Press. And although it’s short in pages, the novel is not short on big ideas.

Oblivion follows a nameless writer who dies and passes into The Cafe of Minor Authors in the realm of Oblivion; a purgatory for authors who could never quite make it to greatness. Here, our narrator meets Jozef, a guide who allows him to peak into the lives of his ancestors and his literary role model: Franz Kafka. Soon, our narrator learns that he has a chance to escape The Cafe of Minor Authors if he writes something worthy of transcending Time. But he must beware, if he spends too much time in a certain place, he will become a dybbuk and be trapped forever.

As interesting as the premise is, plot-driven readers should beware. Intermingled with our narrator’s journey to writing something that will help him escape Oblivion, is a whole lot of contemplation on ego, ancestry and writing, of course. Throughout the novel, Hemley delivers carefully crafted paragraphs that meditate on the solitude of artists. Specifically, how the narrator became so obsessed with his own self-image, that he is still chasing his masterpiece even in death. The result is a cerebral and melancholy tale that reads like a warning. Maybe even a parable.

Or perhaps you could call this

novel an “idea story,” like the ones that the narrator describes one of his graduate school professors despising. “Idea stories” are stories that use narrative to describe a bigger truth. As Hemley writes, “Narrative illusion, no matter how well done, is artifice, after all, written by someone with ideas. Some of us like to coax ideas out of hiding, suggest that they should just be themselves. For such writers, we have essays, but some of us want both ideas and narrative.”

Oblivion fits this description to a T. Not only are we handed thoughtful reflection on the solitude and continuous pain of artists; we are then given space to contextualize it in a beautiful fictional setting with characters we care about and cappuccinos that never get cold.

Admittedly, I’m a plot-driven reader. And even though this book is full of tangents and world-building, there was enough forward momentum to keep me interested. By the end, our plot is wrapped up in a bittersweet bow and we’ve enjoyed getting to know our narrator’s intimate thoughts on his life, death and art.

Overall, this book is balanced well. Even in the most severe moments of the novel, there are small oases of humor scattered through. Whether it’s the seemingly pointless pleasantries exchanged between dead authors or unhinged sights our narrator experiences as he peers into the lives of his ancestors, Hemley doesn’t ever let us wander too far into reflection that we forget to come up for air.

Oblivion is the perfect novel for readers who like to think, readers who are interested in creative speculations on the afterlife or readers who just enjoy a little magic. If you’re a fan of “Midnight in Paris” or The Metamorphosis, this 2022 release might be the perfect addition to your shelf.

––Lily

L. COHEn anD STuarT P. DunCan Music-Making in U.S. Prisons WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY PRESS

In the 1864 novella Notes From the Underground, Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky proposes the proto-existentialist notion of “perverse freedom.” There are never no choices in life, because one can always, at any time, choose to act against one’s own self-interest—to act in a way that’s contrary to all expected motivations.

Dostoevsky himself spent several years in prison, and many of the themes of his works draw from that experience. The question of freedom, and the leaps the human mind can make when freedom is withdrawn, are precious to his philosophy. When all other choices are taken away, an incarcerated person, desperate to retain some sense of identity, often push against societal expectations.

We call that agency.

In Music-Making in U.S. Prisons: Listening to Incarcerated Voices (November 2022), University of Iowa music education professor Mary L. Cohen and co-author Stuart P. Duncan explore the ways in which music has been and can be leveraged to offer incarcerated people a third path between perceived capitulation and perverse freedom. They lay out the rich history of vocal and instrumental ensembles in prisons, dating back over a century. And, crucially, they tie the humanization of prisoners to the greater prison abolition movement.

form community and to practice engaging with the outside world, they will be better equipped to reintegrate into society on their release. On its own, prison is profoundly isolating and drives counter-social behavior. Integrating music offers a tangible experience of the value of resonance over dissonance. Musicmaking is a communal act that drives pro-social behavior.

Cohen and Duncan lay out this and other arguments with clarity. But it’s in looking back at the past that they challenge our current way of thinking. These aren’t new ideas; much like the well-documented value of teaching the arts in schools that routinely gets swept under the rug as the “purpose” of public education is debated and challenged, so too have long-standing prison music programs fallen to newer philosophies privileging a punitive approach.

One of the many successes of this book is its demand that the reader challenge their 21st century notion (warped by the rise of for-profit prisons and mandatory minimum sentencing) of what purpose incarceration is meant to serve. The only way forward is through affirming the humanity of those on the inside, because people who have been taught they are not human can never succeed on the outside. Yet this renders the basic inhumanity of the prison system utterly indefensible.

This is a difficult needle to thread. How can wardens and other prison officials be pushed, in a sense, to act against their own best interests—to accept programs that strive to make them irrelevant? Cohen and Duncan don’t really try. The societal good is taken as a given (and I, for one, agree). As such, this is far more useful as a guide to those trying to do the work than as a means of converting the unconvinced.

DeTaeye

The logic behind the work seems so simple: When incarcerated people are given the opportunity to

Overall, it is a crucial read for anyone pondering the ethics of a carceral society, and music educators looking to decentralize their pedagogy. It’s a fascinating look at how we assign value to art and to humanity.

—Genevieve Trainor

Mary

removing the bag after reaching a desired strength? 19. Indicate territoriality, perhaps 20. Won, as every game in the series 21. Eighteen-wheeler 23. ___Guessr (game that uses Google Earth) 24. Hot condiment for a hot dog 25. Hector to Lalo, on Better Call Saul 26. National (and yet only fifth-most common

primary) language of Pakistan 27. * “The label says it’s grown in Fujian and yada yada yada”? 31. City represented by Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) 32. Vague response to “when are we gonna be there?” 33. Baby who gives a hoot 34. Snacks prepared with either flour or corn tortillas 36. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test author Tom

38. Festival associated with the throwing of colorful gulal powder 39. Cartoonist Guerra or actress Zadora 42. * The best hot water dispenser produced between 1901 and 2000? 45. Evening, in ads 46. Like the entire cast of The Danish Girl (rolls eyes) 47. Central Reservation singer-songwriter Beth 48. Card game inspired by Crazy Eights 49. Pahlavi dynasty title

50. “Will Shortz Frustrated That Police Yet to Crack Taunting Puzzles Revealing Locations of 40 Years of Murder Victims” outlet, with “The” 51. Get around using a ramp, say 53. Steeping needs ... or a way to say phonetically what happens in the answers to this puzzle’s starred clues 56. Eighth Grade star Fisher 57. Bone that almost touches your pinkie 58. Ex-Spice Girl Halliwell 59. Dissuade 60. Deep-six, as a dragon 61. “Once,” but like poetically

DOWN

1. Org. that created the Energy Star certification 2. Tennis maneuver that may be hit off a “windshield wiper” 3. Malice 4. Rapper who “wish[ed he] was a little bit taller,” in the mid-’90s 5. Enthralled 6. Quarantining, cutesily 7. Classic manga series that inspired The Matrix 8. Epic poem with the story of the Trojan horse 9. Double affirmation, in Spanish 10. Where Blitzer is based 11. “My opinion’s the same ...” 12. Targeted, as in paintball 13. Apple storage service 18. Creates, as a new show from an old show

22. Eyewear for Mr. Peanut 24. Member of a trio with sin and tan 26. Addresses that often have slashes in them 28. Instruction in a dog park 29. It makes a good point 30. Multipurpose, like a laptop 34. Gin-flavoring fruit 35. Pol who tweeted that “Si es Trump, tiene que ser corrupto”

36. Complication, so to speak 37. Where an avocado might be schmeared (thereby preventing homeownership) 39. Use to hide, as a painting for a hole in the wall 40. Press agents? 41. ___ Rand Institute (anti-welfare think tank that took ~$300,000 in SBA loans in 2020) 42. Still sitting in the original box, say 43. Respite 44. Emergency room sorting process 49. Prophet 50. Brand once called “Oil of Ulan” in some markets 52. Result that’s usually not possible in a championship game 54. Former #1-ranked tennis player Ivanovic 55. Ride the bench

New Year, New MidAm?

With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the new year is an opportune time for MidAmerican Energy to commit to a coal-to-clean resolution. Climate can’t wait– and neither can Iowa. MidAmerican Energy, the largest carbon polluter in the state, has more opportunities than ever to retire its 5 massive, expensive coal plants and commit to a clean energy transition.

Emma Colman -Organizing Representative emma.colman@sierraclub.org