Jan 29, 2013

I attended college in Ames, Iowa from 1997-1999. Back in those days, it seems like all I ever heard from a lot of young people in Ames was a lot of negativity about how “lame” Ames was, and how they would have rather been in Iowa City. Fast forward to today, and Ames is home to a burgeoning music scene with some truly impressive national touring bands...

Jun 21, 2012

I have been in a terrible funk lately. There has been so much negativity in my life that has overshadowed the good lately, mostly from the stuff that, well, is negative in my life (I will just say it; it’s work. I am in a bad place with my job. No one cares about that though, with good reason, and I will now shut up about it). When times like these arise, I...

Dec 8, 2011

I normally like to start these out with some sort of anecdote or personal experience or some sort of overriding thesis to try and tie the music I talk about into some sort of grand message.  But here is a fact about me, I’m simultaneously very busy and very lazy. My day job is retail, retail in December is just bollocks (I mean, retail period is just...

Oct 27, 2011

My father was my first exposure to music.  I remember thumbing through his album collection as a toddler/preschooler and seeing names like Led Zeppelin, Steve Miller, Bob Seger and Eric Clapton.  I remember staring at the cover of the Blind Faith album trying to figure out if I was staring at a naked lady or just a shirtless hippie.  I also remember the guy...

Sep 1, 2011

The best part about any art is when you can see someone succeed with honesty and reckless abandon.  Like, they don’t care what the world thinks and they’re just going to make the art they know they can make.  The best writers are the ones who can be completely honest with themselves and their thoughts (which is something I struggle with on occasion), the...