Gross Domestic Product is just around the corner, April 14 to be exact, and I thought to help promote it a little, I would feature a song from one of the bands each day-ish. I probably won’t do it everyday, thus the -ish. For more info on GDP visit the Facebook Event Page or Des Moines Music Coalition’s website

This is a rock band. I mean, lots of bands are rock bands, but GDP usually seems to have the indie prefix attached to whatever they happen to bring in, indie-rap, indie-rock, indie-folk. And while indie just means unsigned, that little prefix usually adds a hauty or experimental air to the proceedings. So while Hath No Fury is by definition an Indie Rock Band, well, they ain’t.

This is guitar rock and roll. That’s not a bad thing. Sometimes a six string and a story to tell is all you need to really make an impact. I’ve heard a little bit from this band, and from what I’ve heard, they tend to have a little more of a sweet voice on top of the guitars. For this song, the voice turns a little gruffer, which seems appropriate. (I am aware that there are two different singers. I don’t mean the voice literally, I mean the voice of the band).

I like this and think especially at GDP it will be a nice change of pace to the proceedings. It would be like a breath of fresh air, but instead it would be a breath of menthol smoke and spilled beer. Don’t act like that’s a bad thing.

Incidentally, they are playing with Black Storm Alice and Lady Jules at House of Bricks on Friday. So maybe check them out then, too.

March 21, 2012
Categories: Upcoming Shows . . Author: Dave Murphy . Comments: 1 Comment

The Mynabirds' Laura Burhenn (from their Facebook)

I have a thing for female musicians, especially ones that lean a little more indie. Not like a sexual thing (although, to be fair, I am very likely to develop a pathetic school boy crush on pretty much any female in a band), I just like the sensitivity and strength female front women bring to their projects. Recent standouts like Lykke Li and Grace Potter and historically strong women like Debbie Harry (as well as Iowa standouts like Elizabeth Arynn and Skye Carrasco) all seem to have an entirely different level of amazing from their male counterparts. Maybe it’s that just by being women they have to work that much harder to be appreciated, which seems like a damn shame, but an unfortunate fact of life.

The Mynabirds are an Omaha alt-indie band featuring the talented Laura Burnhenn. Burnhenn spends her time with this project, but also as an occasional member of Bright Eyes. She is a mutli-instrumental dynamo who bounces musically from Indie folk and pop to an occasional, near-experimental sound. The Mynabirds most recent single, “Generals”, actually seems a little more rock than some of their earlier works. Hell there are times, like “Numbers Don’t Lie”, where there seems to be some 60’s soul influence and the guitar in “Give It Time” has a bit of a Dick Dale or surf rock quality.

There are just a lot of neat things the Mynabirds do musically. They are unafraid to try things differently and it never seems to backfire on them. The piano is heavy and prominent in a lot of songs, absent in others. The vocals go from jaunty to morose, playful to sultry without missing a beat. I am interested in how they perform live because a lot of the sounds come from backing vocals and layers. It will likely differ from the recording, but the pure talent should overcome any issues.

The show also features Saddle Creek label-mates Big Harp and Des Moines’ Dustin Smith and the Sunday Silos. It is a 21+ with the first band at 8pm. Go here for more info.

March 21, 2012
Categories: Upcoming Shows . . Author: Dave Murphy . Comments: Leave a comment