Little Village Central Iowa 001 by Little Village Magazine

A L W A Y S

ISSUE 1 April 2022

F R E E

Exploring the Black neighborhood fractured by I-235. PG. 20

Fighting Black hair discrimination

Peace Tree Brewing: Yes we can!

Record store clerk, recording artist

A titillating comedy showcase

HAVE FUN AT THESE LOCALLY OWNED FAVORITES! Classic Roadhouse Joint Midwest Sports Headquarters 4221 SE Orilla Road, WDM 400 SE 6th Street 515-410-2520 515-214-2759

Cajun & Creole Favorites 615 3rd Street 515-244-2899

60’s Corner Tavern 200 SW 2nd Street 515-280-1965

262 Craft Beers on Draft 200 SW 2nd Street 515-284-1970

British Pub 210 4th Street 515-282-2012

Belgian Beer Bar 210 4th Street 515-282-2012

Asian Pizza & Cocktails Margarita and Queso Flights 1450 SW Vintage Pkwy, Ankeny 401 SE 5th Street 515-243-8888 51-777-1012

All Iowa Beer, One Amazing Place! Asian Pizza & Cocktails 223 4th Street 215 East 3rd Street 515-323-3333 515-243-0827

A Not So Secret Speakeasy 215 East 3rd Street 515-243-0827

Your Neighborhood Bar & Grill 3506 University Avenue 515-255-0433

Neighborhood Burgers & Beer 2331 University Avenue 515-344-4343

German Bier Hall 101 4th Street 515-288-2520

Live Music at Truman’s Tavern Fridays from 5-8 pm on the Patio April 22 - Dustin Baird April 29 - Josh Sinclair May 6 - Brad Seidenfeld May 13 - Mike Fonda May 20 - The Snacks May 27 - Del Saxman Jones June 3 - Orphan Annie June 10 - Maxx G and T Flip Duo June 17 - Brian Congdon 2 April 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1

June 24 - Andrew Voggesser and The Travelers July 8 - Geoffrey Junior July 15 - Chris Ranallo and Micah Wagner July 22 - Chris Falcon July 29 - Bruce Day August 5 - Kracklin August 12 - Dan Medeiros August 19 - Mike Aceto August 26 - Dan Trilk

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6 Top Stories 8 Advertising Partners 10 Letters 14 Interactions 15 Contact Buzz 16 The Fractured State of Iowa Nice 18 En Español 20 Center Street 28 Bread & Butter 30 Prairie Pop 32 A-List 34 Events Calendar 39 Dear Kiki 41 Astrology 43 Album Reviews 45 Book Reviews

Gabriel Greco / Little Village

47 Crossword

Jazz bands played until daylight in

How record shops shaped

Light and laughter both drive and

Blue Monday

the historic Center Street district.

Good Morning!

musician Charlie Cacciatore.

SAVE, SHARE OR RECYCLE

Blue-Coral Comedy

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follow comedian Coral Thede.

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FEATURING TOM MATTINGLY CHOREOGRAPHER ILYA VIDRIN DRAMATURG YU-WEN WU VIDEO INSTALLATION

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INDEPENDENT NEWS, CULTURE & EVENTS Since 2001 LittleVillageMag.com

EDITORIAL

PRODUCTION

Publisher

Digital Director

Issue 1, Volume 1

Arts Editor

Drew Bulman

April 2022

Genevieve Trainor

drewb@littlevillagemag.com Cover by Jamie Malone

genevieve@littlevillagemag.com Videographer Managing Editor

Jason Smith

Welcome to Little Village’s first

Emma McClatchey

jason@littlevillagemag.com

Central Iowa issue! Flip through

emma@littlevillagemag.com

these pages to explore Des Marketing Analytics

Moines history, comedy, music,

News Director

Coordinator

beer, politics, events and more.

Paul Brennan

Malcolm MacDougall

Plus: Comics, sex advice, and

paul@littlevillagemag.com

malcolm@littlevillagemag.com

reviews of albums and books by

Art Director

SALES & ADMINISTRATION

Iowa artists. Jordan Sellergren

President, Little Village, LLC

jordan@littlevillagemag.com

Matthew Steele matt@littlevillagemag.com

Multimedia Journalist

Meet this month’s guest contributors: Megan Bannister is the freelance

Melanie Hanson’s just trying to

Adria Carpenter

Advertising

writer and blogger behind

get her shite right and let it all go

adria@littlevillagemag.com

Nolan Petersen, Matthew Steele

OlioInIowa.com, which features

meow.

ads@littlevillagemag.com

unique destinations, roadside

Events Editor, Design Assistant

attractions and “world’s largest.” She

Dana James is founder of Black

Sid Peterson

Creative Services

is also the author of the Iowa Supper

Iowa News.

sid@littlevillagemag.com

Website design, Email marketing,

Clubs.

E-commerce, Videography Staff Writers

Jamie Malone is a non-binary John Busbee works as an

multidisciplinary artist who

independent voice for Iowa’s

graduated from Iowa State

CIRCULATION

cultural scene, including producing

University in the summer of 2019

Distribution Manager

a weekly KFMG radio show, The

with a BA in Biological/Pre-

Lily DeTaeye

Joseph Servey

Culture Buzz, since 2007.

Medical Illustration. Find them at

lily@littlevillagemag.com

joseph@littlevillagemag.com

creative@littlevillagemag.com

Courtney Guein courtney@littlevillagemag.com

jamiemalone.com. Britt Fowler is a Des Moines photog-

Spanish Language Editor

Distribution

rapher specializing in documenta-

John Martinek is a visual artist

Spenser Santos

Joey Leaming, Bill Rogers,

ry style, landscape and portraiture.

and cabinetmaker. More art at

Joseph Roth

Her active project Shoot Des Moines

johnmartinek.com and Instagram @

distro@littlevillagemag.com

(Shoot

jnmartinek.

Calendar/Event Listings calendar@littlevillagemag.com

DSM)

catalogues

sights

and stories from the Mecca of the OFFICES

Kembrew McLeod is a founding

Midwest!

Corrections

Little Village Des Moines

editor@littlevillagemag.com

900 Keosauqua Way, #104,

Gabriel Greco is a creative portrait

chair of Communications Studies at

Des Moines, IA 50309

photographer based in Des Moines

the University of Iowa.

April Contributors

Little Village columnist and the

(@gabegreco). He has a passion for

Megan Bannister, John Busbee,

Little Village HQ

color and making people feel their

Sam Locke Ward is a cartoonist and

Britt Fowler, Gabriel Greco,

623 S Dubuque St

best.

musician from Iowa City. He self

Lauren Haldeman, Melanie

Iowa City, IA 52240

Hanson, Dana James, Jamie

319-855-1474

Malone, John Martinek, Kem-

publishes the comic zines Voyage Lauren Haldeman is the author

Into Misery and ’93 Grind Out and

of Team Photograph (fall 2022),

has put out over 50 music albums.

brew McLeod, Jami Milne, Tom

SOCIAL MEDIA

Instead of Dying (winner of the 2017

In 2020 his “Futile Wrath” strip for

Tomorrow, Sam Locke Ward,

Facebook @LittleVillageMagDSM

Colorado Prize for Poetry), Calenday,

Little Village won the Association of

Sara Weiler, Kent Williams

Instagram @LittleVillageMagDSM

and The Eccentricity is Zero. She has

Alternative Newsmedia’s award for

Twitter @LittleVillage

received an Iowa Arts Fellowship, a

cartoon of the year.

Sustainable Arts Foundation Award and fellowships from the Iowa

Kent Williams lives, works, writes

Writers’ Workshop.

and complains in Iowa City. LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1 April 2022 5

LittleVillageMag.com

Top Stories Daily news updates, events, restaurant reviews and videos at LittleVillageMag.com.

Gov. Reynolds will deliver the Republican response to President Biden’s

Indie venue collective, co-founded by Des Moines’ Tobi Parks, could

State of the Union address

‘revolutionize touring’

By Paul Brennan, Feb. 22

By Courtney Guein, March 6

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on Tuesday that

Rolling Stone recently recognized eight indie venue owners for their

Gov. Kim Reynolds will deliver the Republican response to President Joe

determination to support burgeoning artists and help “secure the future

Biden’s State of the Union speech next week. In a written statement,

of live independent music.” One of the owners featured is Tobi Parks,

McConnell praised Reynolds’ “brave, bold, and successful leadership” as an

who opened xBk Live in Des Moines’ Drake neighborhood in 2019, and is

example of the work Republican governors are doing.

also the co-creator of D Tour, a collective of mom-and-pop venues and promoters across the U.S.

Bringing back the pawpaw, Iowa’s forgotten fruit

Watch: Dan Padley, perhaps Iowa City’s most versatile

By Adria Carpenter, March 11

guitarist, has a passion for improv (and cooking eggs)

There aren’t many fruit trees native to Iowa, and as corn and soybean

By Jason Smith, March 17

replaced native plants throughout the state, even fewer remained in the

If you’ve seen an Iowa City band perform in the past few

wild. But the pawpaw tree is making a comeback. It’s small with large,

years, odds are you’ve heard Dan Padley on guitar. Trained

tapered leaves, part of the custard-apple family, and its yellow-green,

in jazz at the University of Iowa, Padley’s specialty is

potato-shaped fruit tastes like a cross of mangos and bananas, with a

improvisation—creating “mini sonic universes” of sound.

creamy sweet texture.

In this edition of Studio Visit, Padley describes Iowa City’s music scene, his own personal style and why cooking

WATCH Studio Visit: guitarist Dan Padley

breakfast food is kind of like songwriting.

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FAMILY OWNED LOCALLY LOVED 4040 UNIVERSITY IN DSM

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Publisher Genevieve Trainor. Jami Milne

GREETINGS, GREATER DSM! It’s with much exhaustion and joy that we plop this first issue down in front of your eager faces. Central Iowa is bustling with ambition and creativity, and we’re honored for this chance to reflect a bit of it back to you. So, what is Little Village? We’re a monthly magazine in the alt-weekly tradition, dedicated to serving communities. We celebrated our 20th anniversary last year, and we’re excited to bring our skills to bear raising the voices of Central Iowans. Thank you to the members of our Founders’ Club of advertisers, who took a chance on this publication. Thank you to our supporters who spread the word based on their love for our Eastern Iowa edition, especially hype-man extraordinaire Mike Draper of RAYGUN. Thank you to Phil James, our tireless on-the-ground sales rep who connected with so many of our advertisers. Thank you to our Des Moines-based staff writers, Courtney Guein

F U T I L E W R A T H

S A M LO C K E WA R D

HAVE AN OPINION? Better write about it! Send letters to: Editor@LittleVillageMag.com

and Lily DeTaeye, who have been laying the groundwork for our success with their coverage since February. Thank you to our growing coterie of freelance writers, artists and photographers in Central Iowa, who trust us with their artistic expression. And a very personal thank you from me to the LV staff in Eastern Iowa, who have worked at the top of their game to make this mag happen. I hope you love their work. Welcome, readers! Genevieve Trainor Publisher, Arts Editor they/them

L E T T E R S DEAR GOVERNOR REYNOLDS, OK. We’re both adults here and I don’t feel the need to bullshit you, so here we go. I’m not writing this to appeal to your humanity, because I know you don’t see me as a human being. If you could see trans people of any age as actual human beings, you wouldn’t be using the legal system to commit violence against literal children and their families and friends and supporters and

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1 April 2022 11

I N T E R A C T I O N S

“Whatever staffers wrote Grassley’s questions must be on the edge of their seats as he throws their work into the blender of his mind.” —Charles P. Pierce (@ CharlesPPierce on Twitter), on Day 2 of Kentaji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing

caregivers. If you could see trans people as human beings, you’d realize that attempting to create some legal definition of “womanhood” is not only impossible, it’s extremely harmful and marginalizing and is, again, violence. Excluding people from society is violence and also just like, shitty. And you know what’s fucked up? I think you know that. I think you would probably say, “Well, yes, we’re excluding them from society, but we need to do that to protect society.” No real surprises there, that’s pretty common rhetoric from people like you. “We’re excluding them from society, but we need to do that to protect society” is an excuse that’s used across the board to discriminate against (and murder!) trans people, queer people, people of color, Indigenous people, disabled people, Jews,

“We started looking at where do we need to cut back in this office and shove people back out into retail. Our retail stores are the heart of Hy-Vee, and some people just simply see it being beneath them to work at the retail stores. I think it’s crazy, and I think that it’s offensive.” —Hy-Vee CEO Randy Edeker in a video to staff after laying off 121 of his fellow corporate employees “The number one crisis in Iowa cascades down to many sectors. It’s Iowa’s chronic and acute workforce crisis. … Republicans are not facing the reality. IA doesn’t have enough people to fill the available jobs and it is holding back our economy. They have done absolutely nothing to help and nothing to fix the problem. They just call Iowans lazy and take away their earned benefits.” —Iowa Sen. Claire Celsi on Twitter (@ SenClaireCelsi)

STRESS FRACTURES via Sen. Claire Celsi

Still from Jimmy Kimmel Live

WO RT H R E P E AT I N G

“In my opinion, that [HF 2355] is the most polite and soft way that you can tell the public they’re about to get screwed. Is the solvency of the unemployment trust fund at risk? No. And nobody’s buying the governor’s rationale that garbage policy like this will have a positive economic impact. It’s not going to address the workforce shortage.” —Rep. Chris Hall of Sioux City “This explains Chuck Grassley’s tweets.” —Michael Ian Black on Julliegrace Brufke’s tweet: “Roger Stone defends Madison Cawthorn, claims orgies and drug abuse not uncommon in DC” 12 April 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1

Muslims, immigrants—basically anybody who does not look and think and act like you (you, in this case, being Kim Reynolds, paragon of Good White Christian Womanhood or whatever the fuck). So yeah, I’m not writing this to appeal to you as a human being, I’m writing this because you’re shitty and I hate you. I’m mad at you for doing the things that you do and I think you’re a bad person. I think everybody who supports trying to make it legally difficult or impossible for trans kids to live their lives is a bad person. Any and all reasoning you might cite to support your views and actions is just bullshit you made up to justify your dumb prejudices and your stupid petty bigotry*. I don’t really have anything else to say here except hi, I’m trans, and you’re an asshole. So go fuck

JOHN MARTINEK

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L E T T E R S

I N T E R A C T I O N S

yourself, I guess? And if you feel like you wanna say anything in response to this**, I would suggest keeping it yourself. Yours really extremely sincerely like I mean every fucking word of this, Violet Austerlitz *Although—I will admit, I’m really enjoying what a self-own some of your logic is. You’re like, “oh no we can’t let trans girls compete against cis girls because we believe that trans girls are actually boys and everybody knows boys are athletically and intellectually superior to girls in every way and so we must protect our dumb weak daughters from being embarrassed.” Like, that’s how you sound. You sound like a dumb idiot who hates women and thinks they suck, and it’s pathetic. **Anything that isn’t “oh shit I just realized that I’m a fucking monster and I need to rethink my beliefs and my actions,” that is. —Violet Austerlitz ‘A middle finger to hardworking Iowans’: Iowa House and Senate approve bill to cut unemployment benefits (March 24)

MOMBOY

The way to bring people into the job market is to pay fair wages, offer full time with benefits, and address the issues of child care and health care. —Sharon T. This Des Moines comic writer launched his own Afrocentric sci-fi/fantasy universe (March 29)

What’s in that pelican’s mouth? Jason Momoa’s scrunchie 46.7%

You inspire me [Aniekan White]!! i’m so proud of you!! you literally talked about it & made it happen. You manifested this. Congratulations friend! —Colo S.C. Keep doing your thing big dawg!! —Billy L. Iowa Supreme Court rules in favor of transgender worker in landmark employment discrimination case (April 1) Congratulations!!! Thank you for your bravery and persistence!!!! —Barbara S.

LAUREN HALDEMAN

Have an opinion? Better write about it!

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Love Your Mother Des Moines’ Mary Kline-Misol offers a meditation on the Earth. BY JOHN BUSBEE

“H

ow is it possible that the most intellectual creature to ever walk the planet Earth is destroying its only home?” —Dame Jane Morris Goodall, primatologist and anthropologist The arts often provide songs of the soul, expressions of inner muses. Visceral responses become the first dominos in a reactionary chain triggered by the intersections of artist and experiencer. Some artists leverage their aesthetic success to prod the social conscience. Combining the power of art with the passion for a great cause, the narrative can shift. Mary Kline-Misol’s The Gaia Project: A Climate Crisis Dialogue pulses with such significance. It launches on April 8 in the Artisan Gallery 218 in Historic Valley Junction, with an artist reception/Earth Day celebration on April 22 at 5 p.m. and guest speakers at the gallery throughout the month. “Altarpiece for the World,” a triptych featuring Chief Seattle of the Squamish in the center and apocalyptic visions on either side, serves as Kline-Misol’s artist statement. “It is my commentary on the current global climate crisis which affects every one of us in many ways,” Kline-Misol writes on her website. “Here in Iowa, we are dealing with water quality issues, land erosion, drought and policy makers who seem to turn a deaf ear to the problems.” Kline-Misol’s evocative imagery, backed by a passionate understanding of the global threat, burrows into the viewer’s heart, soul and mind. The Gaia Project ignites a deep resonance and call to action which, if left unanswered, will inch us towards an irreversible tipping point. Can advocacy and creativity save our world? History provides a rich record of the symbiotic understanding between the human race and the natural world. Today’s crisis has become more pronounced over the past several decades. The impacts are more catastrophic and costlier than ever, in death, economic, natural and societal losses. Understanding how our ancestors embraced their partnership with Mother Earth can guide us in returning to those environmental roots. KlineMisol taps the Greek goddess of Earth, Gaia, as the namesake for her project. Gaia is the mother of all life, and has cultural counterparts with the Romans (Terra Mater), the Hindu (Prithvi, or “the

Altarpiece for the World Mary Kline-Misol

Vast One”) and the Hopi’s Kokyangwuti (Spider Grandmother) who, with Sun god Tawa, created Earth and its creatures. Native American indigenous peoples have long understood the natural and sacred bond between themselves and their natural worlds. Their relationship was respectfully symbiotic and carried an undertone of foreseeing how their respect would carry into the future for their children. Other advocates have joined those ancestral voices, including notable Iowans. Aldo Leopold, born in Burlington in 1887, joined the Forestry Service. He guided that agency to greater awareness in protecting American wilderness. Considered by many to be the father of wildlife ecology and the United States’ wilderness system, Leopold was a conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer and outdoor enthusiast. He introduced the world to his concept of “land ethic,” which calls for an ethical, caring relationship between people and nature. Leopold developed an interest in the natural world at an early age, spending hours observing, journaling and sketching his surroundings growing up next to the Mississippi River. Another Iowan advocate was two-time Pulitzer Prize winning Jay N. “Ding” Darling, whose prolific early to mid-20th century images on conservation reached millions through his daily published editorial cartoons. Darling was a polymath who leveraged his diverse interests through his evocative imagery, primarily as an editorial cartoonist. Those powerful images were carried by almost 150 newspapers across America. Kline-Misol’s creative ‘Altarpiece’ honors Chief Seattle and his earth-bound wisdom in the center panel of her triptych, where Seattle is

‘The Gaia Project’ Artist Reception/Earth Day Celebration, Artisan Gallery 218, Des Moines, Friday, April 22 at 5 p.m., Free

flanked by barren landscapes featuring images of owls. For the Pacific Coast North One Nations, the owl is a symbol of wisdom and a warning of difficult times ahead (Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, Whistler BC, Canada). Nature almost always provides warnings. Humans seem wont to ignore many of these signs. Artists such as Kline-Misol are members of a growing legion of voices leveraging their talents to make a positive difference for our shared future. “In my painting, Seattle is emerging out of the text of his letter,” writes Kline-Misol. “It is a poignant love letter to the planet. A plea for the new settlers to ‘Love this earth like a Newborn loves its Mother’s Heartbeat.’” Kline-Misol thoughtfully and convincingly builds on a legacy of fine art and activism to save our natural world. The Gaia Project: A Climate Crisis Dialogue is a revealing facet of her creativity and concern for future generations, for without a habitable world to live in, how can there be life? Consider the choices, become engaged. John Busbee works as an independent voice for Iowa’s cultural scene, including producing a weekly KFMG radio show, The Culture Buzz, since 2007. He received the 2014 Iowa Governor’s Award for Collaboration & Partnership in the Arts. LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1 April 2022 15

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Courtesy of Black Iowa News

The Fractured State of Iowa Nice

Black Hairstyles Have Consequences Efforts to prevent hair-based discrimination won’t move forward in the Iowa Legislature this year. BY DANA JAMES

“H

is hair is disgusting.” “He shouldn’t be allowed to work here with that hair.” “It’s not professional.” As I sat working at my desk, I could hear snatches of my coworkers’ conversation about the new Black employee’s locs. If my former coworkers had worked in human resources, it’s doubtful he’d have ever been hired—all because of the hair that grows from his scalp. Anti-Black racism and hair-based discrimination is nothing new—from this country’s founding, through the Civil Rights Movement and to today. Employers have used Black hairstyles to reject and fire Black employees. Schools have disciplined and expelled Black students because of their hair. Discrimination pilfers income from Blacks’ wallets, and microaggresive behavior can leave lasting scars. There’s the white school staffer who cut a biracial child’s hair, and the referee who chopped a Black wrestler’s locs. Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert in February referred to the CROWN Act as the “bad hair” bill before it failed at the federal level (on March 18, the bill passed the U.S. House for the second time, but still faces uncertainty in the Senate). Labeling Black hair as “bad” or unprofessional is offensive, harmful and just wrong. That’s why Blacks across the

16 April 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1

country have pushed for the CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, at the federal, state and local levels. The law prohibits race-based hair discrimination and protects those who wear braids, locs, twists, Bantu knots and protective natural hairstyles. For a second year, Iowa lawmakers introduced legislation to prohibit race-based hair discrimination but the bills, HF2110 and HF2513, did not make it out of committee before funnel week, which means the bills won’t advance any further. Legislators vow to try again next year. Shade Burgs, a Black man from Des Moines, began wearing locs about 16 years ago. His waistlength hair garners comments from many people—including unwanted comments from white strangers. They reach out and touch his hair without his permission and make disparaging remarks. “I’ve experienced discrimination in the workplace, housing and just life in general,” he said. “I’ve been stopped by white folks and asked: ‘Is that really your hair?’ and ‘Doesn’t that start to stink because you can’t wash it?’” During a job interview, he was told: “We would rather present a more professional image for the company.” Then, when he and a friend tried to rent an apartment, the property owner said he wanted a more traditional family that would fit into the neighborhood’s “dynamic,” Burgs said. It doesn’t matter whether he’s wearing dressy clothes and expensive shoes, his locs bring both compliments and bias. “I have literally 10-20 experiences like this,” he said. For a professional photo, I donned a wavy wig and a T-shirt that read: I ♥ being Black. When I posted the photo on social media, white men said they doubted I was a proud Black woman because I didn’t display my natural hair. Their misperceptions are reflective of their simultaneous fascination with and condemnation of Blacks’ appearance and a misplaced desire to micromanage our very existence. Like many Black people, I’ve had to define beauty on my own terms—while recognizing that Black hairstyles will Shade Burgs’ locs have been the target of discrimination for decades. Courtesy of Shade Burgs

The CROWN Act is already law in 14 states and 30 cities, and legislation is pending in other states: • The Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Act in March, which would add hairstyle and texture to a provision in the Minnesota Human Rights Act. The Senate is currently reviewing the legislation in committee. • The Tennessee House of Representatives is reviewing the Act, which already passed in the Senate. • Cities in West Virginia are working to pass the Act, which was defeated statewide. At least three cities, however, have passed the law so far. • Kentucky’s House Judiciary Committee passed the Act on March 10. Natural hairstyles reflect Black culture and Blacks’ proud, rich history, but discrimination is still a widespread problem, according to the 2021 Dove CROWN Research Study for Girls: • 53% of Black mothers whose daughters have experienced hair discrimination said it occurred as early as age 5. • 86% of Black teens have experienced discrimination based on their hair by age 12. • 100% of Black elementary school girls in predominantly white schools report experiencing hair bias and discrimination by age 10. • Black women are 1.5 times more likely than whites to be sent home from work because of their hair. • Black women are 80% more likely than whites to agree with this statement: I have to change my hair from its natural state to fit in at the office.

always have consequences in a society steeped in anti-Black racism. My former coworkers unabashedly shared their racist comments about a Black coworker’s locs. What the CROWN Act would do in Iowa is prevent them from using their racism to discriminate. Dana James wears her hair however she pleases and doesn’t need you to cosign not one strand. James is founder of Black Iowa News. #passthecrown #crownact #blackiowanews #blackhairisprofessionalhair #blackhairisgoodhair

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Una introducción POR SPENSER SANTOS

ola y bienvenidos a En Español, una columna renacida. Antes de describir el futuro de la columna quiero presentarme a ustedes. Me llamo Spenser Santos, y he vivido en Iowa City durante diez años. Llegué a Iowa City en 2012 y asistí a la Universidad de Iowa hasta 2019. En este tiempo, yo estudiaba literatura medieval y la traducción literaria. Me enamoré de los poemas Beowulf y El Cantar de Mio Cid, y tengo la intención de traducirlos. En 2016, traduje unos artículos a inglés por En Español. Nunca olvidaré un artículo especifico, escrito por mi amiga Helena Mariño, sobre la reacción en España a la nominación de Donald Trump en 2016. El refrán de <<¿qué pasa con los estadounidenses?>> resona ahora más que nunca. Les amigues de Helena le preguntaban cuestiones como esta a ella porque ella estuvo en Iowa y creyeron que ella tuviera una respuesta que tuvo sentido. Iowa tiene más que 100.000 hispanohablantes, y no creo que haya ninguna falta de historias desconocidas a nuestros vecines anglófones. Como editor de En Español, solicitaré historias de una variedad de perspectivas y experiencias. Quiero amplificar las voces de les latines en Iowa y presentar la diversidad de nuestras experiencias a todes iowaneses. Una nota antes de termino esta introducción. Quizás, lector, usted ha visto que yo uso formas de género neutral como vecines y latines. Como

Call for submissions! To submit a story idea to En Español, reach out to spenser-santos@uiowa.edu

una persona trans y cuir de género, el lenguaje inclusivo me importa mucho. En español, uso los pronombres elle o ella. En inglés, uso they o she. La familia de mi padre es de Puerto Rico, y yo aprendía español como estudiante porque mi padre no habla el idioma. Por esa razón, excúsame por favor de las peculiaridades cuando escribo en español. Vuelvo a mi visión de la columna. Busco historias de estudiantes, de la gente joven y vieja, de Iowa y de países extranjeras. Busco poesía, opiniones sobre los últimos acontecimientos, historias de la vida cotidiana en Iowa como hispanohablante, e información que se refiere a las pruebas y luchas de nuestras comunidades. Voy a contactar a unas personas, pero si usted quiere escribir un artículo, mándame un email a <<spenser-santos@uiowa.edu>>. Gracias, y nos vemos el próximo mes.

An Introduction

ello and welcome to En Español, a column reborn. Before describing the column’s future, I’d like to introduce my-

self. My name is Spenser Santos, and I’ve lived in the Iowa City area for 10 years. I came to Iowa City in 2012 and attended the University of Iowa until 2019. In this time, I studied medieval literature and literary translation. I fell in love with the poems Beowulf and El Cantar de Mio Cid, and someday I plan to translate them. In 2016, I translated some articles into English for Little Village. I’ll never forget one piece in particular, written by my friend Helena Mariño, about how Spaniards reacted to Donald Trump’s nomination in 2016. The refrain “What’s going on with the Americans?” resonates now more than ever. Helena’s friends asked her questions like this because she was in Iowa and they thought she’d have an answer that made sense. Iowa has more than 100,000 Spanish speakers, and I don’t think there’s any lack of stories

courtesy of Spenser Santos

En Español

unknown to our English-speaking neighbors. As editor of En Español, I Will solicit stories from a variety of perspectives and experiences. I want to amplify the voices of Latine people in Iowa and introduce the diversity of our experiences to all Iowans. One note before I finish this introduction. Reader, maybe you have noticed that I use gender neutral forms like “Latines.” As a trans and non-binary person, inclusive language matters a lot to me. In Spanish, I use elle/ella pronouns, while in English I use they/she. My father’s family comes from Puerto Rico, and I learned Spanish as a student because my father doesn’t speak the language. Because of this, please excuse any quirks when I’m writing in Spanish. Back to my vision for the column: I’m looking for stories from students, young people and older people alike, from Iowa and abroad. I’m looking for poetry, opinions on current events, stories about daily life in Iowa as a Spanish speaker, and information relevant to the struggles and fights facing our communities. I’m going to reach out to some people, but if you want to write a piece, send me an email at spenser-santos@uiowa.edu. Thank you, and see you next month.

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Community

History

Center Street was heart of Des Moines’ Black community. Bad urban planning put a freeway through it.

BY PAUL BRENNAN AND COURTNEY GUEIN

y 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 like many stretches of highway built through cities, the construction of I-235 did damage that was largely ignored at the time and has continued to go unacknowledged. That started to change last year, as the Biden administration announced it wanted to address the disruption highway construction over the decades has caused in communities of color. “Let me be clear: American highways were too often built through Black neighborhoods on purpose—dividing communities, adding pollution, and making pedestrians less safe,” Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said in April 2021. Buttigieg discussed the impact in New York City, but the secretary, who spent months in Iowa ahead of the 2020 caucus, could have pointed to Des Moines. The construction of I-235 was the beginning of the end of the Center Street neighborhood that was the heart of the city’s Black community. The neighborhood was one of the few open to Black residents for much of the 20th century, a hub of Black-owned businesses and home to clubs that featured Iowa’s best jazz and blues musicians. People who knew Center Street often called it “a city within a city.” “People came from all over to see and be a part of Center Street in Des Moines, Iowa,” Mildred Mayberry said, recalling Center Street at its most vibrant in the 1940s and ’50s in Gaynelle Narcisse’s 1996 book They Took Our Piece of the Pie: Center Street Revisited.

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efore the area northwest of downtown Des Moines was known as Center Street, it was called Calamity Creek, because it flooded frequently. Even after drainage improvements in the 1890s brought the flooding under control, it still wasn’t considered a desirable area of the city to live in, which is why it was open to Black Iowans. Iowa never had Jim Crow laws on its books like Southern states, and it even had a record of being progressive on racial matters. The Iowa Legislature eliminated the state’s law against interracial marriage in 1851 (over a century before Loving v. Virginia), and in 1868 the Iowa Supreme Court declared school segregation unconstitutional (more than 80 years before Brown v. Board of Education). But Iowa, like other states outside the South, had its own less formal, but very effective, version of segregation.

Community

Pauline B. Humphrey (center) with her students outside Crescent School of Beauty Culture in the 1940s. African American Museum of Iowa

There were neighborhoods where realtors wouldn’t sell to Black families and landlords wouldn’t rent to them, businesses where it was clear Black customers were not welcome. Banks in Iowa, like in the rest of the country, engaged in redlining, in which they discriminated against communities of color. Neighborhoods like Center Street grew to serve the needs of Black

residents in cities that were often hostile to them. In the early years of the 20th century, Black-owned businesses began opening along Center, between 12th and 17th Streets, including one of the first drug stores in Iowa owned and operated by a Black pharmacist. Ironically for a neighborhood formed by a style of segregation not formally enshrined in law, it was a formal version of segregation at the federal level written into federal regulations that twice gave great boosts to Center Street’s economy. Until 1948, two years after the end of World War II, Black troops in the U.S. military served in segregated units. And partially because Iowa didn’t have written Jim Crow laws, the Des Mones area served as a training site for Black soldiers during both world wars. Fort Des Moines was the site of the Army’s Black Officers Training Camp in 1917 and 1918, as U.S. troops were sent to Europe during World War I. Black enlisted men were already being trained at Camp Dodge in Johnston. In the ’40s, Fort Des Moines was the training center for Black women who volunteered to serve in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WACs) during World War II. During both wars, Black soldiers and later WACs patronized the businesses and entertainment in the Center Street neighborhood, one area of Des Moines they could be sure they’d be welcome. Center Street’s Watkins Hotel was the site of the USO that served the needs of Black service members. Between the wars, a major change happened in the neighborhood. In 1920, the city began construction of Keosauqua Way (Keo Way), to divert traffic from downtown and provide a more direct route to neighborhoods in the

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grew, more or less forming its eastern boundary. Like many city neighborhoods, the boundaries of Center Street weren’t exact, but the heart of it ran from Center and Keo at the east end to Center and 17th Street on the west side, and north from Center taking in Crocker and School Streets, as well as some of the nearby residential areas. Although the construction of Keo Way demolished some businesses along Center Street, it made the area more accessible, which helped its businesses grow over the next 20 years. •

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he Center Street neighborhood was home to a wide variety of businesses, from pharmacies where newborn baby supplies could be purchased to the Wilson Funeral Home near the corner of 14th Street and Center. There were bakeries, a grocery store, cleaners, smoke shops and Robert Patten’s print shop, where he produced everything from posters to wedding invitations to religious-themed prints for framing. Center Street was the location of the Crescent School of Beauty, the first cosmetology school in Iowa.

Billiken Ballroom, 1940s. Robert E. Patten Collection (PH1995.21.4), State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines

northwest of the city. Center Street wasn’t one of the neighborhoods city leaders intended to make more accessible, but it was one of the neighborhoods Keo Way ran through. Its construction involved the demolition of businesses along the north side of the 1000 block of Center Street. Keo Way became one of the streets that defined the neighborhood as it

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The Crescent School was founded in 1939 by Pauline Brown Humphrey, who had graduated from the Madam C.J. Walker College of Beauty Culture in Chicago. But Humphrey’s training in Chicago wasn’t transferrable to the state of Iowa, which required her to complete its own certification course before the school could open. The only program Humphrey could find that would admit her was in Fort Dodge, 70 miles from Des Moines. A determined Humphrey made that grueling commute until she completed the program. There would be at least three other beauty parlors for Black women along Center Street over the years, but the Crescent School remained a mainstay until the late ’60s. There were plenty of barbershops for men, too, including the impressively named Hardaway Tonsorial Parlor, which opened in 1928 and was one of the last businesses operating when the final buildings began to be demolished on Center Street in 1968. Restaurants were a major attraction, and one the best remembered was the Community Luncheonette owned by Arthur and Goletha Trotter. Despite its name, the 18-seat restaurant was open from early in the morning until late at night, during the 23 years the Trotters ran it before they retired in 1956. It was well-known for its desserts, especially the pies. There were plenty of options for hungry people. Most were casual— like Harry Hatter’s, where the chili could supposedly cure hangovers, or Sampson’s Chicken Shack, whose slogan was “If you are in the dog house at home, you’re always welcome at Sampson’s Chicken Shack”—but there was also the Sepia Club, where the waiters had white linen napkins draped across their arms as they served customers. The Sepia Club, 1014 Center St, was owned by brothers Seymour and Howard Gray, who built it into a jazz club only rivaled by the Billiken Ballroom, which was located two blocks up the street. The versatile Grays not only managed the club, they also performed in its house band, in addition

“The enthusiasm of the Center Street community is apparent in the sheer number of occasions for which dances were held,” journalist Raymond Kelso Weikal wrote. “Election days, reunions, graduations, anniversaries, virtually any event could be seized upon as an excuse to throw a dance.” to running a barber shop on Center Street. The Sepia Club and the Billiken attracted the best local jazz and blues talent, and when big musical acts like Count Basie’s and Duke Ellington’s orchestras played the big theaters in downtown, the musicians would head to Center Street after their shows. Sometimes it was just to listen, but sometimes it was to join in late night jam sessions with the musicians playing at the Sepia or the Billiken. “Sometimes jazz on Center would start on Friday night and run almost constantly, night and day, until Monday night,” Des Moines jazz musician Bobby Dawson recalled in a video interview with the Metro Arts Alliance decades later. “That was the sign-out period. It was called Blue Monday.” Dawson wasn’t exaggerating. Both the Sepia and the Billiken could stay open 24 hours, and often did, because neither served beer. Taverns like The Nip or other bars in the neighborhood that served beer had to close by 2 a.m. But the Sepia and the Billiken operated under Iowa’s convoluted liquor laws 24 April 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1

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Center Street neighborhood pre-1960 and today A. Crescent School of Beauty B. Robert Patten’s print shop C. Wilson Funeral Home D. The Community Luncheonette E. The Community Pharmacy F. Billiken Ballroom G. The Sepia Club

as “key clubs.” Iowa didn’t permit sale of liquor by the glass until 1963, but a key club customer could buy a whole bottle which would be stored at the club in an assigned locker. The customer would order the set up for a mixed drink, then the bartender would open the locker and add liquor from the customer’s bottle. Despite the fact key clubs served stiffer drinks than places only offering beer, there was no mandatory closing time. There were many other music clubs in Center Street, and other venues like the Watkins Hotel. And even beyond those places, music played an important role in community life. “The enthusiasm of the Center Street community is apparent in the sheer number of occasions for which dances were held,” journalist Raymond Kelso Weikal wrote. “Election days, reunions, graduations, anniversaries, virtually any event could be seized upon as an excuse to throw a dance.”

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Center Street was a place to see and be seen for Black residents of Des Moines. People watching became a popular pastime on weekends, when friends and even families would park along Center and sit in their cars, watching others come and go. The neighborhood boasted several civic groups, and had an Elks Club, a Masonic Temple and a YMCA. There were also less family-friendly attractions. Effie Phillips, who worked at The Nip and Collins Club on Center Street, told Narcisee, “We had our prostitutes and pimps but they wasn’t trouble to others.” Phillips said she never felt unsafe walking through the neighborhood, even after she got off work late at night. It was the wilder side that drew Ted Ewing, a railroad worker from St. Louis, to the neighborhood when he visited Des Moines in 1944. “We hit Center Street,” he told Narcisse. “Every house I went to had a crap game, vendor, whiskey, and women.” But things were very different the next time Ewing visited Des Moines. “I returned about twenty-five years later, looking for Center Street and its hotel, only to find a highway had been built and split the city. Center Street was in disarray; it has never looked the same, and the entire city seemed to change.”

•

enter Street was more than just its clubs and businesses. There were family homes, boarding houses and apartments. Hundreds of households were displaced by the building of I-235 and the urban renewal projects that followed. There had long been plans for an east-west highway across the city to connect downtown to suburbs, but as with almost any major project in Iowa, nothing happened until the federal government put up the money. Along came the National Interstate and Defense Act of 1956, which began 30 years of federally financed highway construction. Having I-235 cut through the Center Street neighborhood seemed like a natural choice to city and state planners, none of whom saw anything valuable or worth preserving about the area. Alternative routes were briefly considered, but in 1958 the Iowa Highway Commission made its decision and began buying up property in the path of the planned roadway. Homeowners and business owners were supposed to be paid fair market value for their property, and despite the efforts of the Des Moines chapter of the NAACP and other groups to assist

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residents and business owners in the Center Street area, records indicate Black property owners were routinely paid less than white property owners. Short-changed on their homes and facing the city’s informal segregation, which remained effective despite some progress in breaking down those barriers, many Black residents had trouble finding new places to live. As highway construction started around the country in the late ’50s, so did urban renewal projects. These projects were aimed at improving areas of cities considered blighted, but most of the projects didn’t involve investing in neighborhoods to boost under-resourced businesses and repairing decaying homes. Instead, the programs tore down buildings to replace them with something new, usually displacing the people who lived in the neighborhoods. “Urban renewal means Negro removal,” was a common saying of Black communites throughout America in the ’60s. The city and state had plans for urban renewal projects in Des Moines’ Black neighborhoods, but as ever, waited for federal funding. The first project began in the River Hills area at the end of the ’50s. Subsequent projects included the Center Street neighborhood, and began after federal funding was secured in the mid-’60s. The pattern of Black people being underpaid for their property repeated itself. By late 1969, the final demolition of the buildings at the heart of Center Street’s business district began. The Center Street which had been a vital part of Black Des Moines for much of the 20th century was erased in a little more than 10 years.

•

ecretary Buttigieg has said the Biden administration will work to reconnect neighborhoods divided by urban highway construction by building pedestrian bridges, creating new public transit options and in other unspecified ways. But in the case of Center Street, the parts are no longer there to reconnect. As highway construction and urban renewal projects proceeded, businesses closed or moved. Residents found new homes where they could. The Center Street that was ended up scattered around the Des Moines area, but it remains a vivid memory for many and an enduring example of what Black Iowans were able to accomplish despite the discrimination they faced in the first half of the 20th century.

Paul Brennan is Little Village’s new director. Courtney Guein is an LV Des Moines reporter.

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Bread & Butter

Peace Tree’s Des Moines taproom opened in January 2017. Britt Fowler / Little Village

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Peace Tree Brewing Company 107 W Main St, Knoxville; 317 E Court Ave, Des Moines peacetreebrewing.com

t’s a familiar sight in an Iowa beer cooler: squat brown bottles, leaves imprinted in the glass, each with an orange bottle cap and a whimsically illustrated label. But after 12 years of brewing craft beer—and two years weathering a global pandemic—Peace Tree Brewing owner and CEO Megan McKay decided it was time for a refresh.

Earlier this year, Peace Tree, brewers of Blonde Fatale and Red Rambler, announced they would be updating their branding, complete with new labels and, can you believe it, cans. The new design moves away from Peace Tree’s previous illustrative style and into a sleeker, cleaner look that McKay hopes will work together more cohesively as a family of brews.

“We’re rooted in a small town and really what started the company was the desire to build and grow that small community,” McKay said. Peace Tree is headquartered in Knoxville, Iowa, a Marion County town of roughly 7,600. “Having something that represents that for our brand is really exciting.” Each of the beers’ labels now features an organic, rippling pattern in a different colorway. McKay says that the firm Peace Tree worked with drew inspiration for the design from the business’s roots, quite literally. The brewery was named for the historic Peace Tree, a more than 500-year-old sycamore tree estimated to be the second largest in North America, that once stood in the ebbing waters of nearby Lake Red Rock. Peace Tree’s new look was inspired by that history, with labels that look like both rippling water and the rings of a tree. McKay said customers have commented that the design looks like a fingerprint or a topographical map, both of which feel aligned with how the brewery has grown and made its mark. Peace Tree Brewing is one of Iowa’s first modern microbreweries. When it opened in 2009, it was also the state’s first 100 percent woman-owned brewery. Today, the state’s brewscape has changed—there are now more than 100 craft breweries across the state—but the fan base around Peace Tree has remained loyal. This loyalty facilitated the opening of a second taproom in Des Moines’ East Village in January 2017. (Their East Village IPA was named in honor of

Peace Tree Brewing Company

Blonde Fatale

Get a Little Hazy

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Hazy India

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Pale Ale - 6% ABV

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the new spot.) When the pandemic shut down taprooms across the state more than two years ago, McKay said she and her team took the time to do some soul searching. “I think it’s given us a good chance to understand who we are as a brewery and what’s truly important to us. Those are the things that help you differentiate yourself,” McKay said. When it comes to what separates Peace Tree from other breweries both locally and across the state, McKay says the brewery’s core values have remained constant since its inception. “We’re just always working hard to be beer first,” she said. “We believe in the quality of our product, but also in the quality of the different styles we produce.” Because of that, Peace Tree tends to stray away from massive beer menus and flash-inthe-pan gimmicks. Instead, the commitment to a shared purpose lets the brewery’s team be a little more artful and creative with their approaches. Spacious patios and cold drinks (including their craft root beer) are the draw; Peace Tree hasn’t hopped on the brewpub trend, but welcomes customers to BYOF. And it’s not just locals who appreciate Peace Tree’s dedication to their craft. The brewery has won gold medals at some of the world’s largest and most prestigious beer competitions. Its fan-favorite Blonde Fatale earned gold at the World Beer Cup in 2014. Then, in 2021, Peace Tree’s Get a Little Hazy IPA took home the gold at the Great American Beer Festival. In addition to its brand refresh and a newly launched website, Peace Tree has some other changes in store for 2022. The brewery has a number of new beer releases planned. Recently, those new brews have included the Slightly Blonde, a delightfully drinkable 4% ABV Session Ale that’s the cousin of the boozier Blonde Fatale, as well as a limited edition Sour Wood Series. So far, the Black ‘n Blueberry Sour Ale—a deep purple sour with juicy blackberries and blueberries that give it a tart, fruity finish—is the only available brew from the series. But sour lovers should stay tuned, because more will be coming later this spring and summer. The brewery also updated its manufacturing processes last year with a new canning line. In addition to the updated labels, most of Peace Tree’s beers, aside from Blonde Fatale and its root beer, will now be available exclusively in cans, packaged in-house. McKay says that the recognizable bottle is what used to set Peace Tree beers apart on shelves, but now the new labels help their cans shine. —Megan Bannister

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Culture Prairie Pop

Mr. Cacciatore Down on Linn Street When he’s not in the recording booth, Good Morning Midnight’s frontman can be found behind the counter at an iconic Iowa record store. BY KEMBREW MCLEOD

“I

went to Catholic school in Des Moines, and I guess my way of rebelling was to be a total snob about records,” said Good Morning Midnight frontman Charlie Cacciatore. “Some people are in debate and others play tennis, and me and my friends survived in that ecosystem by taking on that kind of identity. Every weekend, we all went to ZZZ Records and Jay’s CD & Hobby, and we’d go to record shows. We were totally obsessed. At that time, the idea of working at a place like that was such a lofty notion that it seemed out of reach, like being a rock star.” Born in 1997, the soft-spoken guitarist is a third generation Italian American whose great-grandparents immigrated to Des Moines, where his family owns Italian restaurants and a grocery store. But it was the record store life that sparked his imagination. One path into music was through his father, who Cacciatore described as a Gen X new wave kind of guy who had a tape collection that he dove into while growing up. “I got super into U2, and I had a friend I met in first grade who I played with through high school, until we graduated,” he said. “It was Andrew’s dad who introduced me to the Pixies, Replacements and Paul Westerberg’s first solo album, 14 Songs, which was like the first ‘cool’ album that I was into when I was 12 or 13.” After discovering Elliott Smith and Bright Eyes, Cacciatore gravitated to left-of-center indie rock groups like Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo, along with Black Flag and other early hardcore punk bands. Finding a Reagan Youth compilation album whose cover featured the Pope shaking Adolf Hitler’s hand felt like a radical experience while shopping at a record fair in a Des Moines Holiday Inn—especially because their Catholic school bishop would praise certain football players by name during mass and a new teacher was fired days after being hired because he was gay. 30 April 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1

Sara Weiler

Cacciatore played in a Des Moines group named Grand Champ, and some of those songs made their way into the first Good Morning Midnight album, Basket of Flowers, released in 2017. “When I graduated,” he said, “I didn’t know where I wanted to go to college, or if I wanted to go to college, but I knew I wanted to set out on my own. I ended up enrolling at the University of Iowa, mainly as a way to get from one place to the next, but I didn’t stay in school for long.” “The main reason I wound up in Iowa City was because we recorded Basket of Flowers at Luke Tweedy’s Flat Black Studios, just outside of town in Lone Tree. We were some of the first people at Flat Black, and it didn’t even have air conditioning yet. It was July and I was kind of like a snotty kid about it, but Luke was literally in the process of building the studio. Looking back, a really interesting aspect of those sessions was being sweaty and cranky, but being OK with it despite being uncomfortable, because it was my first time in a recording studio.” Cacciatore returned to Flat Black to record the second Good Morning Midnight album, Both Neither and Both, as well as the group’s most recent album, Songs of Violence, which was released on vinyl in early 2022. Through those experiences, he began developing a relationship with the people at Flat Black, which gave him a peek into the wider regional music scene that developed around the recording studio. The more Cacciatore recorded there, the more he felt that he was part of a community, which was really important to him. “There’s an environment at Flat Black that

encourages bands to make the exact record they want to make, on their own terms, without the influence of an outsider trying to assert their idea of what the music should sound like,” he said. “This is a really good environment for a young artist to develop their own voice and their own style. As a young person creating music, which is a very vulnerable process, working with an experienced engineer like Luke, who is from an older generation, has helped me come into my own skin, and there’s no doubt others feel the same way.” Soon after Cacciatore finished the first Good Morning Midnight album, Tweedy sent him a

Gross Domestic Product Festival: Good Morning Midnight, Gas Lamp, Des Moines, Saturday, April 23 at 7 p.m., $18 festival pass

For more events, go to LittleVillageMag.com/Calendar

cryptic text asking about his employment situation. He had been working as a seasonal painter for the Iowa City Community School District—a job he hated—so the musician was elated when he got the news that a job was waiting for him at Record Collector. Before he knew it, Cacciatore was standing behind the counter with his mop of long curly brown hair spinning Built To Spill records, and he remembers thinking, “All right, that’s it. I’ve made it. My life begins and ends now.”

“I WAS EXCITED ABOUT THE IDEA OF HAVING A RECORD COLLECTOR AD IN MY RECORD. I THINK THAT’S REALLY COOL, AND I’M VERY PROUD OF IT.” “Working there has been a huge influence on me,” he said, “but more importantly, I think when I moved to Iowa City, I was really looking for community. It was like a dream come true having the guy who owns a studio where I was recording hook me up with this awesome job where I can sort of do band stuff and run a miniature record label between ringing up customers and filing away records. Record Collector has been a really supportive place for me in that way.” Good Morning Midnight put out Basket of Flowers and Both Neither and Both on independent labels, but Cacciatore decided to self-release Songs of Violence because going the indie route still required him to cover most of the costs involved in making records. To get that album pressed on vinyl, he received some help from Record Collector’s owners, who gave him a loan in exchange for including an advertisement in the LP’s insert sheet. “What’s ironic is that this is the first one that I’ve self-released, but it’s also the only one I’ve had financial help with,” he said. “Plus, I was excited about the idea of having a Record Collector ad in my record. I think that’s really cool, and I’m very proud of it.” Cacciatore characterizes being a record store employee as a cross between attending a school where you learn about a wide range of music and being a sounding board for the eccentric customer-characters who gravitate there. “Honestly, sometimes working there is like being a therapist,” he said. “Which is sometimes great and is exactly what I want to do, and sometimes it’s pure torture. I guess it just depends on the person and the kind of day I’m having.” Record Collector’s other two employees also play in bands, and Cacciatore sees it as a place

that gives back to the community by sponsoring cool things around town. In his experience, the store provides a support beam for young musicians by helping them make a living and by serving as a gateway into the infinite, mysterious world of music—a vastness that is echoed in Good Morning Midnight’s swirl of influences. Songs of Violence distills Cacciatore’s knack for hooky melodies, fuzzed-out guitar riffage and moody melancholia in ways that contain traces of his inspirations without sounding derivative. It is probably no accident that some of his favorite acts, like Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo, are populated by record collectors whose music is more than the sum of its parts, something that is reflected in his group’s playful bio: “Good Morning Midnight began spontaneously, like a trip for ice cream or human combustion, when a record store in Iowa became sentient and began immediately devouring itself. The psychedelic folk music was gnashed to bits with every mouthful, the country records ended up smeared in dissonance from a stack of 90s rock albums someone set aside but never bought, the expensive Brian Eno reissues tried to sneak out with

the barrelhouse piano LPs before they became their own snack.” Cacciatore is pretty sure that the person he hired to write that prose didn’t even know that he worked at Record Collector, so it was flattering to have that aesthetic come through to a total stranger—especially because record stores are such a big part of his identity as a musician and fan. “Working at Record Collector kind of goes back and forth between being like, ‘Oh, this is a retail job’ and ‘Wow, I’m a member of the community.’ Yes, it’s a store and they pay rent and have to meet the bottom line, but at the same time, that doesn’t mean that it can’t be a place where people genuinely connect with one another.” Fun fact: Kembrew McLeod’s first job was as a bag boy at Big Star, a Southern grocery chain that inspired the name of a ’70s cult band beloved by music geeks, and just before his 16th birthday in 1986, he was offered a job at his local record store—which can be seen as a cosmic lateral move.

THROUGH JUNE 5, 2022 Oyoram Israeli, born 1951 / 7even Stories High, 2022 LED display / Pixels on Optical Canvas / Running Time: 5 minutes and 40 seconds

VISIT DESMOINESARTCENTER.ORG

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1 April 2022 31

Culture A-List

A KickAss Time Multi-faceted artist Coral Thede knows how to keep spirits (and tits) up. BY LILY DETAEYE

oral Thede’s house is as bright and welcoming as she is. The walls of her office space are a galaxy of pink, gold and blue. They provide a gentle background for the instruments, costumes and books strewn about in the signature chaos of a creative person. Her kitchen, familiar to those who tune into her Instagram livestreams, is punctuated with brightly colored odds and ends that come together to paint a vivid picture of Thede. It’s here that we sit, and she tells me that before her blockbuster show, Tits Up!, which runs at Teehee’s Comedy Club, she didn’t really consider herself a stand-up comedian. “I’ve always kinda been funny and kinda been musical and was just kinda in those realms, but not fully in them. And then when Teehee’s opened, I was like ‘Oh, now I actually have a stage and a space to do this thing.’” Thede started going to open mics when the club opened its doors in 2019. Previously, she had traveled the world—made country music in Nashville, performed theater in Wyoming—and she found herself in Des Moines with a new job and a new house just months before the COVID-19 pandemic turned everything on its head. But despite her extensive entertainment background, Thede didn’t jump right into stand-up. “Teehee’s opened and I was there opening weekend,” she said. “And then the first Monday night show, I chickened out. I chickened out for two months. Like, I would sit in the back and wouldn’t sign up. I was just so nervous. It’s one thing to be a funny person, it’s a different thing to just actually get up there and do stand-up.”

Gabriel Greco / Little Village

Once Thede finally did get onstage, the comedy bug bit her and she decided to sign up for Teehee’s’ first stand-up comedy class. Unfortunately, the showcase for the class was postponed due to the pandemic. It’s no secret that independent venues struggled, and are still struggling,

32 April 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1

during the pandemic. According to a study conducted by the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), independent venues in America lost billions of dollars in revenue by being closed during most of 2020. This doesn’t include food and beverage revenue lost, and it doesn’t include the financial impact

Tits Up! Teehee’s Comedy Club, Des Moines, Saturday, April 30 at 7 p.m., $25-130

of the years following 2020. And while the struggle was real for Teehee’s, as it was for other Des

LittleVillageMag.com/Calendar

Moines venues, Thede said it shaped the venue’s identity. “I only know Teehee’s as surviving a pandemic and getting through the pandemic the best way we could. And it was a lot of just open communication and meeting people where they’re at and trying to stay positive,” Thede said. “And I think that’s where we really shine: acknowledging that stuff’s hard, acknowledging that there’s challenges and losses and all these things have happened, but also holding on to the light and the laughter of the moments when you have them.” Thede’s series at Teehee’s was designed to do just that. “How do I, having just lost my job as well, keep the community and the spirits in the scene alive while also recognizing what we’re going through?” she remembers asking herself. “That was kind of the push for me to start Tits Up! the way I did.” Tits Up! is a monthly showcase of mainly female and nonbinary comedians, musicians, magicians and what-have-yous that debuted at Teehee’s in November 2020. That first show sold out in 27 hours. While the team behind the showcase and the performers themselves in most cases identify as female or nonbinary, Thede has always hesitated to advertise it that way. “It’s tricky. Because there are times I want it to be on the forefront, like ‘this is what it is’ without saying ‘this is the most diverse and inclusive, mostly female-run show,” she said. “Because it’s just a good show. The bestselling show happens to be female-produced.” As COVID-19 protocols have shifted, Tits Up! has adapted, going from limited capacity to adding performances to allow for the most guests. Typically, Tits Up! runs shows at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. the final Saturday of each month (though they’ll be 7 p.m. only through the summer). Thede recommends not bringing your parents to the late show unless they’re ready to rage all night. But even though COVID-19

cases are decreasing and live entertainment is returning in a somewhat-familiar fashion, the pandemic has made an imprint on the way Tits Up! is structured. For example, Thede does not release a lineup for the show even though the cast changes every month. “The focus was never for it to be a surprise until planning during a pandemic,” Thede said of booking each lineup. “People would just drop off the week of. We didn’t know if we were gonna get shut down. It was just like, who knows? But what I found is people love not knowing. They just show up, they know it’s gonna be a talented lineup, and they trust me to make it happen.” As touring starts to amp up again, keeping the lineup close to the chest (pun absolutely intended) also allows Thede to accommodate performers who might be coming through town at the last minute. “I’m very adamant about having local comedians,” Thede says. “But also comedians who have never been to Des Moines, who have never performed in Des Moines. It’s important to me that they have a kickass time in Des Moines.” As for the bodacious name of her show, Thede borrowed it from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, an Amazon Prime comedy about, appropriately enough, a female comic in the 1950s. “Throughout the show, every time they go onstage, her manager and her say ‘tits up’ to each other. Kind of, you know, get up and get the thing done,” Thede told me. “But what I love about that, or what I made it mean to me in the show, is that you can either bring your emotions onstage, you can let it all out there, or you can keep it behind the stage. But either way, the show’s got to go on.” Lucky for Des Moines, determined artists like Coral Thede have kept the show going, even as the live entertainment landscape continues to change. Lily DeTaeye is a Des Moines staff writer for Little Village.

Little Village has expanded to Des Moines! Come celebrate with us over a copy of the first Central Iowa issue, have a beer, meet the team—maybe even pitch a story! S AT U R D AY,

APRIL

3:30-5:30

P. M . ,

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2022

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1 5 1 4 WA L N U T S T, D E S M O I N E S

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LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/CALENDAR

EVENTS: April April 2022

courtesy of Jordan W. Brooks

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.

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Sunday, April 17,

Reframing Racial Justice in Creative Communities: Jordan W. Brooks Mainframe Studios, Des Moines, at 5 p.m., Free

Mainframe Studios and the Des Moines chapter of SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) present the final event in their four-part speaker series, Reframing Racial Justice in Creative Communities. Jordan W. Brooks serves as director for Equity, Inclusion, and Multicultural Student Success at Iowa State University College of Design. He is also a visual artist working in illustration and murals, and he offers coaching and workshops in team building, DEI initiatives and more through his company KNWSLF. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited. There will be a cash bar and complimentary snacks. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Community Connections Saturday, April 9 at 10 a.m. Union

Saturday, April 16 at 10:30 a.m.

Park Spring Egg Hunt, Heritage

Lemon Trail Ride, Exile Brewing

Carousel, Des Moines, Free

Company, Des Moines, $25

Thursday, April 14 at 6 p.m.

Thursday-Monday, April 21-25.

Gallery Talk for Modern Concepts

Planned Parenthood Book Sale,

w/Jeff Fleming, Des Moines Art

Iowa State Fairgrounds, Des

Center, Des Moines, Free

Moines, Free-$20

Friday, April 15 at 5 p.m. Opening Reception: Chris Vance, Moberg Gallery, Des Moines, Free

EDITORS’ PICKS: April 2022

PRESENTED BY IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN DISTRICT

DES MOINES

Thursday, April 21 at 6 p.m. Hawthorn Hill’s

Friday, April 22 at 5 p.m. Artist Reception: The

Thursday, April 28 at 5 p.m. Wine, Food and

13th Annual Art & More for Shelter, Curate—

Gaia Project—A Climate Crisis Dialogue, Artisan

Beer Showcase, Des Moines Marriott Down-

East Village, Des Moines, $60

Gallery 218, Des Moines, Free

town, Des Moines, $50-150

Friday, April 22 at 12 p.m. Earth Day Rally,

Saturday, April 23 at 10 a.m. Earth Day Family

Saturday, April 30 at 10 a.m. 2022 Mayor’s

Cowles Commons, Des Moines, Free

5k Run/Walk, Polk City Square, Polk City, Free-

Annual Ride, Principal Park, Des Moines, Free-

$25

$50

Friday, April 22, Of

Gravity

and Light Ballet Des Moines, Des Moines Civic Center, at 7 p.m., $22.50$71.50

courtesy of Ballet Des Moines

Beau Kenyon, director of education and outreach at Ballet Des Moines, premieres his newest composition with the company for a onenight-only performance. Artistic director Tom Mattingly choreographed the piece. The interdisciplinary work is also accompanied by a video installation by Boston-based artist Yu-Wen Wu. Of Gravity and Light is exemplary of the power of art to capture abstract concepts in accessible ways, exploring the wonders of space through sound, imagery and movement. Theatrical Thrills Friday, April 8 at 7 p.m. Michael

Friday, April 15 at 8 p.m. Chelsea

Opening Friday, April 22. Pippi

Wednesday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m.

Longfellow, Teehee’s Comedy

Handler, Des Moines Civic Center,

Longstocking: The Musical, Des

Paddington Gets in a Jam, Des

Club, Des Moines, $20-110

$49.50 - $219.50

Moines Community Playhouse, Des

Moines Civic Center, $12-24

Moines, $14-19 Opening Friday April 29. Girls

Saturday, April 9 at 7 p.m. Den-

Friday, April 15 at 8 p.m. Laugh

im-A-Palooza: Standup Comedy

Tracks Comedy Show, The Station

Friday and Saturday, April 22 and

Weekend 2, Iowa Stage Theatre

Showcase, Teehee’s Comedy Club,

on Ingersoll, Des Moines, $12-15

23 at 7:30 p.m. Comedy XPeri-

Company, Stoner Theater, $40

ment, Stoner Theater, Des Moines,

$15-80 Saturday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m.

$15

Saturday, April 30 at 7 p.m.

Through April 10. Singin’ in the

Chicago, Des Moines Civic Center,

Tits Up!, Teehee’s Comedy Club,

Rain, Des Moines Community

$71-401

Friday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m.

$25-130

Kathleen Madigan, Hoyt Sherman

Playhouse, $29-53 Saturday, April 16 at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 14 at 7 p.m.

Naughty Nerds Cabaret: Nerds in

Sebastian Maniscalco: Nobody

Bloom, xBk, Des Moines, $25-45

Tuesday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Place, Des Moines, $42.50

National Geographic Live: Secrets Saturday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m.

of the Whales, Des Moines Civic

Does This Tour, Des Moines Civic

Henry Rollins, Hoyt Sherman

Center, $15-48

Center, $54-154

Place, $25-45

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1 April 2022 35

Anna Jones Photography

EDITORS’ PICKS: April 2022

Saturday, April 23,

Abbie Sawyer w/Annalibera, D. Smith xBk Live, at 5 p.m., $15-18 Des Moines

musician Abbie Sawyer celebrates the release of her first solo album this month with a topnotch lineup of support. Her album release party at xBk Live features openers Annalibera and D. Smith (of the Maytags). Sawyer brings her unforgettable voice to bear on these pandemicpenned tunes, with the distinctive lilt and tonality of Midwestern soul carried over from the Diplomats of Solid Sound married winningly to a country-tinged folk sound for an ambiance that suits her well.

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MAY 24 | HOYT SHERMAN PLACE

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DES MOINES

Musical Marvels Friday, April 8 at 7 p.m. Gabriel Espinosa with Vocal Gumbo, Noce, Des Moines, $20-40 Friday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m. Wolf Alice,

Saturday-Sunday, April 9 and 10 at 7:30 and 2:30 p.m. Masterworks 6: Beethoven’s Ninth, Des Moines Civic Center, $20-70 Saturday, April 9 at 8 p.m. Thelma and the Sleaze, xBk Live, Des Moines, $12-15 Sunday, April 10 at 4 p.m. Big Dopes, Seth Cloe and the Silver Liners, Abigail Phelps, Gaslamp, $8-10 Tuesday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. Taylor Eigsti Quartet, Temple Theater, Des

via Hoyt Sherman Place

Wooly’s, Des Moines, $25

Thursday, April 28,

Anjelah JohnsonReyes: Who Do I Think I Am? Tour,

Moines, $20-45

Hoyt Sherman Place, Des

Friday, April 15 at 8 p.m. Zap Tura w/

Moines, at 8 p.m., $39-59

Skyscraper, xBk Live, $10-13 Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m. The Blake Shaw Big(ish) Band, Noce, $12-50 Sunday, April 17 at 7 p.m. Lily DeTaeye w/the Love-In, xBk Live, $10-13

Comedian Anjelah Johnson-Reyes looks back on her life through a collection of humorous anecdotes in Who Do I Think I Am?: Stories of Chola Wishes and Caviar Dreams, released March 15 from Worthy Books. The former cheerleader discusses her time with the Oakland Raiders as well as her experiences navigating racial identity (she is Mexican and Indigenous) and religious beliefs.

Saturday, April 23, at 4:30 p.m. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) All-Iowa Music

Literary Luxuries

Fest, Gaslamp, Teehee’s Comedy Club, The Cave, Des Moines, $18

Saturday, April 9 at 5 p.m. Poetry and Photography: Dr. Paul Brooke, Beaverdale Books,

Saturday, April 30 at 7 p.m. Ramona

Des Moines, Free

and the Sometimes, The Book of Bugs, Odd Pets, xBk Live, $10

Monday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. Three Poets: Laura Johnson, Hannah Soyer, Dawn Terpstra, Artisan

Saturday, April 30 at 8 p.m. Bouquet,

Gallery 218, Des Moines, Free

Wave Cage, The Halloween Episode, Gaslamp, $10

Thursday, April 21 at 7 p.m. Amanda Montell, Central Library, Des Moines, Free

Sunday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Hoyt

Friday, April 22 at 7 p.m. The Author Afterparty:

Sherman Place, $36-96

Lyz Lenz, Storyhouse Bookpub, Des Moines, $6

Wednesday, May 4 at 7 p.m. Tech

Thursday, April 24 at 2 p.m. Poetry & Poets:

N9ne w/Joey Cool, X-Raided and

Ryan Clark and Daniel Biegelson, Beaverdale

¡Mayday!, Val Air Ballroom, $38-40

Books, Des Moines, Free

Thursday, May 5 at 9 p.m. Cinco De

Thursday, May 5 at 7 p.m. Lauren Groff, Central

Mayo: J Plaza, Lefty’s Live Music, $15

Library, Free LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1 April 2022 37

EDITORS’ PICKS: April 2022

PRESENTED BY IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN DISTRICT

AMES/CRANDIC

Friday, April

15, Fashion

via Reiman Gardens

Show & Zine Release Party Trumpet Throughout April, Spring

Enchantment Reiman Gardens,

Iowa City, at 9:30 p.m., $7 The first issue

Take full advantage of each moment of warmth by exploring Reiman Gardens in April! This ongoing celebration of spring includes a whole-site scavenger hunt for dozens of hidden fairy doors. Enjoy extended hours the weekends of April 21-23 and 28-30 to experience the wonders of the tulips in their prime (the gardens will be open until 8 p.m. those days; the gift shop and conservatory until 7:30 p.m.).

of Iowa City DIY fashion zine Fashion Is Murder is about to drop, and it’s got the party of the season to back it up. DJ CEO of Fashion Is Murder and MC Jarrett Hilarious host a bevy of local models showing off the looks. Because of the number of performers, the audience will be at low capacity, so grab your tix soon. A copy of the zine is included in the ticket price. Masks required, all ages.

Explore Ames!

Eastward, ho!

Ames, Free-$11

Thursday-Sunday, April 7-10 at

Thursday-Sunday, April 14-17 at 7

Sunday, April 10 at 1 p.m. 508 Press

Saturday, April 23 at 9 p.m. Feed

7 p.m. House of Gucci, Carver

p.m. West Side Story, Carver Hall,

Outdoor Poetry Marathon, PS1

Me Weird Things: Daniel Wyche

Hall, Iowa State Univesity, Ames,

Iowa State Univesity, Ames, Free

North Art Gardens, Iowa City, Free

and Chris Dingman, Trumpet Blos-

Wednesday, April 20 at 8 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday, April 16-

Friday, April 8 at 8 p.m. Bad Bad

Grandma Mojo’s Improv Comedy,

17. Women/Trans*/Femme Bike

Tuesday, April 26 at 7 p.m.

Hats w/Nectar, The Maintenance

The Maintenance Shop, $1

Touring, Iowa City Bike Library, Iowa

Daniel Khalastchi and Marc Rahe,

City, Free

Prairie Lights, Free

Free

som Cafe, Iowa City, $10-15

Shop, Ames, $10-15 Thursday, April 21 at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 9 at 5 p.m. Legacy

Together Pangea w/Tropa Magica,

Saturday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m. An

Tournament, Mayhem Comics and

The Maintenance Shop, $14-18

Chowdown: An Improv Feast,

Evening of Chinese Performing

Willow Creek Theatre Company,

Arts, Coralville Center for the

Iowa City, $15

Performing Arts, $10-14

Games, $6 Saturday and Sunday, April 30 and Monday, April 11 at 6 p.m. Corsets

May 1 at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Ames

and Conversations w/Tirzah Price,

Figure Skating Club Presents: Hol-

Opening Friday, April 22. Natasha,

Saturday, April 30 at 5 p.m.

Dog-Eared Books, Ames, Free

lywood Lights to Broadway Nights,

Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812,

Iowa City Poetry Alfresco, College

Iowa State Ice Arena, Free-$10

Riverside Theatre, Iowa City, $15-40

Hill Neighborhood, Iowa City, Free

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38 April 2022 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1

via Fashion is Murder

Blossom Cafe,

DEAR KIKI

LittleVillageMag.com/DearKiki

i Kiki, Well, there’s no easy way to say this, but I had a very steamy dream about a coworker the other day. We work in the same office and have a friendly relationship, and yes, I do think they’re kind of attractive. On the other hand, we’re both happily married and it’s not something I’d ever really go for in real life. It was very vivid and I can still remember images from it, so now I don’t know how I’ll face them when I’m in the office next. We’re friendly, but

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pandemic. Work relationships are sometimes the only ones we’ve been able to maintain, because there’s no choice but to spend time together. So lean into that, Dreams. Don’t squander a chance at true intimacy (which, unlike sex, is rare). However, I definitely don’t want to sleep (heh) on your revelation that these steamy, vivid, memorable sex scenes were, you said, “creative.” That’s something to explore in a different light. Are you craving some specific types of physical interaction that you’re not WE’RE FRIENDLY, BUT NOT THE “HEY, I HAD A DREAM getting from your spouse? ABOUT MAKING INTIMATE, CREATIVE LOVE TO YOU” This could be LEVEL OF FRIENDLY, SO I CAN’T JUST EXPLAIN WHY an opportunity I SUDDENLY CAN’T MAKE EYE CONTACT WITHOUT to request a bit of experimenSOUNDING LIKE A TURBO-PERVERT. tation with the person you are not the “Hey, I had a dream about making inti- comfortable having actual sex with. It could be mate, creative love to you” level of friendly, so I that you’ve been wondering about expanding can’t just explain why I suddenly can’t make eye your repertoire for a while, but weren’t sure your contact without sounding like a turbo-pervert. spouse would accede to your wishes, so your mind cast someone else in the role. Don’t ignore What do I do? —What Dreams May Come? that creativity; utilize it! Thank your subconscious for providing you a template for potential pleasure. ear Dreams, Ultimately, though, it’s up to you to continSad to say, this is something you’re best off just keeping to yourself. I, for ue treating your coworker like a human being. one, would love it if our society could be a place Your dreams are your business, not theirs. Make where these kinds of conversations could be off- that eye contact. Shake off your embarrassment. hand, humorous, inoffensive and, most impor- Connect. xoxo, Kiki tantly, non-binding. But even the most casual workplace is not the context to indulge in that level of witty banter. No matter how close the two of you are, “sounding like a turbo-pervert” is the least of your worries. You could face workplace harassment charges or, if there’s a power differential, worse. But, Dreams, there’s no reason at all to be embarrassed. Fantasies happen; they’re natural, normal and fun! I’m no dream analyst, but a (cough) quickie internet search confirms my instinct that dreaming about a friend likely reveals a desire to connect with them more deeply in a non-physical way. Has work been rough lately, making you feel glad of their support and eager for more? Did a recent conversation make you feel like “friendly office mates” could blossom Submit questions anonymously into “true friendship”? at littlevillagemag.com/dearkiki We’re all human beings here (last I checked). or non-anonymously to Connection with others like us isn’t just a desire, dearkiki@littlevillagemag.com. it’s a need. If we lack a network of companionQuestions may be edited for clarity and ship, it makes it harder for us to thrive in all arlength, and may appear either in print or eas of our lives. And the fact is that’s been tricky online at littlevillagemag.com. over the last couple of years, because of the

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AST R O LO GY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): To provide the right horoscope, I must introduce you to three new words. The first is “orphic,” defined as “having an importance or meaning not apparent to the senses nor comprehensible to the intellect; beyond ordinary understanding.” Here’s the second word: “ludic,” which means “playful; full of fun and high spirits.” The third word is “kalon,” which refers to “profound, thorough beauty.” Now I will coordinate those terms to create a prophecy in accordance with your astrological aspects. Ready? I predict you will generate wildly positive transformative consequences for yourself by adopting a ludic attitude as you seek kalon in orphic experiments and adventures. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Normally I love your steadfastness, your intense focus, and your stubborn insistence on doing what’s right. Your ability to stick to the plan even when chaos creeps in is admirable. But during the coming weeks, I suggest you heed the advice of martial artist Bruce Lee: “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.”

By Rob Brezsny

Davis, he was a Hall of Fame-level trumpeter and composer. You may be less familiar with Tony Williams. A prominent rock critic once called him “the best drummer in the world.” In 1968, those three superstars gathered in the hope of recording an album. But they wanted to include a fourth musician, Paul McCartney, to play bass for them. They sent a telegram to the ex-Beatle, but it never reached him. And so the supergroup never happened. I mention this in hopes it will render you extra alert for invitations and opportunities that arrive out of nowhere in the coming weeks. Don’t miss out! Expect the unexpected. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Poet Anne Carson claims that “a page with a poem on it is less attractive than a page with a poem on it and some tea stains.” I agree. If there are tea stains, it probably means that the poem has been studied and enjoyed. Someone has lingered over it, allowed it to thoroughly permeate his or her consciousness. I propose we make the tea-stained poem your power metaphor for the coming weeks, Scorpio. In other words, shun the pristine, the spotless, the untouched. Commune with messy, even chaotic things that have been loved and used.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini-born basketball coach Pat Summitt won Olympic medals, college championships, and presidential awards. She had a simple strategy: “Here’s how I’m going to beat you. I’m going to outwork you. That’s it. That’s all there is to it.” I’m recommending that you apply her approach to everything you do for the rest of 2022. According to my analysis, you’re on course for a series of satisfying victories if you nurture your stamina as you work with tenacious focus and relentless intelligence.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian author Martha Beck articulated the precise message you need to hear right now. She wrote, “Here is the crux of the matter, the distilled essence, the only thing you need to remember: When considering whether to say yes or no, you must choose the response that feels like freedom. Period.” I hope you adopt her law in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. You should avoid responses and influences that don’t feel liberating. I realize that’s an extreme position to take, but I think it’s the right one for now. Where does your greatest freedom lie? How can you claim it?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In Britain, 70 percent of the land is owned by one percent of the population. Globally, one percent of the population owns 43 percent of the wealth. I am hoping there’s a much better distribution of resources within your own life. I hope that the poorer, less robust parts of your psyche aren’t being starved at the expense of the highly functioning aspects. I hope that the allies and animals you tend to take for granted are receiving as much of your love and care as the people you’re trying to impress or win over. If any adjustments are necessary, now is a favorable time to make them.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I’m glad you have been exploring your past and reconfiguring your remembrances of the old days and old ways. I’m happy you’ve been transforming the story of your life. I love how you’ve given yourself a healing gift by reimagining your history. But make sure you don’t get so immersed in bygone events that you’re weighed down by them. The whole point of the good work you’ve been doing is to open up your future possibilities. For inspiration, read this advice from author Milan Kundera: “We must never allow the future to collapse under the burden of memory.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): TV show creator Joey Soloway says, “The only way things will change is when we’re all wilder, louder, riskier, sillier, and unexpectedly overflowing with surprise.” Soloway’s Emmy Award-winning work on Transparent, one of the world’s first transgender-positive shows, suggests that their formula has been effective for them. I’m recommending this same approach to you in the coming weeks, Leo. It will help you summon the extra courage and imagination you will need to catalyze the necessary corrections and adjustments.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarian historian Mary Frances Berry offered counsel that all Aquarians should keep at the heart of their philosophy during the coming weeks. She wrote, “The time when you need to do something is when no one else is willing to do it, when people are saying it can’t be done.” I hope you trust yourself enough to make that your battle cry. I hope you will keep summoning all the courage you will regularly need to implement its mandate.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain,” wrote mythologist Joseph Campbell. I don’t think his cure is foolproof. The lingering effects of some old traumas aren’t so simple and easy to dissolve. But I suspect Campbell’s strategy will work well for you in the coming weeks. You’re in a phase of your astrological cycle when extra healing powers are available. Some are obvious and some are still partially hidden. It will be your sacred duty to track down every possible method that could help you banish at least some of your suffering and restore at least some of your joie de vivre. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You know who Jimi Hendrix was, right? He was a brilliant and influential rock guitarist. As for Miles

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): What’s the main cause of deforestation in Latin America? Logging for wood products? Agricultural expansion? New housing developments? Nope. It’s raising cattle so people can eat beef and cheese and milk. This industry also plays a major role in the rest of the world’s ongoing deforestation tragedy. Soaring greenhouse gas emissions aren’t entirely caused by our craving for burgers and milk and cheese, of course, but our climate emergency would be significantly less dramatic if we cut back our consumption. That’s the kind of action I’m inviting you to take in the coming months, Pisces. My analysis of astrological omens suggests that you now have even more power than usual to serve the collective good of humanity in whatever small ways you can. (PS: Livestock generates 14.5 percent of our greenhouse gasses, equal to the emissions from all cars, trucks, airplanes and ships combined.) LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1 April 2022 41

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LO C A L A L B U M S

Sinner Frenz Separation from Church and State SINNERFRENZ.BANDCAMP.COM

usic has done a number on Luke Tweedy. He was a record store guy with a uniquely acerbic bedside manner. He taught himself electronics and audio engineering and built his recording studio, Flat Black, from scratch. He’s documented (in first-rate commercial recordings) adventurous music from Iowa and beyond. He founded the infamous ft(The Shadow Government), whose punk anti-music weirdness was a hallmark of the 2000s Iowa City experimental music scene. He founded the Grey Area Music Festival, which takes place on the grounds of Flat Black Studios. So what does Tweedy do when he gets a day off? Most recently, he teamed up with Brendan Spengler and Ed Bornstein.for the Sinner Frenz project. Together, they assemble songs out of modular synthesizer sounds, guitar pedals and drum machines. Bornstein (Foul Tip, Be Kind To Your Mother) provides percussion. There are also vocals from Tweedy and Jenny Hoyston of Erase Errata. Tweedy adds sounds from his idiosyncratic noise gizmos, effects and studio magic. It is raw electronic music with occasional distorted vocals. Separation from Church and State (out April 20) is a studio production, but each song begins as a live performance on modular synthesizer. Spengler adds occasional live keyboards. It’s a cliche to call music unique, but I don’t know anyone else making this particular thing—equal parts outsider industrial music like

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Coil and bleak, mechanistic punk rock like Suicide. “Sin Comin On” is a key track. It’s wrapped on an armature of a heavy, distorted drum loop and filthy, distorted bass. Over this, Tweedy yells/ sings “I can feel a sin coming on.” The embrace of distortion and noise is so finely worked it’s paradoxically almost elegant. Techno influences the repetitive beats, but techno is usually aimed and producing dance floor ecstasy. This is dark, mechanical music, driven by the relentless clock of the modular synth. In the context of Iowa, it has a different vibe. You can hear the wind over the flat land of rural Iowa, stirring up and making something new from musical concepts first imagined in Berlin, London and downtown New York. The fat synth lead in “Disconnect” recalls Gary Numan’s “Cars”; the vocals seem to float into the song like pirate shortwave radio signals. Brendan Spengler’s love of techno pop is evident in his previous work, but “Disconnect” is a purer expression of that love, a perfect machine of a song, as shiny as it is bleak. It echoes the no nonsense electro of Neil Young’s Trans and the more dystopian side of Devo. The chief animating force for Sinner Frenz is the raw experimentation with minimal gear that goes on in dank Iowa basements. They seek a dark lushness, where every sound’s sensual texture stands on its own. Flat Black Studios is full of vintage microphones and boutique audio processors, but they remember what it’s like to struggle with a broken Casio to make something true and vital. It’s music made with an extreme economy of extravagant means. Separation from Church and State goes all in on its punk electronic aesthetic, which means that it may not be for everyone. But for those who like Kraftwerk as much as stoner metal, who connect viscerally with the raw beauty of square waves and overdriven filters, this record will do the job. —Kent Williams

“Wyoming”—slips between easy-going pop-rock and sprawling strings that conjure the image of a strong, independent woman pulling away from a curb because she’s sick of someone’s shit (“A childhood home set on fire”). Song narrators focus on movement and the strange confidence of the wondering wanderer; that is, striding toward the unknown, Pictoria Vark sure-footedly unsure. She tells The Parts I Dread us there’s “more to be than in Demarest / More to live for than I PICTORIAVARK.BANDCAMP.COM know yet.” Tracks like “Demarest” and obody sounds like Pictoria Vark. She’s a classic punk “Out” don’t neglect the correspondballadeer and veritable witch of ing urge to break free; from an ode the North. Her melodies are cool to escaping New Jersey’s suburban and ethereal. It’s the lyrics that air to the delightfully forthright, “I are warm, and when she sings, her wanted out / I wanted out / This voice is naked: wholly unadul- fucking house / I wanted out.” terated and unpretentious. Carrie The artist’s history of travel and Brownstein would be a fan if she wanderlust is a critical influence. isn’t already. By day, Pictoria Vark is bassist Victoria Park, THE SONG “TWIN” SEEMS DESTINED touring w i t h TO OPEN A FUTURE CULT CLASSIC, Squirrel COMING-OF-AGE DARK COMEDY DRAMA Flower a n d schoolIn fact, there are moments in ing Twitter (@pictoriavark) on Pictoria Vark’s latest album, The everything from workers’ rights to Parts I Dread, that sound like or- life on the road. She’s a citizen of ganic, unprocessed Sleater-Kinney. the world, having lived in folk aesYou can picture her recording in- thetic microcosms like Wyoming strumental tracks in a garage studio. (of course) as well as cultural hubs Play The Parts I Dread on a like Paris and NYC. Currently setcloudy afternoon. As you listen tled in Iowa City, we should enjoy to the opening bars of “Twin” for her company while we can. This the first time, feel free to imag- summer, she’ll tour and promote ine you’re the main character in a The Parts I Dread, which arrives ’00s-era indie film. The song seems on April 8 for streaming and downdestined to open a future cult clas- load. The vinyl release from Get sic, coming-of-age dark comedy drama, as Pictoria Vark effortlessly Better Records is available on intones over a classic, understated Aug. 12—for now; press issues bass: “Born on the same fateful (read: supply chains) have pushed day in June / I was an hour ahead back the release date multiple times. Regardless, it will be worth of you.” While accessible, the album is the wait. This is an album made highly introspective. The themes for vinyl. The rocking guitar that evoke reaching out or looking closes out “I Can’t Bike” simply across distances through time must blast from two giant, wooden and/or space. It’s appropriate that speakers. one of the earliest tracks—titled —Melanie Hanson

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1 April 2022 43

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LO C A L B O O KS

Candice Wuehle Monarch SOFT SKULL

essica is an ex-child pageant queen with an awful memory. In fact, she can’t remember her childhood nearly at all outside of the pageants she participated in. The daughter of Dr. Clink, chair of the Boredom Studies department at a nameless Midwestern university, and Grethe Clink, a Norwegian beauty who hosts not-quite-Tupperware parties, Jessica has always had a strange life. It begins to get stranger when she starts waking up regularly with odd bruises and deduces she must be sleepwalking. But when Jessica develops a series of gruesome crime scene photos while working at the university’s photography shop, she suddenly unlocks a jumbled chain of dreams (or are they memories?) that send her on a journey of self-discovery. University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate Candice Wuehle (who was also raised in Iowa City) pulls out all the stops with this bizarre delight of a debut novel. Wuehle has released three collections of poetry, but Monarch is her first foray into fiction, melding true crime, ’90s culture, child beauty pageants and science fiction. There’s much to pique a reader’s interest. As we follow Jessica through the novel, we are dipped into the worlds of both the mundane and the supernatural to raise questions about identity, memory and the connection between the two: Is identity something we form internally, or is it decided for us? How

Submit books for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240

much control do we actually have over our lives? In addition to these big questions, the book also poses plenty of opportunities to create stunning mental pictures. Wuehle’s poetic background rears its head consistently throughout the novel with beautiful descriptions: “If I listen to her albums now, they possess the polyphony of a whipped dessert, too sweet for teeth, too sugar for earth.” These descriptions take us into familiar underworlds and suburban hellscapes that come alive while reading. Her knack for abjection as well as short chapters with plenty of white space make Monarch a natural page-turner. While Wuehle does an excellent job of sowing seeds of dysfunction and mystery throughout the novel, everything is pretty much wrapped neatly into little bows by the end, leaving us with no questions about where Jessica or the supporting characters end up. For a book that starts out very cryptically, it’s certainly a change of pace. By the same token, Jessica’s first-person narration guides us confidently

CANDICE WUEHLE PULLS OUT ALL THE STOPS WITH THIS BIZARRE DELIGHT OF A DEBUT NOVEL. through the chaos so even when the story gets complicated, it is never confusing. These factors make the novel perfect for readers who love clean endings. Personally, I prefer both mystery and resolution. I like to balance on the edge of my seat throughout, but I also like to end the book with an idea of what happened to my favorite characters. Monarch turned out to be the perfect novel to keep me rapt for the two days I spent reading it, and I will be eagerly waiting for Wuehle’s next release. —Lily DeTaeye

Eric Gapstur Sort of Super ALADDIN | SIMON & SCHUSTER CHILDREN’S PUBLISHING

e had to have known it was coming. There is no way that a competent publicist didn’t prepare Eric Gapstur for the eventuality that his graphic novel about 11-year-old Wyatt Flynn and his family coming to terms with his newly-acquired superpowers in the wake of his mother’s disappearance would draw comparisons to the Netflix show Raising Dion (based on the 2015 comic and short film from Dennis Liu), which just dropped its second season this February, and follows the story of 10-year-old Dion Warren and his mother navigating his emerging superpowers after the death of his father. Raising Dion is about a Black family in an urban setting, with an only child, a mother who works in the arts and a big bad rooted in questions of scientific ethics. It feels custom-designed for me. Sort of Super centers on a white rural family, explores sibling dynamics and features a father who works in law enforcement. In other words, it could be argued that I am the furthest thing from a “target audience” that this book could possibly have. That Gapstur wrote this for exactly not-me. Well, too bad. I fell in love anyway. There’s something about that age. It wasn’t yet called “tween” when I was experiencing it, but somehow that stretch between 10 and 14 has come to offer

something incredibly meaningful and relatable. There’s a whole lot of becoming that happens in those years. And while the Raising Dion comparison may have been inevitable, Gapstur might be caught off guard as I continue by likening it to the Babysitters Club series and the recent film Finding Red. Wyatt Flynn is navigating that same delicate territory of balancing his responsibilities to himself and to others. When his little sister, Adeline, expresses surprise that the giant W on his costume stands for Wyatt, patiently lecturing him on the concept of secret identities, it’s evident that there’s more than just childish ignorance driving his choice. He’s working hard to understand who he is, and he needs that thread of connection, even while super, to ground him. But you don’t need a thinkpiece on the wonders of middle grade nostalgia. The keys to this work are in far more than just how well it captures old folks like me. This is a book that’s full of fun, joy and wonder. The exuberance Wyatt and Adeline express, even when faced with situations of adult-level seriousness, is brilliantly captured in Gapstur’s Bill Watterson-esque facial expression details and the way he illustrates Wyatt’s powers, grounded in his DC comics background, but extra: the way an 11-year-old reading superhero books for the first time might experience them. I don’t often go back and purchase copies of books that I get advances on, but this is one I absolutely will, and there’s one reason for that: Dearbhla Kelly. While Gapstur’s words and pictures are compelling, Kelly’s colors are a delight, capturing that middle grade spirit in their own way. My review copy lacks colors for the second half, and I simply must read the full book as intended. Without a doubt, though, the best thing about Sort of Super? The “1” on the spine, indicating that there will be more to come. —Genevieve Trainor

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LVDSM1 April 2022 45

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ACROSS 1. Take a jazz solo with your voice 5. Disney character who says “Some people are worth melting for” 9. Singers holding down the low end 15. He ran shirtlessly around the Enterprise, waving a sword 16. Word before show or tune 17. Another name for a stoat 18. Air Bud, after turning pro? 20. With everyone in

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21 24

The American Values Club Crossword is edited by Ben Tausig. LittleVillageMag.com

by Francis Heaney

agreement (in gendered terminology) 21. Meld 22. Lethargy after thirds, say 24. Crime committed by Enron 27. Dark fog 28. My least favorite thing, when it comes to opening a brown paper package tied up with string 29. Instance of getting drunk near a hibernating bear without trying to hide it? 33. Catch a glimpse of 34. Atom that’s lost or

gained an electron 35. Candyman director DaCosta 36. Had Bieber keep an eye on, while you ran a quick errand? 42. Person scheduling shifts: Abbr. 43. Animal who would make a good interrogator (because she would just sit and wait for you to crack) 44. Band whose full name includes the word “Manoeuvres”

47. Like someone busted for having not yet made it to the tanning salon? 53. Source of some pressure 54. Better Call ___ 55. Cluster like a copse 56. Person sending funds 58. Grain container 60. 2009 movie whose first sequel is now scheduled for December 2022 61. Option for those (like me, and like some characters in this puzzle) whose gender identity is neither entirely

male nor female 66. Figure out from facts 67. E pluribus ___ 68. State that screwed up its bellwether status in 2020 69. “___ Fideles” 70. Pieces in some solitaire games 71. Breaks that are easier to take when working from home

31. Agcy. currently led by Merrick Garland 32. Band that produced Halsey’s latest album, for short 37. Honorary title for a retiree 38. Three-pt. scores 39. “Where the Sidewalk Ends” poet Silverstein 40. Bear voiced by Seth MacFarlane 41. “Carpe diem” letters 45. Network that hosts the VMAs 46. Manic Panic product 47. Ticked off 48. Like Footloose, in 2011 49. “Hard pass,” when being offered haggis 50. Turn to ash, perhaps 51. Product of a certain 30-Down 52. Like some patches 53. The house of the devil? 57. Ability to navigate a touchy topic 58. Nestled comfortably 59. Personal computers first sold in 1981 62. 67-Across, in English 63. Comment after an epiphany 64. Problem about which you might say “darn it” 65. “How do you do, fellow kids?” greetings

DOWN 1. Its last four digits are more frequently used than the first five: Abbr. 2. Baby bear or bobcat 3. Modeled after 4. Amount of water for a bath 5. Things you don’t want to find out your lifeboat is missing 6. Owen Wilson’s younger brother 7. Did away with a hero? 8. As a lark 9. Standing for 10. He was seen on J.Lo’s SNL episode 11. Squarely 12. Athlete Biles with many gold medals (including one from me for practicing good self-care in Tokyo!) 13. Fill with fond feelings 14. Upper house of the French parliament 19. Maker of the e-tron electric SUV MARCH ANSWERS (LV 304) 23. Royal sphere of RUMB A MEMB E R B CC influence? A R I E L A R A B L E OUR F A L L O F S A I GON A R E 24. Kind of video U P D A T E D game where you spend A L L T H A T E A R A CN E U P DO a lot of time looking at W A A D S E M I D A N E A S S R I V E T S S T OR K a barrel: Abbr. RH YME E R I E A S P E N 25. Feel crappy about N Y L ON S I Z E U P L AO 26. Director Ferrara or U B E R C E N T ME L T C AM I I R A N I CU singer Tesfaye U P C L OS E P L A T E A U 27. Grubhub listing B P A R E F UGE E C AMP S A L S CU E D I N A N I S E 30. Component of a N E E A P RON S O T T E R 55-Across, perhaps

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