The crowd lept up into a standing ovation that lasted for several minutes when he took the stage in his trademark backwards baseball cap and wearing a hockey jersey with his own face in the likeness of the Chicago Blackhawks. Kevin Smith immediately launched into a story about an interaction he had with a pair of fans during his trip to Iowa City. In this story, Kevin shows the kind of humble celebrity he is by attempting to pay for his fans meal after having a nice conversation with them. Instead his fans had already paid for his meal as a show of how much they appreciated the work he has done in his life in film.

While watching Kevin talk about his interactions with his fans it is easy to see how much he loves what he does and how much his fans really mean to him. Kevin strives to be a real person to his fans much in the same way one of his early inspirations, Howard Stern, was when Kevin was growing up. Kevin Smith told stories and gave advice while answering questions with the familiarity and tone of a long lost friend catching up, mixing raunchy jokes with sincere messages of the importance of self-expression and the wonders it can bring in life.

At one point midway through the well over four hour show, Kevin said self-expression is like a big dog that wants to give you love: there are really only positive things that can come out of it. He attributed much of the success of his career to simplicity and getting involved with the things he loves and like a conversation with friends, one story led into five more and several hours had passed before he had answered a single question. Though not many questions were asked and answered, it was absolutely amazing to see how the audience hung on his every word. The change between raucous laughter and hushed silence while the crowd listened to his stories was an amazing contrast, the excited energy in the room was infectious.

Kevin Smith had only positive things to say about his love for podcasts and his friends. He is featured on several different podcasts with a wide range of content and severity and passionately urged the audience to get involved and share content they create with the world. Kevin spoke about upcoming projects and work of his like Clerks 3, an episode of The Flash he directed, and a movie he described as Jaws, just with a moose instead of a shark.

Though his jokes were the highlight of the show, Kevin Smith also made sure to leave us with some wisdom. Throughout the night he used his platform to stress the importance of the arts. “The closest I’ve ever been to figuring out who I am has been in a movie theater, not a church or a school, but somewhere I’m looking at art.” He stressed the importance of self expression and making the most out of life without letting fear get in the way, “Never what if something bad happens, what if something amazing happens!”

I would absolutely pay good money to see Kevin Smith again. His performance was fantastically over-the-top and far more than necessary, and his passion for his career and the love he has for his fans were the absolute best parts of the night and the highlights of my Mission Creek Festival experience. Thank you, Kevin Smith, and please come back soon!!

The post Mission Creek: Kevin Smith @ The Englert Theatre 4/9/2016 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

I’m sure you have seen the soldiers around campus. People leaping out of corners to ask you pointed questions to convince you that you’ve always felt a certain way. Carefully crafted loaded questions fired at you with expected responses. Protests and rallies to gain support for or against a certain individual or group of individuals. If you are an Iowa City resident of a few years this is nothing new. It is a norm of the political season and as a swing state we hold a tantalizing amount of power over the future of the leadership of our country. Politicians know it, and after months of campaigning major representatives have returned to Iowa city as a last ditch effort to seduce you into voting for them over their opponents.

Just yesterday I was attacked by a political volunteer while I was innocently buying books for class. This particularly energetic volunteer locked eyes with me from 50 feet away as I headed towards the bookstore in the basement of the IMU. I could tell by the wild look in her eye that she clearly wanted to say something to me and after mistakenly making eye contact I knew that I had sealed my fate and had to appease her with a conversation. As I came within shouting distance, our political activist friend Ol’ Wild Eyes hit me with her one line: “How do you feel about MONEY and LEGALIZING WEED?!”

As a typical college student I was taken aback.

I felt pretty good about those things and I had a suspicious feeling that was exactly why she asked me. After stammering out a shaky, “pretty good”, I looked over to Wild Eyes’ booth where other political activists were attempting to indoctrinate other innocent students to join their political candidate’s party. After receiving numerous political phone calls all week, I felt that I was prepared to have a well-informed conversation with Wild Eyes. I scanned her booth to find out which politician she was fighting for and realized it was a particular representative well-known for questionable political standpoints and several protests on campus.

This was precisely when I realized that I was in over my head and any further conversation with Wild Eyes would cost me time and get me nowhere. However, I had to respect her because she felt so strongly about the future of her country that she volunteered her valuable time and put herself out there knowing full well she might get denied.

After I politely informed my new friend wild eyes that I would not be voting for her political candidate I couldn’t help but think how volatile the situation in Iowa City is. Iowa is a powder keg waiting to ignite and every candidate is hoping it blows their campaign to new heights. Unfortunately this leaves us Iowans pulled in ten different directions; every candidate is promising to make your life better, but the only way to differentiate between the masses and rabble is to get informed. Many political activists are out there trying to get votes for their candidate at any cost, and had I been less active in current events I might have made a hasty uninformed decision that could have benefited the wrong individual.

If you can take anything from my story I hope it is the itch to find out what is going on in our country. I’m not the biggest fan of politics myself- as you can see by my annoyance of political activists- but I don’t allow that to get in the way of making an informed decision. It is easy to point fingers and claim that one candidate is crazy, but unless you take the steps to make a calculated informed decision, you are surrendering your voice, a constitutional right as an American citizen, and allowing someone else to tell you how to live.

If you like this article please check out some of the other pieces in my ongoing column!

The post Iowa at War appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band formed in 2006. In 2011 they became the first unsigned band to make the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. The band has since grown in popularity in Canada and the United States. Here are my thoughts on their latest album!

I’m Gonna Be Myself: This tune feels like the 70’s and 90’s had a love child that wants to grow up and become a rock ballad. It’s a nice feel-good song with driving, interesting guitar accompaniments. They have a tendency to rely on the chorus a lo,t but they build on it with compelling bridges and vocals. The song ends abruptly leaving you on the edge of your seat right when you started to groove but it just leaves you wanting more. 

I Really Wanna Be Your Man: The emphasis of the chorus grows more tedious with each additional listening. I like the rest of the song far more than the chorus; I think if they toned down the chorus a little bit the song would feel stronger as a whole. Again, The Sheepdogs theme of a strong repetitive chorus with a driving bridge proves itself to be prevalent. Though the chorus started to irk me, it also got stuck in my head and had me humming the tune for days to come.

Downtown: This song feels like a classic rock song that got lost on a popular album; I don’t want to give it too much credit as an amazing song. It starts with some potential but falls into the trope of relying far too heavily on the chorus. I find myself enjoying the song until the chorus starts up again and reminds me what bothers me about this track. This isn’t to say that it is a bad song, it just relies on a jarring repetitive chorus to drive home a melody that would have succeeded without it.

Jim Gordon: This song seems like a mix of a wedding singer and elevator music… In a good way. They use lamenting lyrics injected with emotions of feeling tired of dealing with a situation, “They keep telling me it gets better and it won’t be long.” The song has a great message that solidifies as the song goes on. This is a fantastic example of how a repetitive, building chorus can improve a song. The Sheepdogs utilize their stylistic approach to its fullest in this track. Easily one of my favorites on the album.

Bad Lieutenant: This song feels very Cage The Elephant/Black Keys-esque. The use strong sounds of a piano with a lilting synth bridge. I love the antihero theme, they tone down the chorus on this one, far more focus on the buildup to the chorus. They use it to transition into a synth like echo-y piano that gives the track more mystery and somehow leaves it with a feeling of importance. This is another one of my favorite tracks on the album, because it imparts a lasting impression of confidence and a roguish sense of badassery.

Jim Sullivan: This is an instrumental track lacking any substance. I wasn’t a big fan of this track, I felt it detracted from the album’s previous tone and trend. It felt more like a waste of time and a distraction than an intermission.

Back Down: This song failed to capture my attention and interest after the lulling, frankly boring, track it followed. This song feels like it could have been left off of the album without a second thought.

Help Us All: The Sheepdogs begin to herd the album back into control with this track. The interesting vocal and guitar riffs make me feel like I am in a Quentin Tarantino movie and a Western at the same time. The sultry trombone aids in drawing the listener in and giving us a dollop of soul to go with their heavy track.

Take a Trip: This song draws you in within the first ten seconds with awesome percussion takes your hand while the bass line rubs your back. It continues with compelling guitars to aid with exciting vocals. This track takes you on an adventure into the singer’s world. The Sheepdogs got the tone of this one right.

Same Old Feeling: This one had more of a honky-tonk feeling than their usual driving rock. It isn’t much of a reach for their talent but still failed to impress.

Nothing All of the Time: This is more of a calm song again; it feels like we hit the climax of the album a few tracks ago and we are cruising down now. It’s still a good song and a wonderful relief from their usual style. I wouldn’t have minded a few more tracks like this one on this album. The lyrics are reminiscent of “I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends.” The tone reminds me of a Kurt Cobain song. This is a great track!

Darryl & Dwight: This song has a great intro, and I love the beginning lyrics. Really feel like I am seeing into the mind of the singer in this song. His insecurities and failures are laid bare on this track with haunting lyrics sung with a soulful, practically pained, voice.

Where I Can Roam: This tune starts differently than I would expect from The Sheepdogs, though it’s a different style I could easily see this being a single. It’s not a bad song but the difference doesn’t completely win me over. There’s less emphasis on the chorus but the song feels like a 60’s antiwar song.

The Bridge City Turnaround: This tune feels more folk-y, and I’m not really crazy about it. I wasn’t really a big fan of the fast lyrics, and it just feels like a very rushed song. It almost leaves me feeling anxious. 

Plastic Man: This sounds like one of the beginning tracks on the album, closer to The Sheepdogs typical style. It immediately reminds me of The Rolling Stones Time is on My Side. Unfortunately I’m not a big fan of this song because they rely heavily on the chorus again as the main fixture and it results in a loss of interest in the rest of the song for me.

Giving it up (For My Baby): I’m not too crazy about the drums and the guitar lines playing the same notes since they feel cheap and unnecessary. The lyrics are semi-interesting but they fail to connect. It feels like I’m listening to someone else’s life. The guitar lines have potential, but they should have focused the song around them instead of combining other guitar notes with the exact same rhythm as the percussion parts.

I Get By: This very short track (27 seconds) is still more fun and interesting than half of the other songs. It doesn’t last long but it is a perfect lead in track to the reprised Where I Can Roam. I can’t get over the perfect tie in of these two songs; they sound so well blended together that they feel like they should be combined into one track. Although these two songs were super short, I definitely enjoyed them both.

Where I Can Roam (Reprise): I like the reprise much better, far more progressive and interesting. The reprise has me waiting for every note wondering where they’re going to go next! I definitely prefer this to the original, since it’s much more uplifting and inspiring.

Downtown (Acoustic): This is a refreshing take on Downtown isn’t as vulnerable to the tropes that the original track fell into. Because it is an acoustic track the emphasis of the chorus isn’t as overbearing. It ends up being a more enjoyable track than it’s original.

Same Old Feeling (Acoustic): The change to acoustic doesn’t really change much for me. It seems more like a fun song to play with a nice group of friends than a track on a deluxe album. It doesn’t have much strength as a track to listen to multiple times for me.

I’m Gonna Be Myself (First Draft): I thought it was cool to listen to an artist’s first version of a song. In fact I actually like the differences; the change in percussion is way more fun and the bass line intermissions perfectly space the guitar licks. These are fun track to close out the deluxe album with. 

Have Mercy: This song has an interesting intro and sets a retro western tone to the song. It sounds like another antihero kind of song, love the smooth sax but it ended too quickly. I think they should have ended the album on a higher note with the first draft of I’m Gonna Be Myself.

Taking a step back and looking at the complete product it was a pretty good album, the tracks that I felt were lacking added to the album as a whole and kept me listening waiting for a track that I did enjoy. I know that I will keep a few of these songs in my lineup and I hope you look into them and do the same! These guys need more publicity and only we can make it happen! Thanks for reading my album review, stay tuned for more!

The post Album Review: “Future Nostalgia Deluxe” by The Sheepdogs appeared first on KRUI Radio.

For my first piece, I’m going to explain something as simply as I can. I’m not from Iowa City, and apparently this fact poses more of a problem than I expected. Most college kids walk to class here. We’ve got a relatively small campus. It doesn’t take long to get from one side to the other. Walking is something we have been able to do for decades.

We’re all adults here and one of the first things your parents should have taught you is how to cross the street. If your parents didn’t teach you to look both ways when you cross the street then, congratulations! You are unbelievably lucky to have made it this far without natural selection striking you or your equally oblivious parents down.

For those who do not walk to class (like me), there are these inventions called automobiles. Allow me to explain them to you: They come in all shapes and sizes, from the average two ton death-machine to the whopping ten ton bus, which is just as capable of ending your short existence on this planet as any other four-wheeled, gas-guzzling vehicle.

Now that I’ve given you a little background, I will lay out the issue at hand:

Learn how to cross the street.

It’s not hard, at all…

It is literally just walking, at most 30 feet, in a straight line. For some unknown reason, people in this city have as much trouble strolling from one curb to the other as they do deciding whether Nebraska or Iowa State has the highest number of “keep it in the family” marriages. Look guys, I’m just trying to help out here. Remember the two ton death-machines I told you about earlier? They can kill pretty easily. It is easier for them to run you over than it is to stop.

Think about this for a second. I’m trying to get to class as quickly as you guys are, and I’ve got numb-nuts Johnny from Naperville or Chicago trying to shuffle his meager ass across the street. In the meantime, his eyes are glued to his cell phone waiting to hear back from his other numb-nut friends about how to convince their teachers they’re actually sick and not hungover.

As a driver, I know how to follow the rules of the road and not turn Johnny into a reddish brown stain on the pavement. This shouldn’t be a problem, right?

 WRONG!

Johnny and I have seconds to react because he decided to wade into oncoming traffic in the middle of the street from behind a parked van. All so that he could reach the side of the street that doesn’t produce a glare on his cell phone.

So what am I supposed to do?! Introduce Johnny’s vacant cheese-ball face to my lovely windshield? Our friendly city police officer would prefer I didn’t.

I resort to an annoyed hand flip, an obnoxiously drawn out honk, and a death glare that promises to haunt him for days to come.

Look guys, not every driver is as amazingly intelligent and aware as yours truly. Actually, most drivers have just as much trouble scraping their eyes away from their screens as Johnny numb-nuts pedestrian has. I know you all want to be famous, but your chances of becoming an automobile fatality statistic rises with each selfie and text you check!

Finally, I will leave you with this last piece of knowledge: Contrary to popular belief, you do not get free tuition if a Cambus hits you. You just look like the idiot freshman you are. But hey, you might finally be popular enough to make it onto the University’s Snapchat Story! I wish you all the best of luck, and as always, Go Hawks.

The post What’s Sh*tty In Iowa City appeared first on KRUI Radio.