- Alanna Walen '92

Neal Hines '93 can distinguish a Grinnellian from a non-Grinnellian simply by mentioning that he plays with the Javanese Gamelan Ensemble Sumunar.   While this declaration might draw a blank stare from non-Grinnell folk, so acclaimed was Roger Vetter and the Grinnell Javanese Gamelan on campus that even those with no affiliation to Grinnell's music program will nod with knowing familiarity in response ("ah, yes, gamelan").  In fact, Grinnell and Minneapolis are some of the only places Javanese gamelan and dance are taught outside of Java.

Though Neal did not perform with the Grinnell gamelan, he has been playing with Sumunar for eleven years.   While on tour at Wartburg College, they reunited with Roger and the Grinnell Gamelan players, who Neal confirms are well-regarded in the gamelan world.  Sumunar is taught by Indonesians, and Neal says it's a fun and diverse crew.  According to Neal, "Gamelan provides an outlet for active listening like no other I've found.  If you've no musical experience, but interest in doing something that will challenge your mind, I recommend stopping by for a listen."  Visit http://sumunar.org/ for information about upcoming performances, or to listen to Sumunar's music.  Neal recommends the recording Sayuk: "It was recorded at the National Music Museum in Vermillion, SD (an internationally regarded treasure) a few years ago.  The Gamelan instruments are of very high quality (decorated in gold leaf) and the recording engineering and level of playing (especially the elaborating instruments) is also high."  Sumunar is planning on touring and performing in Indonesia in 2010.

Member of the campus band Maelstrom (1994-1997), James Rechs '97 has played in several musical acts since leaving Grinnell, including playing lead guitar for fellow Grinnell alum and folk singer Erin Sugrue '98. James now plays in a band in Rochester called Jailhouse Payback, which has performed live on 89.3 The Current and has written over 60 original songs in two years of playing together. James plays mostly "Americana" style music, and in addition to playing guitar, also loves to play dobro, electric lap steel guitar, harmonica and sing. That's James in the above photo, second from the left.

Charlie Smith graduated from Grinnell College in 2007 with a degree in music. That summer, while Smith was off leading camping trips in Wyoming for high school students, a few friends back home formed the Minneapolis-based dance-rock band Military Special (named for a brand of whiskey available only on military bases). Smith joined forces with them later that fall. In just over a year of playing shows and the release of an EP in 2008, the band has gained critical attention in the Twin Cities music media. Articles in City Pages and Rift Magazine praise the band for deftly balancing synth and guitar driven music and their ability to "bring out the dance" in even people with two left feet. Military Special's music has often been compared to Bloc Party for its frenetic dance energy and The Cure for its pained vocals.

Smith plays lead synth in the six piece group that derives its sound from two guitars, two keyboards, bass and live drums. He's also one of the co-writers of the band's pre-programmed beats, and he told me he found a lot of inspiration for this from the Latin music he learned at Grinnell working with Gabriel Espinosa (Pella, IA), his jazz theory teacher and leader of the Latin Band. "It's surprising how similar Latin music is to the dance-rock I play in Military Special, rhythmically at least," Smith said. "And I picked up a lot on creating a tight sound under Gabriel's direction." In college Smith played piano in a number of different groups including the jazz band and Latin band as well as miscellaneous groups that played Bob's Underground Café (the former Pub) and Gardner Lounge. Though clearly Smith found no shortage of ensembles to play with, he feels campus bands not directly involved with the music department would be better served if the school would provide more appropriate practice space and equipment for the campus bands organization, Freesound.

When you say someone is a musician, often the next question that comes to mind is, so what do they do for money? To that end Smith is still tied into the arts scene and works in Minneapolis as an usher for the Guthrie Theater and also at the Cedar Cultural Center. He lives in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood where he also teaches music and records music at home.

On March 3rd, Military Special released their first full length album, Civil Union, and they celebrated the album's release with a four-gig stand at the Nomad World Pub in Minneapolis. The shows were part of the club's respected Minneseries showcase which puts musicians in residence on Thursday nights at the West Bank Club for one month along with some of their favorite bands. (The Minneseries lineup with Military Special also included First Communion Afterparty and The Guystorm).

Military Special returns to Grinnell April 30th to play a show with Joe McNerty (Iowa City) and Millard Fillmore (Watertown, MN).

This article wouldn't be complete if I didn't ask Smith for his own recommendations for Minnesota music right now. In addition to the bands playing with Military Special during their Nomad residency he mentions both Look Book as a recent favorite, and says he's also looking forward to the next release by 2008 City Pages "Picked to Click" artist Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles. It was Lucy Michelle and her band, incidentally, for whom Military Special played their very first show at a house party and the U of M in December of 2007.

Josh Burke '92 started playing in bands in high school when he taught himself guitar.  He switched to bass during his sophomore year at Grinnell when his friends' band lost their previous bass player to graduation.  An admittedly mediocre guitar player, Josh quickly developed an affinity for the bass, and continued playing in cover bands during the rest of his time at Grinnell.  After graduation and a move to Iowa City for law school, Josh continued playing in bands.  While much of it was still covers for school talent shows and fundraisers, Josh also joined his first original band.  "I really enjoyed the freedom of being able to do whatever I wanted in a song without worrying about whether it was 'right.'"

Josh took some time off from music after moving to the Twin Cities to practice law in 1995, but after a few years really missed the experience of performing.  He found his first band by answering an ad in the City Pages, and started building connections with other local musicians.  Different bands formed or broke up, and Josh admits that he's been fired a couple of times "by some of the best bands in the Twin Cities."  Josh has tried to build on each of those experiences, and has played in a variety of bands, from metal to rock, playing his own music and also doing fill-in gigs with bands in need.  At his busiest, he was playing 80 shows in a year, travelling every weekend in a van around the Midwest, playing anywhere he could and sleeping on floors.  There was never any real money involved, and Josh didn't harbor any illusions of hitting the bigtime or even being a full-time musician.  "I just love doing it.  Getting emails from people around the country about how much they loved our music was a huge thrill."

 With a small child at home, Josh is playing closer to home these days.  "I still love to play as much as I can, but that's just not where I'm at in my life anymore."  Josh is currently playing with the band Orange Blank, practicing a few times a week and playing a few shows a month.  They will be releasing a new record in early April (recorded prior to him joining the band) and are constantly writing new material.  He swears that he is not going to push his daughter into music, but keeps instruments around the house and is encouraging her to explore her own creativity.  "I've told her she can play anything except guitar, because guitar players are a dime a dozen."

The Moss Piglets are a Twin Cities-based bluegrass band that features Ian Gamble '90 and John Goolsby '90. 

The story of The Moss Piglets began when John Goolsby met Ian Gamble while taking a break from studying at Grinnell. Although both were walking in the same direction, they somehow managed to run into each other; the subsequent sound produced was considered their first musical composition. Music had always been important to John and Ian, but it was on that fateful day that they began the process of pooling their distinctive talents to make what some call music, and others call a threat to modern civilization.

Ian and John weren't so much musicians in those years as free-thinking performance artists. They explored the various edges of good taste, nibbling on one section after another until they would throw it all away and start over. Where they were going to school, there weren't many other musical acts in the area save for the occasional yodeler, so performances came quickly. As they explored the outer limits of melodic theory, they also began to explore different identities. They called themselves the Dogz, Highstreet Blues Band, The Night Owls, Out of the Blue, and Jam Bag (the Jam Bag groupies were the best!). It would take years (and a few classes in entomology) to finally arrive at the name, "The Moss Piglets".

For those of you who will be attending Grinnell's Reunion May 29 - 31, rumor has it the Moss Piglets will be performing.