Articles by Zachary Harper
There is little to tell about Zachary Edward Harper - his largest battles won have been in his head. Faery tales not yet written; stories untold; seas yet unsailed. He writes to bring the fables back to the real world, and show that, somewhere, there are still giants to slay.
Apparently, I am nothing but bad luck for bands I am seeking to interview. Poor Hanwell were busy repairing their snare drum when I arrived a bit before noon. For the record, that is two …
During one of the lulls in the rain, I had a nice chat with Dave Davison and Erin Elders of Maps and Atlases, who put on a fantastic, although technically troublesome, show. In Dave’s words, …
There is a definite sense of free-spirit roaming the streets of Downtown at 80-35, and not even the incessant rain has caused any crowd-sized casualties as far as I can tell. My tiny notepad is …
I’ve watched a handful of enjoyable plays, and watched even more wonderful pieces of writing reduced to shabby miniatures of their previous selves, but only a few plays truly deserved the sadly requisite standing ovation at the end of modern performances.
At Souvenir, not only did I happily consent to the applause, I may have been one of the last to stop clapping.
When he left to get ready for the show, the interview had been so calm that it was hard to imagine what would follow – most good bands rile up excitement wherever they play, throwing it behind them like snow from under a tire; Murder By Death showers the crowd with it like a snow-blower gone wild. Whiskey was downed, sweat could have filled the empty shot glasses, so more whiskey was downed to keep everyone standing, and two entire albums were played straight through.
Well I’ll take two shots said the devil to the man and layed a little book on the bar - well lord knows the devil he only talks shit and only drinks whiskey from the jar …
Now the goal is to keep the seeds planting – Danny still has another half to go. Pre-order a book, drop him a donation, set up a community fundraiser of your own for his benefit. Sell some lemonade on your street corner, or shine shoes on the sidewalk. This book is a community book – the money it makes is going straight to the homeless shelters in our neighborhoods that support the homeless youth wandering our cold city.
They were a joy both to watch and needle with questions, an opportunity I hope comes flying back to our shoulders. When I asked them what they thought makes a great show, and what hopefully makes them return to us soon, they both agreed they wanted for “people to feel something changed, something different.” Amen to that.
All in all, I rather stumbled across a handful of local bands worth the time to tip my hat to. I do believe Kate Kennedy took my heart away with her, and should the rest of the world lose its vocalists, Des Moines should be able to pick up the slack. Ah yes, and soup-lust is smartly curtailed by local artists. Let us not forget that.
Given the deficit of the writing, the Des Moines Playhouse still has cast it well enough to enjoy. Timothy Flynn’s performance is a fantastic piece of acting that shines through the character, supported by an all around congenial cast. Take the time to attend, if nothing else than to see quality actors at work.
“The true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground.”
-GK Chesterton
There is a certain magic to plays that the modern films have yet to replace for me. …
“A community needs a soul if it is to become a true home for human beings. You, the people, must give it this soul.”
Pope John Paul II
Finding souls is a tricky job – often …
