LAV.ISH ready to open for Homecoming headliner Lizzo

Local band LAV.ISH, who has played a variety of local gigs including RAGBRAI, is set to play as hip-hop artist Lizzo’s opener.

Contributed

Lauren Barber, Arts Reporter
October 17, 2018

In the era of music collectives such as Odd Future and BROCKHAMPTON, it’s no surprise that one of them popped up around the Iowa City area. The group LAV.ISH will make a big splash as this year’s Homecoming opening band.

To familiarize the world with LAV.ISH, two of the members of the group, vocalist Carl Lane III and triple threat videographer, animation specialist, and rapper Nim Kaufman described how the group got started.

“LAV.ISH is really just a bunch of friends who were making music together until one day we decided to actually try to take it seriously,” Lane said. “Most of the members grew up in the same neighborhood and have long been jamming together, but LAV.ISH itself didn’t really become a thing until senior year in Iowa City.”

The group consists of seven members: guitarist Tyler Hendershot; bassist Logan Blosser; producer Brandon Herman; producer and guitarist Jared Neal; producer and DJ Lucas Brandt; and Lane and Kaufman.

The Iowa City group describes their sound as hip-hop and R&B music and have been compared with Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest, and Q-Tip in the past. While all the members come from different musical backgrounds, the hip-hop thread makes the group cohesive.

Since getting an official start just a few short months ago, LAV.ISH has been able to play a number of shows across the state. Playing at such venues as Vaudeville Mews and Gabe’s are things already under the belt, but opening a show at Wooly’s for rapper B. Well was one of the band’s biggest milestones thus far.

However, the group’s favorite show took place during RAGBRAI.

“We did a show for Tariq and 98.3 The Vibe back during RAGBRAI,” Kaufman said. “It was a very different crowd than the usual, but the people were all grooving out hard. Iowa City has always shown lots of love, too.”

LAV.ISH will return to Iowa City to perform at its biggest show yet, opening for Michigan rapper Lizzo on the Pentacrest. When asked about the event, the two replied, “Oh it’s gonna be real fun. We’re all excited.”

After the Homecoming show, LAV.ISH doesn’t have much of a plan; the members just want to ride the wave.

“We just want to keep growing. We’re lucky to have some good people on our side in Des Moines. It’s definitely sped things up,” Lane said. “You make plans, and then an even better opportunity comes, so you say f*** your plans and seize the opportunity. If that keeps happening, the future looks good.”