The Grateful Dead is a band that spawns countless tribute and cover acts. While each shares an abiding love for the Dead, Dark Star Orchestra takes it one step further. Dark Star performs its shows based...

* out of ***** Sitting in a crowded theater waiting for Dear John to appear on the silver screen, a man asked, “Why are we seeing this?” After viewing Nicholas Sparks’ latest book-to-film adaptation,...

“Like artists, we look hard at our subjects,” a doctor says in Rinde Eckert’s new play, Eye Piece. “And, like artists, we are trying to make sense of the world.” A UI graduate and playwright,...

In 2004, Oceanic 815 flight crash-landed on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The survivors not only faced the typical elements of distress you’d expect with a plane crash (you know,...

Although he doesn’t like to brag about it, local musician Dave Moore has had an interesting life. From picking fruit in South America to teaching art in prisons across Iowa, Moore’s experiences have...

Mötley Crüe seem tame? For Second City comedian Ross Bryant, it’s true. “Think of the most deranged, indicative thing that Mötley Crüe did on the road and double it,” Bryant said. “That’s...

Singer Robert Jon grew up watching his father play different instruments. He said his dad loved music and loved playing it. The musician credits his father, now a retired teacher, for inspiring him. Jon’s...

Combine the colorful magic of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with indie-rock music, and you have the basis for what is now Jake Dilley and the Color Pharmacy. Dilley came up with the band’s...

A network of six homes sprouted in 1971 in Iowa City; the founders intended to house disabled children in an non-institutional environment. Thirty-nine years later, the human-resources agency Systems Unlimited...

In a room off Dubuque Street, there is a rack full of floor length dresses — or galabias — decorated in vibrant pinks, reds, yellows, and blues and embroidered with flowers that creep down the neckline. On...

Nick Flynn doesn’t wait for a revelation. “For me, it’s just like, you do it,” he said. “You just sit, and there’s inspiration all around, and then you allow it to have a container for those...

People who see Eye Piece will experience a full spectrum of emotions. At times, they may even feel a little lost, but that is exactly what playwright Rinde Eckert is hoping will happen. “Sometimes,...