By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

The Starlings play the Octagon Center in Ames on Saturday at 8 p.m. ($8) and the Vaudeville Mews on Sunday at 7 p.m. ($6) You can also hear the band perform live on KUNI radio on May 19 at 7 p.m. during a taping of “Live From Studio One.”

Mills’ Iowa flight shapes Starlings’ sound

The back door that Joy Mills, lead singer-songwriter of the Seattle-based Americana group The Starlings, sings about in the song “Iowa” on their new independent record, “Marveling the While,” is as symbolic of her leaving home as it is of her embracing her Iowa roots. In “Iowa,” she waxes nostalgia about how she misses “those thunderclouds, lightning bugs in the summer and wildflowers” of her youth spent on the windswept prairie while the band’s sparse instrumentation and sweeping pedal steel guitar tickles the imagination.

“Sweet little Iowa, that’s where I’m from; I know I gotta go back, but when or how?” Mills sings.

Understanding the 32-year-old musician’s heritage is key to understanding her artistry. Before she took flight in Seattle, she sowed the seeds of her musical vision in Iowa. And to her credit, instead of hastily shedding her native skin like so many young Iowans do when they leave after college to pursue fortune and fun in the bright lights of bigger cities beyond our borders, Mills has connected with the roots of her musical metamorphosis that continues to flourish in the northwest woods.

“Iowa is definitely in my music, especially the older I get,” said Mills, who graduated from Dowling Catholic High School in 1994 and the University of Iowa in 1998 before moving to Seattle in 1999 to pursue a career in music. “When I left, I was the typical young person in that I wanted to run away and find something new. But when I get back I see a lot of beauty I didn’t notice before. There’s a lot of beauty in my songwriting I can trace back to things I miss about Iowa… things I took for granted or didn’t see when I was living there.”

Though The Starlings’ pleasing less-is-more mix of dynamic folk music, authentic old-time country, harmonic bluegrass and sparse blues on their first two albums is akin to Iowa’s own Greg Brown, it also conjures up the spirits of southern and California heroes like Mother Maybelle Carter, Woody Guthrie and John Steinbeck [the title for “Marveling the While” was borrowed from Steinbeck’s “Cannery Row”]. Their amalgam of American roots music is indicative of the kind of blurring of lines of regional music that is common among bands these days thanks to interstates and the Internet.

“It’s fun to explore genres. We’re not strictly any one sub-genre or one traditional form of music,” said Mills, whose bandmates include singer/guitarist/husband Tom Parker, drummer/Eastern Iowan native Aimee Zoe Tubbs and bassist Jack Quick.

Exploring is part of being a musician, as Mills can attest. When she moved to Seattle in 1999, the only person she knew there was her brother. But she quickly immersed herself in the Emerald City’s rich, vibrant music scene.

For nearly 10 years, with the help of the occasional day job with non-profit agencies, Mills has worked as a musician, touring the country. Last week, Mills and The Starlings left for a six-month national tour. To prepare for spending a half year on the road, Mills and Parker — who owns his own contracting company — moved out of their rental house and moved many of their belongings into a storage unit.

“It’s hard work being a full-time musician,” said Mills, who added that it took almost one year to complete the band’s new album, which she characterizes as “a little darker” and “more lyrically cohesive” than the group’s 2006 debut album, “Songbook.”

Then again, hard work is a hallmark of most Iowans, including Mills. And the Des Moines native is pleased when fans appreciate the fruits of her labor.

“I’m proud when people grab on to the lyrics,” she said. “That’s probably the most important thing to me and the way they come through with the harmonies. That’s the nucleus of my songwriting and what I’m saying.”

Fascinating what you can see through your back door.

Scene notes

Tempest Rose and other acts will perform Thursday at 7 p.m. at Valley High School Auditorium in West Des Moines to help raise money for the American Cancer Society and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Admission is $5. A bake sale will also be held. Call 537-4755. … Simply the Blues, an annual festival held at the C.E. Richards Rodeo Arena in Fort Madison, returns this weekend. Performers on Friday include Magic Slim, Eddie Turner, Leon Redbone and Louisiana Red. On Saturday, Jason Ricci and New Blood, Diunna Greenleaf, Zac Harmon, Shawn Kellerman, Trampled Under Foot, Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts and Willie Mac and Alan Smith play. A downtown barbecue contest with live music (Saturday, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.), harmonica workshop and post-fest jams (both nights) will also be held. Advance tickets are $15 and children under 12 are admitted free. For details, visit simplemanenterprises.com or call (319) 470-2082. … The Iowa Barnstormers are hosting home game tailgate parties at Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium that start at 4 p.m. and include live music and family activities. Country and rock music artists scheduled to perform include Stephen Cochran (Saturday), Gimikk (May 31), Hat Trick Heroes (June 21) and the Road Hammers (July 12). … The Grand Piano Bistro in the East Village is hosting a Mother’s Day brunch on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. that includes live jazz music by Max Wellman. Meals range from $12 to $25. Reservations are not required, but recommended. … Delta blues legend Louisiana Red plays Blues on Grand, Sunday at 7 p.m. for a special Mother’s Day show. Red’s eventful life includes his mother dying of pneumonia when he was seven days old and the Ku Klux Klan murdering his father when he was five. After years of abuse by his uncle and living in orphanages, Red would later make a life in music recording for Chess and Checker records, and playing with John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Rogers. In 1982, he moved to Germany, and didn’t return to perform in the United States until 1997. Now, twice a year, he tours the U.S. Sunday’s show marks Red’s second-ever Des Moines appearance. Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts will back the 75-year-old singer-guitarist. Admission is $10. … Metro Station, featuring Miley Cyrus’ brother and guitarist Trace Cyrus, plays an all-ages show Monday at 4:30 p.m. at the House of Bricks. Tickets are $15. … Blind Melon, which achieved some fame from 1991 to 1995 before the overdose death of its former lead singer Shannon Hoon and subsequent break up in 1999, regrouped two years ago with new lead vocalist Travis Warren and continues to tour. The band plays an 18-and-over show at People’s Court on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $17. … The “Honda Civic Tour” featuring Motion City Soundtrack, Panic at the Disco and Phantom Planet plays the Val Air Ballroom on May 28. … John Hiatt & The Ageless Beauties play a non-smoking show at the Val Air Ballroom, June 29 at 7:30 p.m. Reserved and general admission tickets, $37.50, go on sale May 16 through Ticketmaster and the ballroom. CV

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