DMMC connection: Events and Festivals Committee and 80/35; helping recruit and organize volunteers for GDP and now LBF and helping check in volunteers for 80/35 this year

 

What does being a DMMC member mean to you? It has provided me with an opportunity to get involved in the community and meet new people right away—I lived in Philadelphia last year and moved here for my job this past winter, and I enjoyed jumping right in to help plan events that are very important to local musicians and to the area music community.

 

What DMMC membership benefit have you found most enticing? I became part of DMMC to meet new people and because I enjoy doing so through volunteering. Last year I did some concert-based outreach for Oxfam America on the East Coast, for bands that shared Oxfam’s social justice interests, and this experience also inspired me to become a part of the local music coalition when I moved to Iowa. It is nice how you can become involved in a range of different ways. I will also put in the plug that members can get first dibs on volunteer spots at festivals like Little BIG Fest and Gross Domestic Product.

 

Favorite DMMC moment: I really enjoy meeting and getting to know the volunteers. Often I correspond with them by email before the event, so it is really fun to actually get to know them better when you meet in person.

 

Favorite local band: I am no expert here, but the DMMC events, like the summer event to select local bands to play at 80/35, have been really helpful in terms of getting to know the local music better. I really enjoyed seeing the energy of the Chatty Cathys at that event, and the fact that they share my name is, of course, twice as good. I also enjoyed the music at last year’s GDP in between coordinating the volunteers. I thought Pink Kodiak was fun and I of course enjoyed the opportunity to see Poison Control Center. I am looking forward to getting to know more about Iowa music. It is not local, but a favorite Iowa concert so far was seeing Fitz and the Tantrums this summer.

 

What’s you favorite 80/35 memory? I only have one under my belt so far, but I enjoyed being a part of the packed-in crowd during the end of the Of Montreal theatrical set. I also have memories of pouring beer in the Old Main tent during the Girl Talk set and seemingly moving faster than the music.

 

Learn more about DMMC membership here and join us this Sunday, December 4 from 5-7 p.m. at Badowers before the Wilco show at Val Air Ballroom for Music Saves, our annual membership drive and social.