Bands in Your Backyard

If you are interested in brass and guitars, this is the band for you! Let me introduce you to a LEGENDARY band in the  Midwestern  DIY music scene.  Must Build Jacuzzi was founded in the Peoria area, though they are more spread out these days, and are a ska/punk band. The band consists of Caleb on vocals and guitar, Bill on vocals and bass, Austin on drums, Keaton on saxophone, Josh on trumpet, and Ben on trombone. Must Build Jacuzzi doesn't play as many shows as they used to, but they are still beloved and have a great number of people ready to see them when a show is announced (including me). They are so fun to experience live and have an amazing stage presence. Must Build Jacuzzi always gets the crowd to stir, as there is typically moshing and skanking, along with the band themselves jump around on stage.  Must Build Jacuzzi has an album, which was released in 2018, titled Last Place , and it has my two personal favorite songs on it: "February Heat Wave" and "Shot

The stairs! They are blank!  The Blank Stairs is a three-piece group based in Peoria, and consists of Cami, Josh, and Abbey! Cami is the singer and the guitarist, and Josh is the other singer and the bassist, though they do a switch-a-roo and trade instruments during their shows! Lastly, Abbey plays drums! Cami and Abbey are also in Emily the Band, who I wrote about in a previous blog!  The Blank Stairs latest single is titled "EAT ROCKS" and it is my favorite release yet. You just can't help but want to sing and dance when they play it! They do have an album out, which was released in 2021, titled Face Paint . The song "Sidestep" from their album is certified bop, and I always want to rage when it comes on.  I contacted The Blank Stairs to ask a couple of questions! Cami and Josh took turns answering! How long have you been making/playing music? Cami: We've been making music together as a band roughly 7-8 years now, but individually, we've been playing

If you're looking for some queer pop-rock in the Midwest, you've found the right blog post!  mars hojilla (oh-heely-uh) is the main stage name for Myles (he/they), who is a wonderful transmac musician. He currently lives in the Urbana area, but regularly plays in Iowa City, IA! Myles plays both solo and with a full band. The full mars hojilla band typically consist of Chloe (she/her) on drums and Logan (he/him) playing bass or violin, while Myles sings and plays guitar. Seeing Myles perform as a trans person is always uplifting, especially as he is not afraid to truly be himself. It is amazing to see people like me doing super cool things. Outside of being trans, he is simply an amazing performer.  Myles is also involved with an Iowa City based band titled Two Canes, and it is more of a hard rock project than mars hojilla. In the past, they were a part of THEory DROPOUTS, which was a Peoria-based band active from 2018-2022. As I've mentioned in my blog on Emily the Band, My