Daily Iowan

Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: Arts

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mp3 sample: The Nadas

"Loser"

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College students have countless creative methods of spending their free time, yet barely any truly could be categorized as productive. You name it, we've done it. Hours get passed hurting feelings in video games, minutes spent driving golf balls into the Iowa City river, days lapsed playing outside with friends.

All of these activities are perfect for improving mental health, yet most aren't necessarily honing career skills. Making that connection was perhaps the greatest achievement of Des Moines-based band The Nadas, whose members turned their college pastime of playing together into a career that has lasted far beyond their campus days.

The group will play the Picador, 330 E. Washington St., tonight, one day after the release of its latest album, The Ghosts Inside These Halls.

Founded in 1995, the band achieved considerable success by touring and cementing a foothold in local college scenes. Playboy even called the group "The Best College Band You've Never Heard Of" in 2001. Now, after 13 years together, The Nadas is achieving a sense of maturity with the latest recording.

"A lot has changed since we started out," said guitarist/vocalist Jason Walsmith. "In the beginning, we would write individually, but now we work together and bring out the best in each other's songwriting."

The Nadas' sound is a sparse, yet an effortlessly catchy blend of traditional rock music and country-western - a relationship easy to spot with the band's influences in mind.

"I was always a big old-school '70s country guy," Walsmith said. "It's a fair assessment to also say Wilco, especially because it is the modern incarnation of Uncle Tupelo, which was my favorite band to go see in college."

Being based in Iowa has not only helped to shape the band's sound, it also created a unique local dynamic of fans that ultimately has led to opportunities outside of the state's borders.

"Locally, the Iowa scene is very supportive," Walsmith said. "There is a great emphasis on summer festivals. Most of our Iowa fans ultimately move out to surrounding states and cities and then start fanbases and word-of-mouth where they live, which is great."

Even with the band's burgeoning success, Walsmith maintains a humble outlook.

"It's been more than a year since we've played in Iowa City, so hopefully, people will remember us," he said with a laugh.

E-mail DI reporter Jarrett Hothan at:
jarrett-hothan@uiowa.edu

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