X Marks the Arts presents a new admission-free winter festival celebrating Downtown Iowa City’s Cultural & Entertainment District

Join us for a free showcase of Iowa City’s musicians at The Englert featuring Lex Leto x Makebelief and Stnic as part of the first annual Free Week!

Stnic

Stnic (pronunciations: ‘Saint Nick’, ‘Satanic’) is a ‘band’ that improvises absurd music— that’s their aim. They seek ‘the right wrong’ notes. Noise, but not Harsh Noise™. It’s often soft, and only slightly disturbed, or out-of-tune. But, of course, harshness comes around… ‘Difficult Listening’ is their favorite way of describing it. 

They conjure radio-movies from not just the past but the deep-sleep-dreams of some whack-o from those days— the past, the pre-TV times. (Pat’s the only one that’d tell you that, though.) The original idea was to steal forgotten films— to have them playing as they improvised, allowing the visuals and tone to determine the sounds, and the story, well, the story— vaguely describing the movie into the microphone— in case that’s any help. 

Levi Brown, Patrick O’Connor, and Jordan Decker. Those are the names of the three saints/devils that make-up ‘Stnic’. Occasionally, they invite and play with guests. 

Levi plays a drum kit, along with many other percussive trinkets— literally bells and whistles, plant pots, hub caps, heavily rusted things I don’t know names of (1). He’s used balloons, sheets of paper, a bike tire, and many other not-usually-instruments as instruments, too. 

Using many splitter cables and extension cords, Patrick outputs various toy keyboards, a couple drum machines, a sampler, and numerous media players (radio, CD’s, vinyl, tapes, movies) into the 4-track recorder. He doesn’t play these— they play him. 

Jordan, the voice, explores many tones and strategies— he tells stories, real and not real. He utters non-sense, or, I should say, stuff that only makes sense to you.  

About X Marks the Arts:
X Marks the Arts is a cultural initiative dedicated to celebrating and promoting the Downtown Iowa City Cultural & Entertainment District. Through partnerships, events, and marketing, X Marks the Arts serves as a vital connector between Iowa City’s venues, artists, and audiences, showcasing the city’s dynamic cultural life and artistic vibrancy.