Keno performed his first headline show at xBk on Aug. 5. (Photo: William Roepke) |
'love me not' but stream me now: Keno's next chapter |
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By Hailey Evans
Associate Editor Maddox Swink, known on stage as Keno, is always working on new music.
In fact, he’s releasing a new single this Friday, “love me not,” followed by another, “one look,” anticipated on Dec. 5. Keno calls “one look” his favorite song he’s made to date. “It’s real, it’s introspective,” he said. “I use music as a way to talk about the real stuff, and I hope other people listening to it can relate to it and feel seen.”
Keno has been immersed in music for as long as he can remember. His father was a touring guitarist, traveling and playing shows with multiple bands throughout Keno’s childhood. “Seeing him doing that was always super sick to me,” he said. Eventually, he hopes to take his father on tour with him, a full-circle moment he looks forward to.
Growing up in Urbandale, he got creative to scratch that musical itch he inherited. He started by making beats on his computer in the basement, eventually producing entire songs all on his own. “You start making beats and fall into a rabbit hole,” he said, “One of the things that I think benefits me most is that I don’t have to rely on studio time. I’m able to produce all my own work.”
Someday he hopes to sign a deal with a major record label, but for now he said he’s embracing “being an independent artist while I can, and doing what I feel like with my music.” Over the last few years, he’s experimented with different genres and expanded his own sound from “emo rap” to pop and alternative R&B.
He released dozens of singles as he found his own rhythm, culminating in a debut album that was released this past June. He doubled down with a follow-up EP in August and a deluxe version in September. Now, Keno is riding the momentum of his major releases and planning his next evolution. “I’m having fun dropping new music as it comes to me, so I’m focusing on that for now, changing things up as I’m recording,” he said.
He headlined his first show in August at xbK, and he’s looking forward to getting in front of more of his growing fan base. Some of his singles have racked up more than 200,000 streams on Spotify, and he’s interacting with more and more fans on his social pages. Follow him on Instagram and Tik Tok @blamekeno_ to keep up with coming show dates and music releases. |
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WEEKEND SECTION PRESENTED BY CATCH DES MOINES |
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A handmade toy truck by show vendor Blue Crib Customs. (Photo: Callahan Promotions) |
Handcrafted heaven at the fairgrounds |
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If it can be made by hand, you can probably find it among the 250-plus booths at Iowa’s Largest Arts & Craft Show.
This weekend at the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, visitors can browse through booths from creative small businesses from across the state. The mix includes handmade crafts and artwork, as well as desserts, furniture, clothing and more.
Whether you're searching for a gift or simply enjoy shopping, you'll likely find something special. The show is open from 5-9 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, so there’s plenty of time to explore what the show has to offer. |
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Voix de Ville, 7 p.m. Friday, Noce. The “anything goes” cabaret produced by Max Wellman features instrumental arrangements spanning the last century of jazz, accompanied by vaudeville-inspired drag and ballet performances.
The Beatles vs. Stones: A Musical Showdown, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Temple Theater. Two internationally renowned tribute bands, Abbey Road and Satisfaction - The International Rolling Stones Show, duke it out on stage with mash-up performances from their namesakes in a boy-band extravaganza.
A Motown Christmas, 7 p.m. Sunday, Hoyt Sherman Place. Past and present members of several legendary Motown groups combine forces with a mix of instruments, showy choreography and a little doo-wop fa-la-la.
“Earth After Dark,” 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Des Moines Civic Center. National Geographic Explorer Babak Tafreshi discusses his globe-trotting work to shoot photos and videos of the Milky Way, backyard fireflies and other sorts of night-time splendor. (By the way, did you see the Northern Lights last night?)
“Triple Espresso,” opening 7 p.m. Tuesday, Temple Theater. They’re baaaaack. Get ready for an evening of side-splitting laughter with the story of three men and their fall from grace is told through a high-energy comedy series, which runs through Dec. 7 back where its initial stint became the longest-running show in Des Moines Permorning Arts history.
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Sage wisdom: Last night, we honored six community leaders as Sages Over 70 during our annual awards ceremony at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny. The women and men we honor this year have earned wisdom through decades of purposeful living — leading institutions, raising families, mentoring others and lending their talents to causes larger than themselves. Congratulations again to, pictured from left: Rick Tollakson, Bob Stewart, Christine Hensley, Terry Rich, Greg Edwards and Marcia Wanamaker (not pictured). Read about their commitment to community and legacy in each of their profiles online.
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Ready to rock … A group called Choir! Choir! Choir! plans to bring its enthusiastically punctuated show “We Will Choir! You!: An Epic Queen Sing-Along” to the Temple Theater on May 15. The interactive program turns the audience into the performers, inviting everyone to sing, dance and belt out Queen’s greatest hits together. Tickets are on sale now.
… and roll: Legendary rock band Toto is coming to Hoyt Sherman Place on March 11 as part of a U.S. tour that kicks off in February. The tour features founding member Steve Lukather and vocalist Joseph Williams performing more than two hours of hits, including enduring favorites like “Africa,” “Hold the Line” and “Rosanna.” Tickets are on sale now. |
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Champion hog caller Bill Yount shares a few tips in a video for Clash Royale, complete with helpful subtitles. (Video: Supercell) |
The oink heard 'round the world |
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By Michael Morain
Editor
We get a lot of press releases here at dsm, but few are as weirdly irresistible as the one that landed in our inbox last Wednesday. The pitch: Would we like to interview a hog-calling champion who will judge a contest for a video game that millions of people play worldwide? Why, yes. Yes, we would.
Let’s unpack this story chronologically, but here’s what you need to know first: The champion is Bill Yount, and the mobile video game is Clash Royale. If you’ve never heard of it, ask your kids or grandkids. As far as we can tell, players topple their opponent’s towers by deploying fireballs, rockets, goblins, etc. — and soon, flying pigs. The game premiered in 2016 and raked in more than $1 billion within its first year.
So back to Yount. A few years ago, he was just minding his own business as a school bus driver in Greenfield, where he livened up the routine with daily themes: Monday Mondays, Terrific Tuesdays, Hump Day Wednesdays and so forth. On “Animal Sound Thursdays,” his young passengers challenged him to mimic all kinds of animals, but they were especially impressed with his hog calls. One day a boy told him: “Bus Driver Bill, you should enter the contest at the state fair.” And so he did. Yount entered on a whim in 2016 and ended up tying a five-time returning champion, who turned over his half of the $5 cash prize. “This is serious stuff,” Yount concluded. “I had no clue.”
He’s competed six times since then and earned two more blue ribbons, including this past summer. “My wife didn’t want me to go because she’s tired of it all, but this year was my comeback,” he said. (He now practices in the garage or outside.)
The Younts moved to St. Marys after the tornado tore through Greenfield two years ago, but he still works there as an insurance agent. Once again, he was just minding his own business when he got an email from Supercell, the company behind Clash Royale, inviting him to judge the hog-calling contest. He thought it was spam at first, but his grandson was impressed: “Papa, everybody plays this game!”
A few weeks later, Yount found himself surrounded by very real hogs and a camera crew at Heather and Steve Scar’s Meadowlark Farm in Adair. In the resulting 70-second video, he offers several pro tips about the finer points of hog calling, including rhythm and pitch. But the key, he says, is conviction: “If you don’t believe in your call, neither will the hogs.”
Since the contest opened Nov. 5, it’s received more than 275,000 entries. After it closes this Saturday, Nov. 15, online voters will cull the herd to 20 finalists, from which Yount will choose the grand champion whose virtuosic squeals and oinks will soon be immortalized worldwide. So far this year, game players have deployed the (non-flying, robotically voiced) pigs more than 1.9 billion times.
Yount seems to be taking his new fame in stride. He occasionally bumps into former bus passengers who recall his friendly shenanigans along the old route. “Good morning! Good night!” he said. “It was never boring with me as their driver.” |
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Nov. 18: Lifting the Veil virtual panel. The next installment of our ongoing series about mental health explores challenges at every stage of life, with special guests to discuss new motherhood, sensory spaces, coping with anxiety and more.
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Jan. 13: Unveiling party. Start the new year with a copy of the next edition of dsm magazine, which we'll release at Soma Cosmetic Surgery and Aesthetics in Clive.
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