Jeff Mitchell w/ Joel Arant

Art in the cafe...

Laurel Statz


"The Spectator"


December 2025



Laurel Statz is a painter and Madison area native. Her work, while figurative, is influenced by abstraction and minimalism. The paintings often have a quick and instinctual nature, capturing just what’s needed. While she often times herself to eliminate extra details and over-precision, she has ventured into more detailed works as well. Laurel does not attach narrative to her pieces. Rather, she thinks of them like a journaling process for her scatter-brained psyche. The figures in the pieces are meant to be processing tools for the artist and the viewer. She hopes that seeing these figures helps the...
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Saturday, August 19, 2006

Jeff Mitchell is a one man show from Decorah, Iowa. His songs perfectly capture the sound of the Midwest, yet his unique, off-kilter voice and instrumentation defy the traditional singer-songwriter formula. He specializes in fingerstyle guitar and plays kick-drum, analog synth bass pedals, and a sampler with his feet during his shows He claims influences that range from country-blues greats Elizabeth Cotten and Mississippi John Hurt to experimentalists like Ween and Mr. Bungle. His lyrics offer abstract impressions of small-town life, love, sex, and power.

Joel Arant creates a fantastic mixture of alt country and drama with brilliant lyrics and plenty of sonic experimentation. A long-time member of the Iowa City music scene, is touring in support of his new solo CD, "'To Whom it May Behoove."

"'To Whom it May Behoove' is one of the most beautifully crafted, uncontrived, genuinely affecting collections of songs I have ever heard." -- americana-UK

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