Cashes Rivers on the 4th Annual "Hot List"

So every year, Juice (the altBro side of the DM Register) puts out a list of what's 'hot' in Des Moines. The main attraction is that year's "Hottest Reader" as well as a multitude of other categories. There was only one band on the list this year, and it was Cashes Rivers.

Here's the link to the online story - Cashes Rivers is about halfway down.
(Thanks to Juice and Joe Lawler for liking and supporting cool home-grown music!!)

Here's the text:

"Cashes Rivers' music can sound pretty different depending on when you catch him. On his debut EP, "The Trees Will Clap For Us ...," he played nearly all of the instruments himself, creating a full band sound. Live, sometimes it's just him and an acoustic guitar, playing sweet, sensitive and often funny tunes that reveal a seemingly older soul than his 19 years. Then there are shows like his performance this spring at Gross Domestic Product, where Cashes got around 10 friends to play with him, creating an impressive stage show that seemed more on par with indie collective Broken Social Scene than standard singer-songwriter fare.

"Sometimes when you do something as a band, then strip it to acoustic it doesn't sound right," Rivers said. "I wanted to be able to have the options to play the songs by myself and still have them sound good."

What made his big band's performance at GDP even more impressive was that it was the group's first show together, and that Rivers only had a handful of dates under his belt at that point. The Des Moines Music Coalition offered him a spot at the 80/35 Music Festival based off the performance, but Rivers ended up passing to focus on recording his debut full-length, which is due out next spring.

Was that a smart move? Maybe. Rivers spent a lot of time working on the songs from "Trees" before ever performing them live. The result was a fairly polished sound from such a young performer. He's working with Brandon Darner of The Envy Corps on the full-length, and the band seems to have taken him under their wing (Rivers ended up playing a few songs with the band at 80/35). With the new album and support from the city's most popular band, his star will only rise. Spots at GDP and next year's 80/35 are likely his if he wants them.

By that time he'll have already headlined a festival. He's closing out the revived Dogtown Fest near Drake on Sept. 26."
- Joe Lawler