A small feature I wrote on the band For Today can be seen in the new May/June ‘08 issue of HM Magazine. You should check them out. Or you can read it below. But you should also check them out.

Sioux City just sounds tough. It has that tough guy sound to it when it comes out of your mouth. And for the five guys of For Today, there are some things in Sioux City that do make it tough for a band to break. “We have a small scene here so unlike bands from major California cities, or just big cities in general, we can’t fund a van from 1 local show or get 600 kids in the door when we play our home” says drummer David Morrison. “When For Today started we started the scene for most of the “core” genres and underground music of that type and Sioux City has tried and tried to keep it alive but local bands just continue to break up and shows have still never really exploded to the potential they could in a town of 100,000 people. There are plenty of nu-metal bands and metal heads here but it would still be “crazy” to have over 250 people at a show of our genre here.” The guys have seen some shows that give hope to a potential growth and symbolize that there are some tough guys in their area. “I brought Haste The Day and I remember at one point in their set the entire room was a pit of shirtless guys It was quite the sight to see - a bunch of shirtless dude’s from Iowa, South Dakota, & Nebraska throwing down. Though the ‘toughest’ show by definition would definitely be when I booked Seventh Star & Jesus Wept. It was really short notice and I think only 30 kids came. We had a good time though” says David, who also manages and books the band’s shows. But regardless of the lack of a huge local scene, the band caught the attention of Facedown Records by touring and performing over 200 shows independently last year. Take note indie bands, that’s how you do it, and not just tough guy bands. They also just finished up recording their debut album, Ekklesia, with producer Jamie King (Between the Buried and Me, He Is Legend, Secret Lives of the Freemasons). It’s a midwest metal-core album that is as ferocious as it is passionate. Think August Burns Red meets Between the Buried and Me musically. And it’s possible that besides the lack of good local scene, the tough weather that attacks the mid-west might have played a part into the passion that drives these guys to tour…if they can get out of the driveway. “The weather can be hard when you hit winter. Looking outside my window right now I can see 2 feet of snow and it is freezing! Sometimes when we’re leaving for tour, it makes it hard to get out of town” says David. Though for throat specialist Mattie Montgomery, who just moved from Columbus, OH to Sioux City recently, the new hometown seems almost heavenly, “I imagine that heaven is going to be a lot like the mid-west–only with less snow.”

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