On May 30, St. Ambrose University will host the Quad Cities Black Music Conference, a gathering of Midwestern artists, producers, beat masters, DJs, and promoters for a first-of-its-kind symposium on the Midwestern hip-hop scene. Yet while the event's main focus is music, for organizer Tiana Washington - better known as program host "DJ Powder" for St. Ambrose's KALA-FM - the day is all about learning.

"I realized that there was not enough education," says Washington, "especially for those who are serious [about hip-hop] and have created some headway for themselves. And it was time. Time to create an event that focused on not just the music element, but on the education and business sides of music.

"Because, you know, [radio station] B-100 can't play something that's not put through the proper channels. DJs cannot just do a friend a favor and play their music. And there's this perception that that can happen."

Washington laughs. "We gotta talk about that."

Describing the Shondes' new album My Dear One, violinist Elijah Oberman noted in a recent interview that "it's basically a break-up record. ... We're both happy and terrified to be participating in that tradition. On the one hand, it's a very universal topic, and something that most people can relate to. And on the other hand, you really have to work to make it your own."

Mission accomplished. Because the New York-based band -- which will perform at Iowa City's Blue Moose Tap House on Friday, May 21 -- so masterfully blends its atypical identities into rock music, this break-up record sounds like no other.

Images by photographer Chris Jones from Friday's Paramore concert at the i wireless Center. Click on any photo for a larger version.

Describing his latest CD release, musician Pat Willis says its origins began with his song "Rami," a composition written, as so many are, about a girl.

"When I first saw her, there was a palpable presence," says the former Burnt McMelba Toast frontman. "You know, she had an energy about her, and you could just feel the electricity. And so when she finally came over to me, and slavered all over me, I just melted."

It's probably important to note that Willis isn't being hyperbolic about the slavering.