With the release of their first CD tomorrow, local band Jade Lea is getting ready to explode onto the local music scene.

The CD release is just the latest step in the band’s crusade to garner attention and support before the end of the semester draws much of the Ames fan base away.

“My ambition is to play music,” said guitarist and vocalist Keith Rollins, junior in art and design. “I’m kind of building my life around it in the sense that I don’t think I can hack a day job.”

Rollins is the heart and soul of the band, starting it in 2005 when he took out ads in the local music stores. The first person to respond was bassist Francis “Dale” Noh, sophomore in liberal arts – open option.

“At first, I thought it was one of my friends, like, pranking me,” said Rollins. “Then I thought, all right, this Korean kid wants to play music with me – why not?”

Rollins attributes much of the band’s stage presence to Noh. A short Asian, Noh carries a bass guitar nearly as long as he is tall and is decked out in the best of ’80s hip-hop culture – baggy jeans, untied Converse hi-tops and an oversized Lakers hat.

Original drummer Chresten Hyde, senior in marketing, joined shortly thereafter and played with the band until late last year. During this time, Jade Lea won the Homecoming 2005 Battle of the Bands and took second place in last year’s Veishea Battle of the Bands.

This January, drummer Jon Saxton, a high school classmate of Rollins’, joined, bringing them up to three members once more.

“He was pretty obsessed with it [the band],” Rollins said. Saxton plans to stick with the band, and is interested in touring. Noh, on the other hand, will be leaving May 14 to serve two years in Korea with the Army, leaving Rollins to search for new bandmates once again. In addition to a new bassist, he is also considering looking for a keyboardist.

Jade Lea’s name is pretty simple, meaning “green meadow.”

“Originally, I just wanted something that sounded cool and kind of ambiguous,” said Rollins. “It was just to get the fact that we’re from Iowa out of the way.”

Rollins has difficulty defining his own sound, but describes it as a blend of jazz, blues and funk – not the sounds you’d expect from Iowa.

“We take the flavor of [those genres] and mix it all together,” he said. “We’re definitely a jam band.”

Rollins’ songs avoid conventional verse-chorus-bridge structures, meandering more through a variety of sounds.

“It’s not that I try hard not to write normally-structured songs,” he said. “My ignorance really helps me in terms of songwriting.”

Jade Lea has been playing a few gigs a month, a number Rollins wants to increase. If the CD release attracts enough attention, he plans to start working out a touring schedule.

The band has played a variety of Ames, Des Moines and Iowa City-area venues, and considers Bali Satay House to be its home base. Their favorite venue is the M-Shop, but Rollins mentioned dealing with the revolving staff can be difficult.

The CD release

The CD release has been a long time coming, beset with problems.

“Basically, recording ended yesterday [April 25],” Rollins said.

The recording process for the four-track demo began last Thanksgiving with the drum parts. After Rollins recorded the vocal parts in December, the original guitarist and drummer both quit. Saxton had not yet joined the band, and Dale was rarely available, so Rollins was left to put together the rest of the record himself.

“I pretty much had to reinvent those parts as we went,” he said.

The CD was recorded without any digital assistance, because of the band’s financial situation.

“Anything you hear is as analog as it gets,” Rollins said.

The CD release party will be held 4 p.m. Saturday at Bandshell Park, 125 E. 5th St.

This release party is the final step in Rollins’ push to get the band’s name out before the end of the semester. He has also been assembling a press kit and trying to attract the attention of local media outlets. If the release goes well, Rollins hopes to be able to book tour dates for the summer and into the fall.

Rollins chose the park for the event because of its accessibility to a variety of Ames residents – he’s trying to reach out to the whole community.

The Greater Des Moines Music Coalition also lent some support, co-signing the lease on the park. This reduced the rental fee from $600 to $200.

“That’s the difference between making money on this event and looking like an idiot and having to work my butt off all summer,” said Rollins.

The final plans for the event are not set yet. Rollins said that local band Root Punch may open, and the Ames Impact Track Club may be selling refreshments, depending on the weather.

Jade Lea plans to play two 45-minute sets, and their self-titled CD will be available for $5, with the proceeds to go directly toward the band’s expenses.

The band’s performance will consist solely of original songs, somewhat of a feat for a local band with only a demo to their name. Rollins explained this by summing up his approach to his music.

“I’m actually a terrible guitarist,” he said, “but songwriting is not something we lack.”