In 1999, a handful of lone pioneers created BiFi Records in hopes to embrace and assist the music-creating population of Ames. They constructed a recording studio, giving musicians a watering hole from which to make recordings and flourish, having many of their artists receive college airplay and a degree of national recognition. Seven years later, the label is doing better than ever, having released albums from The Envy Corps, Keepers of the Carpet, Poison Control Center and Organ Donor.

“We’re putting out a lot of records this year, and I hope they do well so we can put out more records,” said Patrick Fleming, BiFi records spokesperson and member of Poison Control Center.

Fleming said during his seven-year stint in Ames, he’s seen a drastic change in local music.

“It’s come along so far. Everybody now is more well-practiced and more interesting. I saw Parallex, just as an example, play four years ago and I saw them play recently – they blew my mind,” he said.

Fleming said he’s seen the same evolution with several BiFi bands, including Keepers of the Carpet and The Envy Corps.

The thing about BiFi bands is that none of them make a living with their music, Fleming said. They’re in it for the love of it. Big aspirations are always a daydream – and an aspiration for some – but they aren’t a requirement.

“We just like to make music and have fun. We’re not looking to conquer the world or anything,” said Aaron Hefley, guitarist and vocalist for BiFi band Like Knives. All four of the band’s members have day jobs, and three are married. For them, music is simply a passion and a release.

Jordan Mayland, frontman for Keepers of the Carpet, said his band is investing in a weekend recording getaway at Black Lodge Recording, a studio in Eudora, Kan.

“We’ve saved up some money and we’re going to go try to get a solid single done and get as many other songs done in that weekend as we can,” he said.

Mayland said the recording session should give the band a much-longed-for bump up in recording quality.

“We’d like to get on the radio again,” he said. “105.1 has been really good about playing local music. They helped out the Envy Corps a ton, and I’ve heard The Lifestyle and Parallex on there a few times. We kind of just want to re-establish ourselves in the Iowa music scene.”

A handful of BiFi bands will perform in Des Moines this weekend, including Family Unit – a band that hasn’t released on BiFi yet, but will in the near future.

“Family Unit is bizarre. I won’t say they’re the most musically talented, but they’re definitely doing things that nobody else is doing,” Fleming said. “The last time I saw them, someone described their sound as Black Sabbath meets children’s music.”

The bands frequently perform locally, flaunting live performance as one of their strong points.

“Anybody can sound good on album if they put enough into it, and there’s so much music for free on the Internet these days – it’s live performance that really connects the listener to the artist,” Fleming said.

Poison Control Center is infamous for having one of the wildest live acts around. Swinging on chandeliers, being a part of dogpiles and throwing instruments high into the air are a few of its traits.

“I try to play shows to bring enjoyment to my friends and to make somebody believe they can have a good time,” Fleming said.