Don’t get them wrong — the members of central Iowa band Only enjoy touring. Just don’t ask them to say anything positive about a recent show in Clinton.

“We played a gig in a place aptly named the Pig Pen,” says Only lead singer Sol Bales. “When we got there, we went to the bar and asked for a pitcher of beer. The bartender said, ‘We don’t sell pitchers or mugs on Friday and Saturday nights. People throw them at the band.’ Needless to say, it was not our finest hour.”

Bales says he knows the band’s show on Saturday will be much better. It’s in the band’s hometown of Des Moines, and the occasion is the release of its first CD.

“We’re playing at the House of Bricks in support of our five-song EP, which is called ‘Apparitions,'” Bales says. “This show also marks our last local gig for a while, as we will be hitting the road for awhile. We have a lot of shows coming up in the Minneapolis and Kansas City areas.”

Only bass player Joe Shields is excited about the CD release party. He says the EP highlights both the band’s past and present lineups.

“A couple of the tracks were recorded with our old guitar player and drummer at SR Audio Studios in Des Moines. The rest of it was recorded more recently in Cedar Falls,” Shields says. “It’s a mix of everything that this band has been all about from the beginning.”

Bales says the band has been constantly evolving since its members first got together almost two years ago.

“All of our members have very diverse tastes in music,” Bales says. “Me, I’m a huge Henry Rollins fan. I have been ever since I heard the song ‘Ghost Rider’ on ‘The Crow’ soundtrack. The guy is always himself. He does what he wants to.”

Shields, on the other hand, says he is a huge fan of early 1990s band Faith No More, but other band members draw their influences from other, more diverse sources.

“We have it all,” Shields says. “Our guitarist is a huge KISS fan. Our sound is influenced by bands like Slayer and Pink Floyd, too. We’re very diverse. Makes for a good mix of styles, I think.”

Shields says it also helps that the band has received very favorable reaction to one song from the EP so far.

“Our song, ‘What Have I,’ got some good airtime on local stations like Lazer 103.3 in Des Moines and KURE in Ames,” Shields says. “Hearing your song on the radio makes it worthwhile, but I know we all do this because we love the music we play.”

Bales says a lot of bands don’t like the music or style they are often labeled.

“That, to me, is what separates Only from the other local bands that have come out of Des Moines lately,” Bales says. “We aren’t just locked into one style. If you do that, you’ll find yourself not finding gigs when that musical fad ends.”

All the band members say the music is why they keep doing what they’re doing.

“We enjoy going out and doing what we love,” Bales says. “We all have good daytime jobs or are in school. We do this because we love writing and playing music. That’s what we’re all about, and that’s what we want people to see when we’re onstage.”