They’re new, sizzling, talented, and ready to rock Ames right off the musical map. Nikki’s Dream is a local band composed of five seasoned musicians, plus a sixth and silent member, that is now performing live throughout Ames and the surrounding areas.

The band consists of five very talented rock and roll musicians with five years of band experience. Todd Grove is on lead vocals with a voice that will hit the radio airwaves in the near future, while Jerry Hoehle, a Utah native, plays the fat bass and backs up with some great vocal depth.

Jerry Garcia (no, not the fearless leader of The Grateful Dead, but the California native known as one of the area’s best guitarists) strums the guitar and gives some hot harmony, and Scott Simmons also plays guitar. Last but not least, Glen Reel beats the skins and gives Nikki’s Dream a backbone that won’t fail or falter.

This nationally diverse group of musicians makes up a talented rock and roll package wrapped up into five great performers.

The story behind the name, Nikki’s Dream, is even more unique and heart-touching. Simmons, guitar player for the band and an Iowa State senior, talked about their sixth and silent member of the group and how this name came about.

Simmons explained: “We started out with the name Allied Forces, and one night a couple of us were sitting around and one of the guys asked what my sister’s name was, and I replied, ‘Nicole, but we call her Nikki.’

“Nikki has cancer and is 13 years old. One of the guys then said, ‘Let’s call the band Nikki’s Dream.'” Most bands’ names are intended to catch people’s attention, with no real meaning behind the name, but not Nikki’s Dream.

This band not only is a hybrid formation of the ashes of other groups, but the members got together due to many unusual circumstances. As Grove put it, “We basically fell together and formed Nikki’s Dream.”

This unusual building of a group started as Garcia and Reel came off the recent breakup of the group Gunner. One night the two happened to be in attendance of a Mystic show and saw Simmons on the guitar. After several weeks of correspondence, Simmons quit his band in favor of better musicians.

Throughout another several weeks of actively seeking a bass player, Reel found Hoehle’s number in a music store. After one audition, the trio threw away all of the other bass players’ names and offered Hoehle the job. Finally came Grove, who beat out a number of auditioning vocalists to get the front man spot.

Garcia talked about their choice of songs. “We don’t want to be labeled as playing only one kind of music and be at one end of the spectrum, so we try and mix things up.”

Mix them up indeed, which is how Nikki’s Dream gets their crowd’s spirits rolling. The group is an up-and-coming rock and roll band with a spirit big enough to fill any room in any establishment upon their booking.

Their diversity among their covers makes them an even hotter commodity. Some of their highlights are: “I’ll Be There For You” by The Rembrants, “Beth” performed by Kiss, Def Leppard’s “Animal”, an old Sammy Hagar classic,”There’s Only One Way To Rock” and “Big Ten Inch Record” first performed by Aerosmith way back when.

“We would like to go to all originals eventually, but for now we perform some classic rock, radio tunes and throw in some originals throughout our performances,” Reel explained. They don’t sing only cover songs, but originals as well that combine many of the styles in their cover tunes.

Nikki’s Dream is not just a regular rock and roll hot spot on the scape of musical dreams, but a class act number with some great performers trying to convey their inspiration and love for music. For more information on Nikki’s Dream, call 233-3835.