James M. Biehn got his first taste of music when he began playing the trumpet at the age of 10. He picked up a guitar shortly after and by the age of 13 was a featured soloist in the school jazz band. He continued playing guitar at Norwalk High School in Norwalk, Iowa where he won multiple soloist awards and helped the band win first place in the state competition two years in a row. Continuing his musical studies at Southwestern Community College in Creston, IA, under the direction of Grammy-nominated department head Phil Mattson, James became proficient in music theory, jazz keyboard, and big band/vocal arranging. Throughout his high school and college years, James balanced his schoolwork with the rigors of recording and performing with his first band, the McKenzies. The band released two albums, “A Collective Sigh of Relief” and “Cold in September,” which collectively sold more than 2,000 copies. James has continued to play live as a solo performer as well as with bands such as the Nadas, the Jeff Banks Band, Hyde Park, and Soapbox Prophets. He is a first-call studio musician in Iowa and has contributed to albums by the Nadas, Bonne Finken, the Josh Davis Band as well as various commercial works. He has opened for countless national touring bands such as Blues Traveler, Sonny Landreth, Gov’t Mule, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, King’s X, and many more. In 2005, James was the winner of Lazer 103.3’s “Guitar Battle,” which earned him the opportunity to play onstage with the band Tesla. For two years running he was the regional winner in Guitar Center’s King of the Blues guitar competition. In addition to his musician experience, James owns and operates Central Iowa Music Lab, a music lesson studio in Des Moines, Iowa. He currently oversees 9 other instructors as well as almost 200 students. CIML teaches private lessons as well as Rock Band classes, getting students to work together as a team and learn the importance of making the whole thing sound good, not just individuals.

Jeremy Alvarez is a Des Moines local musician/singer/songwriter. Music has been a huge part of Jeremy’s life since an early age. He started playing guitar at the age of 13, after his mother made him take 3 years of piano first, and soon realized that guitar was the instrument for him. Throughout high school he played in Jazz Band, Show Choir Band and quickly started playing music with friends in town. He has been in several bands throughout the years such as; Old Stone Harbor, Three Legged Dawg, The Rainbow Penley Band, The Robbie Michael Band, Highway 86 and Widespread Panic Tribute: Surprise Valley. Jeremy has had the opportunity to open up for acts like Molly Hatchet, Jerrod Neiman, Neil McCoy, Uncle Kracker, Clay Walker, Billy Currington, Jonny Lang, and Blackberry Smoke to name a few. His taste for music is all over the place ranging from old country, blues, rock, and all the way to classical music. His favorite artists include; Guns N Roses, Pink Floyd, The Black Crowes, Jason Isabell, the Allan Brothers, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill… honestly, there’s too many to name. Jeremy has been teaching guitar since 2010 in Indianola and in the Des Moines area. He has been teaching at CIML since 2012. You can usually find Jeremy at a local show or jam supporting fellow local musicians or running sound for bands across town.

Maria Baccam has been teaching and making music in the Des Moines area for 18 years. Before moving to Iowa, she directed high school show choir, sang and played guitar/keyboard in several cover bands and was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist in the United States Air Force rock band Looking Glass.

Maria has played the piano her entire life and got her first guitar from Santa when she was a sophomore in college. She majored in oboe, but plays many instruments and loves collecting (and playing) unique instruments like the nose flute, penny whistle and melodica.

Maria Baccam holds a Masters Degree in Music Education from Northern State University in her hometown of Aberdeen, South Dakota. She is licensed to teach vocal and instrumental music K-12.

She and her husband love to go to concerts and dance! She has two children ages 20 and 18, and just became a grandma in June. She also has two Chihuahuas, CheeChee and Winston, and two rats, Peaches and Lola.

Colby Drown graduated from Southeast Polk High School in 2022 and was a member of the Jazz One band for three of his four years there. During that time, he received numerous outstanding soloist awards from various competitions and festivals, including the Iowa Jazz Championships, the Tallcorn Jazz Festival, and the SCIBA Jazz Festival. Also in 2022, Drown was awarded the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award. Drown is currently attending Drake University, where he is majoring in music and is the guitarist for the Drake Jazz One ensemble.

Matt Dutton grew up with music: he started taking piano lessons when he was 8, took up the trumpet in 5th grade, and quickly immersed himself in the music world. He was a low brass player all through high school, serving as Drum Major for his marching band and performing at the IHSMA Best-In-Center Showcase Festival his senior year. He went on to earn his BA in Music at the University of Northern Iowa, where he honed his abilities in all things Band along with holding frequent garage band jam sessions with his friends at their house. After graduating in 2017, Matt completed one year of graduate coursework in Euphonium Performance while he was a Co-Director of the 100+ member Golden Grizzlies Pep Band at Oakland University in Michigan. He has also held various roles in public schools, is the director of an award-winning Show Choir Band in Davenport, and performs with the Des Moines-based brass band, BYOBrass, where he plays Bass Trombone, Euphonium, Sousaphone, & Bass Guitar and is the Publicity and Media Manager. When he’s not teaching, Matt loves to write and arrange new music, perform with pits in theatres across Central and Eastern Iowa, and spend time with his 10-year-old Boxer, Taz.

Dustin Farrow was introduced to music at a very early age, getting his first guitar at age 10 and then began playing saxophone in the fifth grade. At age 11, he began taking guitar lessons from CIML owner James Biehn, focusing on Blues, Jazz, and Classic Rock. Dustin began playing in bands all through middle school and high school, recording music at 14 when his band Deimos made their first demo. At 16 he and Deimos with their first six song EP, and at 17 he and Deimos cut their first full-length album. After graduating high school, he attended both The Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences (Phoenix, AZ) and served as an intern at Darkhorse Studios (Nashville, TN,) learning the ins and outs of both live sound and studio recording. In 2009 Dustin returned home to work as a stagehand, and was with the local union for six years. He worked at Wells Fargo, Civic Center, and many other venues throughout Iowa. He would help install sound systems for concerts, plays, political events, and festivals. Since 2015 he has been working with local sound companies and local bands anytime he is needed.

William J Locker is a musician/recording-artist based in Des Moines, Iowa. Mixing sounds of rock, blues, country, gospel and pop, his newest record REDHEAD is his own low-fi and fuzzy take on rock and roll. Catchy lyrics interacting with the contrasts of relationships, love, and life. Locker grew up in a musical family, that played music through the house while his dad’s and brother’s bands were practicing in the basement. Raised on the Stones, Will developed a love for backbeat-driven songs before owning his first drum set at the age of fourteen. He has toured the U.S. playing drums for many bands since the age of seventeen. During a recent hiatus he used his free time to write and record his first solo album titled REDHEAD, which he debuted live at SXSW in 2015.

Using a beat up Fender acoustic guitar, Will imagined and wrote the songs in his head as grandios rock anthems inspired by the music of his childhood. He played most of the instruments on the record, including drums, guitar, bass, and vocals. With the help of his brother, Jon Locker (The Nadas, Bonne Finken) and Neil Stoffregen, Will was able to jumpstart his Record at The Sonic Factory Recording Studio and had it mixed by Matt Sepanic (Slipknot), the album serves as a document of his musical journey from the back to the front of the stage. William still spends most of his time on the drum seat, supplying vicious drum grooves with a number of bands and artists from the midwest. Amongst those artists is his wife, Nella Thomas. When he is not playing shows, William teaches drum lessons and rock band classes at the Central Iowa Music Lab, while continuing to write and record future projects.

Ryan Lombard is a guitarist and songwriter from Des Moines, IA. His eclectic style includes many flavors of rock, electronic, and classical guitar. His most recent project, “Songs for Our Water,” takes inspiration from Iowa’s lakes and rivers, and each song is named after an Iowa lake or river. “Songs for Our Water” is due to release Spring 2024 and received support from the Iowa Dept. of Cultural Affairs. Previously, Ryan headlined Des Moines Music Coalition’s GDP music festival 2022, performed live on Iowa Public Radio, and won 2nd place in the Ryan Leach Composing Competition. Ryan has a Bachelor of Music from Missouri Western State University.

While Deb Paul is new to our Waukee location, she has been a music educator for over 25 years. She teaches piano, vocal, band instruments, guitar and Ukulele. In addition to teaching these instruments, Deb teaches and teaches "Debbie Doo Wop Tiny Tot Music Classes," focusing on giving youngsters ages 0-4 years old a fun, educational music experience. "Debbie Doo Wop" has released 2 children's albums with her musical duo partner Dynamite Dan (Dan Trilk.) They submitted their self-produced album “Party” to the 2016 Grammy awards for Best Children's Album and attended the ceremony in Los Angeles that year. This musical duo performs all around central Iowa regularly at libraries, the Des Moines Art Festival, DSM Farmer's Market, “Every Family Rocks” and local festivals.

She spends most of her time at music concerts, watching her children perform and planning her own concerts. Deb is a member of the Iowa Bandmasters Association, Sigma Alpha Iota and the Iowa Music Teachers Association.

Lexie Thiessen graduated from Central College in 2015 with a degree in Vocal Music Education and minor in Theater. She taught at Lynnville-Sully CSD for two years as the K-12 Vocal and General Music Teacher. After marrying fellow Central College musician Nathan Thiessen and moving to Des Moines in 2015, Lexie taught K-5 General Music at Carlisle CSD for four years. She now teaches 9-12 Vocal Music at Carlisle High School. Outside of school, Lexie sings in two ensembles at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, teaches vocal and piano lessons, participates in local community theater, and is a singer/songwriter in her band L and N Music, which she formed with her husband Nathan.

Nathan Thiessen began playing violin in the fourth grade. He played throughout high school and then continued playing at Central College, where he majored in music and history. During school, he also learned to play bass guitar and began writing his own music in bands. After graduating school, he stayed in Pella where he taught lessons, worked at a church, and played in bands at the college. In 2016 he would join the band Foreverlin and tour with them until the band ended in 2018. In 2017, he moved to Des Moines and began teaching at the lab in 2022. In addition to teaching, Nathan releases his own music and plays bass in the band Kickstart the Sun. 

Zach has been playing drum set/percussion since 1997, and has been teaching drum set/percussion since 2005. He studied at the Los Angeles Music Academy where he learned from Ralph Humphrey (Frank Zappa, Don Ellis Big Band, Family Guy), Joe Pocaro (Stan Getz, Toto), Tony Inzalaco (Maynard Ferguson), Mike Packer (Cirque Du Soleil), and Mike Shapiro (Sergio Mendez, Airto Moreira). Zach studied rock, funk, jazz, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, odd meters, sight reading, and big band.