Eli Mardock and wife, Carrie, in the studio. Photo by Joe Teplitsky.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Dirty Dancing: Singer/Songwriter Taps into the Power of Porn

To say the video that feature’s Nebraska musician Eli Mardock’s song “The King of the Crickets” is NSFW (Not Safe for Work) would be an understatement.

Titled “Double the Pleasure,” the video opens with the sound of Mardock’s somber piano chords as two young women in bikinis — Francesca and Caprice — nuzzle on a cushioned wicker beach chair sipping cocktails. As they kiss, an MTV-styled song-credit graphic appears in the lower left-hand corner of the frame that includes Mardock’s website address (elimardock.com).

By the 30-second mark, both “actresses” are topless. By two minutes, one is completely nude as Mardock’s music fades away, replaced with canned ocean sound effects and moaning.

From there, well, let the video’s producer, X-art.com, describe it for you:

“X-Art features beautiful, explicit, HD erotic videos that will absolutely blow your mind! Over 100 gorgeous girls-next-door and fresh-faced fashion models getting f***ed in HOT, explicit sex scenes all shot in crystal-clear 1920×1080 Super High Definition Video!”

As the video comes to a proverbial climax, the models are performing an act that cannot be described without using the words “acrobatic” and/or “flexible.” In the afterglow, Mardock’s music fades back in, as the video fades to black.

There are those who will find Mardock’s decision to license his music for use in the soundtrack of hardcore pornography not only distasteful and offensive, but a tacit endorsement of an industry some consider misogynistic.

“People can say whatever they want,” Mardock said. “I will say that I think suppression is unhealthy. And often, people who have a problem with pornography also have problems with sex. You know, they’re wracked with guilt and self-disgust. They battle all their lives to suppress, control and deny the impulses within them which are fact. And it’s a huge waste of energy. Of course, obsessing about sex and watching porn all the time is a huge waste of energy, too. I don’t advocate either — both suppression and overindulgence will fuck with your head.”

Mardock said he was introduced to X-Art by a friend who runs a boutique advertising/television/film/music licensing company in New York City. “It was immediately clear that music is one of the most important elements in their videos — so I was intrigued,” Mardock said. “The plan was to compose original music specifically for a couple of their videos. But they had so much enthusiasm for the early demos of my solo material that I sent them (as examples) that we decided to go with that instead.”

To take full advantage of the video’s promotional power, Mardock timed the June 2012 release of his EP, NE Sorrow Is Born, with the online release of the video, and it worked… probably.

Mardock said his digital-only release, available in 111 countries via 80+ retailers and through his website, has been downloaded more than 7,500 times, while sales of the EP’s single, “Cut Me Open,” (also used in an X-Art video) has clocked more than 11,000 downloads. But how much of that download traffic was due to X-Art? Mardock isn’t sure.

Keep in mind, he’s had some success long before he dabbled in dirty movies. Mardock has toured in the United States and Europe both as the frontman of his former band, Eagle Seagull, and as a solo artist. He is arguably one of the area’s more successful local indie rock musicians, so it’s hard to directly credit the porn videos for his music sales.

“Judging from the numbers of views/comments on YouTube, etc., it’s definitely had an impact,” Mardock said. “But, at the same time, I’ve had promotional campaigns going in both the U.K. and the U.S. that have generated a lot of press/interest.”

The licensing fees and exposure were both factors in his decision to sell music to X-Art. So was the quality of X-Art’s past videos. “I wouldn’t be interested in working with a typical adult site,” Mardock said. “That kind of stuff just isn’t appealing to me.”

X-Art’s director, Brigham Field, is a professional fashion and beauty photographer based in Los Angeles whose work has been published in a number of magazines, including GQ and Maxim in Spain, according to his website.

“Brigham is amazingly talented,” Mardock said. “He’s an artist. And, it’s female friendly. He co-founded X-Art with his wife, Colette. You know some people will say it’s all the same and blah blah blah and that’s alright. But for me, there is a huge difference between (typical porn and X-Art), and believe it or not I’m really very picky about who and what I would want to be associated with.”

But at the end of the day, it’s still hardcore pornography. And there are those who will question whether someone who’s “enjoying” a porn video would care enough about the music to track down the artist and buy the song. “I’m sure there are,” Mardock responded. “But, there’s no doubt it’s had a positive impact on sales.”

And, apparently, no negative impacts, or so he says. But though he described the experience as being “overwhelmingly positive,” music from Mardock’s latest EP, Hamburg, which was released Feb. 14, will “probably not” be used in future X-Art videos.

Is he having second thoughts? Not likely. Whether or not you agree with Mardock’s experiment in the flesh industry, it’s hard not to admit it gave him some exposure he wouldn’t have received elsewhere. And in an era when the indie music industry seems to be on permanent life support, any creative solution to getting your music heard is probably a good one, whether you can watch it in the office or not.

Over The Edge is a weekly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com.

First published in The Reader, Feb. 14, 2013. Copyright © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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Happy Valentines Day, there’s no indie shows tonight in Omaha, so drive to Lincoln and check out Day 2 of Lincoln Exposed.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I never said in yesterday’s review whether or not Sunday’s Ty Segall show tanked. A glance at the crowd tells me there were twice as many people there on Sunday night than at Slow Burn’s Titus Andronicus show last year.

Sam Parker, who runs Slow Burn, said the show did “very well.” “There was over 100 in advance sales for (Sunday) night’s show alone,”  he said. Here’s hoping that was enough to cover Segall’s guarantee.

Slow Burn has another show tomorrow night at Slowdown (Corrections House featuring members of Neurosis, Eyehategod and Yakuza), and then three shows in March and April, including 2012 breakout artist The Men April 27 at The Slowdown.

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Eli Mardock released the first track off the upcoming EP Hamburg yesterday. It’s the title track, but Mardock said the song’s unofficial title is “Middle Finger,” and that it is, indeed, autobiographical, which will be obvious to anyone who knows the back story. It’s also pretty frickin’ good. Check it out below and come back Thursday for an interview with Mardock about the “unorthodox” marketing behind his last EP.

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Speaking of new music, The Thermals’ first single off their Saddle Creek debut, “Born to Kill,” went online yesterday. Check it out below. Desperate Ground comes out April 16 on Saddle Creek Records.

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There’s a big Fat Tuesday show happening tonight at The Sydney featuring Universe Contest, Guilty Is the Bear and Low, Long Signal. $5, 9:30 p.m. More info here.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Eli Mardock and his band at The Waiting Room, July 5, 2012.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I hate to start this review with a downer, but the draw at last night’s Eli Mardock EP release show at The Waiting Room was disappointing — maybe 30 people? I guess everyone either was completely bushed after their 4th of July festivities or were down the street at The Barley Street Tavern for Outlaw Con Bandana, Sam Martin and Jake Bellows, who turned out to be John Bellows and further evidence that I need to start wearing reading glasses. Apologies to those who went there expecting Jake, but at least I’m told you still got to see a helluva show.

Eli Mardock was pretty good, too. The former frontman of Lincoln band Eagle*Seagull played a number of songs off his new EP, NE Sorrow is Born as well as a tune or two off an upcoming LP that he said will be released later this year. How to describe Mardock these days: How about: ‘What you’d get if Neil Diamond fronted Pink Floyd.’ We’re talking mid-tempo drone-groove songs that border on shoe-gaze, with the stellar Carrie Butler adding the necessary “ahh’s” and cool keyboard lines. “Cut Me Open,” my favorite from the new EP, sounds like classic Neil if Neil had spent the bulk of the ’60s strung out on smack — a pretty, dreamy, slow-skate of a song.

Most of Mardock’s rather short set was locked in mid-tempo — semi-slow and done in shades of dark blue. I wondered what a couple of his songs would sound like at twice the BPM. And just as I was thinking that, the band closed with a cute tune with a sweet Flock o’ Seagulls synth line and dueling vocals between Eli and Carrie that came off like a New Wave version of Neil and Babs. Next stop: The Maha Music Festival.

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There’s a wealth of shows going on tonight and virtually nothing slated for Saturday. What’s up with that?

Most of the shows are in Benson tonight, which is also celebrating its second First Friday event, so good luck parking. Oh, it ain’t that bad. Surely you can walk a few extra blocks to the venue of your choice.

Among the events is the return of Lincoln punk band Domestica to The Sydney. Heidi, Jon and Todd will be playing songs off their latest self-released EP, simply called Domestica 2, which you can check out in its entirety at their Bandcamp page. Classic. Also on the bill is Chromafrost. No idea on cost, but it’s probably around $5, and starts at around 10.

Meanwhile, the King of Surf Rock, Dick Dale, is playing down the street at The Waiting Room. Don’t know who Dale is? Check out my vintage 1998 interview with the man himself. Opening is The Blacktop Ramblers. $20, 9 p.m.

If that weren’t enough, there’s a solid lineup tonight at The Barley Street headlined by John Klemmensen and The Party with Under Water Dream Machine, Family Picnic and Knife Fight Justice. $5. According to the Barley Street website, it starts at 6 p.m., but the Facebook invite says 9. Do as you will.

The sleeper show of the night (and maybe the best) is Fat Possum band Youth Lagoon down at Slowdown. If you haven’t heard Boise singer/songwriter Trevor Powers’ stuff, it’s catchy but kind of downcast, tuneful but depressing. Kind of reminds me of Perfume Genius but a tad more upbeat. Curious? Check out “Cannons” below:

Opening is Father John Misty. $14, 9 p.m.

I’m having a hard time finding anything to recommend for Saturday night. If you know something that’s good that I’m missing, put it in the comments section.

I’ve been notified that our friends in Well Aimed Arrows will have their television debut Sunday morning on KETV, performing as part of a package that’s promoting the upcoming Nebraska Pop Festival. Tune in at around 8:40 a.m.

Sunday night, Eisley plays at The Waiting Room with Merriment and Skypiper. $13, 8 p.m.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Eli Mardock at O'Leaver's, Jan. 28, 2012.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s been about a month since I last visited O’Leaver’s. I don’t remember it being quite as bright as it was Saturday night. I blame the strings upon strings of white twinkle Christmas lights hung along the ceiling, turning the club into a trailer park wonderland. When I mentioned this to the soundman, he said, “Don’t worry, it won’t be long until half of them are burned out, and it will look like the same ol’ place” yes, but with strings of ugly dead Christmas lights in the ceiling. That’s the O’Leaver’s I remember, friend, that’s the O’Leaver’s I so dearly crave. Other than the Christmas lights, nothing has changed (thankfully). No matter how screwed up your world becomes, you can always depend on O’Leaver’s to bring you right back to 2004 (or whenever it turned into a rock club).

Onstage upon my 11:15 arrival was traveling band The Bears of Blue River, your run-of-the-mill jangly indie folk band with loveable hippie frontman. Pleasant enough. But I came to see Eli Mardock, who I’d been told had grown his live trio into a full-blown 5-piece band. Sure enough, there was Mardock backed by his lovely wife on keyboards, two guitarists/bass players (One of which was Ian Aiello of The Golden Age) and a drummer. You could argue that this was a natural re-evolution of Eagle*Seagull, and you’d be wrong. Mardock as a solo band seems more focused, more rocking than E*S ever was, though there are some obvious similarities in songwriting style.

The biggest change (to me) is Mardock himself. His singing no longer has that lilt, that awkward, alien affectation that had a way of overshadowing everything that E*S was doing. Mardock now sounds like a normal citizen of this country singing rock songs about love and death and art. The first three or four songs featured him on acoustic guitar while the guys handled the bass, but after halftime Mardock switched to bass for numbers with a more definitive swing, while the guys shared rhythm and leads (though, really, it was Mardock that was leading with his bass).

With this band, Mardock finally has gotten past E*S once and for all. His other incarnations — whether it was Beauty in the Beast or his trio — seemed like incremental stages on the way to something else, half-formed with residue from the past and blueprints for the future. Now his sound is fully formed and ready for a next step that is firmly outside (but next to) the shadow of E*S.  He’s pushed this band into the top level of Nebraska indie projects, and who knows how far he’ll go from there.

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One more note about O’Leaver’s: While things seem to be slowing down elsewhere, O’Leaver’s looks to be gearing up its bookings. They have nine shows scheduled through March, including this Friday night’s Digital Leather tour kick-off, which should be a surreal experience.Check out O’Leaver’s Facebook events calendar.

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Tonight at Slowdown Jr., Skypiper is hosting what it’s calling a “Mini-apolis invasion” featuring Twin Cities bands Tarlton and Zoo Animal. Opening is Omaha’s I Am the Navigator. It should be a night of Decemberists-style chamber/indie/pop. $7, early 8 p.m. start.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Here are a few odds and ends of interest that have been cluttering up my in-box:

Who remembers what the first title was in Sub Pop’s Singles Club back in 1988? Why it was none other than “Love Buzz,” the debut single by a little ol’ band that went by the name Nirvana. The Singles Club worked this way — for a subscription price you received one Sub Pop single per month by mail — awesome.  Sub Pop has done two more Singles Club series since then, the last one in 2008. Who knows if they’ll ever do it again.

In the meantime, our old friends at Matador have launched their own singles club. Titled Singles Going Home Alone, the Matador club is offering six 7-inch singles to be distributed throughout 2012.  The first of the bi-monthly releases features Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks and L.A. Guns, with the former covering the latter’s “Wheels Of Fire” and Tracii & Co. tackling “Gorgeous George” by The Jicks. Following that, releases are set to come from OBN III’s (March) and The Men from New York City (May). Subscriptions are $45. That’s quite a chunk of cash, but you also get a tote bag, 10% off the Matador store all year and a “secret surprise” (and BTW, copies of that limited-press Nirvana Singles Club offering are now fetching more than $2,500 on ebay). Check it out at Matador. Now when is Saddle Creek going to get off its tired ass and put together a Singles Club?

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Speaking of Matador and end-of-year lists, the label recently published its contributors’ annual end-of-year lists right here. I usually skip down to the end to see what obscure shit that label guy Gerard Cosloy is listening to these days. Of note: Digital Leather’s “Mind Eraser” made Steve Glauber of Matador Direct’s list of favorite tunes in 2011.

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Speaking of Digital Leather, their song “Young Doctors in Love” is featured at SPIN.com’s “First Spin” page, where you can download it for free. The song is from DL’s forthcoming LP Modern Problems, slated for release on FDH Records Feb. 14. It’ll also be included on another year-end comp that will be announced in the coming days (can you guess who’s?)…

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Speaking of album previews, our old Eagle Seagull pal Eli Mardock is offering an online preview of his upcoming album, Everything Happens For The First Time, right here. No street date or label info was passed along with this bit of news other than we’ll be seeing it sometime in 2012.

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Finally, kind of interesting is the return of D.C. post-punk band Q & Not U.  John Davis and Chris Richards recently performed together and intend “to keep working on songs and, hopefully, playing more shows,” according to this story in the Washington City Paper. Mynabirds fans may recall that Davis was half of Georgie James with Laura Burhenn.

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And so we enter the Christmas weekend where as per usual, there’s not much going on. You know, Christmas is for families, and all that jive. That said, tonight there’s a “Holiday Hootenanny” going on at The Sandbox featuring a plethora of rockabilly bands, including Snake Island, St. Christopher, Th’ Empires, Rumble Seat Riot and Gerald Lee Jr. or The Filter Kings. $10, all ages, show starts at 7.

Also tonight, Two Drag Club and Witness Tree are playing at The Barley Street Tavern. 9:30, probably $5. And Satchel Grande, is playing again tonight at The Waiting Room, where they’re practically becoming the house band (and why not?). $7, 9 p.m. Finally, Ragged Company is playing a set this afternoon down at House of Loom with cellist David Downing. 5 p.m. and free.

And that’s it for the weekend. Here’s hoping you get a brand new guitar for Christmas.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Sky Drops at The Barley Street Tavern, May 3, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It was a late start at last night’s show at The Barley Street Tavern. I would find out later that it was because opener Pastel Pistol canceled. That meant sitting alone in the bar, quietly stewing over a Rolling Rock while playing Tiny Bird on my iPhone for an hour. Us working types are taking a chance going out on a “school night” to see a show, hoping that it’ll wrap up at least by midnight so that the 5 a.m. wake-up call isn’t quite as painful…

The touring band, The Sky Drops, finally got started a little after 10:30. With all the bands jumping on the “shoegaze” bandwagon these days, this was the first that actually had that classic guitar sound that I identify with the subgenre — that shimmering, rainy-day woozy drone made famous by bands like My Bloody Valentine. Guitarist/vocalist Rob Montejo pulled it off with a Fender Jaguar, a small stack of amps and an array of effects pedals that bent the notes in an off-kilter, underwater sort of way. Meanwhile, drummer Monika Bullette merely kept the beat on her small kit, nothing fancy, and provided sweet harmony vocals. Yeah, they could have used a bass, just like every two-piece out there. Still, Montejo’s guitar tone did a good job filling in the void. I was thrown by his clear, unaffected voice. He has one of those very American voices — sort of Lou Barlow meets Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket) meets Dan Wilson (Semisonic) — that provided a distinct contrast to the feedback. Definitely worth losing sleep over.

Eli Mardock at The Barley Street Tavern, May 3, 2011.

The impressive thing about Eli Mardock, who followed The Sky Drops, is that he writes actual songs. That sounds funny/stupid I know, but it’s what has always distinguished him and his projects from the rest of the crowd. Good songs, good arrangements. Nothing wasted. The set up was Mardock, who switched between acoustic, bass, and electric guitars; Carrie Butler on space synths and keyboards, along with a bassist and drummer who I didn’t recognize. Mardock still has that slightly affected, showy drawl, which has become his trademark. A good voice, and certainly memorable. But back to the songs — Mardock has a way with strong, catchy melodies and equally cool counter melodies that are, for the most part, uniquely his own. There were a couple moments in the short, 5-song set (though long songs) that crept dangerously close to Radiohead territory, but every time he managed to throttle back his Thom Yorke tendencies, shifting to a synth or guitar solo. Gorgeous stuff that outshines his work with Eagle Seagull. Call it pop music of the best kind, songs that are just fun to listen to. It’s True has a similar, though obviously different, quality. Mardock said he’s finished recording an album’s worth of material and is off to New York to mix it. More to come…

A quick note about The Barley Street’s sound: I was told that the system had been retooled around the time that Brad Hoshaw took over the venue’s booking chores. I’m not sure what they did, but the bands sounded quite good last night. Credit goes to the sound guy who took his time balancing everything during sound checks and adjusted throughout the set. I’m sure the dozen or so other folks who turned out appreciated the effort…

BTW, I got home a little after midnight…

* * *

There are two hot shows going on tonight. Down at Slowdown Jr. it’s Hunx and His Punx with Shannon And The Clams & Talking Mountain. Chris Aponick has the skinny on H&HP’s man-love rock in this interview in The Reader. $8, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, up at The Waiting Room, it’s the return of The Felice Brothers with Shovels & Rope. Kevin Coffey’s got the lowdown on the band in an interview with the band’s bass player at his Rock Candy blog, right here. $13, 9 p.m.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

More interesting than yesterday’s announcement that Bright Eyes has added dates to his seemingly endless tour for The People’s Key is the list of opening bands that Conor and Co. are bringing along for the tour. Saddle Creek bands always have been generous when it came to helping their friends out by offering opening slots on national tours. In this case, it not only helps the bands, it helps the label.

Maybe more than any other instance, adding Mynabirds to this tour will have a quantum impact on growing that band’s following, even if it’s only for a week (March 10-16, Boston to Champaign, IL). Fact is, Mynabirds’ frontwoman Laura Burhenn will be along for the ride anyway as a member of Bright Eyes, so it made sense to find a way to add the rest of her band when possible. Adding Cursive to four dates (March 3-6) makes this a sort-of Saddle Creek “Supertour” (Who remembers the Bright Eyes / Faint tour all those years ago?).

So why doesn’t Bright Eyes simply fill the rest of this tour with these and other Creek bands? Certainly the bands’ fans know and love fellow Creek artists, and having them along for the tour is like surrounding yourself with family. Everybody wins.

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BTW, just like I figured, Bright Eyes has announced its first appearance at South By Southwest since 2000. The date is March 19 — the last day of SXSW — at Auditorium Shores as part of  The Ground Control Touring showcase, which also featuries The Felice Brothers, Middle Brother and Man Man.

Still no word whether Saddle Creek is hosting a showcase at SXSW this year.

* * *

Eli Mardock can now add “ex-Beauty in the Beast” to his “ex-Eagle Seagull” name description. He e-mailed his Facebook fans Saturday saying, “I’m no longer performing as Beauty in the Beast or Eagle Seagull, but instead just as ELI MARDOCK.” In addition to having a new glamour photo, Mardock has posted a new song to his fan page, “The King of Crickets.” I dig it. Check it out.

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Tomorrow: 2011 Predictions, Pt. 2 — get ready to be astounded.

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Lazy-i Best of 2010

Your entry into this year’s drawing for a copy of the Lazy-i Best of 2010 sampler isn’t going to send itself. It’s up to you  click on this e-mail link: tim@lazy-i.com and compose a small message that includes your name and mailing address. It’s pretty frickin’ easy, and it’s free. Tracks include songs by Arcade Fire, Jenny and Johnny, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Belle and Sebastian, Titus Andronicus, The Mynabirds, A Weather, Zeus, The Black Keys, Pete Yorn and more. Full track listing is here. If you’re lucky enough to win, you’ll also get the new limited edition Lazy-i Sticker to stick on something. Deadline is next Tuesday, Jan. 18. Better do it now. These things sneak up on you…

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Beauty In the Beast at The Waiting Room, Oct. 7, 2010.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The marquee outside The Waiting Room last night said “Eagle Seagull,” but everyone knew better. Maybe it was a marketing ploy. After all, why would anyone know who Beauty In the Beast is, especially seeing as the gig was their stage debut? Regardless, the ruse didn’t work and fewer than 50 people showed up — maybe the Huskers had something to do with the low turnout, or maybe the time is right to stick a fork in E*S…

First up was A Lull, a Chicago five-piece with two primary drummers but where everyone had some piece of percussion equipment to bang on. As you’d expect, the music was all very rthymic, almost tribal, with a guitarist adding distinctively Fripp-ian touches (no chords) while another guitarist sang in a dry, tonal sort of way. When it wasn’t droning it did remind me of latter-day King Crimson, and when all five members were pounding out rhythms, it became a celebration.

Our old friends Cowboy Indian Bear were next, doing their usual thing with the usual panache. It was suggested that the Lawrence band might be over-playing Omaha since they seem to perform almost weekly. Overexposure is never a good thing, but then again, people can’t seem to get enough of CIB.

Then came the debut of Beauty in the Beast — a three-piece featuring Eli Mardock and Carrie Butler, both formerly with Eagle*Seagull, and drummer Andrew Tyler. Mardock played acoustic and electric guitar and bass, switching between the three from song to song, while Butler played synths, and both handled vocals, though Mardock is still clearly the group’s “frontman.” The seven-song set started with an acoustic-powered ballad reminiscent of The Church, while the second song sounded very E*S; then Mardock switched to electric and things began to take off.

Unlike their recordings on their Facebook page, Mardock still has his warble-y, Bowie-esque affectation on stage though it’s much less pronounced on music that is more laid-back, more swinging (in a midnight sort of way) than E*S. I guess the word I’m looking for is “groovy.” Butler took over the lead vocals on the third song, and while her voice is pretty, it’s still not quite strong enough for the stage — that’ll improve over time. She was at her best when she shared vocals with Mardock in tight harmony. On the whole, Beauty’s arrangements are simpler and more straight-forward than E*S’ over-the-top dance explosions, with Tyler stripping the percussion to its bare essentials.

They closed with an upbeat New Wave number featuring Butler’s Gary Numan synths, while the seventh and last song featured Butler (on bass) and Mardock (on electric guitar) playing over a ghostly looped synth march that made for a dramatic Ennio Morricone moment.

As a whole, the set was mesmerizing, modern, and somehow strangely stylish. Beauty… is a big step forward for Mardock and Butler, and a step away from a what-could-have-been past that now seems very old-fashioned. That said, I’m skeptical how well this more contemporary sound will translate to traditional Eagle*Seagull fans, not that it matters…

* * *

Time to plan your weekend…

Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s Syracuse indie pop band Ra Ra Riot (Barsuk). File their music under the same college category as Tokyo Police Club, Vampire Weekend, SSLYBS, the usual suspects. Joining them are Chikita Violenta and We Barbarians. $15, 9 p.m.

Tonight also is the first of a two-night reunion of local heroes The Sons of… Tonight it’s the Sons of The 49′r at, well, The 49′r of course. Joining them are our old friends The Filter Kings. It’s probably $5, and probably starts at 9 p.m. Then tomorrow night, the band magically transforms into The Sons of O’Leaver’s (featuring Mike Jaworski of Cops, Hong Gyn Corp., Hello from Waveland), with special guests Little Brazil. This one will be packed. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Back to tonight’s action… Bear Country and Thunder Power are playing at Stir Lounge in C.B. $5, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, there’s a last-minute show (replacing the canceled Justin Townes Earle show) at Slowdown Jr. featuring Strand Of Oaks, McCarthy Trenching, and Fortnight. 9 p.m. and absolutely free.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) in addition to that gigantic O’Leaver’s show, Rock Paper Dynamite is headlining a gig at The Waiting Room with High Art and SFS. $7, 9 p.m.

Down at Slowdown Jr. Saturday Yep Roc band Jukebox the Ghost is headlining a show with Hooray for Earth and AB & The Sea. $10, 9 p.m.

Finally, Sunday night, seminal ’90s alt-metal band Helmet comes to The Waiting Room with Intronaut & Goes Cube. $15, 9 p.m.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Column 291: These Uncynical Days

Guster’s Ryan Miller has hope for the future of music…

More with Guster’s Ryan Miller that didn’t fit into the feature story, which was posted yesterday, here, and which you should read before you read this. Go ahead, we’ll wait for you…

You’re back? Good. I should point out that I have some familiarity with Miller and Guster. I interviewed him way back in December 1999 in the band’s tour bus before a concert at the long, lost Ranch Bowl. Miller was a whirling dervish, jumping around the bus looking for a lost Wheat CD (you remember Wheat, right?) having just done an in-station performance at KCTY The City, an Omaha FM radio station that, in its day, was sort of ground breaking in that it had no real format, no play list. The DJ’s played whatever they wanted to, and Miller couldn’t believe it.

The KCTY experiment didn’t last very long, and the whole idea of a broadcast radio station that isn’t nationally programmed seems impossible now. Which brings us to the present and Mlller’s take on current-day radio. He and the band have just spent the past two weeks touring radio stations “educating radio programmers about their single,” he said. It didn’t seem much different than back in ’99, when Miller told me one of Guster’s main goals was to break through to mainstream radio. “We like our record label and we’re waiting for our shot,” Miller said proudly, almost defiantly way back then. “We feel we’re a commercial band, that we’re real and we’ve been doing this for a long time. I say congratulations to the Goo Goo Dolls, Sugar Ray and Matchbox 20. They’ve broken through.”

Now 11 years later, Guster still hasn’t broken through, though that goal remains in their sights, sort of. “It’s not thee goal,” Miller said last Saturday. “It’s a goal. We had an opportunity when (our contract with) Warner Bros was up after Ganging Up on the Sun (released in 2006). It was a moment when we said, ‘What should we do? Should we release the next one in-house on our own record label?’ We decided to give the major label thing one more shot.”

In some ways, Guster was bucking the trend when they signed with Universal instead of going indie. Miller said the band had watched how Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails did their successful pay-what-you-want self releases, and realized it wouldn’t work for them. That model “only works for bands that are already hugely established,” Miller said. “For us, it’s really helpful to have the machinery behind us, especially people who understand what we’re doing. Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to make the video for ‘Do You Love Me?’”

That video, a stop-action piece that shows the band performing dressed in long underwear while white-hooded (Klannish?) drones decorate the stage (and the band) with paint, was picked as iTunes “video of the week,” an honor that drummer Brian Rosenworcel called in a Gloucester Times article “The biggest news that ever happened in our band’s history.” Wow.

Miller said the video and its exposure is something they wouldn’t have had without the label backing. Still, he’s well aware that there are a lot of bands that are “breaking through” on indie labels.

“I’m not cynical about it anymore,” Miller said. “It’s an amazing time to be a musician. There are so many great records coming out, I download four or five every week and some are so uncommercial. What’s happening with the whole democratization of music is so inspiring, though it’s harder than hell to break into the monoculture.”

Which made me scratch my head and wonder how any band does it. Last week’s sold out Local Natives show at The Waiting Room is a prime example. Hundreds of fans were grouped around the stage singing along to songs that have never been heard on Omaha airwaves outside of small, 2-hour boutique radio shows like 89.7 The River’s stylish New Day Rising show (Sunday’s at 9). If that’s the only outlet, is radio important any more?

“I keep asking myself that same question,” Miller said. “It’s still hanging in there. I live in Brooklyn and never listen to the radio. I listen to (Seattle public radio station) KEXP on my iPhone, which plays a lot of music that I like. We still see popular bands on the radio, so we’re still willing to give it a couple weeks of our lives.”

Miller said these days publications like Pitchfork are acting as tent poles for new bands. “It kind of started with Broken Social Scene,” he said. “That band came out of nowhere and got a 9.2 rating (for 2002′s You Forgot It In People). A great review in Pitchfork can get you to sell-out 400-person venues in 15 cities, and that gets you your shot. If you’re shitty, it all goes away.”

Miller said that’s what helped break Local Natives. “All these bands — indie or blog bands — it helps them crawl up and crawl out of this Internet-only thing and become part of the culture. Today it’s Local Natives. It was Fleet Foxes before that and Vampire Weekend before that. And now Arcade Fire has the No. 1 record in the country. That band didn’t get played on the radio. That’s why I’m so uncynical about the whole thing. All of those bands are great fucking bands and they don’t sound like anything else. It’s all happening based on merit more than anything.”

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It can now be said that Eagle Seagull is no more, just as their best album, The Year of the How-To Book, has finally been released (You can find it on iTunes; I have no idea if it was physically released in the U.S.). Its availability marks the end of years of speculation if it would ever see the light of day. We all heard the Starbucks story (though I’ve never seen it documented) and assumed that after that debacle someone would pick it up. If the waiting seemed like forever for Eagle Seagull fans (the album was recorded in May 2007), it must have been an eternity for the band. When it was announced this spring that [PIAS] was releasing it outside of the U.S., the long nightmare appeared to be over. But it wasn’t. And now, eight months after that, the record is out but the band is no more.

And maybe it’s for the best. Because I just spent the last seven minutes listening to “Theologians Tell Me,” one of the demos available from Beauty in the Beast’s Facebook page, and am now listening to it again. Drenched in delay, frontman Eli Mardock sounds like early Anton Newcombe (Brian Jonestown Massacre) belting out a sinister baroque ballad in 3/4 time, complete with a two-minute instrumental interlude. Carrie Butler does a sly, graceful vocal on synth-fueled popper “If You’re With Me, You’re Against Me.” And while “King of the Crickets” is soft and dreamy (or spacey), there are touches in the effects-laden harmonies that will remind you of Eagle Seagull — but those few moments will be the only ones that do. Rounded out by veteran Lincoln drummer Andrew Tyler (Indigenous), you can catch the trio tonight at The Waiting Room and decide for yourself if Eagle Seagull’s passing is an occasion to mourn or celebrate. I’m leaning toward the latter.

A final little post script on all this: Eagle Seagull will go down as one of the most controversial bands in Nebraska history. They were hated as much as they were loved. For a number of years they were the biggest band from Lincoln and everyone thought they were poised to break through. But it never happened. My only regret is that I never got a chance to see them perform “Twenty Thousand Light Years” on Letterman. That would have been a gas.

Playing with Beauty in the Beast is Lawrence band Cowboy Indian Bear, who has become a local favorite thanks to their almost monthly treks to Omaha. Also on the bill, Chicago avant-pop band A Lull, whose rhythm-heavy style comes by way of no less than three percussionists. The Village Voice compared them to Blitzen Trapper, Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear — talk about your ultra-hip trifectas. $7, 9 p.m.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.