Welcome to Lazy-i, an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news.
The focus is on the indie music scene. Yes, there’s a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area, but Lazy-i also offers interviews, stories and reviews about national indie bands.
Most of the feature stories and columns in Lazy-i will have previously been published in The Reader, Omaha’s monthly alternative newspaper.
Who remembers Fizzle Like a Flood, the bedroom project by Omaha singer/songwriter Doug Kabourek?
Turn back the hands of time to November 2000 – just 24 years ago – when Kabourek released what was arguably his masterpiece, Golden Sand and the Grandstand – a tribute to the good ol’ Aksarben thoroughbred horseracing track that used to exist in the area where Aksarben Village currently stands (Think about that the next time you watch a movie at Aksarben Cinema or dine at the Inner Rail food court!).
It was a time when Nebraska and Omaha were just emerging at the center of the indie music universe, thanks to Saddle Creek Records. Kabourek even played a role in the origins of one of the label’s most famous acts.
From a 2000 Lazy-i interview with Kabourek: Kabourek has anonymously played a role in the Omaha and Iowa City music scene for six or seven years, first jamming with the band that would become Norman Bailer (an early incarnation of The Faint). He left Todd Baechle and company after they recorded a cover of Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.” “I didn’t think they’d get anywhere,” he said.
Oh, how wrong you were, Doug.
It was also a time when musicians were just beginning to make bedroom recordings, and Kabourek as Fizzle Like a Flood was a sterling example. The lush, sweeping sounds heard on Golden Sands were all recorded and mixed in Kabourek’s home using a small multi-track recording and a PC – quite a feat at the time.
But even more impressive was the music, which was first released (as a CDR) on boutique cassette label Unread Records, and later on Earnest Jennings. Kabourek had a knack for creating great indie pop reminiscent of acts like Sebadoh and Flaming Lips.
Over the years, Kabourek as Fizzle (and other incarnations) released more music, most only on Earnest Jennings. And now Fizzle Like a Flood is back with a new record – Black Walls and William Hall, a sort of sequel to Golden Sands about the now defunct Mystery Manor, an Omaha-based haunted house that opened in 1984. Kabourek says the “10-song album will create an immersive and positively screamadelic songscape!”
He talks about the new album and its origins on the homepage of his Kickstarter campaign. Kabourek is trying to raise $3,500 to cover the cost of pressing vinyl for the already-recorded album. He’s offering a variety of kooky and cool Kickstarter rewards for patrons, including custom coozies, art prints by Megan Thomas, artifacts from his homemade haunted house, not to mention a copy of the new record on red splatter vinyl.
The Kickstarter campaign runs through the end of the month, and as of this writing, Kabourek was already more than a 1/3 the way to his goal. Head on over and throw some money at this project. Check out a preview track of Black Walls and William Hall below.
A crowd of around 100 mostly young women (teens to early 20s) huddled around the edge of Slowdown’s stage last night and sang along to most of Odie Leigh’s songs. It’s easy to understand why – her lyrics are easy to remember, to memorize while listening driving in your car or sitting in your bedroom or wherever else you’re alone. The words are smart and clever and personal, sometimes sexy, more often filled with melancholy and longing – just the right combination for an audience that’s either going through whatever Leigh was singing about, or remembers what it was like.
Leigh’s music, especially the quiet acoustic songs from her early days (just a few years ago), are semi-healed wounds of memories of past loves, recollections of things that happened (or didn’t happen), and the pain of moving on to whatever comes next.
She opened the evening with upbeat folk rockers from her new album (“My Name on a T-Shirt,” “No Doubt”) that did a good job of showcasing her band. Then Leigh set down her electric guitar and picked up her acoustic for a rendition of waltz-timed “A Month or Two” — one of her early singles about trying to forget something or someone, which ends with the reframe “Give it some time, time, time, time, time, time.”
It perfectly segued into a trio of heart-stoppers – two old ones about heartbreak and betrayal (“Nine Lives,” “Double Shift”), balanced by a new one about longing – “Either Way.” Some songs on her new album, Carrier Pigeon, feel like heartfelt antidotes to the past, testimonies (to the ones that got away) that things are better now, or will be, probably.
Leigh’s songwriting recalls some of my favorite confessional songwriters from the ‘90s — Jonatha Brooke of The Story, Ray and Saliers, Shawn Colvin, Victoria Williams — who themselves were like the progeny of Joni Mitchell. Leigh carries on that tradition.
Realizing she had an eager choir in front of her, Leigh not only encouraged singing along, but also provided directions. Before launching into a song that she’s yet to record, she gave the audience a primer on its chorus. She did this again for the night’s encore, “Take Back,” which resulted in the entire room loudly singing the reframe – an apt ending to great evening.
I only caught the last three songs by opener Valley James, and wish I would have caught her whole set. Playing solo with an acoustic guitar, James had one of the purest voices I’ve heard on Slowdown’s stage, sounding like (as one fellow audience member told me) a young Neko Case. You’ll be seeing and hearing more from her…
Rule No. 1 for writing a one-sheet: Don’t just talk about the artist; tell his/her/their story and make sure it has a hook.
In New Orleans’ singer/songwriter Odie Leigh’s case, the hook involves a bet with college roommates over who would be the first to create a viral TikTok video. Leigh won with a clip for her song “Crop Circles,” which, as of this writing, has around 400,000 likes in TikTok. More impressive (especially from those of us who don’t use TikTok) is that the single, released in February 2022, has more than 7 million plays in Spotify.
Did TikTok virality lead to Leigh’s contract with indie label Mom+Pop Records? I’m sure it had something to do with it. The label just released her debut LP, Carrier Pigeon, this past July, launching Leigh on a tour that comes to Slowdown’s frontroom tonight. It’s an album of mostly self-deprecating love songs by an unsure participant who no doubt will come out on top, just as she did in that TikTok battle. Idaho singer/songwriter Valley James, whose music is inspired by the likes of Patsy Cline and Chris Isaak, opens the show at 8 pm. $25.
Also tonight, London neo-soul trio Jungle plays at The Astro Theater in La Vista. Their hit, “Back on 74,” off their latest album, Volcano (2023, AWAL), has been on constant rotation on Sirius XMU throughout the spring of summer of ’24. New Yorker hip-hop artist Bas opens the show at 8 p.m. $50-$75.
It’s the start of a busy October, show-wise. Here’s the latest calendar of touring indie bands headed our way:
Oct. 1 – Odie Leigh @ The Slowdown
Oct. 1 – Jungle @ The Astro
Oct. 4 – Brigitte Calls Me Baby @ Reverb
Oct. 4 – Turnover @ The Slowdown
Oct. 5 – Fontaines D.C. @ The Slowdown
Oct. 5 – Special Interest @ Sydney
Oct. 7 – Saturdays at Your Place @ Reverb
Oct. 8 – Boris @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 10 – MJ Lenderman & The Wind @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 10 – Melt @ The Slowdown
Oct. 12 – The Red Pears @ Reverb
Oct. 16 – Mdou Moctar @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 17 – Superchunk @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 18-19 – Cursive @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 20 – Jeff Tweedy @ The Admiral
Oct. 22 – Psychedelic Furs/Jesus and Mary Chain @ The Astro
Looks like it’s going to be another Sydney weekend…
Tonight at The Sydney in Benson, Japanese-American costumed punkers Peelander-Z take the stage. I have a friend who lives out of state who describes them as “if The Ramones and the Power Rangers had a baby. Costumes, choreography – hard to imagine them in a tiny space like Sydney.”
Meanwhile, wiki says “Peelander-Z has a complex stage act, which involves hand-written signs, costumes, and audience participation. The signs often contain the lyrics to their songs. At some of their shows they also bring people from outside of the band on stage to play their instruments as they do a stage act.”
Oh boy! It sounds like The Sydney is the perfect place for this show. 9 p.m., $15.
Meanwhile, The Waiting Room has the more serious folk of Shovels & Rope. The husband and wife team of Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst are on the road playing songs off their new album, Something Is Working Up Above My Head (Dualtone), which “finds Hearst and Trent leaning heavier into the rock and punk roots that have always been foundational to the signature sound.” Al Olender opens the show at 8 p.m. $30.
Tomorrow night (Saturday) it’s back to The Sydney for Wichita “post-bubblegrunge” band Breeding Brainbow. Their latest EP, Or Do You Hate Me, came out last November on Shiprek Records. Providing support is our very own Bad Self Portraits and Uh Oh. $10, 9 p.m.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
I get a lot of requests from publicists. Anyone who runs a music blog gets them — dozens/hundreds of PR requests per day to hype an artist’s latest album, tour, what have you. Almost all get the delete-key treatment. There has to be a hook to make the request relevant.
In Stavro’s case, the hook is that he’s from here. According to the one-sheet “Stavro is a singer-songwriter hailing from Omaha’s storied indie scene.” Now, I don’t pretend to know every indie artist in our fair city, but I have been covering the Omaha/Nebraska indie music scene for over 30 years, and I never heard of Stavro.
I had, however, heard of Ben Brodin at ARC Studios and Hand Branch Studio, who produced Stavro’s new LP, You Turning World, to be self-released Oct. 25. So I asked the publicist (the super-talented Caroline Borolla of the Clarion Call agency) for Stavro’s contact information.
Turns out Stavro was born and raised right here in River City. He’s just been gone for the past few years, earning his undergraduate degree in Boston. Now he’s back in town attending law school at Creighton.
“I’d been writing music throughout my undergrad without committing to a serious recording strategy,” Stavro said (he prefers not to use his full name). “When I moved back (to Omaha), I wanted to do my best to get into some sort of recording studio with some type of professional who could shepherd me through the process. My friends who were musicians led me to Ben at the B Room at ARC.”
The new album is actually Stavro’s third LP. The first was released in 2019 on the cusp of the pandemic. The second was a “collaborative experiment” with some Greek American musicians.
“I spent a lot of my last year in school songwriting,” he said. After discovering that Brodin was about to relocate to Los Angeles, Stavro wanted to get into the studio with him before he left.
“(The album) is the culmination of work with Ben, the most intensive collaboration that we’ve had together,” Stavro said. “It took five or six months to write and took us from the first scratch tracks to final mixes something north of a year to record.”
The track premiering today, “What Might It Feel Like?,” reminds me of a couple of my favorite singer/songwriters from the ‘90s — Michael Penn and Matthew Sweet. Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly), Stavro wasn’t familiar with either of them, but that’s OK considering I wasn’t familiar with Stavro.
Because apparently he has played in a number of Omaha venues over the years. “I did a residency at the Barley Street Tavern and played a couple times in Slowdown’s front room,” he said. He’s also played smaller rooms, like Blackstone Social.
“My goal is to gig the new album locally to start, beginning with an album release show at the end of October,” Stavro said. He wants to share a bill with his pal Jack McLaughlin (Spector Poetics), hopefully at Pageturners, but the details haven’t been worked out yet. He’s also considering putting together a band. If so, he better hurry up, because that Oct. 25 drop date is just around the corner.
Here’s the premier of “What Might It Feel Like?” from Stavro, off his upcoming album, You Turning World:
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The music of St. Louis band Foxing, who is playing tonight at Slowdown, has been described as indie, post-rock and even emo. Songs like the ethereal 8-minute “Greyhound” off the band’s latest self-titled album shift from a variety of dense tonal settings and can be quite a journey, but on songs like the opening track (“Secret History”) and “Hell 99,” frontman Conor Murphy has a way of cutting through the pretty stuff with his screeching yell-vocals. So, maybe screamo? That’s too limiting considering when it comes to vocals, Murphy is all over the map. Find out tonight at Slowdown. Joining Foxing are Indian Lanes and Treanne. 8 p.m., $25.
I admit I wasn’t that aware of Cincinnati band WHY? before last night’s show at Slowdown was announced a few months ago. WHY?’s publicist had reached out asking for coverage and I offered a Ten Questions survey, which frontman Yoni Wolf masterfully filled out. For the write-up, I listened to WHY? for the first time.
Their bio, including their Wiki page, suggested WHY? was a hip-hop project, but there was very little rapping on recent release, The Well I Fell Into, the band’s eighth studio album, produced by Brian Joseph (who has worked in the past with Sufjan Stevens and Bon Iver). The record vacillates between dour heartbreak songs and more upbeat keyboard-driven bouncers, and rewards repeated listens.
Playing as a four-piece, WHY? gave new life to the album last night, providing a more lively interpretation. Wolf’s nasal vocals had a similar hang-dog style as Silver Jew’s Dave Berman or Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt (and when combined with guitarist Mol Sullivan’s harmonies, even recalled Timbuk 3’s acoustic moments). The band, filled out by Josiah Wolf on drums and Doug McDiarmid on keyboards and bass, fell into a solid, relaxed groove.
After about an hour, WHY? left the stage but returned for a three-song encore performed standing in front of a single microphone, where Yoni finally got a chance to strut his rhyming skills, performing “Early Whitney” off 2003’s Oaklandazulasylum, “Fatalist Palmistry” from 2008’s Alopecia and “Paper Hearts,” off 2012’s Mumps, Etc., while a hand-clapping crowd of around 75 looked on with glee.
Opener, Chicago’s NNAMDÏ performed solo backed by his laptop, singing with an auto-tune pedal Travis Scott-style. A handful of his fans stood in front of the stage and sang along to every word. The set ascended to the next level when he busted out an electric guitar and riffed over the tracks.
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It’s a trip back to ’78 tonight at The Admiral Theater as Descendents headline with support from Buzzcocks. Descendents’ current line-up is Bill Stevenson, drums, Karl Alvarez, bass; Stephen Egerton, guitar, and Milo Aukerman, vocals. While Steve Diggle is the only remaining original member of Buzzcocks playing tonight. Bay-area punk band Grumpster kicks things off at 7:30 p.m. $37-$75.
A few notes to pass along from the in-box (and other places)…
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In addition to releasing a new album with his band Cursive, Tim Kasher has a new feature-length horror film about to make the festival rounds called Who’s Watching.
“Who’s Watching is a story I first conceived way back in 2010, as I had yet to see a movie approach the stalker trope from this particular angle,” Kasher said in an article in horror film blog Bloody Disgusting. “After passing the script around to little interest, I set it aside before returning to it around 2018, realizing that STILL no one had told this story in such a fashion. A few bumpy years followed (as well as a pandemic) but we eventually got it shot in late summer of 2023, in and around Omaha, Nebraska where I was born and raised.”
The film was written and directed by Kasher, who also composed the film’s music. While it doesn’t have a release date, Who’s Watching will be shown at Beyond Fest and the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. Can a world premiere at Film Streams be far behind?
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Has Saddle Creek Records’ high-flying act Indigo De Souza left our hometown label? In a surprise move last week (to me, anyway) De Souza released her new EP, Wholesome Evil Fantasy, via Loma Vista Recordings. If you go to the Loma Vista website you’ll find plenty of Indigo De Souza content. However, click to Indigo’s personal website and she still lists Saddle Creek as her label contact. Hmm?
The 3-song electro-pop auto-tuner-driven EP is a departure from the usual indie-rock heard on De Souza’s past Saddle Creek releases. Is this a one-off experiment or a permanent change of pace (and change of label) for one of Saddle Creek’s most popular artists?
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Post-Omaha singer/songwriter Anna McClellan announced last week via Terrorbird PR that her new album, Electric Bouquet, will be released Oct. 25 via Father/Daughter Records.
Co-produced with long-time collaborator Ryan McKeever and ARC Studios engineer Adam Roberts, the album was recorded both in Baltimore and Omaha. “While writing the album, Anna attended trade school, apprenticing to become an electrician to escape the service industry grind and secure a foundational career alongside music. Eager to break free from Omaha, she decided to take her newfound electrical skills to pursue a career in the film industry in Los Angeles, CA where she’s now based,” reads the one-sheet.
The 11-track LP includes a send-off of sorts to her hometown — “the grungy “Omaha” sees McClellan delving into her complex relationship with her hometown, navigating between identity, sense of place, and self-groundedness: ‘Wilting til I rot / Is it me or is it Omaha?’”
Check out the video for the first single, “Endlessly,” released Sept. 10…
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Tonight at Slowdown Cinci band WHY? headlines on the frontroom stage. Check out the Ten Questions survey taken by frontman Yoni Wolf before you head down to the show. Joining them is Chicago multiple instrumentalist/songwriter NNAMDÏ (Secretly Canadian Records). $25, 8 p.m.
Indian Caves achieved its highest level of dreaminess about halfway through their set Friday night at Slowdown. The fourpiece, fronted by singer/songwriter Leslie Wells, play an alt-rock-verging-on-prog style reminiscent of ‘90s bands like Smashing Pumpkins with Wells at times sounding like a midwestern version of Billy Corgan.
The rhythm section really drove their live sound, with bassist Dan Krueger taking the lead, or maybe it was just the initial mix hiding the guitars behind bass and drums. Things leveled out later in the set.
The band closed out the evening in front of a crowd of around 50 with a cover of Talk Talk’s “It’s My Life” that, again, had me wondering if it was a Smashing Pumpkins cover. Oh, to hear them try “Bullet with Butterfly Wing.”
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Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s the return of M. Ward, which has me wondering what M. Ward has been up to lately.
His last studio album was Supernatural Thing (2023, Anti-), which featured guest appearances by a plethora of indie notables including Neko Case, First Aid Kit, Jim James and Shovels & Rope (who themselves will be playing The Waiting Room this Friday night).
Merge Records earlier this month also issued For Beginners: The Best of M. Ward, and no doubt tonight’s performance will feature a collection of Ward’s “best,” such as “Chinese Translation” and “Never Had Nobody Like You.”
Opening for Ward tonight is singer/songwriter Leslie Stevens, whose recent video for single “Blue Roses” featured Hollywood veteran Jon Hamm as a gristled, cowboy-hat-wearing cooze hound. Stevens will also join Ward on a few songs during his set. $35, 8 p.m.
Tonight at Slowdown, local alt/indie band Indian Caves is hosting their album release party for their new album, The Song Becomes the Curse.
Fronted by singer/guitarist Leslie Wells (ex-Flyover Country) with Joe Ranne (Arbor Vitae, The Atlas) on guitars; Dan Krueger (Someday Stories, Fine Fine Automobiles, Coyote Bones) on bass/synths; and Kyle Moeller (Adam Weaver and the Ghosts, Saltwater Sanctuary) on drums/synths, the album pushes more toward alt than indie, recalling mid-era Smashing Pumpkins. Wells even (at times) has ol’ baldy’s snarl, especially on album standouts, “Joanne” and “Math.” In fact, the entire back half of the 7-track, 35-minute LP reminds me of Mellon Collie anthems, though Caves pushes the prog envelope on 8-plus-minute “Seeds.”
Krueger said the album was a true DIY effort, recorded in homes and rehearsal spaces throughout Omaha by edge-pushing genius Ian Aeillo. It’s a digital-only release for now, but Wells said they hope to press vinyl “down the road.”
Joining Indian Caves tonight at Slowdown’s front room are Dear Neighbor and Mild Temps, and Krueger said watch out for a special guest as well. $12, 8 p.m.
Also tonight (Friday), local indie band Bug Heaven is hosting a farewell show at Reverb Lounge because one of the band members is moving to Philadelphia. Helping say goodbye is opening band Ghostlike. $10, 9 p.m.
Tomorrow night (Saturday) is the big Built to Spill show at The Waiting Room. It’s the There’s Nothing Wrong with Love 30th Anniversary Tour, so expect to hear the album performed in its entirety (and in track order), along with random career selections as the encore (including “Time Trap”). Get there early to see seminal ‘90s indie band Quasi, who, having seen B2S too many times, is the real draw for me (Featuring ‘Birds’ is one of my all-time favorite albums, though it looks like they’re only doing “You Fucked Yourself” from that album on this tour). $30, 8 p.m.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
A small but attentive crowd intensely listened to songs and stories from wandering troubadour/author David Dondero at Ming Toy Gallery last night.
Sitting in the center of the gallery with guitar and microphone he performed tunes from his latest album, 2023’s Immersion Therapy, before diving into a reading from his novel Chaos the Cat. The night’s emcee and Q&A leader, Rob Walters, joined in the reading along with a volunteer from the crowd, backed scene-setting recording of Dondero playing acoustic guitar.
Dondero, who has been cited by a number of artists (including Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst) as a musical influence, talked about his life traveling around the country both performing music and working in odd jobs. The novel, which chronicles the people surrounding a pot-growing operation in California, is no doubt semi-autobiographical, as is most of Dondero’s songs.
The night concluded with a rendition of his song “Bacon, Eggs and Beer,” from his 2017 album Inside the Cat’s Eye – which tied directly to the novel, forming a perfect circle of sorts. A fun night indeed.
While a lot people RSVP-ed for the performance on Facebook, the turnout was disappointing, possibly because there were no pre-show ticket sales (despite a number of requests). Buying a ticket can be a sort of commitment – without one, it’s easier for potential patrons to instead stay home on their Wednesday night and finish their TV shows or YouTube videos or whatever they do to unwind. Dondero said he might return to Ming Toy for a more music-driven show, and if it happens, we’ll figure out a way to sell pre-show tickets…
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Yesterday afternoon, Bright Eyes posted on social media that the band has cancelled three upcoming record-release shows, including an appearance at Riotfest Saturday and Sunday’s show at Steelhouse Omaha.
“The warm up shows we played earlier this week resulted in Conor losing his voice and, on the advice of doctors, we’ve made the difficult but sensible decision to prioritize rest and recuperation for the remainder of the month,” the post read. It went onto say they’re working to reschedule the dates.
Youtube videos shot at the warmup shows in Cleveland and Chicago featured a froggy, groggy-looking Oberst. Hopefully he’ll find a cure for what ails him because Bright Eyes has a very busy six months ahead. The band has three dates scheduled for mid-October as well as a 9-date European tour in mid-November followed by West Coast dates in January. That leads into an enormous 34-date U.S. theater tour that kicks off Feb. 26 in Fayetteville.
The band’s new album, Five Dice, All Threes, comes out tomorrow on Dead Oceans.
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