The Burning Hotels at The Waiting Room, May 27, 2010.

Here’s my report from last night’s Thunder Power album release show at The Waiting Room:

Of the three bands, the opener, Ft. Worth’s The Burning Hotels, was the most professional, the tightest, the hardest rocking and, songwise, the least interesting. Their publicity compared them to The Stills, French Kicks, The Strokes, The Killers and Hot Hot Heat, among others. Someone in the crowd compared them to The Walkmen.

That list hits pretty close to the mark, reflecting the shiny-penny quality of the just-past-indie-headed-toward-Chrysler-commercial rock the young four-piece captured on a stage lit only by four naked fluorescent shop lights stood on end, casting enough white-blue glare to make out their silhouettes, but not enough to really see who they were. It was a convenient metaphor for their formulaic music; all of it played at the same quick-step pace and sung with the same lilting champaign vocals by either of the two frontmen/guitarists. Their songs had melodies — you could hear them outlined in the hyper-aggressive powerchords — but you couldn’t quite make out the details, and certainly weren’t going to remember them after the show. It was perfect background music for lifestyle TV commercials selling products to gullible youth that still think life’s “winners” are the ones with the perfect abs who drink low-carb beers.

There were about 50 people there for The Burning Hotels, who played to a lonely, empty floor while patrons sat and drank cocktails and waited for the next band. The crowd doubled for The Mynabirds, whose popularity is finally beginning to catch hold around town, and for good reason as their debut album is as good as Pitchfork — that online indie-rock kingmaker — would lead us to believe (a respectable 8.0 rating).

Laura Burhenn and Co. played their usual solid set of bluey, alt-country ballads that would become classics if they could just catch the ear of a savvy radio and/or television programmer.  It was a flawless performance. Still, there is something just out of reach about The Mynabirds. It’s as if they’re performing under glass, always separated from the audience by an invisible barrier. I’ve only seen them on the best stages in town — all of them elevated high enough to keep Burhenn standing like a china doll in a curio cabinet. I’d like to see them at a dirty, cramped venue like O’Leaver’s or The Barley Street Tavern or even The 49’r (or Bushwacker’s), someplace where there’s no room to build a glass wall, where the audience could walk up and hug Laura after she brings them to tears with the lonely chords of “Right Place,” or hand guitarist Ben Brodin a shot after the ghostly slide on “Good Heart.”

Thunder Power at The Waiting Room, May 27, 2010.

Finally, there was the headliners celebrating that rock ‘n’ roll victory lap we call The Album Release Party. Thunder Power has evolved from an ironically named, quaint under-the-radar act (Who remembers when there were three exclamation points after their name???) to a perfectly functional indie band built in the shadow of Belle and Sebastian and Yo La Tengo. Singer/guitarist and music critic Will Simons has come into his own as the shy, slightly awkward frontman just confident enough to be heard above the band. He has a good voice with a range that goes from a high-end Ben Gibbard croon down to a throaty Conor (listen again, Oberst really does have a (sort of) low voice). The best part about Simon’s vocals is that they’re completely unadorned with frills or gimmicky flourishes — he sings as straightforward as he talks, as uncostumed as his blue jeans and untucked-shirt.

On the other hand there’s bassist/vocalist Kacynna Tompsett, whose vocal style is so affected, it’s distracting. She has a gorgeous, low, throaty voice reminiscent of Chan Marshall or Ricky Lee Jones, but it’s presented in such a chopped, alien dialect that it sounds like she’s singing in a language consisting of half-words and odd vowel sounds. That singing style is captured perfectly on “Your Pantry,” a song off the band’s 2008 EP Love Yourself, with the catchy opening lines: “Ar-ee op-bop whep bep bay / Op bet tee.” Take me to your leader, Kacynna. Her singing is only slightly clearer on the new EP. When Simon and Tompsett shared some back-and-forth on stage, the duet sounded like a conversation between Charlie Brown and E.T. The Extraterrestrial.

Some of the best vocalists in rock history couldn’t enunciate their way out of a Customs queue at Heathrow. People have sat through entire (recent) Bob Dylan concerts without understanding a single word he sang. Unfortunately, Thunder Power’s music is so laid-back and fey that it demands understandable lyrics to make a connection with the audience. Without them, it becomes sophisticated, well-played background music.

* * *

Tonight looks like another night at The Brothers Lounge, as gig-wise nothing is showing up on my radar. Tomorrow night Landing on the Moon plays at The Sydney with Brave Captain (fIREHOSE tribute band) and The Ground Tyrants.  $5, 9 p.m.

Sunday night is the return of Millions of Dead Cops to Nebraska, this time at The Hole. They’ve been coming to town since ’87, as this column attests. Playing with MDC are Reviver, Cordial Spew, Wooden Coat, Eastern Turkish and Youth & Tear Gas. $10, 7 p.m. All ages (No Booze). Wear your Doc Martins.

Also Sunday night Girl Drink Drunk is doing Shithook-style karaoke at O’Leaver’s, which I think will be a completely different animal than what I’ve seen at The Waiting Room, mainly because O’Leaver’s has a higher percentage of drunks who don’t give a shit about what anybody thinks. I don’t see a price tag attached to this one, and the O’Leaver’s Facebook page is giving a time of 6 p.m. Don’t bet on it.

If you’re looking for Column 272, it was a rehash of a couple blog entries from last week, intro-ed by this comment:

My apologies for the brevity of this week’s installment. The Reader moved back its deadlines three days due to a printer scheduling issue that has something to do with the production of 11 issues of Neighborhood News — the shopper that arrives in your mailbox periodically. The Reader produces Neighborhood News along with El Perico and the Spanish Language phonebook and a handful of other secret projects that only publisher John Heaston knows about. You didn’t know this? That’s because like every other newspaper, The Reader does a lousy job of reporting on itself. But it’s opportunities like Neighborhood News and the Spanish language publications that keep this weekly afloat during tough economic times and an era when Omaha’s news stands are crowded with four competing “alternative weeklies”: The Reader, The City Weekly, Shout! Weekly and Go! (The Omaha World-Herald‘s stab at a weekly, but it doesn’t count because it lacks horoscopes, “News of the Weird” and ads for 1-900 porn services).

Bands and venues have little to complain about when it comes to media coverage, now that there are four weeklies tripping over each other to report on the music scene. My column deadline is pulled back again this week, to tomorrow… anyone got any column ideas?

Anyway…

According to this Spinner.com article, Conor Oberst has joined Sound Strike, a boycott of the state of Arizona by a handful of artists including Kanye West, Sonic Youth, Massive Attack, Michael Moore and Rage Against the Machines’ Zack de La Rocha. The boycott “aims to fight the Arizona law — named SB1070 — which requires a person’s immigration status to be determined if he or she is thought to be undocumented.” It’s a crazy, angry law that hopefully will get repealed or overturned by the courts. The folks at The Phoenix New Times have pulled together a benefit comp CD called Line in the Sand that features a track by, among others, Andrew Jackson Jihad. Proceeds go to human rights and humanitarian organizations Puente and No More Deaths. Find out more about the comp here.

* * *

Thunder Power is celebrating the release of its first-ever vinyl outing tonight at The Waiting Room. The album is a 10-inch split EP with Toledo band The 1959 Hat. Co. (who they met on tour) called Hearts Intersect, released by Slumber Party Records. It’s the first in a series of collaborative splits being released by the label. Thunder Power’s three songs are tight, simple, indie rock tracks that would fit in with the lighter side of Belle & Sebastian. The first track, “Heartifact,” already has received a shout-out from Under the Radar (here). The split marks the fourth EP by Thunder Power, who are in the process of writing an entirely new set of songs for a forthcoming LP (their first). Also on the bill is The Mynabirds (currently riding a wave of publicity with the release of their Saddle Creek debut) and Fort Worth band The Burning Hotels. $7, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Travelling Mercies and Ragged Company are playing with Kris Lager at The Barley Street Tavern. $5, 9 p.m. I feel a drunk coming on with this one…

Also tonight at The Brothers Lounge (who seems to be doing a lot of shows lately), it’s the amazing Vampire Hands with Daughters of the Sun and Perry H. Matthews. $5, 9 p.m.

Karl Houfek of It’s True wrote to let us know that Seattle singer/songwriter Rocky Votolato (Barsuk) will be playing a living room show at the house he shares with Adam Hawkins on Saturday, July 17. Their house hosted Pedro the Lion’s David Bazan last year. Tickets go on sale today at 3 p.m. at http://www.undertowtickets.com/product/rocky-votolato-living-room-show-omaha-ne-july-17. Get yours while you can; seating is definitely limited. “For the record, we don’t make one damn cent off the deal…simply the enjoyment of hosting a pretty outstanding artist,” Houfek said. Simon Joyner currently is on a similar house show tour. Is this the new winning business model for singer/songwriters?

* * *

Steve Bartolomei sent out a message from his new home in Manhattan, where he recently relocated shortly after last December’s release show for From the Fingers of Trees LP. “In the week between the release show and my departure, Mal Madrigal recorded a new full-length record at Mike Mogis’ incredible ARC studios in Omaha, NE,” Bartolomei said. “The album came in a fury of writing and recording prompted by the deadline of my relocating. It still needs to be mixed, but the band and I are excited to share it with you.”
No doubt the new album will be released on Bocca Lupo Records, the new label cooperative Bartolomei is spearheading. This week the label is releasing Before the Toast and Tea’s Methods of the Mad. BTAT is a project of longtime Mal Madrigal collaborator Ben Brodin. The album features contributions from Orenda Fink (Azure Ray), who lends harmonies alongside Jake Bellows (Neva Dinova).

* * *

The Waiting Room is hosting a punk show tonight with Council Bluffs hardcore band Ties, Gordon Shumway and Lightning Bug. $5, 9 p.m. And right down the street at PS Collective Well Aimed Arrows is playing a set with a handful of bands I’ve never heard of: Conflict Between, Peace and Space and Crash Davey, $5, 8 p.m.

Noah's Ark Was a Spaceship at The Slowdown, May 24, 2010.

How big was the draw at last night’s MAHA showcase at Slowdown? Well, the parking lot was full, and for a big-stage show the room didn’t feel empty. My guestimate would be that 150 people were in the house at any given time. Not bad for a Monday night. I arrived too late to see the band that I would have voted for if I had voted — Dim Light played first at around 8 p.m. I caught most of Betsy Wells’ set. I’d never seen the band before, and hadn’t even heard of them before this show was announced (even though I’m told they’ve played at The Waiting Room before). They’re a young four-piece with two guitars who someone told me sounded like Arcade Fire, which, of course, they sound nothing like. Instead, Betsy Wells was a conglomeration of influences that no one in the band probably has heard of before. Two people in the crowd referenced The Feelies. One person told me they reminded her of Blitzen Trapper. Someone outside on the patio compared them to U2 and Neil Young (uh, no). I think if you listened to them long enough you’d hear whatever band you wanted to hear in their music.  In other words, they sound like everyone — and no one. They’re a talented indie-pop band with a big-stage sound, but with songs that simply don’t stand out. Generic? Maybe. I think there’s something there, but it just ain’t “there” yet.

Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship added some stage spice in the form of a formal ball gown worn by lead guy Andrew Ancona Gustafson. Seems like everyone compares Noah to Sonic Youth, but to me, they sound like Seattle circa 1992 or one of the heavier, artier bands on Athens Ga. – Inside Out. Gustafson is a great lead singer who will take them far if he can tap into his undiscovered vocal range — and if they ever get “discovered.” They’ve got a new album coming out shortly (or so they said from stage).

Last up was Flight Metaphor, but I didn’t stick around. About an hour after the show ended, the MAHA organizers announced that Betsy Wells had won the ad hoc battle of the bands and would be invited to play the small stage at the MAHA Music Festival. Did the crowd — and conversely, the MAHA organizers — make the right choice? Find out for yourself July 24.

* * *

Tonight at The Brothers Lounge it’s The Lepers CD release party with Bazooka Shootout and Kyle Harvey. $5, 9 p.m.

Our Fox at The Barley Street Tavern, May 21, 2010.

Here’s a recap of the past weekend, starting at The Barley Street Tavern Friday night.

The best part about opening duo Love of Everything: Their songs were short, and no, that’s not a shot at them. I actually enjoyed their simple tunes with simple choruses played by the simple duo of vocalist/guitarist Bobby Burg and wife/drummer Elisse. Burg gave their sound depth using an effects pedal that allows guitarists to record samples of a guitar line or phrase and play it back repeatedly, allowing for another guitar line (and another) and so on. This worked best on  “I Love All You Guys,” a song where Burg seemed to be playing random feedback squawks, until those squawks started to repeat themselves as part of the song — small, sharp shocks of sound that pushed through the guitar and vocals at strangely opportune times. And before you got tired of the whole thing, the song quickly ended.

The Barley Street’s small room packed up (but not claustrophobic-ly so) for Our Fox, who could be the next best thing on Saddle Creek Records (if Creek would take them) — and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they did, with personnel that includes frontman Ryan Fox (The Good Life) and second guitarist Jake Bellows. On the most basic level, their music fits  the slacker/indie-rock category but with an intensity of early Crazy Horse (Stephen Malkmus and Crazy Horse?). Fox has one of those shaky, unstable croons that sounds like a less-nasal version of Simon Joyner. Actually, he probably has more in common with someone like Malkmus vocally, and that shakiness is less apparent on the few demo recordings on their Myspace page. I thought the first few songs sounded like Good Life out-takes, and I could have imagined Tim Kasher singing them (with great aplomb). I like their music better when they leave Kasherville and head toward Foxland, where the citizens aren’t afraid to let it all hang out on songs that aren’t afraid to go on and on and blissfully on. This is a band that could create the indie equivalent of “Cowgirl in the Sand” or “Down by the River” — long, drawn-out jams that you never want to end thanks to Bellows’ and Fox’s clever, inventive and sometimes raw guitar work backed by a solid rhythm section.

Saturday night was a Saddle Creek Records reunion showcase with the return of both Ladyfinger and Criteria at The Waiting Room. Though not a sell-out, the place was appropriately packed. Ladyfinger played first (after opener Masses’ set). It was the first time I’ve seen the new line-up with Dan Brennan on bass replacing Ethan  Jones, and Megan Morgan (Landing on the Moon) on backing vocals (on about half the songs). Ladyfinger is a different band with Brennan, both style- and performance-wise. You cannot ignore him on stage; he gets locked in and doesn’t let go. It’s fun to see that level of pure enthusiasm from a band that’s pretty much known for just standing around on stage and playing. Their performance was the usual dead-on excursion into serious mind-fuck rock; too bad the sound mix was so bad. From where I stood almost dead center and 20 feet from the stage, everything was flat, without dynamics. Some guitar lines got lost in the fog along with the vocals (especially Morgan’s, who only rarely broke through the surface).

The sound mix problems continued with Criteria. The usual soaring guitars and vocals — the highlight of any Criteria performance — seemed buried in the rumble. A number of soundmen in the audience gave me their arm-chair quarterback diagnosis, telling me that there wasn’t enough being driven through “the mains.” All’s I know is that Aaron Druery’s guitar was tough to make out at times, and A.J. Mogis’ microphone might as well have been unplugged. Despite that, you couldn’t tell that this band hadn’t been on a stage in almost two years. It all sounded tight, including Stephen Pedersen’s high-flyin’ vocals that still have that pop. They all looked like they were having the time of their lives, and so did an audience that greeted old favorites with raised fists. The band also rolled out some new material that, to me, was a departure from the usual militant rattle-and-hum toward something more, well, groovy —  there was something slightly vintage about the new riffs. I’m not sure what it’s about, but I liked it. Too bad we probably won’t be seeing these guys again until 2012.

* * *

I know it’s already 7 p.m. but I figure I might as well give you this late reminder about the MAHA showcase tonight at Slowdown. The four bands vying for a slot on the MAHA Festival’s small stage are Betsy Wells, Dim Light, Flight Metaphor, and Noah’s Ark Was A Spaceship. Voting will take place during the show, and the whole thing is free, so you don’t have anything to lose. It also starts early — 8 p.m.

Also playing tonight over at O’Leaver’s are Street Lethal (covering The Ramones), Stoned at Heart and Flamboyant Gods. $5, 9 p.m.

Catching up on some “news” after being out of town all week on bizness…

The MAHA Music Festival folks announced last Tuesday that Ben Kweller and local boys It’s True will round out the “TD Ameritrade” main stage line-up, and that Saddle Creek’s newest band, The Mynabirds, have been added to the Kum & Go small stage line-up, along with Satchel Grande and the winner of this coming Monday night’s talent show at The Slowdown as well as the winner of another talent contest to be held in Benson next month.

Kweller, a 28-year-old singer/songwriter, toured with Ben Folds and Ben Lee (who remembers him other than Jim Minge?) in 1993.  His C&W-inspired 2008 album Changing Horses (ATO Records) peaked at No. 92 on the Billboard charts, which means, yes, he’s significantly under the radar for a national act and as such is a perfect fit for this festival, whose headliners also include Spoon, Old 97’s, The Faint and Superchunk. Will the addition of Kweller help sell more tickets? I would guess maybe 500, which is significant considering a successful festival is the sum of the all its parts.

It’s True, who has a new album and has played around Omaha a lot this year, was an insignificant addition from a sales perspective (but not from a fun perspective). “We decided that It’s True! was better than any other band we were looking at getting, so why not just book them,” said festival organizer Tre Brashear in an e-mail. “If our other five main stage artists (+ Satchel + Mynabirds) can’t sell enough tickets, then we’ve got problems that a sixth ‘smaller’ main stage band from somewhere else wasn’t going to solve. Plus, we think it would be cool to give them the opportunity to play in front of Mac (MacCaughan) and Laura (Ballance, both from Superchunk and the proprietors of indie powerhouse record label Merge Records). Plus, we just like them.”

You can’t argue with that logic. Now look for MAHA posters to start popping up around town.

Lets get to this weekend…

Our Fox is playing tonight at The Barley Street Tavern with McCarthy Trenching, Love of Everything and probably one other band. According to Our Fox’s Ryan Fox, “Love of Everything is Bobby Burg (who plays in a bunch of Chicago bands including Make Believe and Joan of Arc), and his wife, Elisse. They’re doing a Daytrotter session and stopping here as part of a brief midwest tour.” Their record label is cleverly (if not confusingly) called Record Label.

Fox added that “Ben Brodin (drummer in Our Fox, guitarist in The Mynabirds, drummer/guitarist/etc in McCarthy Trenching, Mal Madrigal, etc.) recorded an LP, Methods of the Mad, under the moniker Before the Toast and Tea, which was released on Bocca Lupo Recordings (which was started by Steve Bartolomei). He’ll probably have a few records on hand to sell as well.” $5, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Landing on the Moon is opening for the Jes Winter Band at The Waiting Room, along with Lonely Estates and Rock Paper Dynamite. $7, 9 p.m.

And the band that win’s today’s award for “best name,” Peace of Shit, is playing at O’Leaver’s with Watching the Trainwreck and Forbidden Tigers. $5, 9 p.m.

Saturday night’s marquee show is Criteria at The Waiting Room with Ladyfinger and Masses. So who’s Masses? Even Criteria’s Stephen Pedersen didn’t know. Thankfully, Masses member Eric Nyffeler emailed to say that the band is from Lincoln and “this is only the second or third time we’ve played in Omaha, so not a lot of people know who we are.” The few tracks that I’ve heard from the band are instrumental and are brazenly mathy and bombastic. Masses members are Jon Augustine, Shane Brandt, Mike Vandenberg and Nyffeler. $8, 9 p.m. This one will be crowded.

Also Saturday night, The Beat Seekers (Keith from The Fonzarellies) are playing at Slowdown Jr. with Scott Severin and the Milton Burlesque and Whipkey/Zimmerman. $8, 9 p.m.

The Lepers - Feels So Good

The Lepers: From a Dark Place

Adversity drives The Lepers’ new sound.

by Tim McMahan

If there are moments on The Lepers’ new album, Feels So Good, that sound desperate, it might be because the songs were born out of a desperate situation.

“It was the moment when you realize that you’re out of gas, your cell phone is dead, you’re in the middle of nowhere and you’re fucked. There is no lifeline, there are no more resources,” said guitarist/vocalist Owen Cleasby, who fronts the duo with drummer/percussionist Ken Brock.

Cleasby said the band hit “rock bottom” upon discovering that the tracks they spent two and a half years recording with five different people were gone, technically unlistenable. “We were going to mix them and our engineer tried to pull up the files and they were screwed. The whole album was lost.” He immediately tried to track down an archived version, only to discover that one didn’t exist. “It was the most empty that I’ve ever felt. I was ready to say fuck this. I felt cursed.”

That was in 2007, five years after the duo’s last album, Love From Above, was released on Lincoln’s now-defunct Caulfield Records. That album captured the Lepers’ then-signature sound with one impressive, drawn-out noise symphony after another, each as bleak and disturbing as the next, an orgy of dark brooding that bordered on dread and fear. Not exactly toe-tapping stuff.

Cleasby said the music on the lost tracks had continued in the same dismal, art-fractured direction. But he was so frustrated by what had happened, he had no appetite for trying to rerecord the material. “It left the taste of bitter shit in my mouth,” he said. “I didn’t want to sing those songs or deal with it. I spent a month sitting at my desk with that feeling like winter was never going to end.”

And then, the first sign of spring arrived in the form of a used bass guitar. “I ran across this bass at a pawn shop for $130,” he said of the 80-pound Harmony that’s now his favorite side arm. “It was a huge turnaround.”

Switching to a bass from a guitar was evolutionary to The Lepers’ sound. Instead of the usual drone-over-tribal-drums layering, Cleasby and Brock’s new approach borders on club music. The poppiest moments of Feels So Good (the first two songs, “Baby Blues” and “You’re Not the One”) find the band reaching for a dark groove, desperately trying to reinvent simple punk-beat music reminiscent of Factory Records, Joy Division, Gang of Four and even Love and Rockets. At its least poppy moments (the rest of the album) the band gives worship to Sonic Youth, amping the noise with Brock’s ever-present toms and Cleasby’s thick, fuzzy bass lines that drive the songs forward while he barks out lyrics of isolation with an atonal yelp.

“The first thing you hear on this record is a kick drum and that beat,” Cleasby said. “We had to find a new way of making music to stay interested in being a band. I think it rocks a little more, and is less of an art project.”

Recorded in a South Omaha apartment with Engineer Mark Wolberg on two 8-track Tascam analog decks, and mixed in the spring of ’09 by Joel Petersen of The Faint, Cleasby said he sent copies of Feels So Good to a handful of labels and “got some chatter but no one sealed the deal. It was the most attention we’ve had from any previous project, but it was still a little disheartening.”

That didn’t stop them from pulling together artwork, finding a reasonable CD manufacturer in Texas and pressing the album themselves. “Now I’ve got a bunch of CDs in my living room again,” Cleasby said. “It feels great to be able to do what I want to with them. I think it was a huge step in the right direction to put this out ourselves.”

Plans call for touring later this year, as The Lepers try to find a niche to fill hat will help them make money off the album. “If you’re not making money doing what you’re doing, you’re facing a labor of love, but a bleak future for your endeavor,” he said. “Or you become a local legend or the undying hobbyist.”

Neither of which, he said, he’s interested in becoming.

The Lepers play with Bazooka Shootout and Kyle Harvey, Tuesday, May 25, at The Brothers Lounge, 3812 Farnam St. Showtime is 9 p.m. For more information, call 558.4096.

Column 271: Comfort Zone

The return of Criteria.

Criteria frontman Stephen Pedersen has a problem that most of us would die for: He’s completely content.

His search for contentment began in 2005 when Pedersen quit a posh job as a lawyer at Omaha’s most prestigious law firm — Kutak Rock — to hit the road with his band Criteria under the proud banner of Saddle Creek Records. But, as the story goes, things didn’t quite work out as planned. And Pedersen returned from the road, put his guitar away, pulled the business suit out of the closet and returned to his leather chair and desk and daily lawyer grind with full knowledge that at least he tried to make it as a rock star. How many of us can say we took an honest stab at following our dreams?

Now, almost four years later Pedersen has no regrets. In fact, he couldn’t be happier. And as any artist or musician can tell you, that can be problem when it comes time to draw from your creative well for new material. What is there to sing about when you’ve got everything? It’s a problem, especially when you’ve got a reunion show coming up — this Saturday to be exact, with pals Ladyfinger at The Waiting Room.

“There are new songs, and we’ll play some of them on Saturday,” Pedersen said from the comfort of his elegant midtown living room, a glass of dark red wine in hand, picking his words judiciously, thoughtfully, as any good lawyer would. “My context has always been based on some kind of frustration or latent aggravation in my life, whether it was politics or a relationship or my career getting in the way of my dream. Now I’m content, and it’s been harder to come up with lyrical content from that emotional place.”

He casts aside the idea that he simply is no longer inspired. “I’m inspired by my group of friends, my wife, things that are hard to articulate. It’s a context that doesn’t lend itself to this. You can only write so many thank you letters in song.”

And despite some precedent-setting tunes such as Sammy Hagar’s “I Can’t Drive 55,” and Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law,” there isn’t much to sing about when it comes to the legal profession. “My job is intellectually stimulating, but it doesn’t lend itself to songwriting,” Pedersen said.

So what’s left to sing about? “Right now, it’s about trying to be happy in the moment,” Pedersen said. “So much of my adult life is spent looking at the future at the next task to accomplish that I have a very difficult time being in the present.”

Maybe he’s not so content after all. And as much as he loves being around his bandmates — drummer Mike Sweeney, bassist A.J. Mogis and guitarist Aaron Druery — Pedersen said he hasn’t exactly pined for the stage. “This is the bizarre thing about being a musician at this stage of my life, I don’t miss it like I would have if I was 25. I have a very full life outside of rock music, but I’m looking forward to the show now that it’s booked, practiced and ready to play.”

He’ll probably only roll out three new songs Saturday in a set that will lean heavily on classics from his two Saddle Creek releases, En Garde (2003) and When We Break (2005). Pedersen said that those old songs have held up over time. “I still see it as modern rock,” he said. “The bands that journalists write about and friends talk about are not rock bands, certainly not in the style of Ladyfinger or Criteria, which play heavy but with a sense of melody based on a verse-chorus-bridge structure. Vampire Weekend is a rock band, but there’s not a lot of distortion in those guitars. There are no bands like Quicksand and Superchunk and Fugazi and Cursive (before the turn of the century) that were making very visceral, full-bodied rock music.”

He says all of this, however, while Thelonious Monk plays in the background from hidden speakers. Something tells me that Pedersen doesn’t listen to much rock music these days, and he never liked going to rock shows. “I treat rock music like sports — I’m not interested in watching it, I’m interested in playing it.”

And he certainly isn’t interested in taking another shot at making a living off of it. Pedersen agreed that the Internet has changed the rules so dramatically that it’s no longer possible to judge a band’s success based on record sales. On the flipside, technology has never made music more accessible. “I believe the positives outweigh what are pretty harsh negatives in that a really talented kid can make an album on his own on his computer and put it onto the Internet, and if it’s great, it’ll find its way into your life. That could not happen seven years ago.

“We are in such a transitional phase between the old system and what will be a new ecosystem rather than a system,” he added. “It’s going to float a lot more boats, but in some respects, it’s more challenging for artists to distinguish themselves from the pack.”

He also wouldn’t want to start a record label now, or be running one. “It’s a difficult business model with which to generate income,” Pedersen said. “The new business model is being the band. As the band, if you have your wits about you, you can manage the distribution and the booking and the recording in a way you couldn’t 10 years ago. Part of that began with Fugazi, but the advent of technology from a recording and distribution standpoint has made it so much easier to untether yourself from labels. If you’re savvy enough, you can find success without leaning on that old model.”

Whether that logic applies to Criteria, however, we’ll likely never know.

* * *

Thursday: The Lepers

I have nothing for you from this past weekend as family stuff kept me from going to any of the shows, including the two early-evening Benson showcases (at Jake’s and TWR). If you were there and you want to share, post your review either at the end of this blog entry or on the webboard, which continues to get action despite this new blog design.

There are two shows going on tonight, neither of which I’ll be able to attend, but that shouldn’t stop you. At The Waiting Room it’s Mono, a Tokyo-based experimental instrumental rock band (i.e. ambient guitar-driven roar) that records on Temporary Residence Ltd. Their last album, Hymn to the Immortal Wind, was recorded by the legendary Steve Albini. Opening is The Twilight Sad. $13, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at O’Leaver’s, So-So Sailors have a last-minute just-announced gig with Jake Bellows and Before the Toast and Tea. You can read my review of So-So Sailors debut performance at Slowdown Jr. here. The band is anchored by Chris Machmuller (Ladyfinger) on vocals and piano, Dan McCarthy (McCarthy Trenching) on Wurlitzer, Alex McManus (The Bruces) on guitar, Brendan Greene-Walsh (O’Leaver’s) on bass and Dan Kemp on drums. $5, 9 p.m.

And later this week at Lazy-i look for interviews with Criteria and The Lepers… See you then.

The hot show tonight is at all-ages club The Hole, 712 So. 16th St. (formerly the Diamond Bar). Cave rock sensations Box Elders are headlining a show with Perry H. Matthew and No Bueno. It starts early (as all their shows do) at 7 p.m., cover is $6. And there’s No Booze! Afterward, head up to The Brothers, because that Hole show is the only thing on the radar tonight. Hey, there’s always the goon-rock festival over at Westfair featuring Godsmack.

Tomorrow starts off early with Jake’s “Cuz We Can” block party, hosted (apparently) outside of Jake’s in Benson. There’s no actual details as to how this showcase is going to work. Are they blocking off the street? I guess we’ll have to find out tomorrow. The line-up of local acts is top-drawer: Satchel Grande, UUVVWWZ, Brad Hoshaw & The Seven Deadlies, Matt Cox Band, Gooses, Awkwords, Conchance and Dim Light. It’s a benefit, so your $6 will go toward the ongoing publication of the Found in Benson ‘zine. Show starts at 5 p.m. and runs to 11.

Also tomorrow starting early, and also in Benson, is the Liquid Courage 10 Year Anniversary Party at The Waiting Room, whose two chief proprietors, ironically, lack a single tattoo (as far as we know). The free show features The Mercurys, Cover Me Badd and headliners The Filter Kings. Show starts at 6 p.m. and according to the 1% website, “food and beverages will be provided while supplies last.” Better get there early.

Also tomorrow night, Ragged Company is slated to play at The Barley Street with Western Electric. $5, 9 p.m.

And Sunday Simon Joyner is playing a house show at 4507 So. 15th St., start time is 8 p.m.