by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Some housekeeping items as we close out the week, before we get to the weekend picks:

— David Bazan of Pedro the Lion is returning to Omaha as part of a spring house-show tour. Bazan did this same tour last year, and it was a big success. Like last time, Karl Houfek (It’s True) is once again hosting the event. The show is March 24, and tickets (limited to just 40) went on sale today at 2 p.m. online here. Cost is $20. Karl said last year’s Bazan house show sold out in 48 hours, so if you’re interested, you better get clickin’.

— A head’s up that stickerguy.com just redesigned its website. I’ve been using  these guys for my stickers for a long time, driven by their cost and quality. In fact, I just got some new stickers made, so if you run into me at a show, ask for one. If you find a better vendor locally, use it; in the meantime, check ’em out.

— Someone on the webboard who posts as “Laserdisque” asked if I was going to make my annual picks for the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards, which are this Sunday night in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is an ironic location considering the organization’s name. Anyway, my response was that I haven’t been following the awards since my public resignation earlier this year (which you can read here). And instead of a contest, if you’re looking for a list of the best bands and musicians in the area, it’s hard to fault The Reader‘s annual list, which you can read right here.

But that being said, I did manage to find the list of OEAA music nominees here at hearnebraska.org. So for you, Laserdisque, here are my predictions:

Best Rock — Who will win: Landing on the Moon. Who should have won: Probably Cursive, though they didn’t release anything in 2010 other than a benefit single (I think).

Best Hard Rock — Who will win: Emphatic. Should have won: Looking at the nominees, who cares?

Best Blues — Who will win: Matt Cox. Should have won: I honestly don’t know because I don’t follow local blues (or any blues for that matter).

Best Adult Alternative/Singer Songwriter — Who will win: Brad Hoshaw, though he didn’t release any new material last year. Should have won: Tim Kasher

Best Alternative/Indie — Who will win: Little Brazil (also nothing new in 2010). Should have won: Tim Kasher

Best Roots/Americana/Country/Bluegrass — Who will win: Filter Kings. Should have won: Filter Kings (though, again, no new material in ’10).

Album — What will win: It’s True, self-titled; Should have won: Tim Kasher, The Game of Monogamy

New Artist — Who will win: Conduits. Should have won: Conduits

Artist of the Year — Who will Win: It’s True. Should have won: Tim Kasher.

The fact that so many nominees didn’t produce new material in 2010 — Cursive, Landing on the Moon, Brad Hoshaw, Dan McCarthy, Little Brazil, Filter Kings, Conduits — is yet another strike against the OEAAs. I realize it’s a public nomination process, but really, to not have nominated Tim Kasher in any of the categories seems a bit, well, silly. But this is what I’ve come to expect from the OEAAs, and part of the reason why I’m no longer involved in it. But that said, the ceremony always is a good time, so if you’re going, have fun.
* * *

Now onward, to the weekend:

Tonight at O’Leaver’s, it’s the world debut of Dirty Flourescents. According to this post on SlamOmaha, the trio is fronted by former Landing on the Moon guitarist Shawn Cox and includes Cricket Kirk on bass (Paper Owls) and Dave Hynek, drums (Venaculas). Also debuting at the very same show is The Garden, featuring frontman Jason Pollard (Song Remains the Same), guitarist Bunny Geist (Song Remains the Same), Cricket Kirk, bass; and Dave Hynek, drums. Also on the bill are Comme Reel and Paper Crickets. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tonight, OEAA nominee The Filter Kings are playing at The Sydney with Reckless Ones, Blacktop Ramblers and Snake Island. $5, 8 p.m.

The big show Saturday night is Best Coast, Wavves and No Joy at The Waiting Room. And guess what, kids, this one’s sold out. No Joy came through Slowdown Jr. last October, and were pretty cool (review here), so I suggest you get there right at the 9 p.m. start time.

For those of us without tix, it’s back to O’Leaver’s for The Third Men, Students of Crime (a Thornton production) and Chromafrost. $5, 9:30 p.m.

* * *

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.

Interpol at The Slowdown, Feb. 9, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

As I was leaving last night’s sold-out Interpol show at The Slowdown I ran into someone who also was at the 2003 Interpol show at Sokol Underground. His comment: “You’ve seen one Interpol show, you’ve seen them all.” Last night, it seemed, was proof of that.

The band didn’t sound or look much different than when I saw them all those years ago, though that first show had an excitement factor that can’t be replicated. There were obvious differences, of course. I had a much better vantage point to see the band this time around, standing just below stage left (I was way in the back of the room at that Sokol show). And then there were the lights. Interpol uses a battery of powerful, dazzling LED panels along with synchronized spots (mounted at ground level) to give them a haunting man-who-fell-to-earth sort of vibe. Unfortunately, where I stood the LED’s and floods burned right into my retinas, blinding me through most of the show — I wound up pulling a Corey Hart and slapped on my Ray-bans. Those lights were the most exciting part of the band’s stage presence, as the well-dressed lads kind of stood there and played in the glare and fog, though guitarist Daniel Kessler (looking like a young Noah Wyle) did break into some edgy, kicky dance moves on occasion.

Add their flat stage presence (and no between-song patter) to Interpol’s interesting though one-dimensional songwriting and you’ve got a recipe for a pretty static show once you get past the first three songs. The good news is that their new material stands up well next to the old material. The bad news is that it all sounds the same. I got the feeling after Kessler and Banks’ somber guitar-vocal duet halfway through the set, that it would be right back to business as usual, and it was. With an early wake-up call this morning, I took off my sunglasses and headed home before the encore.
* * *

It’s True, a.k.a. Adam Hawkins and whoever he’s playing with these days, announced a CD release show yesterday on Facebook. The new disc is called Another Afterlife, and the show is April 1 at The Waiting Room with the Haunted Windchimes, Noah’s Ark was a Spaceship, and Cowboy Indian Bear. It’s good to have you back, Mr. Hawkins.

* * *
Speaking of talented singer/songwriters, tonight Brad Hoshaw is headlining a gig at Slowdown Jr. with Lincoln Dickison, SAS and Michael Wunder. $7, 9 p.m.

* * *

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.

Column 309: Here it comes, that heavy love…

CD Review: Bright Eyes, The People’s Key

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Bright Eyes, The People's Key (Saddle Creek, 2011)

Bright Eyes’ new album, The People’s Key, comes out Feb. 15 on Saddle Creek Records. Conor Oberst’s publicist tells me that the band, which had just started rehearsals, has put all press inquiries on hold for the time being. Maybe when Bright Eyes gets ready for his June 4 show at WestFair we’ll get Conor’s perspective on the album, but until then, you’ll have to settle for mine in this review.

NPR.org, who has been streaming the album in its entirety for the past few weeks, came right out of the gate declaring it the “best record Bright Eyes has ever made. In fact, it’s the best record the band’s frontman, Conor Oberst, has ever been a part of.” Only time will prove if NPR is right, though I don’t know how you could declare any album as being an artist’s “best.” It might be your favorite, but “best”? Come on…

I will say this: I like The People’s Key much more than Oberst’s last solo album and his Monsters of Folk material, and that’s somewhat concerning to me as I’ve always said that all this talk about this being “Bright Eyes final album,” was pure silliness since Bright Eyes at its core is Oberst. However, there’s no denying that Oberst is a different man when it comes to Bright Eyes. From both a musical and lyrical standpoint, Bright Eyes records just hold together better, like reading a great novel as compared to a collection of short stories. The thematic essence of Bright Eyes albums is more consistent and, well, satisfying than what he’s produced under his solo banner.

The album keeps with the Bright Eyes tradition of starting with a spoken-word audio clip. For Cassadaga, Bright Eyes’ last album, it featured a (presumably) big-haired southern woman talking about spiritual centers that attract “believers,” like the Florida town the album was named after. This time it’s “Shamanic” vocalist Denny Brewer of the band Refried Icecream doing an L. Ron Hubbard-esque spiel about spaceships and lizard men at the beginning of the world. Brewer occasionally sticks his head in between songs, sounding like Will Ferrell imitating Harry Caray. For long-time fans, this eccentric touch is part of what you come to a Bright Eyes album for, though later on you’ll find yourself figuring out ways to cut out those opening two and a half minutes so you can get right to the first song.

In this case, that song is “Firewall,” a simple melody draped in dread built upon a sinister, circular electric guitar line. Oberst spits out his vision of talking ravens and artificial theme parks before getting to his own artificial reality and his escape from it via jump ropes and slit wrists. Breaching the “firewall” opens the melody to the glorious heavens, before it comes back down.

If there’s a theme that ties the album together its Oberst’s dwelling on the inevitability of death. Every song has an allusion to death or dying, a theme approached now with resignation, though it’s something (based on earlier Bright Eyes material) that Oberst figured out long ago.

That theme is most obvious on the album’s ultimate downer number, “Ladder Song,” with its subtle opening lines:

No one knows where the ladder goes

You’re gonna lose what you love the most

You’re not alone in anything

You’re not unique in dying

Mournful piano and Conor at his most quivering. In the old days, this would have been a song about a broken heart or a strung-out night spent in Manhattan. My how things change as you get older. And unlike, say, Prince’s song about a ladder, there’s no salvation or hope at the end of this one. About to turn 31, Conor seems too young to be dwelling on death, but then again, there were those who wondered if he’d even live to see 30.

The People’s Key might be Bright Eyes’ most consistent album from a songcraft perspective. There is a straightforward quality here that is undeniable; everything seems self-contained, pulled together and kept from going on tangents. The end product is an even line from beginning to end. Predictable, and for a lot of music-goers, that can be very satisfying.

But there is something missing. On every other Bright Eyes album, there was one perfect moment that jumped off the disc, unique and demanding a rewind, the perfect song for the mix tape. From I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning it was “Lua.” From Cassadaga it was “I Must Belong Somewhere.” From Lifted, it was “Nothing Gets Crossed Out” and “Lover I Don’t Have to Love” and “Bowl of Oranges” and  “You. Will. You. Will? You. Will? You. Will?” and “Waste of Paint” — a song that you can’t turn off or skip over after it’s begun.

I’ve been listening to this album for a couple weeks and that song hasn’t jumped up and waved its arms at me yet. Maybe it will later, I don’t know. Maybe it’s more than I should expect.

That’s the thing about Bright Eyes albums. Those of us who have followed the band since the days when Conor wore glasses expect every release to be a masterpiece. And maybe that’s what separates Oberst’s solo work from his Bright Eyes efforts — that he and cohorts Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott also approach each album as if it were something more than just a collection of songs.

Time will tell if The People’s Key was a just a collection of songs or a “masterpiece” or a “best” or just a favorite. Right now it’s just a good album.

* * *

So my rating for The People’s Key is a firm “Yes.” Let me echo Omaha World Herald music guy King Kevin Coffey and ask, “Will it top the Billboard charts when it’s released next week?” I don’t see much standing it its way. There are new ones coming out by Sonic Youth (Hey, MAHA, now there’s a band to consider), P.J. Harvey, Mogwai and Drive-By Truckers, none of which are a threat to Conor and Co.

It doesn’t take much anymore to top the charts. Decemberist’s awesome The King Is Dead was a Billboard No. 1 only needing to move 94,000 copies during its debut week to mount the summit. It helps when the mp3 download is only $7.99 at Amazon (or in Arcade Fire’s case, as low as $3.99 during its release week). How low will The People’s Key be offered on Amazon (or iTunes)? If it’s a $3.99 download, look out.

But what do I know about the music business? When it comes to these sorts of discussions, I always turn to Mike Fratt, who runs Homer’s Records. Mike is more skeptical. He doesn’t think The People’s Key will top the charts. “Because the Soundscan week includes the Valentine’s weekend (historically a good week for music sales) and the week post-Grammys (2/13) I don’t think Bright Eyes will hit No. 1,” Fratt said. “I do think it will achieve top 5, but at a lower number than 2007’s Cassadega.”

He thinks Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, Eminem, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry all will chart higher than People’s Key, helped along by Grammy performances. “Looking at this week’s Soundscan, Conor & Co. may have to generate at least 30 to 35(000) to make top 5,” Fratt said. “I’d be surprised if they make that, although the album sounds good.”

Cassadaga logged in at No. 4 on the Billboard charts with first-week sales at just slightly north of 58,000. And 11,000 of those sales were digital downloads — around 19 percent. If Amazon offers The People’s Key at $3.99, you could see downloads grab a bigger percentage this time ’round.

Fratt predicts total first-week sales to be around 27,000, and he hopes a ton of those are bought at Homer’s, where they’re guaranteeing the album will be in stock through Feb. 27. “We bought a lot, but if we run out (Saddle Creek) will drop some off vs. us having to reorder through ADA or a one stop.  CD = $9.99  LP = $19.99! through 2/27.” Get your ass to Homer’s, people.

* * *

Pitchfork reported yesterday that Titus Andronicus has been added to a few Bright Eyes dates, which should make for an entertaining evening considering how Titus frontman Patrick Stickles’s vocals are forever being compared to Conor Oberst’s vocals. Here’s what Stickles told me last September when I asked him about the Oberst comprisons:

“I’ll tell you because you rep the Omaha readership,” Stickles said. “I think it’s a little short-sighted. The constant comparisons to anyone gets old, even if it’s Jesus Christ. Doesn’t everyone want to be themselves? Don’t we all want to blaze our own trail, though I know this is rock and roll, and there’s not too much under the sun? But it seems kind of like, uh, cheapening slightly to say that if you’ve heard one guy you can pretty much guess what this guy is going to sound like. After awhile it feels like a feedback loop, a house of mirrors, like sometimes (reviewers) get these things to sound so similar that I’m reading reviews of other reviews. But maybe that’s me being a self-righteous, entitled type. Even if it were true, is it helpful? Who’s to say? It’s not in my control. As I put my art out into the world, it’s out of my hands. History will judge.”

It will indeed.

* * *

It’s going to be cold outside but oh so hot inside The Slowdown tonight for Interpol. Opening is School of Seven Bells, who came through The Waiting Room last September. Here’s the review from that show:

The best moments came when guitarist Benjamin Curtis was allowed to run wild run free. His tone was amazing; it reminded me of every great soaring guitar solo of ’80s post-New Wave/dream rock era. The Deheza sisters sounded like what you’d imagine Azure Ray would sound like fronting a dance band. Unfortunately, too often the vocals were buried in the mix and sounded limp, like an afterthought. As with the opener, the sound would have benefited from more bottom end (no bass again). The 70 or 80 people on hand spent the night huddled by the stage, but few if any danced, except for one girl who spent the evening with her arms in the air. Maybe that’s why they didn’t come out for an encore after their 45 minute set concluded. A pity. I could have listened to them for another hour.

Get there early and get out of the cold. See you at the show…

* * *

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.

Interpol's Sam Fogarino

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Here’s some extra credit that didn’t make it into last week’s Interpol feature.

So where exactly was Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino when I spoke to him a few weeks ago over the phone?

“I’m in my studio in Athens, Georgia. I’ve been working with a band called Twin Tigers that hails from Athens as well. We took them on tour with us this past summer, and I’ve been helping them track and mix their new EP.”

Twin Tigers started in 2007 when Matthew Rain and Aimee Morris were working at Grit, Michael Stipe’s restaurant in Athens. Athens must be a small, small town because everyone there seems to have run into Stipe at some point in their lives (Six Degrees of Michael Stipe?). Anyway, the band has released its previous material on Old Flame Records; and I remember seeing them at SXSW last year at the temporary tent club known as Emo’s Annex (across from Emo’s, of course). The four-piece all wore white T shirts and sounded like soaring indie rock, with an undercurrent of shoegaze and an extra helping of Jesus and Mary Chain.

“Twin Tigers were friends first,” Fogarino said of their relationship. “My wife discovered them on Myspace and turned me onto them.” It was only a matter of time before Fogarino ran into the band. “Athens is the size of a dime. I met them just before we decided to take them on the road (with Interpol). Matthew (Rain) approached me outside of a record store. He had a copy of The Cars’ Candy-O under his arm that he was buying for a friend.”

After the tour, Twin Tigers were invited into Fogarino’s private studio that he shares with a business partner. “The challenge is to capture their live essence on recording when there’s really nothing live about about the recording process,” Fogarino said. “I thought I could tap into that energy and abandon, and bring a sense of empathy to the process.”

Plus he wanted to help out the starving artists. “They’re a young band and they don’t have a budget to record,” Fogarino said. “They’re friends and we have respect on a musical level. So the proverbial clock isn’t ticking during these sessions; they don’t have to worry because they only have an hour left.”

But that said, Fogarino doesn’t want to turn the sessions into a “My Bloody Valentine-type thing. It’s a four-song EP. We’ll get back from touring at the same time and spend a week together and get it done.”

So how does working on a project like Twin Tigers translate to Interpol? Fogarino, who has also played with Swervedriver frontman Adam Franklin in the band Magnetic Morning, said it’s impossible to not bring something back to the table. “There’s always a new recording technique or just an observation on how something is done,” he said. “It kind of makes going back home, let’s say, a lot more refreshing. You got a chance to stray for a little while and then return when you’re comfortable.”

With Twin Tigers “they don’t feel that I’m being this bigshot that’s telling them how it is,” Fogarino said, adding that his role as a sort of mentor involves passing along anecdotes about his early days with Interpol. “Interpol has a great sense of integrity in terms of how we handled our success, so to speak” he said. “But every now and again you find yourself bitching about superficial shit and I think back to Twin Tigers, working in a vegetarian restaurant and having to find someone to cover their shift. It provides an interesting sense of reality.”

I don’t need to tell you that Interpol’s show tomorrow night at The Slowdown has been sold out for weeks. It’s worth it to try to scrounge up some tickets if you have a chance. They’ll be bringing their arena show to one of the smallest venues they’ll be playing on this tour, and it’s bound to be spectacular.

* * *

Bright Eyes announced that it’s playing at WestFair Amphitheater in Council Bluffs June 4 with Jenny and Johnny. The $25 tickets go on sale this Saturday. I thought for sure Bright Eyes was going to be the MAHA Music Festival headliner, but not anymore… Now what, MAHA?

Speaking of Bright Eyes, the new issue of Rolling Stone arrived at my doorstep today, and The People’s Key is the featured CD review. The 3-1/2 star review by Jon Dolan concludes with: “He manages to be everything at once: folkie and punk, old soul and eternal boy, high-plains drifter and hipster heartthrob. He’s busy being born again every time he strums a chord.” Read the whole thing online here.

So far the album has received a rating of “90” from review-site aggregator Album of the Year (here).

My review of The People’s Key goes online tomorrow.

* * *

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.

Little Brazil at The Sydney, Feb. 4, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The big news: Megan Morgan, Oliver’s wife, has joined Little Brazil. At first I wondered if that was a good idea. There’s the whole Yoko thing to think about. Do wives and girlfriends belong with the band on the road? But then I realized that Megan has kind of been a part of this band for years. She’s certainly rode all the ups and downs with the rest of the band. She knows what it’s like to tour having been a member of Landing on the Moon (Oliver’s “other band”) for years (though they haven’t toured nearly as much as LB). How the band will pull off a full-out fall or spring tour in support of a new album when Megan has a “real job” as a teacher I do not know. That’s a question that’ll have to wait until the obligatory interview that always takes place before the album release show.

And that won’t be too far off. LB played seven new songs, presumably tunes that will be on their next LP. It was before the second number that Megan was called to the stage as “the newest member of Little Brazil.” The addition of keyboards has done exactly what you’d expect them to do — forced LB to focus more on melodies, and as a result, the new material has more of a ballad lilt to it, it’s more tuneful, less punk, more anthem, and for a band that’s been around as long as they have, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Megan’s keyboards are not front-and-center, they’re a a colorful garnish that doesn’t get in the way of the band’s core sound, which continues to hinge on frontman Landon Hedges’ After School Special vocals, a combination of adolescent high-end and 20-something going on 30-something meloncholy. The music remains that familiar mix of Superchunk and late-’90s early 2000’s emo a la Weakerthans, Sorry About Dresden, Get-Up Kids, and my favorite comparison, Polyvinyl band Sunday’s Best (circa 2000’s Poised to Break), who they’ve always most resembled (to me, anyway). It’s too early to say if this is the album that pushes them over the hump or merely pushes them along.

LB’s performance was part of the Hear Nebraska Launch Party at The Sydney Friday night, and the crowd pushed the bar to its capacity — at least from a service standpoint. Getting a beer wasn’t easy, and I almost gave up until LB started playing and a tiny space opened at the bar. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a show at the Sydney, and despite having a pool table right in the center of the floor, it could become a great place for live music if it wanted to be. After a few tweaks during the opening number, the room and PA sounded pretty good. But judging from their gig calendar, the folks at The Sydney (wisely) have decided to make shows a distant secondary attraction to garnering a regulars-style drinking club, and who can blame them?

* * *

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

The Omaha Website Deathmatch will have to wait until next week… I know, what the f— is it? I don’t want to tip off the competitors (though I already have, sort of). Let the tension build…

Let’s get to the weekend’s festivities.

Tonight is the Hear Nebraska Launch Party at The Sydney featuring Little Brazil, Ideal Cleaners and The Fucking Party. 9 p.m., $5 and a portion of the door goes to the 501(c)(3) hearnebraska.org, which you already know all about. I suspect this will be a crush-mob experience. See you there.

Bluesy garage howlers Snake Island headlines a show at what they’re now calling The Sandbox, which is The Faint’s old Orifice studios at 2406 Leavenworth. It’s a great place to see a show. Also on the bill are Lincoln’s Pharmacy Spirits, Conchance and Lightning Bug. $5 ($2 beers!) 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Son of 76 and the Watchmen are doing their thing at Harrah’s Stir Lounge for $5, 9 p.m. This is the laid-back choice of the evening.

Saturday night’s big show is down at Slowdown Jr., where they’ll be celebrating the return of Ladyfinger, with The Stay Awake and Techlepathy. This, too, will be a crush-mob experience. $7, 9 p.m.

Also Saturday night, Ragged Company is playing at the new Side Door Lounge with The Weeping Figs. 10 p.m. and it’s free.

In addition to the Superbowl, Sunday sees the Hear Nebraska Launch Party caravan head to Lincoln for a show at Duffy’s featuring Conduits, Kill County, Down with the Ship and Manny Coon. Same thing as tonight — show starts at 9, costs $5 and a portion goes to hearnebraska.org.

* * *

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.

Column 308: River Rising

Omaha’s indie radio show moves to Sunday afternoons.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Is having one good radio station in a city the size of Omaha — a city purported to be one of the “best places to live in America” — too much to ask?

Apparently it is. But at least for 2-1/2 hours a week, we have New Day Rising on FM radio station KIWR, 89.7 The River. No, NDR is not a new program. It’s been around since December 2004. But if you’re like me, the last thing you’re doing Sunday nights at 9 p.m. is listening to the radio. Thankfully, the people who run The River decided to move NDR to the new time slot of 2:30 Sunday afternoons where it’s now being discovered by people who live “normal lives.”

The show’s promo calls it “The future of music. The best deep cuts and the best new tracks.” But it’s more than that. NDR is the only locally produced broadcast radio show whose purpose is to play, promote and talk about indie rock — or at least the style of indie rock preferred by the show’s producer, engineer and host, David Leibowitz.

“I’m not trying to out-indie indie music fans,” Leibowitz said between songs during last week’s show, broadcast from The River’s Council Bluffs studios on the campus of Iowa Western Community College. “People who are serious music fans and read all the blogs and Brooklyn Vegan and Pitchfork aren’t going to have never heard these songs before. This is for moderate, traditional music fans, some of the regular River listeners or someone who’s just casually tuning in.”

For the same reason I began writing about bands 20-odd years ago, Leibowitz began doing his radio show six years ago: To get free music. “I get too much of it, actually,” he said. “Parts of my house look like I’m a hoarder because of the piles of CDs.” But he added, “The show is my only connection to the local music community. I’m playing my role.”

That role involves proudly carrying the banner for College Music Journal-style rock. His playlist for last Sunday afternoon’s show included tracks by Middle Brother, Ponderosa, The New Pornographers, Say HI, Tapes ‘n’ Tapes, The Dears, Men Without Pants, Cold War Kids, P.J. Harvey, King Kahn and the Shrines, Sleigh Bells and Starry Saints. NDR is the first radio show in Omaha to air a track from the upcoming Mogwai album Hardcore Will Never Die. That alone makes it relevant.

But in addition to new music, Leibowitz sprinkles in classic tracks by the likes of Hüsker Dü, Grant Hart, Gang of Four, Radiohead, Buffalo Tom, Wilco and perennial sign-off band Sonic Youth. Like the old-time radio DJs who have long since left this earth, Leibowitz’s playlist reflects his personal taste. “I would say (the show) is in the traditional indie rock vein,” he said. “There’s a resemblance to ’80s college rock. I don’t want to play stuff that I absolutely don’t like. That’s just a fact. My taste doesn’t match up with Pitchfork, but I’m not concerned about it.”

You’re not likely to hear a Pet Shop Boys or New Order track on NDR. “I’m less inclined to play synthier music,” Leibowitz said. “My past is with Hüsker Dü and The Replacements, but I didn’t like The Cure in the ’80s and I do now. If New Order has a new record out, I would give it a spin, even though New Order doesn’t really fit into the format.”

Another “artificial constraint” is not playing songs you could hear on another radio station. “T. Rex would fit in, but you can hear it on Z-92,” he said.

Leibowitz freely admits that there’s a variety of indie-flavored Internet radio shows that are just a click away for most fans. What makes NDR unique is its local angle. Leibowitz plays songs by bands that are headed to Omaha to perform in the coming weeks or months, such as Best Coast, Now, Now and Mogwai, along with a handful of local indie bands that are ignored by The River’s local-only radio show, Planet O.

In addition to the all-stars on the Saddle Creek Records label, Leibowitz has played tracks by Little Brazil, Honey & Darling, It’s True and Thunder Power, among others. “I don’t play those bands just because they’re local, but because their music is of the same quality as the other music on the show,” Leibowitz said.

Sometimes those tracks even catch the attention of The River’s program director, Sophia John. “She acknowledges that there have been records that premiered on New Day Rising that have made it into regular rotation,” Liebowitz said. “It’s great to see these bands get heard by a wider audience.”

So how well is NDR doing in the all-important Arbitron ratings? Leibowitz said he’s “blissfully unaware, for the most part. We must be doing well since they keep moving us up to better time slots.”

Could NDR ever find a regular, daily slot on The River’s schedule? Unlikely. Indie music always has been a niche genre that’s lived in the cracks between commercial rock and the style of “alternative” screamo goon rock that makes up The River’s usual programming.

and that’s the way it’s always been, Leibowitz said. “There’s just more of them than us,” he said. “It’s the nature of being an indie music fan. It’s part of the psyche.”

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Polar Control Cent… Whoops! I mean POISON Control Center returns tonight to Slowdown Jr. with Bradley Unit (who, according to his Myspace page, is now a member of Talking Mountain). $7, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at The Waiting Room, Blue Bird headlines a show. The 7-piece ensemble is led by Marta Fiedler and includes Carrie Butler (ex-Eagle Seagull) and Megan Morgan (Landing on the Moon) on backup vocals. Here’s a review of their debut performance last November. Also on the bill are The Boring Daylights (Sarah Benck’s new joint) and The Big Deep. $7, 9 p.m.

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Tomorrow: Omaha Website Deathmatch.

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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.

Interpol circa 2010. Photo by Jelle Wagenaar.

Fashionably Gone

Interpol returns with a new face on bass.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

When Interpol makes its triumphant return to Omaha after an eight-year absence, they’ll be one man down and two men up.

Iconic bass player and fashion plate Carlos Dengler, a.k.a. Carlos D, no longer is a member of Interpol, having left just after the recording sessions wrapped up for the band’s new, self-titled album. The announcement came as a surprise to long-time Interpol fans who credit Carlos D for, among other things, the band’s impeccable sense of style. But the fans weren’t the only ones surprised by Dengler’s defection.

“It’s kind of weird,” said Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino from his home in Athens, Georgia, just prior to leaving on the tour that brings Interpol to Omaha Feb. 9. “It’s a weird sensation when you realize you’re in a band with such a whimsical person who you’d never thought would pull a 180.”

Fogarino said Carlos D’s announcement came out of the blue. “He decided essentially that he’s done with making music in a rock band,” Fogarino said. “He got tired of the paradigm and lost his affinity for playing four strings and wanted to concentrate on classical composition and/or scoring for motion pictures. We all really wish him well.”

But as the interview went on, it was obvious that the loss of Carlos still stings like a betrayal. “We all have outside interests with music or art forms,” Fogarino said. “We’re in this for life. It’s something we all wanted to do since childhood. How many bands are out there whose body of work will never see the light of day? Talent has nothing to do with it. This person was in a great band and had creative freedom, and he up and walked away. It’s truly bizarre to me. After the confusion and anger of the whole situation, you say ‘I hope you don’t keep doing that in life, because life doesn’t tolerate it.’ I would love to be many different things, and if I answered to those whims it would be ridiculous, I wouldn’t get anywhere.”

Interpol, self-titled (Matador, 2011)

But Fogarino quickly added, “That’s not to say (Dengler) hasn’t found his true calling. This could be his stepping-stone, whereas this band is my end point.

“It’s one thing to be the flavor-of-the-minute, the whole Andy Warhol thing,” Fogarino continued, “it’s another thing to be accepted and to hit a level of establishment and not be taken lightly, and to be able to tour every record and have your fan base keep growing and returning. For someone like me, (guitarist vocalist) Daniel (Kessler) and (guitarist vocalist) Paul (Banks), it’s the be all and end all. You work toward it and keep a close eye on the integrity of the band and try to expand without making a fool of yourself and watering down what got you to this position to begin with.”

That’s exactly what Interpol has managed to do throughout its 13-year career. After recording several EPs, Interpol released its debut full-length, 2002’s Turn on the Bright Lights, on Matador Records — an album that immedately established them on a national level as the arbiters of a stylish, distinctive post-punk sound that paid homage to predecessors like Joy Division and Gang of Four. Those early comparisons slowly faded into the background as 2004’s Antics and 2007’s Our Love to Admire galvanized their intense, foreboding style in the minds of their ever-growing fan base.

The band’s recently released self-titled album carries on the tradition — it sounds like an Interpol album, but with a nod toward its early days, thanks to producer Alan Moulder, whose body of work includes albums with My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Swervedriver, Jesus and Mary Chain and Nine Inch Nails.

“Alan signed on and for the first time, there was a great level of comfort to let the mixer mix the record,” Fogarino said.  “We had nothing to fret over.”

But they still had to worry about who would handle the bass chores when the band hit the stage. “In contrast to how Carlos felt about playing bass in Interpol, it’s probably the most complicated, intricate and most chops-driven part of our sound,” Fogarino said. “He danced in between the rhythm. He was really good at writing creative bass lines. Who was going to be the man?”

It was the band’s long-time sound man, Harley Zinker, who had the answer. “Harley had been out with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and said get David Pajo,” Fogarino said. Best known as the guitarist in legendary math rock band Slint, Pajo had played in a handful of bands since Slint’s break-up, including Tortoise, Stereolab, Zwan and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

“We had two rehearsals with David to get his feet wet, and he knew the songs better than I did, especially material we hadn’t played in ages,” Fogarino said. “He’s kind of a mockingbird, except that he doesn’t just replicate, he really can feel the song and the part and how it should be played, he doesn’t just hit the notes. As soon as he played some shows, I knew everything was going to be fine.”

In fact, not only was there no backlash from Carlos D fans, Fogarino said people were screaming Pajo’s name. But he wasn’t the only addition. Interpol also added School of Seven Bells’ keyboardist/vocalist Brandon Curtis to the line-up, supporting Banks on backing vocals and playing keyboard for what would usually be handled with a sequencer. “That was a real thrill to have live keyboards,” Fogarino said. “The dynamic has changed for the better.”

But he added, the real question is how the new players will fit in when it comes time to write new material. “If we can take anything away from the live experience, we’ll be fine.”

Fogarino fondly remembered the last time Interpol played Omaha, during a blizzard at Sokol Underground in January 2003. “Back then, we were still loading our own gear, and we were loading out in a foot of snow,” he said. “I remember I snagged a really cool, screen-printed Low poster.”

Fogarino said there’s a chance you might hear some songs from that ’03 show at Slowdown Feb. 9. “The set list is constantly growing and we’re digging deeper to material we haven’t played in years,” he said. “We’ll be going from a 7,000-capacity venue one night to 650-capacity venue the next. For us to hit such a small stage, we’ll be on fire.”

Interpol plays with School of Seven Bells, Wednesday, Feb. 9, at Slowdown, 729 No. 14th St. Showtime is 9 p.m. This show is sold out. For more information, visit theslowdown.com.

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There was so much more with Sam Fogarino that I’ll be posting a “Pt. 2” of this story next week that covers his work with Athens, Georgia band Twin Tigers.

And since we’ve been talking so much about Carlos D., you might as well read this 2003 Lazy-i interview with Carlos, online here.

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Tomorrow, a look inside 89.7 The River’s New Day Rising.

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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.