Thick Paint at Slowdown Jr., March 30, 2018. The open for Ian Sweet and Young Jesus Sunday at O’Leaver’s.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Looks like Simon Joyner no longer is leading the Bemis’s new Sound Art and Experimental Music Residency Program mentioned here a couple days ago.

From the Bemis Center Facebook page:

Simon Joyner will not be leading the program. We will soon be opening a national job posting to find the best candidate to lead this program. Additional decisions about the program will be made after a reevaluation of the needs is complete. These changes and decisions take time.

It also appears, via Facebook, that producer Ben Brodin never was permanently involved in the project, but merely assisted early in offering some ideas about the space.

Joyner being named to the position last week sparked concern targeted at The Bemis Center. As Kevin Coffey reported yesterday in the GO Section of Omaha World-Herald, the Bemis organization fielded a number of e-mails, text messages and posts on social media. “The responses that we received were either supporting Simon or asking the Bemis to reconsider him as someone that would manage this new program, which we’re obviously thrilled to be launching next year,” said Bemis Executive Director Chris Cook in the OWH article.

Concerns about Joyner stemmed from his use of the N-word in a song he wrote that targeted racists and racism in America, released in 2017. Reporting on the controversy appeared in The Reader last November as well as in Lazy-i, which included a Q&A with Joyner about the topic.

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BTW, tonight’s Bemis benefit concert featuring Azure Ray / Destroyer (solo) is sold out.

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It’s the unofficial Halloween weekend at the clubs, which means krazy kostumes and very few live shows. Boo! (pun intended).

There’s a fundraiser tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s for Kara Eastman. DJ Tyrone Storm (a.k.a. Roger Lewis), Dirt House, Sean Pratt and Stephen Bartolomei are all slated to perform. The show runs 8 to 11 p.m. and suggested donation is $10.

And here’s a walk on the wild side: Jason Steady and the Soft Ponies are playing a free gig at Burrito Envy in Benson tonight. Bradley Unit also is on the bill that starts at 9 p.m.

And there’s a real hum-dinger of a show going on at O’Leaver’s Sunday in the early evening featuring Ian Sweet, Young Jesus and Thick Paint. Sweet’s new album Crush Crusher came out today on Hardly Art. Young Jesus, the latest addition to the Saddle Creek Records roster, released their new LP, The Whole Thing Is There, last week. And Thick Paint is one of Omaha’s hottest properties. All three bands for just $7. Starts at 6 p.m. Get your tickets online here.

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.