See Through Dresses at Maha Music Festival in 2016. The band won for Best Alternative/Indie band at last nights OEA Awards.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A few words on last night’s Omaha Arts and Entertainment Awards ceremony held at The Slowdown…

I try to ignore this every year and every year I get sucked into the awards show, which last night was streamed live by the folks who run Omaha Magazine. I try to ignore it because: 1) I’ve never heard of many of the nominees, 2) Many of those I do recognize (as Dave Sink used to say about bands he didn’t like) aren’t my cup of tea, and 3) The bands that are my cup of tea rarely are nominated. I would like to tell you there’s a fourth reason — that I don’t like award shows — but that wouldn’t be true. I watch all of the film-related award shows on television. I haven’t missed an Oscars telecast in years, and I even have the Grammy’s on while I’m doing something more important, like clipping my toenails.

That said, there were a few bands who won awards last night that I’ve heard of and actually like. They are: See Through Dresses, which took home the award for Best Alternative/Indie; Clarence Tilton, who won for Best Country; Dan Brennan, the soundman at The Slowdown who won for Best Live Music Sound Engineer; R.A.F., who won for Best Punk, and ARC Studios, who won for Best Recording Studio.

You can see the full list of winners right here.

As one gets older one can lose touch of a scene, and that was obvious watching the broadcast light night and recognizing few of the nominees. Then again, my sights have always been set on indie music, a genre that is slowly slipping from importance locally.

Interestingly, the complex in which the award show was being presented — The Slowdown — was built by the folks behind Saddle Creek Records, who have offices right above the stage. Neither the label’s name nor any musician who has ever been on its roster was mentioned during last night’s proceedings, despite that fact that Saddle Creek has enjoyed great success in the past few years, as have many of the label’s musicians from the past who still call Omaha home. Not that it matters…

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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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.