This is your last chance to enter to win a copy of the Lazy-i Best of 2021 Compilation CD.
The sampler includes my favorite indie tunes I’ve come across throughout last year as part of my tireless work as a music critic for Lazy-i, including songs by Cassandra Jenkins, Low, Brad Hoshaw, Turnstile, Azure Ray, Sufjan Stevens, Wet Leg, Matt Whipkey, Claud, Parquet Courts, Nation of Language, CHVRCHES/Robert Smith, Courtney Barnett, Spoon, Hand Habits, Indigo De Souza, Flyte, Life in Sweatpants and more. The full track listing is here.
To enter, send me an email with your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. Hurry, contest deadline is tonight at midnight.
In the old, old days I used to get around 100 entries for the giveaway. These days, I only get a few (and I only make around 50 copies total). Let’s face it, most people don’t even own CD players anymore, preferring to listen to the sampler on Spotify (which you can do right here). So why keep doing it?
The simple answer is, “Why not?” I’ve been making these samplers since the mid-’90s, when they were recorded on cassettes, cutting over to compact discs in ’99. It’s hard to break a tradition. Plus, no one’s asked me to take them off the mailing list!
Prog punk rock band Cat Piss is playing at The Sydney as part of BFF. Cat Piss is a three piece that features Casey Plusinscki on guitar/vocals, Sam Lipsett on bass/vocals and Nate Wolf (Pagan Athletes) on drums, piano and vocals (yes, that’s a piano run you hear on “Emergency Medical Savages.” I’m not sure how they pull that off live). The trio’s four-song EP, Zeppelin Four Pt. 2, released way back in October 2020, is a scorcher that reminds me of the old days (i.e., Omaha punk in the ‘90s). DJ Tyrone Storm a.k.a. the super-talented Roger Lewis, also is on tonight’s bill at The Sydney. $5, 10 p.m.
That’s it for shows for the entire weekend. I think we’re in for a quiet January.
FYI, Unwed Sailor just cancelled next Wednesday’s show at Reverb Lounge. I’ll have a 10 Questions article with the band online here next week.
Let me leave you with some new music I just stumbled over (or was pushed into!).
Nate Van Fleet of See Through Dresses fame pointed out he produced yet another band that just released a new track. They’re called Sweetstreak. “They’re a newish young three-piece power pop/punk band from Omaha/Denver made up of Will Danze, guitar/vocals; Jacobbie Mengel, drums, and Jay Huber on bass,” said Nate, who tracked the single last fall at Divine Hammer. Look for an EP soon.
And then there’s this one I found posted on the Nebraska DIY Facebook group. The band, Hummin’ Bird, isn’t from Nebraska, and actually I don’t see any Nebraska ties at all. They’re from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and this is the first single, “Flat Earth for Dummies,” from their upcoming LP, Scrum Light, due out in mid-2022 on KC label Black Site Records (who released No Thanks most recent LP — OK, maybe that’s the Nebraska connection). The video was filmed at Mercury Lounge in Tulsa by Matt Taylor and is one of the better ones I’ve seen lately, and as the kids say, the song is sick.
Speaking of sick tunes, Brooklyn’s Loud Apartment just released their new LP, New Future, produced by Bill Laswell (Golden Palominos, Material, PiL), who also plays bass on the recording. Funky.
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Lazy-i Best of 2021 Compilation
Last chance to put your name in the hat to win a copy of the Lazy-i Best of 2021 Comp CD.
The collection includes my favorite indie tunes I’ve come across throughout last year as part of my tireless work as a music critic for Lazy-i, including songs by Low, Brad Hoshaw, Azure Ray, Sufjan Stevens, Wet Leg, Matt Whipkey, Parquet Courts, Courtney Barnett, Hand Habits, Indigo De Souza, Flyte and lots more. The full track listing is here.
To enter, send me an email with your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. Hurry, contest deadline is Monday, Jan. 10, at midnight.
Here we go again… though I don’t think it’s the same thing as 2020.
Bands are beginning to cancel gigs and tours as Omicron rapidly spreads through the world. Don’t matter if you’re vaxxed or boosted, you could still come down with this new strain of Covid-19, though being vaxxed/boosted seems to prevent serious cases.
Monday Cursive announced that it’s postponing the first few weeks of its January tour, and will now begin in Detroit Jan. 18. The decision is backed by co-touring act Thursday, who wrote on Facebook, “The reality is that these days decisions made concerning touring are not totally in our hands. Recommendations from our crew and the other artists on the bill (never-mind our families) have become a bigger part of the conversation as we try our best to navigate these current circumstances.”
They say they’re “trying their damndest to integrate the reschedules ASAP.” The cancellation doesn’t impact the Feb. 4 Cursive/Vitreous Humor/Criteria show at The Waiting Room.
Along those same lines, One Percent Productions announced that Diet Cig has cancelled a show for Feb. 2 at Reverb Lounge.
“Genuinely so sad to announce that our winter tour dates are canceled due to covid never-endingly raging through our communities,” Diet Cig wrote on Facebook. “We’re not rescheduling these dates. To be honest, we’re so burnt out from the constant reschedule-cancel-reschedule-cancel cycle and are accepting this as a chance to take a breather, keep focusing on our new music, and prepare to put on the best show possible once it’s safe.”
If you read my 2022 predictions, you know that I think this latest wave of Covid will quickly blow over and that we’re seeing the last of the worst of the pandemic. But I’m no scientist (just a soothsayer). I continue to hear stories from lunatics who believe the Covid vaccine is a government-run micro-chipping operation. Until those nuts get sick, dead or vaxxed, we’re going to be stuck with some form of Covid…
See Through Dresses drummer Nate Van Fleet is also a producer. He just finished working on a new EP by Anna Schulte, titled Dream Car. Schulte is an Omaha native now living in France and New Orleans who you might remember from the Omaha band Pretty Healthy. Nate said she flew into town late last spring and recorded at Divine Hammer, a North Omaha recording studio that was run by him and Matt and Sara from STD. Check out the EP on Spotify:
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Lazy-i Best of 2021 Compilation
Hey, my copies of the Lazy-i Best of 2021 Comp CD should finally arrive tomorrow. That means you still have time to enter the drawing for a copy of your own.
The collection includes my favorite indie tunes I’ve come across throughout last year as part of my tireless work as a music critic for Lazy-i, including songs by Low, Brad Hoshaw, Azure Ray, Sufjan Stevens, Wet Leg, Parquet Courts, Courtney Barnett, Hand Habits, Indigo De Souza, Flyte and lots more. The full track listing is here.
To enter, send me an email with your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. Hurry, contest deadline is Monday, Jan. 10, at midnight.
Who could have predicted what we lived through over the past 12 months? Well, I guess I could. Before I give you a glimpse of what’s to come in ’22, let’s see how I did predicting ’21.
2021 Prediction: Vaccinating enough people so it feels safe to go to concerts again will take a lot longer than anyone expects. The Waiting Room, Reverb Lounge and The Slowdown will begin booking touring bands again beginning in July. O’Leaver’s will plug in the amps in early fall, alongside The Brothers Lounge.
Reality: That timeline was pretty straight-on, except for O’Leaver’s, which just started up again in December.
2021 Prediction: The Maha Music Festival will be back in late summer, though we’ll all still be wearing masks and social distancing (sort of). South By Southwest, which takes place in March, will remain a digital-only affair.
Reality: Pretty much a direct hit.
2021 Prediction: Save Our Stages legislation will pass, eventually.
Reality: The legislation did pass and many venues were helped, but for some, it was too little too late.
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2021 Prediction: Despite federal SOS and CARES Act money finally flowing, venues will continue to go out of business, including a major Omaha player.
Reality: We lost The Brothers Lounge as well as Barley Street Tavern, though there’s no direct evidence that COVID did them in.
2021 Prediction: Under pressure from some very large artists, streaming services (and labels) will be forced to look at how they’re compensating talent.
Reality: Nothing’s changed, though Bandcamp now tosses a few extra bucks to performers by waiving fees on Bandcamp Fridays — the first Friday of every month.
2021 Prediction: After a year of ordering stuff online, shoppers will rush back to brick-and-mortars post pandemic, and record stores will be a big beneficiary.
Reality: There are now four record stores in the Old Market alone, more than before the advent of digital media.
2021 Prediction: Live-streamed rock shows will become a new revenue generator for bands and venues that learned how to properly produce and monetize the events.
Reality: A few bands have done it (Bob Mould, for example), but venues, not so much.
2021 Prediction: The floodgates will burst as artists rush to release recordings they’ve held until they could return to the road.
Reality: Is it me or were there more albums than ever released last year?
2021 Prediction: Bob Dylan won’t be missing that song catalog he just sold to Universal.
Reality: Maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t.
2021 Prediction: Bands and performers we’ll be talking about this time next year: Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, The Faint, The Good Life, David Nance, Courtney Barnett, Little Brazil, Nick Cave, The National, Angel Olson, Modest Mouse, Phoebe Bridgers and U2.
Reality: Meh, though we did hear from Courtney, Nick and Angel; and Phoebe is as popular as ever.
2021 Prediction: I’ve given up on my annual “Conor Oberst on SNL” prediction, which almost guarantees this is the year it’ll happen.
Reality: Hey, maybe Conor doesn’t want to play SNL …?
Final count: I’m giving myself 8 out of 11. Best year ever? OK, moving on to 2022…
Prediction: COVID-19 will have its last ugly gasp this winter and then will quickly fade away (except from our memories). By late summer, music venues’ mask and vax mandates will be a thing of the past.
Prediction: With TikTok creating the next generation of pop stars (Tai Verdes ring a bell?), and The Mountain Goats “No Children” going viral, more indie acts will take advantage of the platform. God help us all.
Prediction: The Maha Music Festival will be back and at full capacity at Stinson Park. But it won’t be alone. Another Nebraska-based, indie-flavored, day-long music festival will be announced in ’22 that will be in direct competition.
Prediction: With two small music venues closing in ’21, watch as a new small live music venue opens to help fill the void.
Prediction: Helping fill those small-venue stages will be an army of next-generation indie bands created during the pandemic, many consisting of children of the aught-era indie bands that made Omaha famous.
Prediction: Unfortunately, when it comes to popular national indie acts, we’ll continue to be “NOmaha” for national tours.
Prediction: Look for another big-time indie music name to be taken down by a #metoo-style scandal.
Prediction: Coming off one of its most successful years (The Spirit of the Beehive, Indigo De Souza, Hand Habits) and after opening offices in Los Angeles and New York City, Saddle Creek Records will make a major announcement that will impact the label’s Omaha legacy.
Prediction: Bands and performers we’ll be talking about this time next year: David Nance, Little Brazil, Modest Mouse, Christian Lee Hutson, DIIV, Spoon, Desaparecidos, Yo La Tengo, Jenny Lewis and (once again) Phoebe Bridgers.
Prediction:No Filter 2021 will be the last Rolling Stones tour.
Prediction: A certain music journalist will finally seriously begin compiling information for an oral history of the Omaha/Nebraska music scene. When / if it ever gets published is anyone’s guess.
Prediction: After years of being shut out, a Saddle Creek Records act will finally perform on SNL. It’s about time.
Over The Edge is a monthly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, music, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com.
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Lazy-i Best of 2021 Compilation
Relive the year gone by with the Lazy-i Best of 2021 Comp CD!
The collection includes my favorite indie tunes I’ve come across throughout last year as part of my tireless work as a music critic for Lazy-i. Among those included: Low, Brad Hoshaw, Azure Ray, Sufjan Stevens, Wet Leg, Parquet Courts, Courtney Barnett, Hand Habits, Indigo De Souza, Flyte and lots more. The full track listing is here.
To enter, send me an email with your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. Hurry, contest deadline is Monday, Jan. 10, at midnight.
Las Cruxes at The Brothers Lounge, Sept. 27, 2019. The band hosts a cassette release show at Pageturners Thursday night (12/30).
We might as well get an early start on the weekend.
Tonight, singer-songwriter Mitch Gettman is headlining a gig at Slowdown Jr. The show is a celebration of his debut full-length album, We Are the Mad Ones, released in December 2011. Your $12 ticket will get you a copy of the CD. Joining Mitch tonight is NYC-based Omaha expatriate STATHI, who’s last album was the tasty Post-Truth EP. Show starts at 8 p.m.
Tomorrow night (Thursday) Spanish-language punk band Las Cruxes is hosting a cassette-release show at Pageturners. The band is earning a rep as one of the best new acts out of Omaha. How little ol’ Pageturners will contain them is a mystery. Joining them are fellow rockers Cat Piss and Nowhere. No price listed (this one may be free!), show starts at 8:30.
Also Thursday night, kicky Omaha indie act Ojai headlines at Reverb Lounge. The trio is fronted by singer/songwriter Michael Hulstein. I’m just now listening to their 2020 album View from the Chandelier and liking what I’m hearing. Also on the bill is FOX, and Mitch Gettman (probably playing the same set he’s playing tonight!). $7, 8 p.m.
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Then comes New Year’s Eve — a night dedicated to amateurs, cover bands and those looking for drunken love. There is one show of interest — Smutthole Burpers, a Butthole Surfers cover band, is playing at fabulous O’Leaver’s. The band features members of The Natural States, Bokr Tov and Boner Killerz, according to the Facebook invite. There will also be karaoke and free headache-inducing champagne at midnight. Hey man, the whole thing is free, and starts at 9 p.m.
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Lazy-i Best of 2021 Compilation CD
And for those of you wondering where your copy of the Lazy-i Best of 2021 Compilation CD is, don’t fret. I didn’t forget you. It turns out that even little ol’ me is being impacted by supply chain issues. I won’t get my discs until sometime after the New Year, which means you won’t get yours until after that.
That gives anyone wanting to enter the drawing for a free copy even more time to enter! The collection includes songs by Hand Habits, Mdou Moctar, Nation of Language, Turnstile, Claud, Low, Sufjan Stevens, Parquet Courts, Brad Hoshaw, Spoon, Azure Ray and more. The full track listing is here.
To get your name in the hat, merely send an email with your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. Hurry, contest deadline is Jan. 10.
Last night’s album release show for The Sunks at Reverb was kind of packed. With Omicron running rampant, for the first time I actually felt a little squeamish about attending a show. At its peak there was probably around 60 folks in Reverb, with only a very few wearing a mask — I among them. I didn’t have it on when I went inside, but when I saw the mob, I slapped it on (I always carry a mask with me these days). Did it make a difference? Talk to me in a week.
I also had my earplugs, and I’m happy I did. Those Far Out Arrows don’t hold back, and neither did the guy behind the soundboard. For the uninitiated, the four-piece plays Nuggets-style psych rock in the grand tradition of bands like Them, The Yardbirds, Animals, early Stones, you get the picture, the kind of band you’d expect to see at Gonerfest. Their modern edge comes from the twin vocal attack of guitarists/brothers Ben and Evan Keelan-White, and the rock-hard rhythm section of playing-with-his-back-to-the-audience bassist Derek LeVasseur and drummer Brian Richardson.
Those Far Out Arrows as seen from behind the soundboard at Reverb, Dec. 26, 2021.
The Arrows played a number of songs off their most recent album, Fill Yer Cup, (including personal favorite, “Snake in My Basement,” which is bound to become a world-wide smash hit once it’s discovered by some Netflix series music supervisor and used as the soundtrack for a road movie’s killing spree sequence). They also played a new one, which sounded like the old ones. They’re nothing if not consistent in their approach.
The Sunks’ latest album, Wedding Season, came out last January during the height of COVID-19 and thus, never got the album release show it deserved. Since then, frontman Sean Paul has recorded an unreleased solo album (and I’ve clandestinely heard one of the tracks, which was among the best things I heard last year). The Sunks doesn’t sound like that solo stuff. Sean Paul (at times) reminds me of Susto’s Justin Osborne, who reminds me of Jackson Browne, though The Sunk’s music leans in more toward indie than Browne’s or Osborne’s Laurel Canyon-esque approach.
It’s a laid-back album, whose highlights include the very Susto-esque “Cta” and anthemic “The Sunks Song.” At nearly an hour, it could have been pared down, but in this age of digital-only releases, bands put it all out there. The album is worth checking out, but I’m also excited about that aforementioned solo album.
Played live, the arrangements were more majestic, grander. Sean Paul (Why do I feel compelled to write his full name in all references?) is a solid frontman, was in fine voice and backed by a tight band. That said, I only made it through five songs. It wasn’t because I had to work the next day — the show began at 6 p.m. and The Sunks went on at around 8:15 — it was because I was so freaked out about Covid and the crowd. I guess I’ve seen too many mentions of people getting Omicron in my Facebook feed…
That said, it probably won’t stop me from going to Breakers tonight at Reverb. The band, according to the 1% website, consists of guitarist Chris Yambor (Sing Eunuchs tapes back in the day, The Reports with Patrick Buchanan (of Mousetrap fame)), bassist Robert Little (Son Ambulance, The Stay Awake), and drummer Matt Focht (Head of Femur, The Faders, Bright Eyes). The site doesn’t mention who’s handling vocals, though I’m guessing it’s Focht (and I’m probably wrong). Joining them are Dead Letters (a trio consisting of two former members of Well-Aimed Arrows — drummer/vocalist Koly Walter and bassist Brian Byrd — along with guitarist/vocalist Mark Johnson from Places We Slept) and BareBear (who, last time I saw them in 2019, featured Rob Walters, Nik Fackler, Matt Focht, and Jacob “Cubby” Phillips). 8 p.m., $10. It’s the closest thing to a holiday show you’re going to get! Wear a mask…
On reflection, it has been a strange year in music. Certainly that was the case from a local music perspective, especially if you compare the output of new local music in 2021 to what was released in 2020, during the heart of the pandemic.
Last year 10 of the 21 tracks included in Lazy-i Best Of2020comp were from Nebraska artists — a record of sorts. This year, only two artists on the annual Best Of compilation have Nebraska connections (three if you include Azure Ray). My theory is that most local artists released albums in 2020 and waited until ’21 to try to push them via live performances — why work on new material if you haven’t tried to sell the old stuff? Maybe that was the case, I certainly hope it was.
The artists included in the 2021 Best Of Lazy-i Compilation are an eclectic mix of old timers and brand new talent. Of the 21 artists, only 12 previously have played in Nebraska (and only three played here last year), while a couple are headed our way (Parquet Courts, Azure Ray). The comp is usually comprised of acts I’ve interviewed or reviewed over the past year, but because so few local bands released material last year and so few acts came through town, this is more of a collection of my favorite tracks from 2021.
Here’s the track list:
Hand Habits – “More Than Love” from the album Fun House (Saddle Creek) Claud — “Soft Spot” from Super Monster (Saddest Factory) Indigo De Souza — “Pretty Pictures” from Any Shape You Take (Saddle Creek) Low — “Days Like Theses” from HEY WHAT (Sub Pop) Sufjan Stevens, Angelo DeAugustine — “Back to Oz” from A Beginner’s Mind (Asthmatic Kitty) Wet Leg — “Chaise Lounge” single (Domino) Life in Sweatpants — “Good 2 Yourself” from Good 2 Yourself (Long Time Friend Discount) Flyte — “Everyone’s a Winner” from This Is Really Going to Hurt (Island) Cassandra Jenkins — “Michelangelo” from An Overview on Phenomenal Nature (Ba Da Bing) The Coral — “Vacancy” from Coral Island (Run On) Parquet Courts— “Walking at a Downtown Pace” from Sympathy for Life (Rough Trade) Brad Hoshaw — “My Dying Day” from Living on a Sliver (self-release) Mdou Moctar — “Ya Habibti” from Afrique Victime (Matador) Courtney Barnett — “Sunfair Sundown” from Things Take Time, Take Time (Milk!) Nation of Language — “Across That Fine Line” from A Way Forward (Play It Again Sam) Spoon — “The Hardest Cut” single (Matador) Turnstile — “BLACKOUT” from GLOW ON (Roadrunner) PawPaw Rod — “Lemonhaze” from A PawPaw Rod EP (Godmode) Matt Whipkey — “Mayday” from Hard (Unusual) CHVRCHES, Robert Smith — “How Not to Drown” single (Glassnote Entertainment) Azure Ray — “Bad Dream” from Remedy (Flower Moon)
Want a copy of the CD? Enter to win one in the annual drawing! To enter, send me an email with your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. Hurry, contest deadline is Monday, Jan. 3, at midnight.
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The playlist also is available in Spotify. Simply click this link or search “Lazy-i Best of” in Spotify then select Playlists, and you’ll find it along with a few from past years, too.
BTW, that’s Greta on the cover, the newest member of the McMahan family.
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Tonight at Reverb Lounge it’s Pagan Athletes (chaotic keyboards/drums from the Wolf Factory) with Bad Bad Men (classic line-up of Wolf/Siebken/Hug) and Nowhere (Thor’s (Retox) new band featuring Camille (No Thanks) and Gabe (Natural States)). $10, 9 p.m. What a way to bring in the holiday…
Before we get to the Best of 2021, which will be published tomorrow, let’s go back in time 20 years to the Lazy-i Best of 2001. It was, indeed, a very good year for indie music, both recorded and presented live in Omaha, though touring would be stymied after 9-11.
In commemoration of 2001, I’ve created the Lazy-i Best of 2001 Comp CD’s track list in Spotify. These compilations, which I’ve been making since 1995, are collections of the best songs I came across either via CDs sent to me in the mail (I used to get as many as a dozen a day) and interviews conducted for The Omaha-Weekly (now called The Reader) and for Lazy-i.com. I interviewed almost every band featured in the 2001 comp, and almost all played in Omaha (mostly at Sokol Underground).
Dropping these comps into the CD player very much are like stepping back in time. More track info here. You can also relive the 2001 The Year in Music (in Omaha) online here.
Swearing at Motorists – “Flying Pizza” The Jealous Sound — “Bitter Strings” Stephen Malkmus — “Jo Jo’s Jacket” Atom and his Package — “Going to Georgia” Liars — “Mr Your On Fire Mr” The Faint — “Glass Danse” Preston School of Industry — “Whalebones” Smog — “Dress Sexy At My Funeral” Low — “Dinosaur Act” Red House Painters — “Michigan” Beekeeper — “Complete” Pinetop Seven — “On the Last Ride In” Paula Frazer — “That You Know” Gentleman Caller — “Girl in Flames Leaving Me Beautiful” Death Cab for Cutie — “Why You’d Want to Live Here” Sorry About Dresden — “A Brilliant Ally” Son, Ambulance — “A New Dress for Maybell” M. Ward — “Carolina” The New Year — “Half a Day” Belle & Sebastian — “I Love My Car” Juno — “Up through the Night”
And for those who think Spotify “has everything,” three tracks cannot be found in the streaming service: NYC band Beekeeper track “Complete,” quirky Bloomington indie band Gentleman Caller track “Girl in Flames Leaving Me Beautiful,” and Seattle band Juno track “Up Through the Night.” Here they are in other services, for the completists among you:
Look for the best of 2021 tomorrow…
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Before I forget, there’s a special holiday show in Lincoln tomorrow night at Duffy’s featuring an indie supergroup consisting of Brendan McGinn, Justin Kohmetscher, Ben Armstrong, Rob Walters and Eric Maly called Hi Ho Silverfox. Maly said the band’s goal is “to be a musically inclusive experience for Deaf and hard of hearing folks,” which means deaf interpreter Colin Analco will be on hand. Also performing are Thirst Things First (with A.J. Mogis on bass) and BareBear. Duffy’s, Wednesday Dec. 22, 9 p.m., $7.
Super quiet weekend. Well, it is the holidays, after all. And considering we had no shows at all last year at this time, we shouldn’t be whining. At least there’s one.
See Through Dresses is playing their first show since 2019 Sunday evening at Reverb Lounge. And I mean early evening — Oquoa opens this show at 6 p.m. which means it’ll probably wrap up by 8 p.m.
Of note with this show: It’ll be their last performance for the foreseeable future, as drummer Nate Van Fleet is headed to Los Angeles next month. My understanding is the band isn’t breaking up and Nate ain’t leaving the band, but with members strewn across the country, well, who knows when they’ll play live here again.
So, 6 p.m., $10. Easy peasy.
That’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
Fell into a rabbit hole of my own making last night as I researched (via this website) Vitreous Humor, a Lawrence band from the early half of the ’90s who I really dug, but never came to Omaha. Well, that’s about to change.
Vitreous Humor has been added as an opener for the Feb. 4 Cursive concert at The Waiting Room that also features Criteria. Is this the same Vitreous Humor who sang “Why Are you So Mean to Me”? Yes, says Matt Maginn of Cursive.
“We are thrilled and shocked they can do it!!!! Blew our minds.”
I could go into the background, but it would be just as easy to reprint my Dec. 6, 2006, interview, wherein I interviewed Danny Pound, frontman of Vitreous Humor. Pound was headed to Omaha back then for a gig with his solo band at the old Saddle Creek Bar, which gave me a chance to ask him about Vitreous Humor. The story follows.
Less Humor Per Pound Danny Pound’s brief glance at Vitreous Humor.
You can’t blame Danny Pound for not being eager to talk about his old band, Vitreous Humor.
After all, they haven’t been around for over a decade, and his new band, aptly called The Danny Pound Band, sounds nothing like them. Still, there’s more than a few followers of Omaha’s mid-’90s punk-rock golden age that remembers Vitreous Humor and their grungy, post-punk sound heard on the classic 1993 7-inch, Harbor. The three-song single featured a teen-aged Pound warbling the words to “Bu-Dah,” the single’s catchy B-side that went “In the shithole where we live / Something’s living in the cellar / Keeps us all awake at night / Smells like cooking blood.” Remember it now? Probably not. Still, the song managed to make it onto a lot of mix tapes from that era.
Pound appreciates the memory, but said few people recall his former band around his hometown of Lawrence, Kansas. “Some younger kids look up to Vitreous Humor as one of the old-timey, classic Lawrence rock bands,” he said, “but no one ever comes up and asks about it.”
The story of Vitreous Humor is a rather short one. The Harbor single was followed two years later by a 7-song self-titled EP. Posthumous, a collection of unreleased tracks, outtakes and live cuts, was released on Crank! Records in ’98, well after the band already had called it quits and moved onto Pound’s next project, The Regrets.
A decade later and Pound has left Vitreous Humor’s jangle-grunge behind in favor of a more grown-up, sophisticated sound born out of his fondness for mid-20th century folk and blues.
“After The Regrets broke up, I discovered Harry Smith’s Smithsonian Folkways recordings, began listening a lot of blues and pulled out The Basement Tapes,” Pound said.
The result was The Danny Pound Band’s 2005 debut on Lawrence label Remedy Records, Surer Days, a collection of tuneful alt-country rockers that sounded like a cross between Centro-Matic and The Silos.
But even that style was short-lived. Since its release, Pound and his band — bassist Jeremy Sidener (ex-Zoom — another classic ’90s Lawrence band), guitarist David Swenson, and drummer Ken Pingleton (who replaced former drummer Dan Benson, who also was in Vitreous Humor) — have moved in a whole different direction, creating music that recalls ’70s-era So Cal groove rock. The band’s as-yet-unnamed follow-up to Surer Days was recorded at Black Lodge Studios in Eudora, Kansas, and is slated for release on Remedy Records sometime in the near future.
“You couldn’t call our new record rootsy. It’s more of an electric rock record,” Pound said. “I get bored quickly. I’m always trying to find new things to do.”
As for Vitreous Humor, Pound said he doesn’t understand why the memory of that band continues to live on in places like Omaha and Milwaukee — another city with more than its share of that band’s fans. “It must be a Midwest thing,” he said. “We never toured very much. I don’t think we even played in Omaha as Vitreous Humor.”
While he acknowledges that the band could have influenced someone, Pound is hardly proud of those early recordings. “I’m not offended by that era, but it doesn’t give me great pleasure to listen to that music,” he said before immediately correcting himself. “I take that back. Some of it was interesting, if a bit too earnest. I know there are those who liked it, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
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