by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

What’s this? A rare Saturday blog entry? That’s right. No, this is not a review of last night’s CD release shows. Those will be online Monday. Instead, I told Homer’s clerk and fellow music journalist Chris Aponick that I’d hype the Old Market Homer’s annual sidewalk sale going on today, which he called “pop culture’s forgotten treasures on the cheap.” That probably means bins and bins of cheap CDs and vinyl that the store wants to clear out to make way for this year’s models. Actually, I have no idea what it means, but it should be fun if they don’t get rained on.

Adding to the excitement: Aponick says that starting at 11 a.m. today (Saturday), Homer’s will be giving away free scoops of  — get this — Pabst Blue Ribbon-flavored ice cream. It’s a new flavor sensation/experiment by your friends at Ted & Wally’s that, quite frankly, sounds disgusting. Needless to say, I’ll be the one in line asking Frank Booth if they have any Heineken ice cream (Aponick said they considered making Rolling Rock ice cream, but that I would be the only person in line).

Incidentally, if you thought I forgot to mention what’s going on tonight in yesterday’s blog entry, you’re wrong. This evening is a virtual an indie music desert. TWR has a cover band (Secret Weapon), Slowdown has a Warped Tour band (Attn: polo-shirt wearing jarheads), and Big Al is playing at The Barley Street. There’s always the College World Series, which one person told me will “eat into shows for the next two weeks.” I’m not so certain, though next year’s CWS will certainly have an impact on The Slowdown, which will be ground zero for sports fans when the new stadium opens. Will it stay a rock club for those two weeks or become a Nike Town? Cha-ching!

Speaking of Slowdown (Jr.), there’s a noteworthy show there Sunday night when traveling troubadour Paleo rolls into town, opening for Simon Joyner and The Parachutes along with Bear Country. $7, 9 p.m. Ask the guy behind the counter for a scoop of Old Style. You won’t regret it.

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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 © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

First off, Column 275 (printed in this week’s issue of The Reader) combined the Landing on the Moon and Mountain Goats reviews posted here last week, along with the Workers Takeout closing mention. Among the comments posted on the MG review was someone pointing out that not only will bands cover the Hold Steady, but that the Mountain Goats covered Hold Steady’s “Positive Jam” late last year. So take that, mofo.

* * *

Darren Keen (The Show Is the Rainbow, High Art) emailed last week to say that his laptop project, Bad Speler, just got signed to Illegal Arts Records, the home of Girl Talk (among others). Keen said Bad Speler will record everything digitally and put it online using a pay-what-you-want model that Radiohead pioneered and performers like Jeremy Messersmith continue to use. Keen plans to produce a free mix tape every four to six weeks, (edit) each 40 to 60 minutes long. “We are going to use the money raised from the mix tapes to release an album that I’m gonna put together that will be a little more focused and produced then the mixes,” Keen said.

I get the feeling that the “free” or “pay-what-you-want” approach to music distro is going to become more and more common as the industry continues to slowly erode. Is there an easier way to get your music out there and heard? Then there’s the approach that everyone’s favorite new wave band, Devo, has taken — write and record songs on commission. In a recent interview on APR’s Marketplace (recording and transcript here), Devo’s Gerald Casale talked about how “Watch Us Work It,” off their new album, was commissioned by Dell for a series of PC commercials.

(host) Kai Ryssdal: Did I read some place you actually prefer your music to be commissioned, that’s the way you like to do it?

Casale: Well, at this point, what’s happened is, artists no longer make a living by selling music. They only make a living by tour grosses, merchandising receipts and having their songs licensed to commercials video games or films. That’s it. Trying to make a living as a recording artist, that’s the only way you’re going to survive.

Amazing how the concept of “selling out” has turned 180 degrees over the past decade.

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For all you backyard mechanics, here’s a head’s up about Speed! Nebraska’s second annual Soapbox Riot, Saturday July 17. Like last year, the adult soapbox derby will he held at Seymour Smith Park, 72nd & Washington. To take part, just drop by O’Leaver’s Pub and register. Then start building your chariot. If I remember correctly, Mercy Rule’s Jon Taylor won last year’s derby, but paid the price when he took a header along the course and ripped open one of his arms. This is, indeed, a blood sport. After the festivities (at 9 p.m.), O’Leaver’s will host a Speed! Nebraska after-race showcase for the survivors, featuring Mercy Rule, Ideal Cleaners, Wagon Blasters, The Mezcal Brothers, The Third men and Techlepathy. Fun!

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Tonight at Slowdown Jr., it’s a punk show featuring Phoenix folk-punkers Andrew Jackson Jihad along with Destroy Nate Allen, Thunderbolts and Hoof Hearted. $10, 8 p.m.

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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 © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Hot shot Saddle Creek Records executive Jason Kulbel is quoted in an article on the Green Shoelace blog that asks the burning question: Is Indie Turning Into Pop? From the article:

Jason Kulbel, label manager for Saddle Creek Records defines the mainstream as somewhat positive. It’s simply “What the majority of people listen to,” he said. “Every band has its own unique circumstances; I am sure it applies to some bands and not others. Each band has different goals and ways they shape their career,” states Kulbel.

As with most indie record labels, Saddle Creek Records leans toward not conforming to the mainstream, yet “[the] mainstream doesn’t always mean ‘bad,’ just that it’s the most popular,” Kulbel said. The general philosophy of Saddle Creek Records is that “the artists must dedicate their lives to the music they love, which represents the band personally and musically.”

The problem with the article’s premise is that it never really defines  “Indie” or “pop.” Pop means popular, right? You could argue that indie “turned into pop” in 1992 when Nevermind broke through and became a nationwide hit. In fact, you could say that any indie band that busts into the Billboard

top 20 — such as Bright Eyes — has turned pop. But no matter how you look at it, the premise is absurd.

The real question: Is the artist 1) making music primarily to satisfy himself, or 2) compromising his/her artistic vision in an attempt to write a “hit record.” The former historically has been associated with indie artists; the latter typifies commercial shlubs (many of whom never had any artistic vision to begin with). Jake Bellows, for example, is going keep to writing and recording music no matter who listens to his songs. The only thing keeping him from becoming the next Jack Johnson is a few million dollars in marketing. It has nothing to do with quality (Jake’s music is obviously better than Jack’s). But if one of Jake’s songs ever became a hit, well, he’d be considered a pop star (and is there anyone more deserving?).

If Saddle Creek poured a couple million bucks into marketing the latest Mynabirds album I promise Laura Burhenn’s name would become a household name alongside any other MTV/VH1/CMT diva.

So is marketing the only difference between indie and “pop”? We’ll find out with the new Crystal Castles album cited in the article — something tells me that it would sound the same whether it had been released by Universal or their first label, Canada’s Last Gang Records.

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Two shows on the radar screen tonight:

At Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft St., Bear Country is playing as part of the garden’s Tempo at Twilight series on the green. Bring your lawn chairs and something to eat. The performance starts at 6 p.m. and runs until 8. Admission is $6 (but free if you’re a Lauritzen member). I saw Brad Hoshaw do a solo set (opening for Orenda Fink) as part of this series last year, and it was a lot of fun, though no one seemed to be paying attention to Brad. The Mynabirds will be playing the series Aug. 17 and Outlaw Con Bandana plays Sept. 14.

Afterward, head on over to the Waiting Room for Dim Light, DJ Kobrakyle and Brave Captain. Get this: It’s some guy named Alex’s birthday — so there’s no cover charge! 9 p.m.

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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 © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Orange County Register has a nice review of The Good Life’s June 8 show at The Glass House, where the critic admonished his readers for not showing up at the gig. From the review: “The band was having a blast, with all members smiling ear-to-ear while covering Fleetwood Mac’s  ‘The Chain’ to close. Stephanie Drootin, very much in the family way, didn’t let her baby bump get in the way of some fast bass work and nimble keyboardistry.” Read the whole thing here.

That baby on board is obviously going to impact the band, as this piece in the San Francisco Chronicle

today seems to indicate. Hyping tonight’s Good Life gig at Bottom of the Hill, the story warns: “Catch the longtime cowpoke in the Saddle Creek stable while you can: The combo claims these are the last Good Life shows for a good while.”

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Speaking of shows tonight…

There’s a benefit concert for the organization Women for Women International tonight at Slowdown Jr. featuring Skypiper, Capgun Coup and Conchance. $7, 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at O’Leaver’s, Landing on the Moon is headlining a show with Cloven Path and brand new band Students of Crime (whose first show in April was reviewed here). The students are led by legendary local punk rocker Robert Thornton (The Wagon Blasters, Now Archimedes!, Past Punchy and the Present, Culture Fire, Clayface Regular). $5, 9: 30 p.m.

This week’s column is a redux and addendum to last week’s blog entry on Lincoln Invasion and the Lincoln Is A Music City organization (which is here). As you’ll see, Son of 76 and The Watchmen frontman Josh Hoyer read that piece and sent a thoughtful, well-written response explaining the name and the mission. Interestingly, Omaha doesn’t have anything like LIAMC, unless you count Benson as a whole. One could also point toward the OEAA’s, but that has evolved into another Benson-music-boosting organization, and doesn’t really represent the city of Omaha as a whole.

Column 274: Bold Statement

Will the real Music City please stand up?

Nobody likes the idea of competition when it comes to art and music. And yet… whenever “Omaha invades Lincoln” or “Lincoln invades Omaha,” it begs the question as to which scene has the strongest roster of bands — maybe only to me and a few other a-holes, but the question does come up.

And it’s becoming harder and harder to defend Omaha, especially when you look over the line-up playing the second annual Lincoln Invasion festival July 9 in Benson: The Amalgamators, Amy Schmidt, Diamond Kazzoo, Dirty Talker, Ember Schrag, Husbands, Kris Lager Band, Machete Archive, Manny Coon, Masses, Mercy Rule, No One Conquered, Wyoming; Once A Pawn, Orion Walsh, Pharmacy Spirits, The Power, The Renfields, Ron Wax, Shaun Sparks and the Wounded Animals, Shipbuilding Co., Smith’s Cloud, South Of Lincoln, Tie These Hands, and The Vingins.

Very solid. The only bands missing (that come to mind) are High Art (The latest project by Darren Keen of the Show Is the Rainbow), For Against, UUVVWWZ, Son of 76 and The Watchmen and Ideal Cleaners. Event organizer Jeremy Buckley said High Art is playing the night before at The Waiting Room; and the rest simply were unavailable. “I think we were able to balance a lineup of established acts with a good number of newer bands that have made waves in Lincoln, but haven’t had much exposure in Omaha yet,” Buckley said.

The venues involved in the one-day music orgy: The Barley Street Tavern, Burke’s Pub, Benson Grind, Louis, The Sydney and The Waiting Room. A mere $8 will get you into all six venues all night, or $5 gets you into any one venue for the evening.

According to a press release, the fest is being “supported” by an organization lamely called “Lincoln Is A Music City” — a “collection of people who are interested in promoting and growing the local music scene in Lincoln, NE,” according to their website.

The title is a bold statement. Most people consider Lincoln to be a “Football City” or the state capital or a great place to get drunk, but “A Music City”? And if Lincoln is “a music city,” then what is Omaha? Can Omaha be a “Music City” too? Which one really deserves the title? And here we go again…

The whole thing sounds silly. Most people think of Nashville as “a music city,” or New Orleans. But not Omaha, and certainly Lincoln, but I guess to the handful of bands behind the effort, Lincoln can be whatever they want it to be.

Lincolnite Josh Hoyer — Son of 76 frontman and reluctant spokesman for the effort — explained that “Lincoln Is a Music City” started as a slogan printed on a banner used for a group photo of more than 200 Lincoln musicians. “From that there were some folks wanting to make T shirts with the same phrase,” he said. “So I asked that we get together and talk about raising money from the sales to promote our growing music scene. From those meetings a few things happened, one of which was a decision to call the group ‘Lincoln Is a Music City’ instead of Lincoln Music Union or Star City Music Nerds, etc. That idea was put forward by Jon Taylor of Mercy Rule. We dug it, and hence the name was born.”

Hoyer said he has no delusions of Lincoln being anywhere near the stature of Nashville or New Orleans, Chicago, Seattle, NYC or even Omaha for that matter. “We are a sports town,” he said, “but that is exactly why we are making the effort to raise awareness in Lincoln — to the population that doesn’t go out for live music — that our city really does have some great musicians and bands. The slogan is kind of the carrot before the horse carriage. It was our thought that with work, publicity, organization and passion, Lincoln could become a music city as well as a sports city.”

Helping him with his cause is a handful of musicians, promoters and club owners, including Buckley and Lincoln Invasion co-conspirator Dub Wardlaw, Brendan Evans, Jon Taylor and Brendan McGinn of Her Flyaway Manner. So far they’ve started a free all-local concert series at UN-L, launched a local music radio show on community station KZUM Friday nights at 6 hosted Taylor and his lovely bass playing/singing wife Heidi Ore, and helped organize the Lincoln-named festivals, such as Lincoln Invasion, Lincoln Exposed and Lincoln Calling. They’re also thinking about starting a ‘zine that would be an alternative toGround Zero, Lincoln’s entertainment/arts rag.

For Hoyer, making Lincoln a “music city” was part of his decision to plant roots there. “I have a 1-year-old daughter, and instead of moving back to New Orleans (where he lived for six months) we decided to raise her in a safer place with a better support system,” he said. “However, I was in love with NOLA because music is a way of life there. I want to make a living playing music… and I am. I believe Lincoln is a musically diverse and talented city. The trick is getting a larger mass of people here to embrace that and start filling the clubs.

“Who knows where it will end up? But what I do know is, the people that have a passion for music in Lincoln are true blue, as well as talented and creative. Lincoln is a Music City. At least in my eyes it is. I’m just trying to persuade a few other folks to feel the same way.”

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Tonight, local legendary hardcore band Hercules plays a rare show at The Hole on a bill that includes Minnesota band In Defense, High Dive and Agress. No price listed on the Myspace page, but it’s probably $5, and starts at 7 p.m. No Booze!

Also tonight,  Korey Anderson and Edge of Arbor open for Matt Cox Band at The Waiting Room. $5, 9 p.m.

The following came in the ol’ email this morning from Liz Lawson at deusexmachinapr:

“About a couple weeks ago, producer Steve LaBate (formerly of Paste Magazine) and director Scott Sloan, the filmmakers behind the upcoming documentary 40 Nights of Rock & Roll, were in town, where they were fortunate enough to watch one of Omaha’s best bands Capgun Coup.  You can watch a bit of the footage here: http://www.40nightsofrock.com/videos/119-day-20-omaha-capgun-coup.”

The filmmakers were apparently at a Capgun show at The Brothers’ Lounge, judging by the clip, which includes some footage of Sam Martin and Co. talking outside on the sidewalk — there’s no actual performance footage. It’s a strange clip. According to the project’s website, the filmmakers are trying to answer the burning question: “What’s the current state of rock & roll in America? Has true rock and roll been reduced to a few dark corners and dive bars? Are there modern rock bands that are ready to fill the arena-sized shoes of bands like AC/DC and Judas Priest?”

The publicist mentioned that the filmmakers recently interviewed Paul Westerberg and taped him performing a couple acoustic songs. “They’re just about done their road trip, but the hard work is still ahead of them, as they begin the editing process on the thousands of hours of film that they’ve collected, and start work on the companion book.” Will we ever actually see a finished film? Your guess is as good as mine…

Well, Nick Carl’s new band, The Meadowlarks, was not on hand last Saturday night at The Barley St. Tavern, due I’m told to scheduling and transportation-related issues. No matter. Carl did the show alone, and like the last time I saw him

, laid down a good set of simple acoustic love (or lack of love) songs sung in his easy-going coffee-shop folk fashion. I dug it, and so did the 15 or so people in the room. Singer/songwriter Nick Jaina and his band closed out the evening with a rowdy set of crash-bash folk rock featuring stand-up bass and trumpet along with the usual instruments. Jaina sort of reminded me of Elvis Perkins, though his music swings closer to folk than Perkins’ dusty Americana.

* * *

Tyson Vogel, one-half of Saddle Creek Records band Two Gallants, announced that his solo debut, Devotionals, is being released July 13 by Alive Records. “Devotionals music is based around Tyson’s guitar compositions, with Anton Patzner (Judgment Day, Bright Eyes) invigorating the musical space with his violin mastery, and they are joined by various guests and collaborators,” says the press release. “The result is a unique combination of simplicity and raw emotion that will delight new and old fans of Two Gallants, a kind of street music with nods to Rachmaninov and John Fahey. The recording is entirely analog.” Really? Wonder if it comes in cassette and/or 8-track tape format. BTW, Two Gallants’ last full length for Saddle Creek came out in 2007.

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Tonight at The Slowdown, it’s red hot indie band Blitzen Trapper with The Moondoggies. $12, 9 p.m. It’s also Slowdown’s third birthday (remember this article?). Stop on down and buy the staff a round. They deserve it.

It’s been awhile since I did a live review, mainly because I haven’t been to a show in awhile. Things have been quiet when it comes to big national touring acts, though there’s been plenty of local stuff going on. Such is the case this weekend — no big national shows come to mind, but a couple local gigs are worth checking out.

Tonight at The Waiting Room, The Filter Kings headline a show with Loyd McCarter, The Willards Band and 24-Hour Cardlock. Cowboy hats/seed caps are optional. $7, 9 p.m.

Saturday night, singer/songwriter Nick Carl and his band, The Meadowlarks, are headlining a show at The Barley St. Tavern with Harlot and Portland guy Nick Jaina. $5, 9 p.m. While just up the street, Ames/Des Moines band The Envy Corps is playing at The Waiting Room with Broken Spindles and 1/Fourth DJs. They’re calling it the “Carnival Dance Dement” — a dance party with masks and lights and stuff, which may be just enough to keep me from going. $8, 9 p.m.

If you’re in Lincoln, check out Damien Jurado Saturday night at The Bourbon Theater with Manny Coon, Ember Schrag and a few others. $10 today/$12 tomorrow. 9 p.m.

And Sunday night at Lincoln’s Clawfoot House, 1042 F St., Nick Jaina and Bear Country are playing with Ember Schrag and her new band.  Clawfoot is in the heart of its summer season. Schrag said that the house will end its show season in late July or early August and take a few months off. In addition to her new band, Schrag has her hands full with a new job booking shows at Lincoln’s Cultiva Cafe, a just-opened coffee house at 11th & G streets that will feature live free performances nightly from 8 to 10 p.m., with an open mic on Thursdays.

Like last week’s column, this week’s column is a retread of old blog content, due to the fact that all of The Reader‘s deadlines were pushed back four days because of Memorial Day. That means Column 273 is/was this review of last Thursday’s Thunder Power CD release show — ancient history, I know. By the way, a couple people commented on that review, including one that translated the alien-robot-language singing quoted in the story:

“Ar-ee op-bop whep bep bay / Op bet tee.”

Translated:

“Sorry ’bout winning this one… for the team…”

A clever line. I wonder if the rest of the lyrics are that good.

Week-early deadlines mean outdated columns. But I guess I shouldn’t be complaining about deadlines, considering the word on the street is that The Omaha City Weekly is ceasing publication. While I haven’t confirmed that directly from the horse’s mouth, one of the paper’s columnists — MarQ Manner — made the statement on Facebook, and a non-City Weekly editor said the same thing. If it is true, it’s the end of an era. The City Weekly

has been around for a long time. Not as long as The Reader, but long enough to be a legacy in this town. Its closure would drop the number of weeklies from four to three (The Reader, Shout! and Go!). I’m sure the survivors are rejoicing, but anytime you lose a publication it’s one less outlet for readers… and writers. Manner said he intends to continue writing his column for Shout! I have no idea what’s going on with CW music critic Will Simons. Hopefully he also will land on his feet, though he’s plenty busy with his band Thunder Power, which just released an EP and is working on a full length. I’ve read and enjoyed Simons’ stuff for years. Just like I enjoy MarQ’s column and Kevin Coffey’s writing (and Niz’s and Christine Laue’s before him at The OWH). For a brief time, I taught a News Editing class at UNO in the evenings. I always told my students that despite the elbowing-though-the-crowd, get-the-story-before-the-other-guy competitive nature of journalism, as a writer I never felt as if I was in competition with anyone — especially fellow writers and critics. And I still don’t. You can only learn from other writers and their work. They should inspire you, not threaten you. We’re all trying to do the same thing — express ourselves and our opinions through the written word. I’ll leave the competition to the publishers, who have to duke it out for advertising dollars in order to pay our meager wages (and I mean meager).

Anyway… I’ll believe the CW is dead and gone when I don’t see it on the stands for more than a month. They went through a similar shut-down earlier this year, only to return from the dead.

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There are two solid shows going on tonight. At The Waiting Room, it’s the Omaha stage debut of High Art, Darren Keen’s new project, which I wrote about in some detail right here. Also on the bill are stdz and DJ Kobrakyle. $7, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, at O’Leaver’s, it’s Doom Town Records‘ crown jewel Baby Tears, with Capricorn Vertical Slum (ex-Vampire Hands) and La Casa Bombas. $5, 9 p.m.

Nobody likes the idea of competition when it comes to art and music. And yet… whenever Omaha invades Lincoln or Lincoln invades Omaha, it begs the question as to which scene has the strongest roster of bands — maybe only to me and a few other a-holes, but the question does come up. And it’s becoming harder and harder to defend Omaha, especially when you look over the line-up of bands playing the second annual Lincoln Invasion July 9 in Benson.

The line-up: The Amalgamators, Amy Schmidt, Diamond Kazzoo, Dirty Talker, Ember Schrag, Husbands, Kris Lager Band, Machete Archive, Manny Coon, Masses, Mercy Rule, No One Conquered, Wyoming; Once A Pawn, Orion Walsh, Pharmacy Spirits, The Power, The Renfields, Ron Wax, Shaun Sparks and the Wounded Animals, Shipbuilding Co., Smith’s Cloud, South Of Lincoln, Tie These Hands, and The Vingins.

It’s a very solid line-up. The only bands missing (that come to mind) are High Art (Darren Keen’s latest), For Against, UUVVWWZ, Son of 76 and The Watchmen and Ideal Cleaners. High Art is playing the night before at TWR, and the rest, I’m told, were unavailable.

The venues involved in the one-day festival: The Barley Street Tavern, Burke’s Pub, Benson Grind, Louis, The Sydney and The Waiting Room. “We were hoping for eight venues but had to settle for six, as The Foundry and PS Collective were not available for the date we had to work with,” said event organizer Jeremy Buckley. “I think we were able to balance a lineup of established acts with a good number of newer bands that have made waves in Lincoln, but haven’t had much exposure in Omaha yet.”

The cover charge will be $8 to get into all six venues all night, or $5 gets you into any one venue for the evening. The band/venue schedule has yet to be posted on the event’s Facebook page. According to a press release, the the fest is being “supported” by an organization lamely called “Lincoln Is A Music City” — I have no idea what that is supposed to be, other than a Facebook page

and a website.  According to both: “Lincoln Is A Music City is a collection of people who are interested in promoting and growing the local music scene in Lincoln, NE.” Buckley said it is “a loose collective of Lincoln music minded people who try to brainstorm ways to make the local scene as vibrant and visible as possible.” He also said Son of 76 frontman Josh Hoyer came up with the name. The title alone is bold. Most people consider Lincoln to be a “Football City” or the state capital or a great place to get drunk, but “A Music City”? It begs the question: What is Omaha? Is Omaha “A Music City”? If Lincoln is “a music city,” then maybe Omaha is “Thee Music City.” Which city deserves the title? And here we go again… Actually, I think Nashville is “a music city.” Maybe Memphis. But not Omaha, and certainly Lincoln, but I guess to the handful of bands that are behind the effort, Lincoln can be anything they want it to be.

* * *

Tonight at The Barley Street Tavern, it’s Minneapolis self-proclaimed post punk/gothic/shoegaze band The Funeral And The Twilight, with Noah’s Ark Was A Spaceship, and Bazooka Shootout. $5, 9 p.m.