by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A look back at St. Vincent’s performances in Omaha as the setting for last Monday night’s sold out show at The Slowdown is fodder for this week’s column in The Reader, which you can read it online here at thereader.com. Annie Clark, St. Vincent’s frontwoman, is bucking the one-hit-wonder trend that plagues today’s indie scene, where bands make a big splash with one record and then spend the rest of their careers frantically waving their arms while bobbing up and down in the vast sea of talent that makes up today’s music industry. I guess it helps to be unbelievably talented. And gorgeous. And talented. So is she the next PJ Harvey? Read on…

* * *

Trey Lalley, everyone’s favorite bar owner and proprietor of The Brothers Lounge, sent a heads up about the big Rebates reunion show next Saturday night (May 26) at Brothers. The band is considered by some to be Omaha’s first punk band, whose members included Dave “Stinky LePew” Wees, who would go on to become a member of Buck Naked and the Bare Bottom Boys. Stinky, who now lives in S.F., is headed back home where he’ll join fellow Rebates Steve Warsocki and Tim Drelicharz (later of The Click) for the Brothers gig, which is a warmup for a show the following day (May 27) at The Joyo Theater in Lincoln with Pogrom/Ex-Machina, The Spastic Apes, Sacred Cows, Informed Dissent, Lon’s Garden and Battle Ship Gray, according to Chris Aponick’s report in this week’s issue of The Reader (right here). Joining The Rebates at Saturday’s Brothers gig is Bullet Proof Hearts and The Bob Garfield Experience. It is, as they say, kind of a big deal. More info here.

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Matt Whipkey also sends a head’s up that The Whipkey Three’s new album, Two Truths, is streaming for free right here on Soundcloud. Check it out.

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The Love Drunk Tour 2012 continues as, according to the schedule, the band is in Knoxville, TN, today filming that ever-elusive band that goes by the name TBA. Regardless, check out their latest video from the tour (for “Somebody” by Jukebox the Ghost) and get a status update right here.

Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s Quintron and Miss Pussycat. According to good ol’ Wikipedia:

Quintron is a multi-instrumental one-man-band. During performances, Quintron utilizes a custom-made Hammond organ/Fender Rhodes synthesizer combo, which he has had custom outfitted to resemble the body of a car, complete with working headlights and a Louisiana license plate which reads “Quintron.” Quintron is often accompanied by The Drum Buddy, a rotating, light-activated analog synthesizer, one of many which he has created and manufactured himself. Quintron is regularly accompanied by his wife Miss Pussycat, who sings backup and plays maracas.

Sounds like quite a spectacle. Opening is Vickers and the always amazing Solid Goldberg, who by himself is worth the  $10 ticket price. Starts at 9 p.m.

* * *

Tomorrow: Big news about Hear Nebraska. Bring your pocketbooks and/or wallets.

* * *

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This is it, the last installment of my first column for The Reader.

It began Dec. 2, 2004. I had been suggesting to editor John Heaston, literally for years, that he needed to integrate columns into The Reader, that all good newspapers included an opinionated voice willing to speak his or her mind without fear or concern of offending. The music scene needed a voice like that even more. During a time when Omaha was glowing from national praise for its burgeoning indie music scene (by then, the bloom was already off the rose), it woefully lacked a critical voice in print. Some might say it still does.

I’d already been writing music criticism on my website for years. Lazy-i.com launched in 1998 as a work-around tool. Here’s the deal: After publicists line up interviews with their bands or send out album previews, they demand “tear sheets” of what has been written – some tangible proof that they hadn’t wasted their time. Those requests would be forwarded to The Reader, where more likely than not, they’d be forgotten or ignored among the paper’s more pressing needs of the day, leaving me to handle tear sheets myself.

Instead of wasting envelopes, postage and trips to the post office, I got the idea of posting the stories and reviews online (The Reader didn’t have a website back then). I would then e-mail links to stories to the publicists. Satisfied that I was actually doing something, they would keep me (or add me) to their record label’s distro lists, resulting in dozens of manila envelopes filled with CDs landing in my mailbox every week. Because, really, it’s always been about the free CDs, right?

It didn’t take long for me to realize that I could bolster Lazy-i’s readership by adding a daily entry or web log – I guess you could call it a “blog.” My column in The Reader would simply be a natural extension of those web logs, along with original content. After much prodding, Heaston finally agreed to give it a try. Column No. 1 featured an interview with singer/songwriter Willy Mason, who had just signed as the second act to the horribly named Team Love Records – a just-launched sister label (of sorts) to Saddle Creek, owned and operated by Conor Oberst and his business partner, Nate Krenkel.

Seven years and 360 installments later, Lazy-i as a column has run its course. Heaston has suggested that Lazy-i is redundant as it appears in The Reader because most people read my music column online at Lazy-i.com. He’s wrong, of course. Regardless, given the choice of either sunsetting my website or sunsetting my column, I chose the latter.

Part of it has to do with age, I suppose. I am 46 years old, and I’m still writing about music after doing it for 25 years. I find nothing wrong with this, but there are those who have suggested that rock music (and especially new music) is only for young people, and why would a teen-ager/twenty-something give a shit what a guy in his 40s thinks about a new band or new album? Maybe they’re right, but it hasn’t stopped me from doing it, and (apparently) from people reading it.

And here’s something else – as I’ve gotten to the age where I was old enough to be the father of the bands I was interviewing, I’ve never felt awkward talking to these musicians about their music and their lives. I’ve never felt as if they were patronizing me. And while some people feel odd going to rock shows where they’re surrounded by people half their age, I’ve never felt out place. I still don’t. I don’t think I ever will.

Fact is, most people over the age of 30 have a hard time listening to new music. They’re more comfortable listening to the music they grew up listening to.  I guess I’m lucky I get as much of a thrill listening to good new music as I do listening to the hits of the ‘80s. And when I hear something I really like, I enjoy telling others about it (Because let’s be honest, writing about music is as much about ego as it is about getting free CDs).

And what’s the old saying – if you’re involved in music after you reach age 30, you’ll be involved in music your entire life. I think that’s true. Just ask Robert Christgau, who will turn 70 on April 18 and continues to write insightful, witty and relevant music reviews.

So despite the end of this column, Lazy-i.com will live on. I’ll continue to write about music every weekday, I’ll continue to review CDs and rock shows, but I’ll do it on my website. I’ll also continue to interview bands, but that writing will also appear in The Reader when space allows (because things are getting tough for the printed page, my friends. If you value printed newspapers, keep reading them. And then go to the businesses that advertise in them, and after you’ve bought something, tell the businesses you saw their ads in the paper. Do this, or else in the very near future, there won’t be any printed newspapers).

So what’s next? Like I said at the beginning of this piece, this is the last installment of my first column at The Reader. I’m going to take a week off (which I haven’t done for seven years) and then I’m going to write the first installment of my second column for The Reader.

Thanks to all of you for reading Lazy-i over the years. Thanks to John for printing it. Thanks to all the bands and labels and clubs and publicists and promoters and friends who helped make it happen. I couldn’t have done it without you.

I’ll talk to you again in a couple weeks.

* * *

That’s the big announcement I mentioned yesterday. If you read this blog regularly, not much will change. In fact, probably nothing will change, though you won’t be seeing my new column here. It’ll be exclusive to The Reader. Considering how much time I spend at shows, however, there’s bound to be some overlap whether I (or John) likes it or not. Some might say untethering myself from music in my column writing should be liberating. In fact, it’s frightening, but if you’re not taking risks, you’re not living…

* * *

Blind Pilot at The Waiting Room, Feb. 1, 2012.

Now where was I…

Blind Pilot had a triumphant return to Omaha last night. Triumphant in that it looked like they nearly sold out The Waiting Room — a huge crowd that was backed up past the sound board. I got there as they went on stage just past 10:30 (I’m loving these early weekday shows, 1%).

Their sound is a sort of watered-down version of the Avett Bros. fronted by a guy who sounds like he grew up listening to his dad’s Jackson Browne or (more likely) Gomez records. The songs were pretty enough, though none of them had a hook that stood out. At least they were short. Looking at the track listing of We Are The Tide, their latest on unknown Expunged Records, shows eight of the 10 songs are under the four-minute mark, with one coming in under three minutes — just short enough to keep you from getting tired of them. Hey, don’t knock the value of short songs, especially when you have virtually no stage presence. Strangely, as the set wore on, the songs seemed to get longer, long enough to bore, probably because there wasn’t much going on up there.

The solid six-piece is fronted by Israel Nebeker, who played acoustic guitar throughout except when he lugged out a big lap accordion for one song. The rest of the band augmented the middle-of-the-road folk rock sound with vibes, trumpet and banjo. Like I said, pretty.

Other then their appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman last month, I’m baffled as to where this massive crowd had heard these guys before. But they knew them well enough to sing the words back to Nebeker throughout the entire set. Someone told me last night that the popularity stems from Pandora, how that happens, I don’t know. Did people who set up Avett Bros or Gomez channels in Pandora get fed this as part of the mix? Ah, the mysteries of becoming a rock star in the 21st Century. While I was listening to their rather safe, unadventurous but subtly catchy music; I wondered how many more bands are out there like this, filling in the gaps for a generation who doesn’t remember the fleet of MOR bands that preceded them. Probably hundreds. Maybe thousands. And, truthfully, Blind Pilot is better than most, which is why they’re breaking through to a larger audience.

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I’d be remiss in not mentioning yesterday’s announcement that Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band are releasing (via Team Love) an outtakes album along with a DVD documentary about the band directed by the band’s road manager (and Con Dios frontman) Philip Schaffart. You can get all the details here. Release date is May 15. Will this mean that MVB will get together for a brief support tour? Who knows. Rumors abound that another of Conor’s old bands may be planning a reunion tour, and in this harsh political climate, it never made more sense.

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Indie folk troubadour Cass McCombs drops in tonight at The Waiting Room. Opening is folk revivalist Frank Fairfield. $10, 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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Dave Sink in better days...

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This week’s issue of The Reader features a cover story that compiles remembrances of Dave Sink from the musicians and friends who knew him best. And while portions of the article have appeared on other websites over the past day or so, none collect more comments from the people who made a mark during the era in which Sink was most influential. The contributors: Brian Byrd, Simon Joyner, Craig Crawford, Pat Buchanan, Bernie McGinn, Conor Oberst, Robb Nansel, Gary Dean Davis, Tim Moss, Matt Whipkey, Jake Bellows, Patrick Kinney, Adam J. Fogarty, Gus Rodino and Brad Smith. You can read the article online right here, or find a printed copy around town.

The issue also includes my remembrance of Dave, which I’ve posted below:

Remembering Dave

It began in November 1992. I was a few years out of college at UNO, already working full time at Union Pacific, but still writing about underground music, something that I’d begun doing as the editor of the college paper and as a freelance writer for The Metropolitan and The Note, a Lawrence, Kansas, regional music paper that had expanded its coverage to Omaha and Lincoln.

One of my first assignments for The Note was writing a piece on Dave Sink, his record store in the basement of The Antiquarium, and his record label, One-Hour Records. By the time of our interview, One-Hour already had released singles by Culture Fire (Release), Frontier Trust (Highway Miles) and Mousetrap (“Supercool” b/w “Fubar”), as well as Simon Joyner’s landmark full-length cassette, Umbilical Chords. One-Hour was a big deal both to the editors down in Lawrence and to me.

The audience for indie and punk music in Omaha was microscopic. At this point in its history, Omaha’s live music scene was dominated by top-40 cover bands that played a circuit of local meat-market bars along 72nd St. College music was heard mostly in college towns — something that Omaha certainly wasn’t. But Dave didn’t care. He had no aspirations of getting rich off One-Hour.

From that article:

“It’s fun empowering people,” said the 43-year-old entrepreneur who used to prefer classic rock to punk. “These are good people with good ideas and lots of energy. I knew these guys as really cool people long before I knew them as musicians.”

The advantage to being on One-Hour? “Possibly nothing,” Sink said. “We’re in an infant stage. But this is how Sub Pop got started and a lot of other quality punk labels. Any band we press is going to get 200 promotional copies of their single shipped to radio stations and ‘zines across the U.S. and Europe. The bottom line is we’re a medium for a band to reach a broader audience.”

Sink said Omaha had never had as many good original bands as it does now, whether the city knows it or not. “Unfortunately, most of the time they’re playing shows for each other. Omaha has a very talented music scene that is woefully underappreciated.”

Funny how, despite the success of Saddle Creek Records, little has changed.

After that story ran, I continued to drop into Dave’s store. He would pick out an armful of albums and singles for me to buy, and that’s how I discovered a lot of the bands that I would end up writing about in The Note (and later, in The Reader). He was always willing to give me the inside scoop on something that was going on musicwise. And much to my surprise, he read a lot of my stories, and was always willing to tell me when he thought I got it right, or got it wrong. A former editor at the old Benson Sun Newspaper, Dave’s perspective on my writing went beyond his music knowledge. As a result, he was always in the back of my mind whenever I wrote anything about music (and still is). I guess I didn’t want to disappoint Dave. Actually, no one did.

Toward the latter days of his involvement in the record store, Dave became more and more disillusioned with modern music. I’d go down there ask him what was good and he’d start off by saying, “Nothing, it’s all shit,” but eventually would find a few things for me to buy. He was more into jazz by then, and (of course) baseball, which we’d talk about at great length, along with his perspective on art and literature and film.

Funny thing, it didn’t matter that Dave was 20 or 30 years older than the kids buying the records. They all respected and sought out his opinion, and Dave was always happy to give it. My favorite Dave line when he didn’t like something: “It’s not my cup of tea.” It was that simple.

As the years went on, Dave quit showing up at the store, and then eventually it changed hands and moved out of the basement. Meanwhile, Saddle Creek Records bloomed, Omaha became nationally recognized as the new indie music “ground zero,” and I slowly lost touch with Dave.

And then along came Facebook. And there was Dave again. Over the last couple years we reconnected online, but mostly about baseball. Dave, a long-time Royals rooter, hated the fact that I’m a Yankees fan, a team he said was ruining baseball. I would argue that, in a market like Omaha, being a Yankees fan was downright punk – people hated you for it, that it was a lonely existence not unlike being a punk fan in the ‘90s. He never bought that argument.

I tried and I tried to get Dave to do that all-encompassing interview about the glory days of One-Hour and The Antiquarium. I told him how much he influenced everything that Omaha’s music scene had become, that I wanted to tell his story and put him on the cover of The Reader. Of course he would have none of it. He would kindly turn down the requests, saying he didn’t do anything, that he was only a record store owner and that the focus should be on the bands, not him.

Despite that, I think he knew how important he was to everything that’s happened here. He certainly was important to me.

* * *

If I had to venture a guess, I’d bet that Dave wasn’t a Lemonheads fan.

Not coincidentally, neither am I. But that shouldn’t stop you from going to see The Lemonheads tonight at The Waiting Room, where the band will be performing It’s a Shame About Ray in its entirety. I’m told that Evan Dando was a bit fussy the last time he came to Omaha. What will he do this time? Opening is Meredith Sheldon. $15, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, power pop in the form of Lonely Estates and the Beat Seekers at The Sydney. 9 p.m., $5.

* * *

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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Millions of Boys from left are Alex van Beaumont, Ryan Haas and Sara Bertuldo.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Omaha power-pop punk band Millions of Boys’ new 10-inch record, Competing for Your Love, is a 180-gram slab of vinyl complete with digital download key, and even comes with a photo of local booze palace O’Leaver’s on the cover. What more could you ask for? Well, there’s also the record’s 10 sticky-sweet rock songs that capture all the fun and pain of middle school crushes.

Released by Kansas City’s Golden Sound Records, the mini album is being celebrated with a rock prom at Slowdown Jr. Saturday night.

While the trio has a distinctive sound of its own, there’s no denying its influences – real or imagined. During our brief coffee talk at Blue Line in Dundee Sunday, I went on and on about how the band reminded me of That Dog (actual spelled “that dog.”), a mid-‘90s LA power pop act whose members would go on to write songs for the new Josie and the Pussycats and become members of The Rentals and Decemberists. I loved That Dog’s cool, ironic take on cloying high school love and heartbreak on albums like ‘95’s Totally Crushed Out! and follow-up Retreat from the Sun.

Of course Millions of Boys had never heard That Dog’s music before. Nor (probably) have they heard Tsunami or Blake Babies or the other ‘90s bands that plowed this same fertile fun-pop ground a decade (or two) before them, though…

“We all just grew up loving light-hearted pop punk,” said drummer/vocalist Ryan Haas.

“There’s this connotation that pop punk has, but…” said guitarist/vocalist Sara Bertuldo before Haas quickly added “It’s like a guilty pleasure, but it’s not.”

Bassist/guitarist/vocalist Alex van Beaumont merely nodded, as if having heard it all before.

Millions of Boys, Competing for Your Love (Golden Sound, 2012)

The three started playing together in 2010. Bertuldo and Haas had been in a very short-lived band with Snake Islands’ Allan Schleich called Leaving Vaudeville that played all of one show before disbanding. Bertuldo, already a member of Honey & Darling, wanted to continue working with Haas, who said at the time he’d recently “fallen in love with Weezer again” and wanted to be in a two-piece project. Unfortunately, when it came time to do solos, Bertuldo couldn’t handle it. “I’m not very good at looping,” she said.

Enter van Beaumont, a friend of Haas’ sister who Bertuldo had met before. “We tried it and it worked,” Haas said. “These are not super complicated songs. They’re straight-forward. He just gets it and nothing has to be explained.” Van Beaumont merely nodded again.

All three members share vocals and switch instruments, but it’s hard not to look at Bertuldo as the band’s front woman, despite her diminutive stature. I first met her in 2005 when she was working as an intern for One Percent Productions, taking money at Sokol Underground shows. Standing at around five foot nothing, she’s so tiny you just want to put her in your pocket and take her home with you. She’s like the daughter that none of us will ever be lucky enough to have — cute, unassuming and quiet.

In fact, maybe too quiet. One of the challenges of being so tiny is also being heard above the rest of this rather rowdy band, something she’s struggled with at clubs with less-than-optimum (i.e. shitty) PA’s, like O’Leaver’s, where Bertuldo has had no choice but to ratchet up her sweet, innocent mew.

“It’s why I’m starting to like screaming,” she said. “It’s really hard, especially if you have a sound guy who’s not paying attention. I can’t wait until we have our own sound person.”

Ah, but first things first. The band would like nothing more than to tour full time, which, of course, would take a booking agent, which they don’t have yet. But at least they have a label, which is helping them with distribution and the digital side of things.

Clocking in at a just over 23 minutes, Competing for Your Love is a chock full of tasty little morsels like “Dudcats,” (with the inspirational chorus “That girl is the bomb / That girl is the bomb / But that bomb is a dud,”), the roaring zombie epic “Dead Girls,” the too-cute-for-its-own-good “Sparky + Mittens” (“I’ll give that cat a home in a hot dog bun“), and the mythic story of local super hero “Doug Flynn,” one of our scene’s unforgettable legends.

“Doug Flynn is the big guy that used to work the door at The Waiting Room,” Bertuldo said. “One time I blacked out there during a Times New Viking show and he picked me up and carried me to the back room.”

Haas remembers watching what he called “The Maple Street Riot” from his apartment that overlooked the melee. “There were about 100 people in the street, and in the middle of it was Doug Flynn,” presumably keeping the peace like an indie Buford Pusser.

“He’s the big brother of The Waiting Room,” Bertuldo said.

Anyway. The album is pretty fantastic. It was recorded by Bertuldo’s boyfriend (and member of Honey & Darling) Matt Carroll at Little Machine, the couple’s basement studio (where New Lungs currently is recording its debut).

Opening Saturday night’s release show is label mates Empty Spaces, as well as local low-fi punkers The Dads and new band Power Slop, which Haas described as “a loud, fast band that includes members of Hercules.” That’s a lot of rock for $5. Go to theslowdown.com for more info.

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

And now, the conclusion of my annual music predictions columns, where I gaze into the glossy black finish of a Fender Squier and see visions of what will occur in the coming days / months / years. Hang onto your hats, because it’s time for the Lightning Round!

— With all this new technology that (presumably) puts every bit of music ever released at our fingertips, a new appreciation for curated radio will emerge. And by that, I don’t mean radio programmed by a closet full of brain-dead suits somewhere in balmy El Lay, but rather a low-watt or web-based alternative station whose content is developed by a guy or gal who could be standing next to you in line at Baker’s. Look for not one, but two stabs at creating a low-power FM community radio station in Omaha next year, the result of S.592, a.k.a. the Local Community Radio Act. And remember, it’s only as good as you make it.

– Benson’s rebirth as Omaha’s music/tattoo/booze/vice hub hasn’t gone unnoticed outside of our little burg. A Hollywood film crew will set up shop in ’12 to document the creation of our little street of dreams as a weekly “reality” TV show featuring a gaggle of lovable characters. The Real Housewives of Benson? Benson Venue Wars?Benson Park Hillbilly Hand Fishing? Make sure the camera gets your good side.

— Speaking of film making, the fine work of one of our many local videographers will catch the attention of a large-ish national record label who will either fly one of their rock stars to Omaha or fly an Omaha video crew to the rock star to create a music video that will air on MTV and/or go “viral” on the interwebs.

— Last year saw Homer’s worldwide chain of stores get whittled down to just one measly location in the Old Market. This year will mark a rebirth of sorts for Omaha’s favorite independent music retailer when it alters direction to broaden its customer base. Translated: Homer’s will become much more than just a music store.

– As we mourn the death of The Anchor Inn interest in outdoor concerts continues to grow (even as club attendance at rock shows continues to dwindle). Local promoters will reach out to a few new park-like compounds to host large concerts like MAHA and Playing with Fire in places you’d never imagine. And yes, Memorial Park and a certain Sarpy County ballpark will be in the mix.

— Speaking of outdoor festivals, did that burning sea of empty pavement that greeted Red Sky’s unattended day programming and a half-empty (or more) Ameritrade Ballpark teach MECA anything? This year at least one big name indie-style rock act – someone you’ll actually be excited to see — will get booked for Red Sky and make you rethink the whole debacle… until you see the rest of the festival’s line-up. Another poor year of ticket sales will force MECA to rethink Red Sky’s future (just like the organizers of Kanrocksas are doing right now).

– Early planning by the fine folks at the MAHA Music Festival, on the other hand, will pay off big time this year as they land one of their all-time dream bands (But will they be able to sell enough tickets and find enough sponsors to pay the enormous guarantee? Yes). This will be MAHA’s the last year at Stinson Park, as the concert turns into a real-life “festival” in 2013.

— Artists we’ll be talking about this time next year: MGMT, M.I.A., Conduits, The xx, Lana Del Rey, Bloc Party, Black Sabbath, Frightened Rabbit, Sleigh Bells, Garbage, Modest Mouse, The Shins, Paul Westerberg, The Mynabirds, Van Halen, The Arcade Fire, Husker Du, Digital Leather, Tilly and the Wall, Best Coast, Ritual Device and Beck.

— Artists we won’t be talking about this time next year: Katy Perry, Cee Lo Green, Metallica, Bright Eyes, Kanye, Black Keys, Black Lips, Ryan Adams, Bon Iver, M83, Vampire Weekend, RHCP, Madonna, The Bieber and The Gaga.

— This year all of Eddie Van Halen’s problems will be resolved once and for all.

— Despite the many music- and culture-focused websites that have popped up over the past couple years, a new locally produced, slick print publication will emerge in 2012 with a special emphasis on music, art and fashion. And don’t bother looking for it online.

— As an experiment, Matador, Sub Pop or our very own Saddle Creek will release an entire formal full-length album by one of their top acts as a free download (You’ll still have to pay for the vinyl, and there will be no CD). Its success will breath new life into an already-established (though waning) act who will see its biggest crowds ever on tour, generating merch and back-catalog sales for the label and causing the music industry to rethink (again) how it does business.

— The next local act to break through on a national level won’t come from the indie ranks, but from Omaha’s under-appreciated hip-hop scene. As a result, look for a new hip-hop / urban-focused club to launch somewhere in midtown or downtown in 2012.

— Bright Eyes never made it onto SNL, but nothing will stop Cursive from stepping onto that famous 30 Rock stage.

And finally, one of the city’s longest-running local music columns will call it a day in 2012, in print (though it will continue to live on (forever?) on the Internet). Now who could I possibly be talking about?

* * *

Moving on…

Conduits, self-titled (Team Love, 2012)

Yesterday’s red-hot news was that everyone’s favorite local shoe-gazers, Conduits, announced that they’ve signed with Team Love Records, who will release their self-titled debut album March 20. Pre-orders are being taken now at the Team Love online shop ($12/CD; $16/vinyl), which will get it into your earbuds two weeks before the street date. In addition, the band hits the road with Cursive and Cymbals Eat Guitars in March for a couple months.

It’s a nice return to form for Team Love, who also recently announced that it is releasing Simone Felice’s self-titled solo debut April 3, recorded with members of Mumford & Sons and his fellow Felice Brothers. So does this mean that Team Love also will soon announce the release of the highly anticipate Tilly and the Wall album? And what about Icky Blossoms, Derek Pressnall’s reinvention of Flowers Forever, a band that released its debut on Team Love in 2008? Will Team Love release an Icky Blossoms full-length in the near or distant future? We’ll have to wait and see.

For now, let’s bask in the Conduits’ news. For most of us, the music on this debut will seem almost rustic, having been played at local clubs for more than a year. In fact, the recording itself was created nearly a year ago. Will Conduits be able to keep up the intensity on songs they’ve been playing since 2010, and how will they ease any new music into the set list? We’ll see when they hit the road in March.

* * *

Tonight at Slowdown Jr. it’s a free rock show featuring the reunion of Stolen Kisses, the surf-pop garage band that features members of Talking Mountain and Omaha expat Chris Kramer, who is back in town from Chicago on vacation. Tonight they’ll be performing as a five-piece and unveiling some new songs, and possibly a few chestnuts. Opening the show is Lincoln’s Powerful Science, headed by Joshua Miller of Columbia vs Challenger, and fellow Lincolnites Well-Dressed Man Disguise, which Kramer described as “psychedelic punk rock. Probably like early XTC.” Sweet. Like I said, it’s free, and the show starts at 9 p.m.

* * *

Lazy-i Best of 2011

Well, folks, we’re getting down to the wire. If you want to enter the drawing for a copy of the Lazy-i Best of 2011 Sampler CD you better do it now. This year’s disc includes tracks from tUnE-yArDs, St. Vincent, Icky Blossoms, Decemberists, Gus & Call, Lana Del Rey, It’s True, Eleanor Friedberger and a bunch more (check out the track list at the bottom of this blog entry). To enter, just send an e-mail (to tim@lazy-i.com) with your name and mailing address. It really is that easy. Hurry! Deadline is Jan. 17!

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

And so, as we enter into the year 2012 (the last year of our existence, according to another great seer), it is once again time for me to gaze through the fabric of time to reveal how all of our lives will unfold, music-wise, anyway. Before we get to the little ol’ Omaha music scene, let’s look at The Big Picture. The following will happen, if not next year, then soon:

Digital subscription music streaming services such as Spotify, Rdio, Rhapsody – and eventually iTunes – have only just begun to take their toll on CD sales, which already were in the shitter.

The lone bright spot has been the sales of vinyl records. But unfortunately, we’ve already seen the peak in that nostalgia. The novelty of vinyl will begin to wear off, as people finally come to the realization that paying twice as much for a new release that they’re going to have get up and turn over on their record player, that they can’t play at work or on their smart phone or in their car, is quaint but woefully inconvenient. There always will be the luddites who refuse to acknowledge technology — who will hold on dearly to the ideas of yesteryear — but their numbers will only wane

Meanwhile, the technology behind streaming music will only get better. We’ll see better quality streams and better connectivity to streaming sources. Eventually it’ll get to the point where fans won’t even remember purchasing individual albums or singles. The music they want to hear will just “be there,” as long as they’re within reach of a Wi-Fi or 3G/4G/5G hot spot. Just turn on your device, dial in your favorite artists, and the music appears. What do you mean, “buy your new album”? As a subscriber to Spotify, I already own your music.

The problem, of course, is that only American Idols and huge international pop stars make real money off services like Spotify. The smaller independent artists, who used to be able to scratch together enough cash from CD sales to finance recording another album, will only make a few bucks from streaming (if they’re lucky).

That cold reality will spawn a backlash against these services, but in the end (just like with iTunes) artists will cave – especially after it becomes easy for them to get their music available on these services.

Spotify and the others will adopt iTunes’ seller model. Right now, any band with decent credit can set up an account in the iTunes Store. They don’t have to be associated with a record label or an “aggregator” such as CD Baby or Tunecore. That’s not the case with Spotify, but that will change (especially after iTunes adopts a subscription model). Getting music in Spotify (and the other services) will be as easy as setting up an account, and eventually anyone with access to Spotify (or the other services) will have access to any artist’s music.

(By the way, those “other services” will eventually go away. Just like The Highlander, there can be only one. It’ll be either Spotify or iTunes or one of the others, but only one will survive as the sole online catalog for recorded music, that is until the regulators step in and break up the monopoly.)

If the above model becomes reality – if all music is streamed or downloaded by subscription – than publishing rights, which have helped sustain musicians by paying them for use of their music on television and films, will eventually erode. Artists will begin paying to have their music played in TV and movies if only to widen their exposure.

So with no income from CD sales and publishing rights, how will the independent musicians of old make a living? Three ways: charity, subsidies and performances.

Kickstarter, an online funding platform launched in 2009 to help artists and musicians generate money through pledges, was a first glance at what will become one of the only sustainable models for independent artists to generate income to record new albums. Some bands will blanch at the idea of asking for “charity” from fans, but let’s be honest: most of us buy local artists’ CDs now not because we want the music (which we already have on our computers), but because we want to support their efforts. The only thing missing is the ability to write off those purchases as a charitable donation (at least for now).

Which brings us to the government and private foundations. In Canada and some European countries, governments and private charitable organizations have subsidized artists and musicians for years. Organizations such as Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Records (FACTOR) are credited with making Canada the third largest producer of musical talent in the world. These private foundations are critical, especially as the global recession takes its toll on budgets.

But these foundations will never be enough. Here in the U.S., federal and local governments have to step up – either in the form of tax breaks or subsidies for musicians – or risk losing our creative class altogether. Look, we’ve subsidized farmers and other industries for years, now we have to do it for artists.

Finally, the last and most important source of income for musicians is live performances. Because no matter how available recorded music becomes, fans will always pay to see a great performance, whether it’s in a club, coffee shop, concert hall or arena. The live experience is something that will never be replicated digitally, thank god.

Next week, the fun stuff: Future Tense: 2012 Music Predictions, Pt. 2, the local edition.

* * *

It’s a night of low-fi rock down at Slowdown Jr. this evening with Built To Spill/Pixies-influenced rockers (at least judging by this Bandcamp track) Eric in Outer Space headlining a show that also includes K.C. band Knot Lazy, Omaha garage noise act The Dads and the mysterious Iron Hug. $5, 9 p.m. Get out in this spring weather, wouldja?

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Lazy-i Best of 2011

OK, folks, time to remind you yet again to enter the drawing to win a copy of the highly coveted, highly collectable Lazy-i Best of 2011 Sampler CD.  All’s youse gotta do is send me an e-mail (to tim@lazy-i.com) with your name and mailing address and your name will be dropped into the ol’ shoebox with all the others for a chance to win this once-in-a-lifetime prize. Because, really, who doesn’t need another valuable CD in their collection? Hurry! Deadline is Jan. 15!

Track listing:

1. Eleanor Friedberger, “My Mistake”
2. Peace of Shit, “You Can’t Let Me In”
3. Lykke Li, “Youth Knows No Pain”
4. The Beastie Boys, “Nonstop Disco Powerpack”
5. tUnE-yArDs, “Gangsta”
6. It’s True, “I Don’t Want to Be the One”
7. The Decemberists, “Down By the Water”
8. Big Harp, “Goodbye Crazy City”
9. Kurt Vile, “Jesus Fever”
10. Low, “Try to Sleep”
11. So-So Sailors, “Young Hearts”
12. Destroyer, “Downtown”
13. St. Vincent, “Cruel”
14. Icky Blossoms, “Perfect Vision”
15. Gus & Call, “To the Other Side of Jordan”
16. Lana Del Rey, “Video Games”
17. Digital Leather, “Young Doctors in Love”

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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.

One of the year's best shows, The Shanks at O'Leaver's, June 24, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

In years past I made it to at least a hundred shows in a calendar year. This year the number was around 60, but looking over the following list, 2011 was as good as any year that I can remember:

Jan. 18 – Cursive performs Domestica at The Waiting Room – It didn’t matter if frontman Tim Kasher messed up the opening line of “The Casualty” or if he even remembered the words, because the SRO crowd spent the evening singing along like an indie rock Greek chorus — a happy soccer mob chanting anthems that have become part of their lives.

Feb. 11 – Best Coast / Wavves at The Waiting Room – In this battle of the hyped indie bands, Wavves won with its morph of modern post-punk, low-fi, garage and So. Cal surf music, even though Best Coast had the better songs.

March 12 – Gus & Call at Slowdown Jr. – The band’s coming out party, Gus & Call unveiled a new kind of psychedelic, droning, alt country. Instead of “shoegaze,” call it “bootgaze” — a slower, denser sound that still held a hint of twang.

April 1 – It’s True at The Waiting Room – A combination reunion show, CD release show and last show (for now) for Adam Hawkins, he and his band of more than a dozen played a set that was at times angelic, explosive, violent, angry, loving, lost, lonely, funny, happy and familiar.

April 17 – The Decemberists at The Holland — Frontman Colin Meloy had the crowd in the palm of his hand throughout almost two hours of music, which included most of the songs off the new album and plenty of old stuff from Crane Wife.

April 30 – Digital Leather at O’Leaver’s – Stripped down to a three-piece, DL standards like “Your Hand, My Glove” were transformed into punk trash anthems that ride the bass line. The night ended with a cover of M.O.T.O.’s “Deliver Deliver Deliver” beefed up raw and twice as fast as the original.

May 6 – Of Montreal at The Slowdown — Strangest moment: Simulated sex between two stage performers in flesh-colored body suits wearing pig-head masks. Who says cabaret is dead?

May 13 – Solid Goldberg at The Barley Street Tavern – With just two keyboards, a battery of effects pedals and amplifiers, a digital projector and colored lights, one of the area’s – nay, one of the country’s – most ingenious music talents, Dave Goldberg, blew our minds.

May 21 – Dundee Spring Fling – Three of the area’s best bands — So-So Sailors, Gus & Call and Conduits — invaded sleepy Dundee for a post-thunderstorm rock party.

June 4 – Bright Eyes at Westfair Amphitheater — Simply put, Conor Oberst put on a rock concert. Not an indie-folk show; not an “intimate acoustic evening of personal confessions.” A rock concert. As heavy a show as he’s probably capable of or would ever want to do. Bright Eyes at its peak.

June 5 – Iron & Wine at The Slowdown — Looking all formal and Zack Galifianakis-like in his intimidating dark suit, Iron & Wine frontman Sam Beam took charge of a huge ensemble that included a small woodwind/brass section, turning the Slowdown into his own private lounge.

June 24-25 – The Shanks at O’Leaver’s – The bloody, brawling conclusion to a band that played punk rock seething with the twisted life of those who wrote and performed it, who stood on the front line drunk or amped doing whatever they could to make contact with the crowd, with a smile or a fist.

July 16 – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings at Stinson Park — Jones, age 55, performed with more energy than most R&B divas 1/3 her age — singing, dancing, grooving, pulling guys on stage to act as foils for her “you-better-do-me-right” rockers.

July 22 – Icky Blossoms at The Waiting Room – No longer “emerging,” with this show Icky Blossoms took The Faint’s place as the show-stopping dance, prance, throb-rock psychedelic must-see band in Omaha (and beyond).

Aug. 13 – MAHA Music Festival at Stinson Park – In the wake of one of the worst floods to hit the area since the ‘50s, Omaha’s premiere music fest headed west to Aksarben for a day-long concert featuring Cursive, Matisyahu and headliner Guided by Voices. Despite disappointing numbers (>4,000), it was nothing less than a success.

Aug. 27 – The Show Is the Rainbow at Dundee Day – The day-long street dance ended with TSITR’s Darren Keen precariously climbing the tower of speakers that balanced on the edge of the stage, looking like a big pink bear climbing a tree in search of a bee’s nest. Once on top, he looked out over the crowd he just conquered, and saluted them with his microphone.

Nov. 2 – Future Islands at The Waiting Room — Like a young Streetcar Brando combined with Deliverance Burt Reynolds and Kirkian Shatner, but with the intensity of a Rollins or Morrissey frontman Samuel T. Herring owned the stage with a voice that ranged somewhere between Richard Burton, Pee Wee Herman (in la-la-la-la mode), a monster and Billy Idol.

* * *

Tonight, Gus & Call ends its December residency at Slowdown Jr. with special guests Simon Joyner & The Parachutes and The Bruces (Alex McManus’ band). Should be a fantastic evening of folk/rock/noise. $5, 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 355 – Final Score: A Look Back at the 2011 Music Predictions

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Because many of you (most of you) center your lives around my annual music predictions (and why wouldn’t you?) I’m starting the process early this year by scoring last year’s predictions. Look, if I haven’t got it right yet, I’m not going to in the next two weeks (Hang in there, Courtney). So with that, let the scoring begin:

2011 Music Prediction: Apple will announce that iTunes now lives “in the cloud.” All your iTunes music will be available on any Mac, PC or iPhone/iPod with 3G/4G or Wi-Fi connectivity.

Reality: It’s called iCloud.

2011 Prediction: Music no longer will be sold in units, but in subscription format — all the music in the world on your speakers or earbuds for just $10 a month.

Reality: Say hello to Spotify.

2011 Prediction: This new music subscription format will mark the end of illegal downloading.

Reality: Too early to say, but one recent report said that in Sweden, the number of Spotify users surpassed the number illegal music downloaders in a mere three months after the service was launched.

2011 Prediction: Artists no longer will be paid based on album or singles’ sales, but on how often online services play their music. Record “labels” will become full-time promotion companies whose goal is to get their artists’ music streamed as much as possible.

Reality: The dream of CD revenues hasn’t lost its luster.

2011 Prediction: Publishing rights fees paid for music used in TV commercials or movies and TV will dry up. Instead, artists will begin to pay producers to get their music used in commercials and movies just to gain exposure.

Reality: It ain’t happening…yet.

2011 Prediction: The death of terrestrial radio as a music promotion tool will mean the rebirth of music videos.

Reality: Despite a lack of television or cable outlets (MTV died as a music channel years ago) more bands are making videos than ever, thanks to grassroots production companies like our own Love Drunk and Ingrained studios providing content to Vimeo and YouTube.

2011 Prediction: Big-league commercial artists will post their playlists online or in Rolling Stone to spotlight new or unknown artists.

Reality: Unfortunately, that ain’t happening.

2011 Prediction: CD prices will drop below $10, resulting in a brief resurgence in record stores. However, the audience for cheap CDs is dying off, literally. And the last kick in the crotch will be when automakers quit offering CD players as standard equipment.

Reality: CDs dropped in price, but not that much; and carmakers continue to offer CD players, though autos are becoming more 3G/4G connected. Watch out.

2011 Prediction: Artists we’ll be talking about this time next year: Bright Eyes, Deathcab for Cutie, Justin Timberlake, U2, Cat Power, Beastie Boys, Madonna, Tilly and the Wall, Decemberists, Commander Venus, Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship, Dismemberment Plan, Beck, Radiohead, Animal Collective, Conduits and Grasshopper Takeover.

Reality: About 50/50 correct. We’re still waiting for those Commander Venus and Grasshopper Takeover reunions.

2011 Prediction: Artists we won’t be talking about next year: Lady Gaga, Kanye, Eminem, Ke$ha, Susan Boyle, Arcade Fire, The Beatles, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Bruno Mars, M.I.A., Wavves, Best Coast, The National, Sleigh Bells, Vampire Weekend, Sufjan Stevens and The Faint.

Reality: Direct miss.

2011 Prediction: All of Courtney Love’s problems will be solved once and for all.

Reality: She’s still kicking.

2011 Prediction: The Red Sky Music Festival’s ticket sales will fall below their projected target in its first year.

Reality: It’s safe to say that the festival was a financial (and artistic) disappointment, but it’ll be back in 2012.

2011 Prediction: MAHA will take fewer chances for fear of messing up all the good it accomplished in 2010, and ticket sales will suffer.

Reality: Though a solid line-up (headlined by GBV), it wasn’t very risky, and ticket sales were flat compared to 2010.

2011 Prediction: With the surge of local online music news outlets, a couple will fail to catch traction and will quit updating content. One will emerge as the true winner.

Reality: Hearnebraska.org, Omahype.com and TheReader.com are boiling to the top, while old-timer slamomaha.com continues to decline.

2011 Prediction: At least one local over-the-air radio station will commit to a CMJ-style indie rock format.

Reality: Uh, no.

2011 Prediction: Another long-time local music venue will be gobbled up by a developer.

Reality: O’Leaver’s will outlive us all.

2011 Prediction: Homer’s Records will have one of its best years in recent memory and will consider opening a new storefront in Benson.

Reality: The Homer’s chain was reduced to a single storefront in ’11.

2011 Prediction: Saddle Creek Records will add another local band to its roster.

Reality: In fact, the Creek passed on two of the city’s hottest acts – So-So Sailors and Conduits.

2011 Prediction: Another band will emerge from Linoma and attract national attention, and it won’t be a Saddle Creek act.

Reality: Can we count Emphatic?

2011 Prediction: An enterprising young local businessperson will launch a new subscription-based vinyl records club, like Grapefruit Records.

Reality: No subscription label, but Rainy Road and Doom Town emerged as new vinyl playas.

2011 Prediction: A new band will emerge consisting of the progeny of members of a classic local ’90s-era band.

Reality: What about Omaha Girls Rock!?

2011 Prediction: A new live music venues will open along Maple Street in Benson. Another will open as the first serious live music venue west of 72nd Street since The Ranch Bowl.

2011 Prediction: The City of Omaha will get behind the return of a “youth concert” in Memorial Park.

2011 Prediction:  Lady Gaga will return to Nebraska, for her wedding.

2011 Prediction:  Bright Eyes will get nominated for a Grammy.

No, no, no and no. So the final count (by my skewed math) is around 11 for 25. Not, uh, good. But check back in three years and see how many come true. And look for my 2012 predictions in a couple weeks.

* * *

Other than maybe the first night, tonight’s episode of Gus & Call’s December residency at Slowdown Jr. may be the best lineup with the biggest draw. Each night of the residency has a theme, and tonight’s is “Light It Up” — make of that what you will. It features a return of two Saddle Creek Records bands that haven’t been on an Omaha stage in a long time. Lincoln act UUVVWWZ sort of disappeared after Creek re-released their debut album (which first appeared on Darren Keen’s It Are Good Records) back in 2009. I’m told that they’ve been writing new material and performing it on Lincoln stages. Now us lowly Omahans will get a chance to hear it.

Also on tonight’s bill is the return of Ladyfinger, who have been kind of dormant since frontman Chris Machmuller began focusing on his other band, So-So Sailors. Who knows what Ladyfinger will unveil tonight. Also on the bill, of course, is Gus & Call, and apparently there will be some comedy as well. With a lot of us having tomorrow off, this one could be huge, folks. $7, 9 p.m. Be there.

* * *

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.

The STNNNG at The Sandbox

Column 354: Red Light Special: Inside the Sandbox

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I could see the blue-and-red strobe lights erratically pulsing in the distance as I drove down Leavenworth Street Saturday night looking for a place to park my POS Geo Tracker where it wouldn’t get gutted. Four, maybe five police cruisers had surrounded a convenience store just down the block past the building that houses The Sandbox. I tried not to look as I slowly glided by the hysteria, but couldn’t help myself. The cruisers were parked in a semi-circle, another parked at the corner. I expected to see some shirtless redneck or meth-head with his torso buried in the sidewalk ice, hands behind his back, plastic cuff bands biting into his wrists, trying desperately to breathe as a cop pushed his face onto the cold concrete. But instead, nothing. Just the flashing party lights signaling the drama going on inside.

I thought about turning around and going home. Instead, I drove around the block and coasted to the curb right in front of the place. A guy was standing on the sidewalk smoking, and I asked if it was okay to park there. “I don’t see any ‘no parking’ signs,” he said. I figured the small army of hookers that make this part of Omaha their home would never consider rummaging through my SUV here, where the street lights were so revealing. Still, I made a mental note to check the back seat before heading home up St. Mary’s.

When I was a teenager back in the ‘80s, we used to drive around this area and hassle the working girls, one night even giving two of them a ride in my buddy Ross’s Capri. “You boys are a little young for this sort of action,” said the younger of what we were told was a mother-daughter team. “Maybe you could buy us some Old Milwaukee.” Instead, we let them out of the car by Kountze Memorial. Ross played it cool, but I was scared shitless. Being scared is part of the fun.

I told that story Saturday to a guy who said a hooker had rolled up to him on the way to the show that night and asked if she could “play his banjo.” He told me I was lucky I didn’t get killed back then. I said we were too young and stupid for something like that to happen, but now, 20-some years later, I realize he was right.

I write the above because The Sandbox could be an amazing music option if it wasn’t located in such a seedy part of town. It’s the kind of place that Omaha has needed since the concrete bunker known as The Cog Factory — located just a couple blocks down the street — closed its doors for good. The room is a large open loft space covered in graffiti and spray paint with a makeshift stage constructed along a back wall. Couches surround the perimeter beneath windows that overlook the street below. In one corner sits a homemade bar with a small refrigerator filled with Pabst and BOXER, a beer that resembles beer only in name. Walk toward the back of the room and the floor ramps downward to a large dock door that opens into a back alley where people smoke, talk and piss. The Sandbox has a functioning bathroom, but it’s more like a bathroom you’d find in a college kid’s apartment than in a place of business. Bath towels were piled on the floor as if someone had just taken a shower in the bathtub that was concealed behind a mildewed curtain. A peek behind it revealed a patchwork of mold, filth and shampoo bottles. Later that evening, someone would take a dump in there.

Turns out The Sandbox isn’t really a venue at all, but someone’s home, and that this “show” was really just another in a series of house parties. There was probably a kitchen hidden somewhere, maybe behind the huge plastic tarp that blocked off an area near the stage. Whatever the Sandbox is, it’s a fun place to see a rock show – very laid-back despite looking like a squatters’ flat. In the crowd of 50 or so I recognized a lot of faces from nights at O’Leaver’s and The Brothers, midtown punks and rockers away from their usual haunts to support a trio of great bands: Baby Tears, The Blind Shake and The STNNNG.

Lucas Wright of Black Heart Booking books parties at The Sandbox, which turns out to be his pal Joe Benson’s apartment (and The Faint’s old practice space, The Orifice). Wright books larger punk shows at The Waiting Room and Slowdown, and uses The Sandbox for small gigs. Anal Cunt played there in April. So did Nappy Roots. And local band Snake Island! is hosting its CD release show there New Year’s Eve.

“A lot of people like the place,” Wright said. “The sound is usually pretty good (depending on who’s running it), the atmosphere is very casual and the space is just plain rad. It’s a nice alternative to the other spots in town, and all shows are all-ages with no notary BS to worry about.”

True, but what kind of parents would let their kids go to Whoreville to see a show late on a weekend night? I guess the same kind of parents that let kids go to the Cog Factory back in the day. Actually, what kid asks his parents permission to go to a punk show in the first place?

Despite its rep, there’s no reason to fear “Destination Midtown.” Probably. Besides, being scared is part of the fun.

By the time I left the Sandbox at around 1 a.m., the cops that had surrounded the convenience store were long gone. But like cockroaches hidden in the shadows, I’m sure the hookers were still out there in the cold, looking for someone’s banjo to play.

* * *

Tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s it’s James Leg a.k.a. John Wesley Meyers of Black Diamond Heavies out on a solo tour in support of his latest album, Solitary Pleasure, released in April on Alive Records. Check out “Drowning in Fire” below:

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/16787633″]

Show starts at the usual 9:30 and will run you $5. O’Leaver’s lists no other artist on this bill but Leg…

Also, it’s the third night of the December Gus & Call residency at Slowdown Jr. Tonight’s theme: Carmina Novum. Joining Gus & Call on the small stage are Dim Light, Laura Burhenn (of The Mynabirds) and Howard. $5, 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 353: The 7-Year Itch

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

With this column, Lazy-i turns 7. Since it began in The Reader Dec. 2, 2004 (with an interview with fresh young singer/songwriter Willy Mason, who had just signed to brand new label Team Love Records) a lot has changed. Some might say things have changed for the better (Never has there been more music available by more bands than right now); many would say they’ve changed for the worse (It’s now nearly impossible to make a living making music). Where we go from here is anyone’s guess, but one thing’s for certain, Lazy-i will be there (in one form or another) to tell the story. Thanks as always for readin’ and writin’ and speakin’ your mind. It’s your ideas that help power this ol’ steam boat. And now, a recap of last year’s top columns:

Column 301 – The Return of Omahype – The new, improved omahype.com survived its first year as Omaha’s foremost online curated events calendar. The fact that it made it this far in the face of all the other online competition is a credit to creators Laura Burhenn and Will Simons. Celebrate their achievement this Sunday night at Omahype’s annual Throwdown at The Slowdown.

Column 302 – From Russia with Rock – The interview with Mousetrap frontman Patrick Buchanan was conducted on the eve of the legendary Omaha punk band’s second reunion performance at The Waiting Room. During the show, hints were cast that Mousetrap might reform for good, and even create new music. A year later and the trap remains empty.

Column 307 – Hear Nebraska – Former Reader editor Andy Norman’s brainchild, hearnebraska.org, has only one goal: To promote Nebraska music. A year later and the site has grown on the strength of its video content as well as ongoing promotions, such as Hear Nebraska Vol. 1, the first in a series of all-Nebraska compilation CDs featuring the area’s best bands.

Column 309, 313, 325 – Bright Eyes – Or The New Adventures of Old Conor. After a solid year of touring his latest album, The People’s Key, there was talk that Oberst would hang up his Bright Eyes tights once and for all. Bollocks.

Column 314 – Red Sky Mining – Lots of people predicted that MECA’s mega-rock series, The Red Sky Music Festival, would bomb big time, and lots of people were right. Despite the festival’s disappointing turnout (and lineup), look for Red Sky 2012 at an empty ball park near you.

Column 315 – Adam Hawkins’ Encore – Like the intrepid groundhog who emerges from its winter lair, It’s True’s Adam Hawkins awakened from seeming obscurity to record and release his best album ever before taking a well-deserved bow and disappearing all over again.

Column 318 – The Fantastic Four – The area’s most creative acts – Icky Blossoms, Touch People, InDreama and Conduits – joined forces for a 4-song split 7-inch, but despite the overwhelming applause, three of the four bands have yet to formally release more music. That will change in 2012.

Column 320, 336, 337 – MAHA Returns – In the wake of a 100-year flood, Omaha’s premier music festival that used to call Lewis & Clark Landing home moved to higher ground at Aksarben Village. Though attendance numbers were flat, the enjoyment level was up, thanks in part to improved facilities and amazing headliner Guided By Voices. MAHA will be back – better than ever — at Aksarben in 2012.

Column 321, 333 – Omaha Girls Rock! – The organization designed to encourage young girls to pick up instruments and become rock stars – at least for one night – was a huge success judging by the grins on everyone’s faces at the organization’s inaugural performance at Slowdown. What will these girls do for an encore? Go to omahagirlsrock.com to find out.

Column 324 – Love Drunk Studio – Maybe the most dynamic new local web service to arrive in 2011, lovedrunkstudio.com provided free video services to every notable up-and-coming local artist. Chief videographer Django D-S perfected the one-take live performance video over the course of more than 60 takes. Now can he take the music video format to the next level?

Column 327 – What’s Going on at Team Love? – The indie label started by Conor Oberst and Nate Krenkel announced it was pulling back on new signings and new releases due to the economy and overall decline in the music industry. Team Love artists such as McCarthy Trenching found themselves releasing material on other labels. Is this the end? Hardly. Look for new Team Love offerings in 2012, including a new signing and release by one of the area’s most hyped bands.

Column 329, 330 – Wasted Youth – The chronicle of the return of The Shanks in all their piss-soaked, blood-soaked glory. The band’s two-night stand at O’Leaver’s and ensuing brawl was captured on video and lives in infamy on YouTube. Since then, the band and its audience have recovered, with no talk of a rematch.

Column 334 – Spotify This – The rise of Spotify and the other online digital music services continues to be the year’s big story. Will they save or kill the music industry? The jury is still out, though consensus is building that the promise of having every record at your fingertips will ultimately devalue and de-specialize music as we knew it.

Column 338 – Homer’s Closes Orchard Plaza – In the wake of Spotify’s launch, Omaha’s oldest independent record retail chain announced that it was closing yet another storefront. Homer’s General Manager Mike Fratt didn’t blame digital downloads for the contraction, however, he blamed the box stores, who are now exiting the market. That, along with a resurgence in vinyl, provide a glimmer of hope for Homer’s future.

Column 340, 341 – Depressed Buttons – Omaha learned how to dance again with the opening of House of Loom and the return of The Faint in the form of Depressed Buttons. The trio of Clark Baechle, Todd Fink and Jacob Thiele have enjoyed capacity crowds at their monthly Loom performances, though this timid critic has yet to get his groove on. Will that change in 2012? Stay tuned.

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It’s the second night of the December Gus & Call residency at Slowdown Jr. Tonight’s theme: Surf & Sand. Joining Gus & Call on the small stage are professional body surfers Capgun Coup and Sun Settings. I’m not sure how this week’s theme will present itself, but whatever they do, it should be a nice break from the snow and ice of the past week. $5, 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.