The National Independent Venues Association (NIVA) is making another push for you and me to write our representatives in Washington to get the Save Our Stages Act included in the next COVID-19 relief package, which is apparently being negotiated now.

All you have to do is go to this web page and fill out the form. You can use their sample letter or write one of your own. Once you hit the submit button, it’ll go to the right offices of your Congressional representatives. It really does only take 30 seconds and it could make all the difference.

Click this, go there, and do it now.

Along those lines, the November issue of The Reader is out now with my column that focuses on the Save Our Stages efforts while asking if we’ve taken live music for granted. It’s online at The Reader website, here and I’ve also included it below. Please to enjoy:

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Have We Taken Live Music for Granted?

#SaveOurStages is a lifeline for the live music industry

As I type this I’m watching the Save Our Stages Fest (#SOSFest) on Oct. 21, a few weeks before the election. Indie phenom Phoebe Bridgers and her band are dressed in skeleton costumes played alone in the West Hollywood bar where Elton John, Joni Mitchell and Linda Ronstadt paid their dues.

Singer/songwriter pals Conor Oberst and Christian Lee Hutson joined in the streamed event. A little over halfway through the set between songs about death and loneliness Phoebe turned to the camera and said, “Click the donate button because….” After a long pause Conor chimed in: “Because we need a place to play.”

That was the reason for SOS Fest. The three-day virtual festival featured 35 artists performing at 25 venues beamed directly to your computer or phone screen, with proceeds benefiting independent music venues impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As you read this, the election is (hopefully) over. No matter who won, there’s still a shit-ton of problems to solve thanks to COVID-19. Somewhere on that long list after “figure out a way to keep people from dying (or at the very least from catching the disease)” is “figure out a way to reopen the rest of the country for business.”

While 90 percent of U.S. businesses have reopened, the first businesses to shut down — the bars and music venues — are still closed. And many could stay that way for a very long time.

Beginning in April, the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) — a group of more than 2,900 independent music venues and promoters — has lobbied Congress to pass legislation that provides recovery funds and tax credits to help venues survive during the pandemic. First it was the Save Our Stages Act, which passed in the House; and now the HEROES Small Business Lifeline Act is being considered in the Senate as part of the CARES Act.

NIVA asked music fans to write their lawmakers urging them to support the bills, and they have to the tune of nearly 2 million emails. (And more letters are needed. You can write your representative from this handy page on the NIVA website. It only takes 30 seconds!).

But here we are on Oct. 21 and Congress has yet to pass anything, while the future of the live music industry grows bleaker and bleaker. According to a survey of NIVA members, 90 percent of independent venues will close permanently without federal aid in the coming months.

We’re already seeing it here. The Lookout Lounge on 72nd Street closed permanently earlier this summer, and The Barley Street Tavern in Benson gave up the ghost in September. What role COVID-19 played in those closings is uncertain, though it no doubt helped rush some decisions. Now I’m told a third well known club is on the verge of shutting down.

And while two of the best stages in Omaha — The Waiting Room and Reverb Lounge — have reopened, they’re only booking comedy acts and cover bands at very limited capacity shows. Downtown showcase The Slowdown held an outdoor festival in its parking lot featuring local acts just to remind people it was still there, though its doors remain locked.

With stages dark, musicians also toil in darkness. According to Business Insider, with the decline in album sales, live events provide 75 percent of all artists’ income. Strangely, thankfully, a ton of new music has been released during the lock down (including albums by Bright Eyes and Phoebe Bridgers) despite the fact that no one is touring.

Three things:

One: Legislation will pass. It has to. It may not be ’til after a new Congress is in place (or heck, it may happen before this column sees print), but it will happen. Too many people have been without for too long. The assistance needed for bars and venues to survive that’s outlined in SOS and HEROES acts will be among the law’s provisions. But it won’t be near enough.

Two: We will climb this mountain of a pandemic and come out on the other side. But it’ll take more than a vaccine. It’ll take a concerted effort by everyone, regardless of political leaning, to do what scientists say we need to do.

And three: Venues will reopen at full capacity, and bands will begin playing and touring again. But, god help us, it may not be until this time next year, or even later. And when the smoke clears, the venue landscape will look very different.

Once people feel safe again, fans will flock to clubs like they never have before thanks to a hunger for live entertainment. But you’ll be surprised how quickly people forget what they’ve been through.

The sad fact is we’ve always taken live music for granted. While ticket prices for arena shows have gone up around 30 percent over the past five years, according to Fast Company those increases haven’t kept up with prices for other forms of entertainment.

It’s the same story for small touring bands that, prior to the pandemic, were lucky to get home from tours with anything in their pockets. Ticket prices for touring indie shows have risen only gradually over the past five years, always being outpaced by the costs required to tour.

And then there are local shows.

I’ve covered live music for more than 30 years. When I started, the cover charge to see live, original bands was $5. Thirty years later, the cover at small clubs is still $5 for local shows, while some larger venues have pumped it up to a whopping $7 or $8. Try splitting that between three bands and a sound guy.

Why are we willing to spend up to $15 to see a movie, but won’t spend $15 to see a live local band, to hear music performed in front of our eyes by living, breathing musicians who put themselves out there for our amusement and/or enlightenment? At the end of a typical night at a rock club, too many local bands go home with nothing except an empty wallet and a hangover.

And yet, I’ve never talked to a band that didn’t want to keep doing it. For them, it’s all about the music. It’s certainly not about the money. Why can’t they have both?

Over The Edge is a monthly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, music, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com.

Originally published in The Reader, November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily (if there’s news) 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 © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Who doesn’t like an awards show, especially one focused on music?

No, I’m not talking about The Grammy’s, I’m talkin’ ’bout the Libera Awards, brought to you by the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), the trade group for the indie music industry.

For the first time, the awards show is going to be streamed live for free, tonight starting at 5:30 p.m.

It’s sort of like the Grammy’s for indie rock. For example, the bands nominated for Album of the Year: FKA Twigs, Angel Olsen, Brittany Howard, Orville Peck and Big Thief. Big Thief, formerly on our very own Saddle Creek Records (now on 4AD), also is nominated for Best Alternative Rock album, and will be performing live at the ceremony.

Once again this year, Saddle Creek Records has been nominated for the Label of the Year (Medium) award, alongside 4AD, ATO, Sacred Bones and Drag City. Will the Creek take home the coveted Libera? You’ll have to tune in to find out. Register for free here.

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Also tonight, Omaha legend Dereck Higgins is performing a virtual concert streamed live from The Bemis Center’s Low End performance space.

“For his performance, he will play a variety of his electronic compositions with live accompaniment as well as improvise several ambient pieces created on the spot,” Bemis writes. The stream begins via Facebook and Twitch (twitch.com/bemiscenter) starting at 8 p.m.

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Finally, this month’s Over the Edge column in The Reader is all about the fashion of face masks, and includes an interview with Fashion Institute Midwest’s Denise Ervin. Who would have thought Billie Eilish and Gucci could be so precog as to know face masks would become fashion staples months before the pandemic? Read the column here.

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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 © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There hasn’t been a heckuva lot to write about music wise over the past few weeks. At some point we’re going to start to get an idea how the clubs are going to react to COVID in regards to reopening their stages, but who knows when that’s going to happen.

You saw what Slowdown is doing in the interim, and while it’ll be a fun distraction amidst this void in live entertainment, it is by no means a true replacement. BTW, someone asked where the money’s going for those Slowdown shows, and the answer is the bands and crew, according to Slowdown’s Jason Kulbel.

In the meantime, if you haven’t gone to NIVA website and sent a letter to your reps in Washington telling them to get off their asses and help save live music, you should. The link is right here. It’ll take you 30 seconds.

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Speaking of live streams, there is one tonight being brought to you by the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, specifically the folks who opened Low End late last year. Tonight they’re hosting a live stream featuring the noise/art/rock act FXTHR^ a.k.a. Dustin Bushon. Joining him is visual artist Alex Myers.

The stream begins at 8 p.m. You can watch live on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bemiscenter/ and Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/bemiscenter . More info here.

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Last but not least, due to a back-office/clerical/editorial error, my Over the Edge column wasn’t published in the May issue of The Reader, which was devoted to writers’ COVID-related experiences. The column is online, however. Read about how I’m adapting to COVID-19 and learn about a 1971 film starring Charlton Heston. Check it out. I should be back in the printed pages of The Reader next month, barring any more snafus…

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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 © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Well, it’s not like I haven’t been doing anything.

Look for my annual Music Year in Review article and 2020 Predictions article in the coming days online here and in The Reader, where it’ll also be published in the January issue. It’s a ton of writing (about 3,500 words, if they don’t cut it).

This being an historic day, I thought I’d share with you my Over the Edge column in the current issue of The Reader, wherein I reflect on how I was lambasted by my co-workers during the last impeachment, and how folks a few floors above me came to the rescue. That one’s online right here.

And speaking of impeachment-related news, Matt Whipkey today released a new Unexplained Death song via Bandcamp called “Lindsey,” and you can guess what it’s about. When is Unexplained Death going to perform at one of these Iowa political rallies that are all the rage these days? I could definitely see these guys open for Bernie…

Saddle Creek Records’ act Tomberlin teamed up with DIIV for a cover of Low song “Words” off the 1994 Low album I Could Live in Hope. The fact that these two artists covered Low gives me hope that one of my all-time favorite bands’ music will live on for another generation.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’m catching up on a couple columns that appeared in The Reader over the past couple months but only just went online. First is this month’s column. I’ve written variations on this theme a number of times over the past 15 years, this idea that digital music has forever changed the way we listen to music. But this time I include critics.

When I was much younger I used to love to peruse the album reviews in Rolling Stone, SPIN, Option, Magnet and a slew of other printed publications. The only one of the above that still exists in printed form is Rolling Stone, and their reviews are little more than capsule summaries with a star rating. As I say in the column, while I rely on Pitchfork and Stereogum as well as the never-aging grand bard of critics Robert Christgau (you can now subscribe to his writings online here), I’m just as apt to catch recommendations in Facebook and Twitter as anywhere else. In fact, you may recognize a couple people I namecheck in the column as folks whose opinion I value (It wasn’t until after I filed the article that I realized, hey, 99 percent of my column’s readers have no idea who I’m talking about).

Anyway, read the column in the current issue of The Reader, on newsstands now, or online right here.

The October column also is online, which asks the question: “Does the art change once you discover that the artist is an asshole?” Woody Allen, Ryan Adams and Aziz Ansari are subjects of discussion, among others. I have always separated art from the artist. Social media is now making that more difficult, as we all know. And in the end, it might be yet another reason why it’s time to unplug your Facebook account. You can read that column online right here.

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If you’re involved in music at all in Omaha you already follow Ian Aeillo in Facebook and Twitter. If you don’t, you need to. Ian, who is a veteran musician and something of a scene legend, is the sound engineer at The Sydney and also works with bands on occasion.

One of them is Louisiana band Ghost Foot, who will be playing at fabulous O’Leavers this Friday night. Ian shared a new track by Ghost Foot called “Leaving Omaha,” which is destined to join the ranks of other Omaha-themed songs by the likes of Counting Crows, Moby Grape and Desaparecidos.

This one’s less a celebration of our city and more of a sordid snapshot taken by someone who lived to tell about it, with the lyrics:

Leaving Omaha

I’m leaving Omaha
With just my clothes
And all the powder
I put up my nose

I lost my girlfriend
I lost my wife
I lost my billfold
In that great good life

I’m leaving Omaha
Dead sick in my shoes
With a big head
All filled up with blues

I lost a song there
I lost a dream
I gained a nightmare
A few friends and a scene

But the sun
The sun is still shining
And the rain
The rain will still come

Let the bombs
All fall on the big world
As ashes
We all will become

Here’s the track, below. See them sing it live Friday night at O’Leaver’s.

Then there’s Ian’s project Flight School. After photos of Trump’s childlike handwritten notes exploded on the internet like a sad American meme yesterday morning, Flight School took those notes and created “I Want Nothing,” a track that accurately captures this moment in our country’s unfortunate history. As Mr. Trump would say, enjoy:

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The following Over the Edge column also is in the printed version of the June issue of The Reader. It hasn’t gone on their site yet, and I don’t know if it will (but it probably will). Perfect for #TBT…

Lasting Impressions
A Look Back to 2008 Shows the More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

By Tim McMahan

As I was putting together my top 20 list of favorite local bands for this, the annual Music Issue of The Reader, it dawned on me that many of the names looked, um … familiar.

I did a little research and discovered we began putting together top 20 lists way back in the October 2006 issue of The Reader. It was a novel idea that, if memory serves me, came about after bouncing concepts back and forth between myself and then-Reader music editor Andy Norman (who these days heads stellar nonprofit Rabble Mill, including remnants of Hear Nebraska, which I’m told will rise again, but that’s another story …).

Despite digging through my closet of yellowed Reader back issues, I couldn’t find that 2006 issue or that first top 20 list. I did find in my archives my 2008 top 20 and “Next 15” lists, and to my surprise discovered many of the same acts are on my 2019 list.

How did those 2008 top 20 bands fare a decade later? Let’s take a look:

Brad Hoshaw — Hoshaw, who’s on the 2019 list, is putting the finishing touches on an album recorded in Redwood Studio in Denton, Texas.

Brimstone Howl — Fronted by John Ziegler, the band evolved into The Lupines, who are on the 2019 list.

Conor Oberst remains Conor Oberst, and is on the 2019 list.

Eagle*Seagull — Fronted by singer/songwriter Eli Mardock, at the time the band was thought to be Nebraska’s “next big thing,” but broke up in 2010. Mardock and his wife, Carrie, also a former member of Eagle*Seagull, now run the Royal Grove in Lincoln. Eli just released a new project on Warner Music Germany called The Kiez with Hamburg native Lucas Kochbeck.

The Faint — Also on the 2019 list.

Filter Kings — Omaha’s favorite (and only?) outlaw-country band disappeared a few years after making this list, but occasionally makes a stage appearance fronted by the legendary Gerald Lee Jr.

Flowers Forever — Led by Derek Pressnall, who also was a member of Tilly and the Wall. Pressnall now fronts Saddle Creek Records band Icky Blossoms, which hasn’t produced new music since 2015’s Mask.

For Against — The ’80s-era Lincoln dream pop band re-emerged in 2008 and 2009 with new records, and then submerged itself once again. Indie labels Captured Tracks and Saint Marie Records reissued a number of their early recordings in recent years.

The Good Life — The other project of Cursive’s Tim Kasher currently is on hiatus while Cursive barnstorms the country supporting its new album, Vitriola. Cursive is on the 2019 list.

Malpais — Whatever happened to frontman Greg Loftis? Check the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.

McCarthy Trenching — Dan McCarthy remains Omaha’s favorite troubadour, recently having one of his songs covered by none other than Phoebe Bridgers and Jackson Browne.

Midwest Dilemma — The folk-rock project by singer/songwriter Justin Lamoureux has yet to follow up the release of 2008 album Timelines & Tragedies.

The Monroes — One of the many musical projects of Gary Dean Davis, former frontman of ’90s tractor-punk legends Frontier Trust. The Monroes folded, and Davis re-emerged in The Wagon Blasters, who are on the 2019 list.

Neva Divona — The project of frontman Jake Bellows appears to be on permanent hiatus. Bellows now lives in Los Angeles and plays in Supermoon with Morgan Nagler of Whispertown.

The Show Is the Rainbow a.k.a. Darren Keen is living and working in Lincoln again after spending years in Brooklyn.

Son, Ambulance is still alive and kicking and, rumor has it, working on a new set of songs.

Thunder Power continued to play and record music through 2012 before disbanding.

Tilly and the Wall — The tap-dance powered phenoms haven’t released an album since 2012’s Heavy Mood (Team Love Records).

UUVVWWZ — The Lincoln-based art-rock project followed its self-titled Saddle Creek Records debut with 2013’s The Trusted Language. Last I heard frontwoman Teal Gardner was living and making art in Boise, Idaho. Guitarist Jim Schroeder is in a number of Omaha projects, including The David Nance Group, which is on the 2019 list.

The Whipkey Three — Matt Whipkey is on the 2019 list.

From 2008’s “The Next 15” list, Simon Joyner, Little Brazil and Talkin’ Mountain’s Jason Steady all made the 2019 list.

That makes 11 artists from 2008 with connections to this year’s top 20 list.

Back then, I introduced these lists with an essay that said, to paraphrase myself, “Lists don’t matter,” written (I suppose) to appease those who weren’t on it. A decade later, I can tell you that lists do matter if only to provide a guidepost in an era when we’re surrounded by too many paths.

Beyond the fundamental arguments we’re all familiar with about streaming music — that the sound quality is sub-par, that it cheats artists who could have made money by selling physical copies (which is bogus for young acts. How many bands do you know with unopened cases of their albums moldering in their basement?) — the biggest conundrum is there’s just too much of it. Anyone can release an album on Bandcamp or one of the streaming services, but few can get people to actually listen to it.

Lists like the top 20 point people to the good stuff, at least as it’s perceived by the publication or critic. It cuts through a mighty dense fog, and you can either follow the light or move on to the next lighthouse.

The fact that 12 of the Top 20 artists this year were on the 2008 list can be viewed as evidence of the lethargy of our scene, of how little things have changed in a decade.

But it also can be viewed as proof of that old list’s accuracy. These artists are still around, they’re still creating high-quality music, they’re still making a difference — if not with their own creations, then by influencing others on the list who have joined them.

Over The Edge is a monthly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, music, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com.

First published in the June 2019 issue of The Reader. Copyright © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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If that wasn’t #TBT enough for you, Built to Spill returns to The Waiting Room tonight to perform seminal 1992 album Keep it Like a Secret. Orua and Clark and the Himselfs also are on the bill. $25, 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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Ten years later this message still applies. And while I’m no less enamored with music — old or new — I’ve slowed down when it comes to going to shows, both because of work-related reasons and the fact that there simply are fewer indie shows these days (though things are looking up).

One other side note: A local musician recently asked me to help promote an upcoming show in Lazy-i and asked if I knew other channels that might be appropriate. I mentioned a couple folks with strong social media presences and strong connections to the scene. It dawned on me afterward both people I mentioned were in their 60s, and I’m in my 50s. Where are all the young champions for local music and shows?

Column 208: Greasy Kid’s Stuff
Age and music.
Lazy-i, Feb. 5, 2009

I was feeling just fine about everything until Barack decided to join in with his “Let us set aside childish things” rant during the inauguration. What exactly was he saying? Who was he talking to?

After awhile, it does begin to pile up. The whole age thing never occurs to me unless someone else mentions it — directly or indirectly.

Last week a friend who works at The City Weekly pointed out that Mike Fratt “went after me” in his column. Really? By name? No, he never used your name, my friend said. He merely referenced “Omaha’s own aging indie-hipster blogger street weekly writer…” I was flattered that Mike would think anyone would even know who he was talking about (and without that knowledge, a reader would think Fratt was being self-deprecating instead of just snarky — he is, after all, considerably older than I am).

A week before that, I was at a local watering hole listening to a band when one of the city’s better musicians said, not off-handedly, “Why would a 20-year-old want to know what a 40-year-old guy thinks about new music?” He was making a point about himself, of course; about how he thinks no one cares what his favorite music was from 2008 (but we do). I’m sure the fact that I’m in my 40s and still write about indie music never crossed his mind. Did it?

And then there was the time I was speaking in front of a class alongside a former mover-and-shaker in local music retail. I asked him what he thought of Saddle Creek Records. He said he only listens to blues these days. “I outgrew that stuff a long time ago.”

It comes down to the notion that rock music — specifically new rock music — should only be enjoyed by young people. That people beyond their 20s (some say beyond their teens) should have moved on from listening to rock or any music for that matter.

I remember as a teen-ager listening to albums with my headphones on, wondering how much I’d miss it when I got older because, well, “old people” don’t listen to music. Certainly my dad didn’t.

That same backward thinking applies to rock shows — when are you too old to go see a band (other than a dinosaur act at the Qwest Center)? Is it when your friends quit going to shows? Or when you have kids and reprioritize your life so that music no longer plays a role? I can’t speak to the issue of getting married and having a family. I can say that a lot of people I know put music away when their children arrived, and use their family life as an excuse for not going out any more (or doing anything creative, for that matter). And that’s fine. Chances are even if they didn’t have kids they would have quit going to shows anyway. Rare is the person who can continue to “get into” new music after they reach their 30s. That’s just the way it is.

I made that point on my blog, and one reader took offense. He said he used to go to shows at The Cog Factory and Kilgore’s before moving to Chicago and getting involved in the music business himself. He ended up in California “…and then, I had kids. Now you can chalk it up as an ‘excuse’ to ‘quit’ the pursuit of music-passion (or other cultural endeavors), but I actually blame it as much on not only a re-prioritizing of priorities as I do finances,” he said in an email. “When you’ve got a young mouth (or in my case two young mouths) to feed, given the choice between buying groceries or going out to a club to see a band play and then proceed to spend $25 on drinks….well, the choice should be pretty clear.”

I guess it’s like those commercials say: “Having a baby changes everything.” I don’t doubt that. Still, this guy said he continues to subscribe to Magnet and The Big Takeover, and makes notes about bands that might interest him. That alone makes him a rarity. Because most people I know who have kids go home after work and sit in front of the TV for five hours and then go to sleep. Every night. They feel entitled. They’ve worked hard all day, they want to come home and “unwind.” These are people in their late 20s and 30s (and 40s). And before they know it, they’re in their 50s and 60s and then they’re dead. But, dammit, they accomplished something. They raised those kids. And that’s more than I can say for myself.

Would I still be going to shows if I had kids? Well, not 80 to 100 shows a year, but yeah, I’d like to think that I’d definitely make it out at least a couple times a month. But we’ll never know.

Age isn’t so much a state of mind as it is surrendering to a state of mind. I don’t think my personal writing guru, former Village Voice columnist and now Rolling Stone critic Robert Christgau, who’ll turn 67 in April, thought for a second about what was appropriate for someone his age to listen to when he was reviewing the latest albums by Glasvegas (which he gave in A) or Jay Reatard (which he gave an A-). Is he worried that a 20-year-old might scoff at his opinion? I don’t think it crossed his mind. It certainly doesn’t cross mine when I’m writing about the new Animal Collective or Ladyfinger CDs or watching Stolen Kisses or Perry H. Matthews.

Nor should it. Rock was never meant to be only a young man’s game. Just ask this aging indie-hipster blogger street weekly writer. — Lazy-i Feb. 5, 2009, this also was published in The City Weekly at around the same time.

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By the way, Robert Christgau has a new book out called Is It Still Good to Ya?: Fifty Years of Rock Criticism, 1967-2017, which is definitely worth your time, not to mention his XGau Sez entries, which are somewhat awesome. He’s not slowing down at all.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The New Era at Saddle Creek Records continues with yesterday’s announcement that the label signed Portland’s Black Belt Eagle Scout.

The project is headed by singer/songwriter Katherine Paul, who “grew up in a small Indian reservation, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, surrounded by family focused on native drumming, singing, and arts,” according to the Creek press release.

Her Saddle Creek debut, Mother of My Children, is actually a re-release of an album that came out a year ago. Maybe you caught BBES when they opened for Built to Spill earlier this year? That was around the time when Saddle Creek was considering the band (or so they said. Maybe they’d already made a decision). At the time Mother of My Children was already in Spotify, and I can attest that it’s pretty tasty (It has since been pulled from Spotify, durn).

Anyway, the re-release comes out Sept. 14 and you can pre-order it here.

So let’s see, last month Saddle Creek signed Tomberline; then there’s Young Jesus and Stef Chura signed late last year, not to mention a new Sam Evian album that came out June 1. Holy smokes, what’s next? Saddle Creek is really making year 25 count.

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I may have gotten too clever for my own good with the title of this month’s Over the Edge column: Fable of the Reconstruction. While those of you who followed indie music back in the day will immediately recognize it as a reference to the 1985 album Fables of the Reconstruction, it has nothing to do with R.E.M. Rather, it’s a look at a post-Trump America. It’s never too soon to dream (All it’ll take is for you to get off your ass and vote). You can read online right here or in its printed July issue, on newsstands now.

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Tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s it’s the return of Quintron & Miss Pussycat. From the Prospect New Orleans website:

Quintron has been making genre-defying noise, soundscape, and house rocking dance music in New Orleans for over 20 years. The majority of his fifteen full-length albums, many created with artist / puppeteer Panacea Theriac (aka Miss Pussycat), have the psychedelic soul of New Orleans party jams as filtered through tough distorted organs and a junk heap of self-made electronic instruments.

Rusty Lord opens (replacing Sucettes). $10, 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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This was posted in The Reader yesterday (here), so you might already have seen it. It’s also in the printed edition, which hits the streets this week. I include it here for posterity (so if The Reader ever goes belly-up, it’ll still be online somewhere, cuz Lazy-i is forever). The infamous “Predictions” story goes online at The Reader this afternoon. I’ll post it here tomorrow.

Did I forget to say Happy New Year? Happy New Year! We go back to regular programming on Wednesday with a review of Saturday night’s Little Brazil/Criteria show at The Waiting Room. See you then.

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2017: The Year in Music

It’s been a turbulent year for local indie music, a year marked by highs, lows and everything in between.

We’ll get to all that, but first we can’t overlook the obvious: It’s been another great year for new music. While whispers of a dying music industry have been echoing around us for over a decade, more remarkable music was produced last year than in recent memory. So much that it’s impossible to keep up with it all.

In the old days, if you were an indie music fan like me, all you had to do to keep up with the good stuff was know your record labels; but these days I’m starting to wonder if labels are going the way of the dinosaur.

Case in point, open your Spotify app on your phone or your desktop and pull up a playlist. You’ll find a list of band names, a list of titles, but you’ve really gotta dig to figure out which record label an artist is signed to. To folks who consume music via streaming services, record labels don’t matter and probably never did.

But for others, record labels meant everything. Before streaming, serious indie fans purchased music based on record label alone. If the artist was on, for examples, Matador or Sub Pop or 4AD or Rhymesayers or Saddle Creek, a purchase was made with nary a note heard, because you trusted the labels’ taste in artists. And sometimes you blew it but most times you got your money’s worth.

Streaming is changing everything. I mean, does anyone even buy music anymore?

Midway through 2017, the American music industry boasted revenue growth of 17 percent, with retail income at $4 billion. The numbers were fueled not by records sales, but by more than 30 million subscriptions to streaming services that now comprise 62 percent of the total music market, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Physical sales of vinyl and CDs only comprised 16 percent of music industry revenue through mid-year.

“More than any other creative industry, music is a digital business, with approximately 80% of our revenues coming from a wide array of digital services,” said the RIAA in its mid-year press release.

And yet, labels are still very much with us. Case in point: Our own Saddle Creek Records enjoyed a robust year, signing new acts Stef Chura and Young Jesus while basking in the glow of the continued success of new-hires Hop Along and especially Big Thief, whose release, Capacity, is on every prominent music journal’s “best of” list, from Rolling Stone to Pitchfork.

With a just-opened office in Los Angeles, what does Saddle Creek Records have up its sleeve for 2018?

Saddle Creek’s resurgence wasn’t the only local headline last year. Among the other noteworthy stories in 2017:

• In September DIY music club Milk Run was shut down, apparently for good. According to a Hear Nebraska report, cops showed up during the Nebraska Hardcore Showcase and locked down the cavernous show space, located in the basement of Midtown Art Supply at 2578 Harney. The building’s landlord said no more, and while the remaining schedule of Milk Run shows were performed in venues around mid-town, a new location has yet to be identified. Is this the end of Milk Run?
• Local musicians Orenda Fink, Simon Joyner and Noah Sterba were ensconced in controversy over their music and their performances, driven in part by outspoken critics organized in Facebook. The issues involved race, accusations of cultural approbation and artistic freedom, and the impacts are likely to be felt well into the future, unfortunately.
• Nebraska music non-profit Hear Nebraska joined forces with Lincoln non-profit The Bay to form a new umbrella organization called Rabble Mill, which launched Jan. 1. Rabble Mill’s goal is to enable kids to “discover their passion and build valuable life and professional skills.” Hear Nebraska, which was formed in 2010, will continue as part of Rabble Mill, but expect to see a lot of changes.
• After operating for more than a year as a hush-hush private club, Hi-Fi House finally went public in September. The spacious high-end music listening room, located at 3724 Farnam St. in the Blackstone District, offers access to its ever-growing, massive private vinyl collection as well as other special programming. Founder Kate Dussault said the Omaha Hi-Fi House is merely the first of what she hopes will be a nationwide network of private listening rooms.
• Speaking of indie labels, in January, the guys from Cursive — Tim Kasher, Matt Maginn and Ted Stevens — launched their own label, 15 Passenger Records. Their first release was Kasher’s third solo album, No Resolution, while the label closed out the year by reissuing Cursive’s first two albums with promises of new Cursive material in the near future.
• And finally, Omaha’s two best music venues — The Waiting Room and The Slowdown — celebrated their 10 year anniversaries this summer. Both venues have been stalwarts of the local music scene as well as conduits that brought the nation’s best indie music to Omaha for the past decade.

Which brings us to the “list” part of the Year in Review.

As mentioned above, last year was as strong a year as I can remember for indie releases (located right here); Still, last year I went to fewer rock shows than any year since the ’90s, when indie music was underground (literally). I likely missed more shows than I saw, but that said, here are my favorite shows from 2017:

Umm at Reverb Lounge, April 13 — Umm is a new project by Stef Drootin and Chris Sensensey that sounds nothing like their other band, Big Harp. The rock style, the blistering pace, the guitar/bass tones, even Senseney’s voice — now cool and easy — was a big contrast to the grave-pit vocals heard on Big Harp albums.

Jon Langford & Friends at O’Leaver’s, May 29 — Langford of The Mekons performed a cracking set that included songs from his upcoming album as well as some Mekons’ gold and songs from his Waco Brothers project. I was expecting a C&W set, but Langford’s style was more of a rootsy British folk-meets-rock mix.

David Nance at The Sydney, July 10— His guitar work was already respected — ranging from big riffs to lead fills to walls of feedback — now his voice is taking center stage. The only comparison in my mind is early Jon Spencer, and Nance does have a similar stage appeal, albeit hidden behind that huge head of hair.

Tobin Sprout at Reverb Lounge, July 21— What I love about his and Guided By Voices’ songs, beyond the riffs and bright, energetic melodies, is their brevity. Sprout songs rarely last longer than three minutes. Get in, get out, move on. And though the crowd was small, it was lively, comprised mostly of old-time fans who weren’t afraid to pump their fists or pogo or cheer when one of their favorites began.

Those Far Out Arrows at Slowdown Jr., Aug. 8 — I knew they were getting to this very young crowd (who, btw, likely never heard of TFOAs prior to this show) when the pack in front of the stage naturally erupted into a pseudo-mosh pit, pushing and shoving and jumping along with one of the band’s mid-set songs. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen that at a garage-rock show.

Stephen Sheehan at Reverb Lounge, Aug. 18 — The frontman to ’80s-’90s post-punk bands Digital Sex and The World, Sheehan surrounded himself with a talented group of musicians who brought his musical past to life. Fans heard the best of Digital Sex, including “In Her Smile,” “Roses on Wednesday,” “The Days Go” and “Red Girl,” but the most daring and provocative moments were The World songs that showcased guitarist Ben Sieff at his revved-up best.

Maha Music Festival at Stinson Park, Aug. 19 — Another banner year for Omaha’s best music festival, highlights included Belle & Sebastian, Downtown Boys, local heroes High Up and The Faint, while headliner Run the Jewels had its set cut short by the weather. How will Maha top it for its 10th anniversary?

Beck at Stir Cove, Sept. 9 — Highlights of his flawless performance included “Qué Onda Güero,” which turned the place into a dance party, and a smoking version of “Dreams.” And then there was “Loser,” a shopping-mall anthem for the dad-rock set that got the crowd singing along with gusto.

Sextile at Meatball, Sept. 16 — A raging electronic No Wave sound barrage, chaotic and fierce, they reminded me of the very early days of The Faint, though the venue made it feel (and look) like an in-store.

Tears of Silver at Hi-Fi House, Oct. 2 — Fronted by Posies’ Ken Stringfellow and Mercury Rev’s Jonathan Donahue, the band played a set that included covers of songs by Neil Young, Flaming Lips and Al Kooper, as well as favorites by the members’ respective bands: Posies, Mercury Rev and Midlake, closing the night with a Big Star cover. Sublime.

Zola Jesus at The Waiting Room, Oct. 11 — This goth-tinged dance party was fueled by dark pop songs with big beats, thick bass and Rosa Danilova’s amazing voice that (to me) recalled early Sinead O’Connor.

Minneapolis Uranium Club at Pet Shop Gallery, Dec. 9 — This is what would happen if a computer scientist digitally combined Devo, The Dismemberment Plan and Wall of Voodoo into one diabolic sound file — quirky, jittery, precise (and fast) post-punk guitar rock combined with smart, ironic observations about our devolving society and the world around us. And they freakin’ rocked.

First published in The Reader, Dec. 31, 2017. © Copyright 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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Hey, don’t forget to enter to win a copy of Lazy-i Best of 2017 Comp CD!

The collection includes my favorite indie tunes I’ve come across throughout last year as part of my tireless work as a music critic for Lazy-i. Among those represented: Luna, CLOSENESS, Slowdive, !!!, Digital Leather, Perfume Genius, Big Thief, Wilder Maker and lots more. The full track listing is here, or take a listen if you have Spotify.

So the big news is you, too, could win a copy of the CD. To enter, either: 1. Send an email with your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com, or 2) Write a comment on one of my Lazy-i related posts in Facebook, or 3) Retweet a Lazy-i tweet. You also can enter by sending me a direct message in Facebook or Twitter. Hurry, contest deadline is midnight Jan. 5.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

We’re doing things a lil’ bit differently this year. I usually consolidate my favorite albums list with my Year in Review and favorite rock shows list, all in one package, published in The Reader. This year I split out the album selections, where were published in the December issue of The Reader (right here) for reasons detailed below. The annual Year in Review and 2018 Predictions articles will both appear in the January issue of The Reader, and eventually online here.

The Ones that Stuck with Me
Favorite albums of 2017

We used to close out the year at The Reader with our “Year in Review” issue, but after we went from a weekly to a monthly publication a year ago the editors moved the “year in review” to the January issue. I guess it’s a completists’ approach, so as to be able to include December releases.

My problem: By the time January rolls around I’ve already turned my back on the previous year and am looking with unbridled optimism toward the the future.

As such, I’m breaking the rules. Below is my year-end list of favorite indie music releases, right here, right now. Apologies to the missing Decemberists (Is that where the band got its name?).

Despite the fact that live indie music began to wane in Omaha this past year, the number of indie music releases in 2017 has to be some sort of record. It was virtually impossible to keep up with all of them, which is why I’m not calling this a “best of 2017” list. Of the hundreds of releases I listened to last year, these are the ones that stuck with me, and that I suggest you investigate further.

Strand of Oaks, Hard Love (Dead Oceans) — This strong follow-up to 2014’s HEAL finds Tim Showalter at his epic best a la The Who, though he could use a little more Townshend to cut through all the Daltrey.

SUSTO, & I’m Fine Today (Caroline) —Frontman Justin Osborne’s voice is at times the spitting image of Jackson Browne’s, though musically the band veers between that Laurel Canyon sunset rock and more modern indie. It’s a surprising record.

Sheer Mag, Need to Feel Your Love (Wilsuns RC) — Kind of reminds me of The Ark combined with Butch Walker and modern garage rock but fronted by a firecracker of a lead singer in Tina Halladay, whose pouty growl is unforgettable.

NE-HI, Offers (Grand Jury) — Jangle-buzz garage rock recorded live to capture that house-show energy, though no recording can match their real live show.

Alvvays, Antisocialites (Polyvinyl) — Lilting, pulsing indie pop powered by frontwoman Molly Rankin’s sweet, shy croon, if FM radio (really) still existed, this would be on heavy rotation everywhere (and “Dreams Tonite” would be this generation’s prom song).

Ted Leo, The Hanged Man (self-release) — Ambitious double LP by way of Kickstarter is everything his old fans want and new fans need. Smart, catchy, snarky.

Young Jesus, S/T (Gigantic Noise / Saddle Creek) — Beyond the obvious indie pop, they try their hand at long-form epics that recall droner acts like The New Year/Bedhead and Red House Painters, and succeed. Now on Saddle Creek.

Uranium Club, All of Them Naturals (Static Shock/Fashionable Idiots) — Brittle post-punk a la early Devo w/guitars instead of digitals. Quirky, jagged and fast as a 45, this slim EP is worth finding.

Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile, Lotta Sea Lice (Matador) — Two of Matador’s best songwriters together, so what could possibly go wrong? I found myself wanting more Courtney and less Kurt, but in the end, the combination was peanut butter and chocolate all over again.

Beck, Colors (Capitol) —Vilified by some who wanted another drowsy Morning Phase, for me it’s the best (upbeat) Beck record since The Information and easily blows that one away with its sheer party intensity. Never a dull moment.

King Krule, The OOZ (True Panther) — Weirdly reminds me of Beck’s Mellow Gold and will probably have the same break-out effect, thanks to the droll barbiturate groove of “Dum Surfer.” Strange and new, just what we needed.

Perfume Genius, No Shape (Matador) — Mike Hadreas’ first fully realized masterpiece is loaded with anthems and heart breakers. I’d compare him to Sufjan Stevens, but there’s really no one like him.

Slowdive, Slowdive (Dead Oceans) — The first new studio album in 22 years from one of the few giants of the ’90s, it sounds like they never left. Haunting, intimate, ambitious and as relevant now as they’ve ever been.

Spoon, Hot Thoughts (Matador) — Britt Daniel has always had a thing for hot beats but he’s never been quite so dance-y. This time he steals from The Cure and The Cars, but so what? One of the funnest records of the year.

!!!, Shake The Shudder (Warp) — I was told by one local promoter that “no one listens to those guys anymore.” Really? Well, maybe they should. Guaranteed to make any dance floor glow (especially bum shaker “NRGQ”).

LCD Soundsystem, American Dream (Columbia) — I kind of wanted to not like this one because, after all, didn’t he retire? But it blows away his last (rather dull) album. A return to relevance; a return to the stadium.

Local Favorites

Closeness, Personality Therapy (Graveface) — Whereas Faint songs (especially the early ones) have a sinister, pleatherish quality, Orenda’s sound always has been ethereal (by nature of her sterling voice). This electronic hybrid doesn’t so much combine the best of both worlds as create something new and glisteningly futuristic.

Conor Oberst, Salutations (Nonesuch) — The beefed version of last year’s Ruminations is his best full band release since the 2008 eponymous record, though the jury’s still out whether he should have just left the 4-track version alone.

David Nance, Negative Boogie (Ba Da Bing) — Scratchy noise anthems by Omaha’s now not-so-hidden gem, Nance takes guitar rock to a static extreme not heard since Jon Spencer. Testify.

Matthew Sweet, Tomorrow Forever (Honeycomb Hideout) — A return to form and his most accessible collection since 100% Fun or that Japanese “thank you” record, 2003’s Kimi Ga Suki, though it’s no Girlfriend (but what is?).

See Through Dresses, Horse of the Other World (Tiny Engines) — A breakthrough for a band that too often sounded like a reincarnation of ’90s college rock (as in Dinosaur Jr.). They come to their own combining post-punk shimmer with classic dream-pop drone for an end-product reminiscent of Saturdays = Youth-era M83 or early New Order.

The Lupines, Mountain of Love (SPEED! Nebraska) — John Zielger and the boys crawl out of the garage rock cellar to create something huge, majestic, like watching a’70s-era 70-millimeter western saga on the big screen.

Simon Joyner, Step into the Earthquake (Ba Da Bing!) — At it’s best, it blazes with a ’70s thrill of a Kristofferson album (or movie) combined with the urban grit of Lou Reed, all without losing the lonely tang of his unique voice.

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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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.