Your Friend plays tonight at The Slowdown. Photo by Crystal Lee Farris.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Today you get two sets of Q&As from two artists performing at The Slowdown tonight.

Your Friend is Taryn Miller who plays warm, ethereal music that sounds like ambient shoe-gaze. If you wanted to put a genre label on her style, you could maybe lump it in with chillwave (along with Porches) thanks to its downtempo pop nature, though Miller’s music has more depth than that.

Living in Lawrence, Kansas, Miller toured with Courtney Barnett before recording her debut album, Gumption, released this past January on Domino. The 8-track collection features Miller’s cooing voice crooning tonally over a dense bed of synths and thick beats, creating music that sounds both lost and gorgeous.

We asked Taryn to take our Ten Questions interview. Here’s what she had to say:

1. What is your favorite album?

Your Friend: I don’t necessarily feel like I can ever truly answer that. I will say that Odessey and Oracle (by The Zombies) would be on a list of favorites though.

2. What is your least favorite song?

I feel the same about this question but I can say that I don’t think I’ve ever been too excited about hearing that “What does the fox say,” song.

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

The act of playing the songs physically. In any fashion, show setting and rehearsal alike.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Feeling like I’m letting anyone down.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Coffee. Stimulants! Hahah.

6. What city or town do you love performing at?

I don’t have a favorite quite yet but I’m quite fond of our West Coast runs in general.

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

Pittsburgh on our last tour was pretty rough. It was a newer venue and I remember not getting a soundcheck. I pushed myself too hard vocally that night and lost my voice during some point in the set.

8. How do you pay your bills?

Day jobs. I’m comfortable with the idea of having one indefinitely. Haha!

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

I’ve had a rigid desire to get into woodworking at some point. I don’t think I could be content working in a cubicle or similar setting. It would depend on the line of work.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

I’ve heard really good things about the art scene. I drove there solo once, on a whim once to see Daniel Johnston on one of his last tours. It’s a special memory in the archives.

Porches is Aaron Maine, a NYC musician who recorded his debut full-length, Pool (2016, Domino), mostly in his Manhattan apartment before sending it to LA to be mixed by Chris Coady (Beach House, Grizzly Bear). The production is crisp with bouncing rhythms and glowing synths that sit beneath Maine’s bright vocals. The overall tone is mostly winsome and flowing like walking along a beach on a sunny day holding a big red balloon, while pop songs like the galloping “Hour” might actually get some Nebraska butts moving tonight.

Maine also agreed to the Ten Questions inquisition. His thoughts below.

1. What is your favorite album?

Porches: On the Beach by Neil young is one of my faves

2. What is your least favorite song?

Don’t have one.

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Playing music to people.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Nothing

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Water

6. What city or town do you love performing at?

New York

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

In Detroit one band member was mugged and had passport stolen.

8. How do you pay your bills?

Cash

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Painter; toll booth attendant

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

None

Porches plays with Your Friend and Alex G Tuesday, April 5, at The Slowdown, 729 No. 14th St. Showtime is 8 p.m. Admission is $$12. For more information, visit theslowdown.com.

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A couple other shows happening on this busy Tuesday night:

Over at The Waiting Room, Brooklyn baroque pop band San Fermin (Downtown Records) headlines with Esmé Patterson. $14, 8:30 p.m.

Also tonight, Japanese punk rock duo Mugen Hoso plays at Milk Run with Crown Larks, Black Finger Cult and Heavy Lungs. $7, 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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Quilt plays Reverb Lounge Thursday March 31. Photo by Daniel Dorsa.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Quilt’s latest album, Plaza (Mexican Summer, 2016) has the distinction of being my favorite record from Q1 2016, hands down.

The 10-song opus is a throwback to a time when records were complete collections of great songs instead of the usual tossed-together block of ethereal “vibe” noodling. The four-piece that hails from Boston has a modern take on psych rock that gives nods to ’60s-’70s acts like The Byrds and Fleetwood Mac. They sound as if Quasi had sex with The Shins and gave birth to a smarter, more fit, more tuneful version of Of Montreal.

The above description is selling the record short. I know, I’m gushing now. So what! How they’ll reproduce the dense, intricate arrangements (that includes a string quartet, harps and, yes, flutes) on stage at Reverb Lounge this Thursday, March 31, is a mystery. But I’m sure they’ll figure it out.

We asked Quilt to take our Ten Questions survey, based on the Pivot Questionnaire that caps off each episode of Inside the Actors Studio, but with a musical (instead of an acting) focus. Here’s what drummer John Andrews (also of the band Woods) had to say:

What is your favorite album?

Quilt: That’s a hard question to answer but I always just say The White Album by The Beatles. I’ve been listening to it since I was an actual baby and I’m somehow still not tired of it. It has a little bit of everything.

2. What is your least favorite song?

I used to work in a Salvation Army in Lancaster, PA, and they only played the contemporary country station. I don’t know any songs in particular, but that stuff is so bad. That’s not country music.

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

I love those late night drives on tour through the middle of nowhere when everyone else in the van is asleep and you’re truckin’ down the highway listening to good tunes. Right now we are driving through New Mexico. It’s a beautiful landscape. “Wasn’t Born To Follow” by The Byrds is my current favorite driving song. I always just wanna be in that scene in Easy Rider.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Smelling my bandmates fart in the van.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Black raspberry ice cream

6. What city or town do you love performing at?

I’ve been lucky enough to play with my other band Woods at Woodsist Festival for several years in Big Sur California. There’s nothing better than playing outdoors under the redwood trees.

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

We’ve played a lot of bad shows it’s hard to remember the worst. A story that comes to mind is from Denver, Colorado, when some lady was freakin’ out on drugs or something and was messing with our equipment on stage. She was grabbing the mics on our amps and kept messing with things on our merch table. The show wasn’t all that bad but it’s just a good example of the crazy people you meet traveling. We call them punishers.

8. How do you pay your bills?

With a check

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Dream jobs are: park ranger, camera man for the NHL, mailman, animator for The Simpsons.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

I heard Simon Joyner has an antique store?

Quilt plays Thursday, March 31, at Reverb Lounge, 6121 Military Ave. Opening is Iowa City band Halfloves. Showtime is 9 p.m. Admission is $10 ADV / $12 DOS. For more information, visit onepercentproductions.com.

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Two notable shows happening tonight.

First, there’s the Operators show at Reverb Lounge I told you about on Monday. Read the Ten Questions interview with Dan Boeckner if you haven’t already — it’s a hoot. Operators, btw, was the band that opened for Future Islands the last time they came through Omaha. Opening tonight’s show is Bogan Via. $12, 9 p.m. Two-band bills during the week are like gold to me.

Also tonight, there’s an early show at House of Loom featuring the legendary Dereck Higgins. It’s described as “a night with an in-depth and candid mix of talk & performances alongside some of Dereck’s favorite local talent.” The 7 p.m. program is free of charge.

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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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Brooklyn indie synth band TEEN plays March 31 at O’Leaver’s. Photo by Hannah Whitaker.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Brooklyn four-piece synth-rock band TEEN got its start in 2010 while lead singer/multi-instrumentalist Teeny Lieberson was still playing keyboards in Here We Go Magic. After recording and self-releasing the LP Little Doods, she pulled in sisters Katherine on drums and Lizzie on synths (Boshra AlSaad fills out the group on bass) and signed to Carpark Records for 2012’s In Limbo.

The band’s new album, Love Yes, is a slick piece of work that ratchets up the synths and beats to sonic levels matched only by the likes of St. Vincent. The album’s sound is wall-to-wall, so well-produced for a record apparently recorded entirely live, I have to wonder how they’ll reproduce it in the quaint confines of O’Leaver’s, where they perform Thursday night.

We asked TEEN to take our Ten Questions survey. Let’s see what they had to say:

1. What is your favorite album?

TEEN: Voodoo by D’angelo.

2. What is your least favorite song?

“American Pie” and “Hotel California”

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Touring

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

If we hated it we wouldn’t be doing it, but we hate hanging out with each other

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Sugar and wine and weed and whippets

6. What city or town do you love performing at?

After Omaha, Salt Lake City is pretty cool

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

Frankfurt – We played in an car dealership district, ate weird Chinese food and no one was there. But the two people who were bought records!

8. How do you pay your bills?  

Ha ha

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Lizzie: attempt-veterinarian, hate-accountant.

Boshra: attempt-microbiologist, hate-food court janitor (which she’s done before).

Katherine: attempt-professional dancer, hate-hostess.

Teeny: attempt-chef, hate-sales rep.

10. Have you been to Omaha before, and what are your impressions (or preconceived notions) of the city?

Yes! We think of wheat fields and Elliot Smith… We haven’t spent that much time in the city so we’re excited to come back and see more!

TEEN plays Thursday, March 31, at O’Leaver’s, 1322 S Saddle Creek Rd. Opening is Naytronix (member of tUnE-yArDs) and Icewater. Showtime is 9 p.m. Admission is $8. For more information, visit liveatoleavers.com.

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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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Wild Powwers play Friday night at O’Leaver’s

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I get a lot of requests from bands coming through town to do interviews for Lazy-i and The Reader. No surprise there. How else are they — unknown quantities traveling through a maze-like network of faceless towns— going to get people to come to their shows? Any buzz — no matter how little — is better than no buzz.

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to interview all these bands. I simply don’t have the time or resources, especially considering the money I get for writing for Lazy-i and The Reader. Still, I want to be helpful, which is why I came up with Ten Questions.

Actually, it was Bernard Pivot who came up with the idea for the French series Bouillon de Culture. James Lipton stole the questions and uses them to close out each episode of TV show Inside the Actors Studio. And I stole the idea from Lipton, changing the questions so they have a music spin. The 10 questions will be the same for all the bands and performers, though I might adapt and/or change a few if I can come up with something better.

The first band to take the plunge is Seattle band Wild Powwers, who are playing at fabulous O’Leaver’s this Friday night. The trio of guitarist/vocalist Lara Hilgeman, drummer/vocalist Lupe Flores and bassist/vocalist Jordan (JoJo) Gomes wholly embrace the “grunge” label, though their sound more closely resembles modern-day bands like Dilly Dally (Who sounds like Hole to me, so yeah, I guess there is a grunge connection).

Their new album, Hugs and Kisses and Other Things (linked below), comes out this month and is a real grinder — towering guitar lines and soaring vocals that reflect the musical heritage of the Pacific Northwest city they call home. Actually, the more I listen to this album the more I hear Seattle influences from Temple of the Dog to Screaming Trees.

To me, grunge was a throwback genre coming out of the mid-’80s post-punk/new wave/hair metal era, grunge brought back big guitars and heavy rhythm sections. Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam were repackaged ’70s heavy metal. Somehow Nirvana got roped in with the label, though (to me) they weren’t grunge. These guys are. If you’re a fan of the kind of music heard on the Singles soundtrack, you’re going to love Wild Powwers.

So without further ado, here are the Ten Questions:

1. What is your favorite album?

Lupe: Exile on Main St
Lara: The Man Who Sold The World
Jojo: Right now I’m listening the most to Dilly Dally’s Sore

2. What is your least favorite song?

“Hotel California” and anything by Mackelmore

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Getting to write sweet rock ‘n’ roll with your friends and touring.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Not being able to do it full time.

5. What is your favorite substance?

I mean, tequila.

6. What city or town do you love performing at?

Anywhere, all the time.

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig?

Eugene, OR

8. How do you pay your bills?

We all work at the same bar — Hattie’s Hat — the best bar in the world.  We slang dranks and snacks.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Lara: Illustration. I would hate to be a telemarketer.

Lupe: Deep sea diver; insurance salesman

Jojo: Dog walker; janitor at a strip club.

10. What one piece of advice would you give to aspiring musicians?

Have fun. Making music isn’t about getting attention or being the coolest person in the room. Making music is about putting all you are into something you believe in and loving it despite the fact that people may not care, or listen. Have fun with your friends.

Wild Powwers plays with Bien Fang and Low Long Signal Friday, March 4, at O’Leaver’s, 1322 Saddle Creek Rd. Showtime is 9:30 p.m. Admission is $5. For more information, visit liveatoleavers.com.

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Austin-based modern-day shoe-gazers Ringo Deathstarr headlines tonight at Reverb Lounge. Their latest album, Pure Mood, came out this past November. Noise-rock band Future Death opens. $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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Iwen Photography building at 3925 Farnam St. will become the new home of Almost Music.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The big news (and it is big news) is that used record store Almost Music, which opened at a storefront on the west end of Benson (65th and Maple) in October 2013, announced yesterday via Facebook that it is moving operations to the Blackstone District.

The new store, which will also include Solid Jackson Bookstore, will be located at  3925 Farnam St., in the building that used to house Iwen Photography. The targeted opening date of the new location is April 1 or 2, according to Brad Smith, who runs Almost Music.

In addition to having the best curated selection of quality used vinyl (and some new vinyl, too), Almost Music hosted a number of in-store performances that included some tasty sidewalk barbecue. “We will still be doing in-stores, there’s room (in the new location),” Smith said. “As far as the grilling out goes…not quite sure yet. Maybe we’ll take over Archetype (Coffee)’s patio!”

Smith knows the move is risky, but says it’s a step he needed to take to continue growing the business. No doubt there will be more foot traffic along Farnam Street. Blackstone has quickly established itself as one of the most exciting new food and booze districts in Omaha in recent years. That addition of more retail outlets will only strengthen the area.

Smith said it’ll be business as usual at the old Almost Music/Solid Jackson location until the last week of March. So will there be a big “moving sale” leading up to the move? “There probably will at some point,” Smith said.

Read more about Brad’s vision for Almost Music and how it carries on a tradition that began with The Antiquarium Record Store in this 2013 Lazy-i interview.

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Guster at Slowdown, Oct. 12, 2010. Guster returns tonight to Slowdown for a sold out show.

Is it time to start booking Guster in larger venues than The Slowdown? The laid-back good-time indie band (now on Network) sold out tonight’s show in the big room a few days ago.

They’ve been touring through Omaha since way back in 1999 when they first played at The Ranch Bowl. Even back then, the band traveled in style in a tour bus, as described in this vintage ’99 Lazy-i interview. I’ve interviewed the Guster dudes a number of times since, but not for this show, and guess what? I didn’t get tickets. Boo! Vetiver opens. Show starts at 9.

Also tonight, Super Ghost and Timecat open for Fight Metaphor at Reverb. The 8 p.m. show costs $7.

Also, it’s another Benson First Friday. Check out the Brian Tait installation at The Little Gallery (across the street from The Sydney) titled 355. Runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Find out more. See you there.

That’s all I got for this weekend (slim pickin’s indeed). If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.

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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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Slowdown’s booking will now be handled in part by Knitting Factory Entertainment.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Yesterday Pollstar reported that Knitting Factory Entertainment has signed a deal to book The Slowdown. The article doesn’t say much more than that.

I asked Jason Kulbel, who runs The Slowdown, it if means KF will be routing acts through the venue, and if Jason or someone will be filling in the gaps with local promotions/shows. “You got it,” he said.

So, is he psyched or freaked out by the change?

“A little of both… I mean, it’s change right?,” he said. “In the long run I think it will be a great thing for us.” Kulbel went on to mention that former booker Joe Teplitsky no longer is employed by Slowdown, something Teplitsky announced on Facebook a couple weeks ago.

Knitting Factory appears to book eight other clubs in addition to Slowdown, judging by their website. It’s hard to say what kind of bands they book, though. If you go to the site and click the KF Presents dropdown you’ll see bookings for Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Beatles cover band 1964 The Tribute, comedian Lewis Black, Joanna Newsom, piano dude Ethan Bortnick and so on.

Having glanced at the Knitting Factory NYC calendars over the years, they’ve never focused on any single genre. I suspect their bookings at Slowdown will be all over the board, from pop to blues to R&B to rock and even some indie.

“I wouldn’t really tag them with any genre or type of band,” Kulbel said. “If anything, they take more of a ‘book the bands that people want to come out to see’ (approach). We, of course, have taken more of that approach over the years as well.”

Who knows how many actual dates KF will fill on the Slowdown calendar. What will continue is the usual assortment of local bands and events that Slowdown has historically booked to fill out their calendar. And yes, 1% Productions will have access to booking Slowdown just like any other local promoter or band.

“(Slowdown is) still available for outside promoters as before,” Kulbel said. “This is really just an uptick in in-house booking.” As for who gets first dibs on the rooms: “There’s not a preference per se. First one to finalize a date with booking agents, bands, etc., gets it. Same way our calendar has always worked.”

* * *

Tonight La Buvette is hosting a very special show — a fundraiser for former staff at M’s Pub, which burned down last week. Performing is Orenda Fink, Ted Stevens, Sean Pratt & the Sweats, and Simply Jake. Show starts at 9 and suggested donation is $10. La Buvette is located at 511 So. 11th in the heart of the Old Market.

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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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

McCarthy Trenching celebrates the release of the latest album this Friday at O’Leaver’s.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Just posted at thereader.com this morning, an interview/feature on Dan McCarthy of McCarthy Trenching. Dan talks about his new album, More Like It (Sower, 2015), which is being celebrated with an album release show this Friday, Nov. 6, at fabulous O’Leaver’s. The record is gorgeous, but what did you expect? You can read the story in the November issue of The Reader, which should be on newsstands any day now, or online right now right here.

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If readership of yesterday’s Lazy-i interview about Milk Run is any indication, the new music venue operated by Chris Aponick and Sam Parker is headed for big-time success. The blog entry was the most read item in Lazy-i this year.

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Speaking of One Percent (or at least Reverb), Looks like they’ve got a brand-spanking new website design over at onepercentproductions.com. Check it out.

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And finally, websites Stereogum and Diffuser have both published items about the Live at O’Leaver’s website.

Said Stereogum, “Back in 2012, Tim Kasher, Matt Maginn, and Ted Stevens of Nebraskan indie rockers Cursive and Chris Machmuller of Ladyfinger purchased O’Leavers Pub in Omaha. They’ve been using the space to host small DIY shows, and they had the excellent idea to start recording performances professionally and releasing them.”

Something tells me they saw my story on O’Leaver’s that went online last month…  Can’t blame them for wanting to spread the good news…

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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 © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Future home of new all-ages music venue and art gallery Milk Run, right next door to Shucks Fish House on 1907 Leavenworth St.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The dynamic duo behind concert promotion company Perpetual Nerves — Chris Aponick and Sam Parker — are opening their own music venue and art gallery near downtown Omaha.

Milk Run is located at 1907 Leavenworth St., right next door to Shucks Fish House & Oyster Bar in the same turn-of-the-last-century building. The concert room will be rather cozy, about the same size as The Sweatshop Gallery; while the art gallery space is much more open. The two rooms are connected via a fenced-in patio in the back of the buildings, which also will act as the venue’s main entrance located right off a parking lot shared with Shucks.

Here’s what the duo had to say about the new music venue:

Why are you opening an all-ages club?

Chris Aponick: We wanted a spot that we could run with consistent standard, a space that put music in the forefront of its mission and one that would be an ideal spot for smaller scale bands. We wanted a room that makes a crowd of 30 to 50 people feel like an event instead of a bummer. It’s an incubator for bands that are on the way up or bands that are looking to reconnect with the immediacy found in house shows or DIY spots. We want bands to have a good experience playing in Omaha, so that they make Omaha a regular stop as their fanbase grows. We want a place that is approachable for everyone that wants to see a band. We don’t want the term “all ages” to mean just for those under 30. We also want to provide a reliable venue for others bringing bands to town.

How did you settle on the location?

Aponick: Shuck’s crab legs led me to the spot. I hit up their Monday happy hour with my friend (and now our neighbor Greg Sechser of Howlin’ Hounds coffee shop) and I peeked in at the two bays. I inquired about them the next day and they were perfect for what Sam & I had discussed for an ideal all-ages space.

What kind of shows will you be booking?

Aponick: Our shows will continue to be more of what has already been booked under the Perpetual Nerves banner, though we’re hoping to dabble in a little bit more variety. The goal is to get bands we and others like into town. We want to bring stuff to Omaha that would not play in town without our involvement. We’re still hoping to do shows with venues like O’Leaver’s Pub, Lookout Lounge, Slowdown and the Waiting Room Lounge when those rooms are good fits. We also want others to use our space, too. It’s available for shows that others put together.

How will you curate and operate the art gallery?

Sam Parker: We intend to have a monthly rotation of various artists in the gallery. Particularly trying to focus on musicians who are also artists in the visual arts aspect as well. Ideally, they would display their artwork, make a playlist of songs that influences their work and that list would be played during the showings. Gives the viewer a more in-depth feel to the artist.

Who’s involved other than Chris and Sam?

Aponick: Sara Bertuldo and Matthew Carroll of See Through Dresses are responsible for sound. The equipment, the ongoing management & hopefully upgrading of the system and running live sound will all be spearheaded by these two. Sara Bertuldo will be the main sound engineer for shows. Mike Zimmerman (DWNR, Chalant) will also be helping with projects both aural and visual. We hope to include others in what we hope is a collaborative space for shows, performance, art and more.

When is your first show and who are the bands performing?

Aponick: American Cream, David Nance, Robust Worlds, and Church of Gravitron — it’s a show organized by Church of Gravitron’s Justin O’Connor. It’s November 7 and it’s only $5. Even Lazy-i readers have $5.

How do you guys line up your bands? Who do you work with?

Aponick: People email booking@perpetualnerves.com or booking@perpetualnerves.com. (We) email some band or booking agents and pray for a positive reply. Some bands have been pointed in our direction by local friends, which is always appreciated. Booking Pile really jump-started things. Pile is everything.

How do you keep up with new bands that are awesome? You pretty much hit the nail on the head with all your PN shows.

Aponick: Mike Kronberger, who designed the PN logo, turned me on to Exploding In Sound Records. That’s been a big one. I love getting recommendations on things to check out. Others have just been from listening and making gut calls on stuff that ends up in the inbox. Some of it, like All Dogs, is just obvious on a first listen that they’re something special.

Is there a club that you’re trying to emulate or that will influence your club? i.e., “We’re trying to do what the Cog Factory did.” or “We really like how they do things at Jackpot down in KC”, etc.

Aponick: Mostly we just wanted to keep going with the positive momentum that was flowing at the Sweatshop Gallery between Craig Dee’s Eyeball Promotions shows and our shows there. We felt the best route was to give ourselves a home base that we curated and organized.

Why did you call it Milk Run? What’s the origin of that name?

Aponick: It’s called Milk Run, as a playful nod to the area’s gay history. A milk run was an innocuous excuse to get out of the house and go downtown in the ’80s and ’90s for gay men. We want people to be open and be themselves in our space. By embracing a part of the area that was once secretive, we’re saying that your identity is welcome here.

Are you concerned that the name could alienate some people and/or parents?

Aponick: If it’s alienating for any other reason than homophobia, I’d be surprised, but willing to discuss those feelings.

What’s your definition of success when it comes to the club? What are you trying to accomplish?

Aponick: Paying our rent and paying touring and local bands well. We want to make sure touring bands have the ability to leave Omaha with a good experience and a good payday. We want to make Omaha a spot worth stopping for more bands. And we want to add to the idea that Omaha is a vibrant, artistically progressive city.

Do you think you could fill a niche that all the other venues aren’t filling? What’s that niche?

Parker: Let’s leave that for the people to decide. Our goal is strong in bringing touring acts that people as well as ourselves, want to see. But, at the same time, highly focusing on the great local scene that’s constantly growing and forever evolving. Bigger show. Little show. Doesn’t matter, hit us up. Our venue is yours.

Keep track of the Milk Run concert and art show schedule at the venue’s Facebook page.

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Despite the tragic murder that took place Halloween night at Slowdown Jr., tonight’s Here We Go Magic show is still happening, according to Slowdown booker Joe Teplitsky.

For those who live out of town (or in a cave), details about the crime are reported here by the Omaha World-Herald. The shooters reportedly are still at large.

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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 © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Desaparecidos’ 2001 stage debut at the Holy Name High School fieldhouse.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’m back.

The feature on Desaparecidos in The Reader is on newsstands now and online right here. Denver Dalley (and I) recall the origin of the band, starting in 2000. He talks about its rise, its unannounced hiatus, its return and the band’s new album, Payola. Better go read it. The interview was conducted in support of the band’s concert this Thursday, Sept. 10, at The Waiting Room, which, rumor has it, is close to selling out. And as Dalley says in the story, if you’re on the fence about seeing them this time ’round, “There’s a chance there won’t be a next time.” Better get your tickets now.

One thing that didn’t make it into the story…

I concluded the interview with Denver the way I’ve concluded all the Desa interviews I’ve had with Denver, with this question: When will Team Rigge return?

Named after a building on Creighton’s campus — Dalley said hip-hop act Team Rigge has included Ian McElroy, The Faint’s Clark Baechle, Oberst, former Cursive drummer Clint Schnase, Son Ambulance’s Joe Knapp and Dan Maxwell of Little Brazil, who at the time was a member of Secret Behind Sunday.

Team Rigge tracks have shown up in the strangest places.  The first Team Rigge recording was included as a pretrack on Criteria’s 2003 debut LP. The only way to find it was by dropping the CD in a player and hitting the “rewind” button to discover — voila! — something preceded the first track. McElroy, who has carried on the team’s tradition as Rig 1, said in this 2008 interview that at the time Oberst lived next door to Criteria’s Stephen Pedersen in a small house just north of Dundee. The two shared recording equipment along with a copy of Pro Tools. That first recording featured McElroy, Oberst and Jenny Lewis. Here it is:

“I would love to see an actual Team Rigge reunion,” Dalley said. “Unfortunately, one of the original members, Dave Vederami, passed away recently.”

Still, Dalley said he’d “be curious” to see a reunion of surviving members. “I’d also love to see a Smashmouth reunion,” he said, referencing a band that included Criteria’s Pedersen, bassist Bart Volkmer and drummer Schnase.

“We’ve been trying to get Conor to cover a Commander Venus song,” Dalley added. “We tried back in 2001, but he thought the two bands (Desaparecidos and Commander Venus) sounded too similar.”

Denver said during Desa practices he’ll start to play a Commander Venus song and guitarist Landon Hedges will immediately join in, “but it just fades off. Maybe that will be my ultimate goal — to break him down before Sept. 10 to do one encore song.” Do you think CV guitarist Robb Nansel would join them on stage?

Get a load of baby Conor heard on this classic Commander Venus track:

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Twin Shadow returns to The Waiting Room tonight. Twin Shadow is Dominican-born George Lewis, Jr., whose 2012 album Confess (4AD) was a dizzying trip back to ’80s electro-pop with a sound that recalled everything from General Public to Fine Young Cannibals to New Order. I caught the band this year at SXSW, where they played music from their current release, Eclipse, which isn’t much of a departure from Confess. Opening is electronic trio LANY. $17, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Seattle band La Luz headlines at fabulous O’Leaver’s (where I’m told the new beer garden has finally opened (and must be seen to be believed)). Opening is Will Sprott and the always entertaining Sucettes. $7, 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 © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Big Harp have a new cassette out.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

During a recent interview with Ryan Fox and Stef Drootin-Senseney for this story on The Good Life, guitarist Fox talked about his tape-only label Majestic Litter.

“The nice thing about the label, the point of it is to make music immediate and direct,” Fox said. “There isn’t long lead times that you have with vinyl, or ad budgets or lawyers. You have the songs, you record them, you make tapes right away.”

Fox said he uses high-quality chrome cassettes, but why even bother with what is considered an outdated medium instead of just releasing digital files? “It’s something that exists in space,” Fox said. “It has artwork, and I feel like we all grew up collecting records and tapes and CDs. I’m not a format snob. They all have their merits. They’re functional but not just a ‘remember these’ sort of thing. I think they’re cool and sound good.”

Big Harp, Waveless (Majestic Litter, 2015)

Drootin-Senseney and her husband, Chris, who play in the band Big Harp, couldn’t agree more. So much, in fact, that their brand new album, Waveless, is being released on Fox’s Majestic Litter imprint.

“Chris and I write so fast,” Stef said, “by the time a release comes out we’ve already written another record. With labels, you have to wait such a long time. With this tape we just wanted to get the music out there.”

The 12-song cassette became available for pre-order from Fox’s label website yesterday. All those buying pre-orders immediately receive a download of the album. Pure Volume premiered the first track, “Golden Age,” yesterday as well (which you can listen to below). Listen and order your copy of Waveless for $7, plus postage. The release comes just in time for Big Harp’s next tour, supporting The Good Life throughout the next couple months.

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Former Nebraska resident now New Yorker Darren Keen has been burning up the media lately.

Fact Music News yesterday published an interview with the “Omaha-bred, New York-based producer” in support of Keen’s latest project, the LP He’s Not Real, out Aug. 28 on Orange Milk Records. Check out a track below.

In addition, Keen was interviewed for a Rolling Stone article about “footwork,” a style of music that Stone writer Andy Battaglia described as “marked by dizzying loops, staccato synth stabs, antic polyrhythms and blasts of repetition, repetition, repetition — seemed designed to go everywhere and nowhere at once.” See what Keen has to say about the genre in the story, online here.

Keen is conquering the Big Apple. “Brooklyn rules,” he said. “I’m always busy and I work full-time as a DJ in the East Village.”

He’ll be hitting the road touring with Giant Claw starting Sept. 8 in Cleveland, making his way back to Nebraska for gigs at the Bourbon Theater in Lincoln Sept. 10 and fabulous O’Leaver’s Sept. 13 (for a show that also features Channel Pressure — an electronic collaboration between Todd Fink of The Faint with Graham Patrick Ulicny of Reptar).

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A quick heads up that today the folks from the Maha Music Festival issued a “low ticket warning” for this year’s festival. If you want to go to the day-long fest this Saturday at Stinson Park, you better get your tickets soon.

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Pageturners’ summer concert series continues tonight with Simon Joyner and Danny Pound (ex-Vitreous Humor). The free show starts at 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 © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.