Outer Spaces at Milk Run, June 24, 2016 — the show was booked by Sam Parker’s Perpetual Nerves Productions.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Despite having a population of nearly a million people, Omaha is a very small town when it comes to music. So when the city loses someone who brought music the masses – especially very good music — it’s a tragedy.

Thus is the case with Sam Parker, who it can now be told has moved to Nashville for a gig as an agent assistant to Jonathan Levine, a senior executive agent at Paradigm Talent Agency. Paradigm has offices all over the country and in London and Toronto, and works with every form of media — film, TV, book publishing, music and more. Their client list is enormous and includes monsters like Coldplay and Dave Matthews down to small, important acts like Algiers.

I first got to know Sam as local booker working under the moniker Perpetual Nerves, who booked some of the best indie shows in small clubs and DIY venues over the past seven years. Sam co-founded Milk Run with Chris Aponick, and would go on to apply his exquisite taste in music to events such as Lincoln Calling and Farnam Fest.

Since he’s left the city, Sam confirmed he no longer will be booking shows in Omaha. “There’s plenty of amazing promoters in Omaha (1%, DIY promoters, Third String, Cat Meryl, etc.) that have that under control,” he said. “I did, however, have a hand in this year’s Lincoln Calling lineup and am the talent buyer for Skate Art Music Festival, very excited about what’s to come for those.”

The Skate Art Music Festival, promoted as “a full day of the ultimate skate art music experience,” is an annual event held in Lincoln; last year it was at The Railyard in late August. Lincoln Calling, which used to be presented in conjunction with Hear Nebraska, is a multi-day multi-venue festival that happens in late summer. Parker was central to LC’s success the past couple years.

For Omaha fans of unique, under-the-radar indie rock, Parker’s loss to our scene will be profound. I have no doubt that he’ll quickly rise at Paradigm, and won’t forget where he came from, which could be good for Omaha in the long run.

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Speaking of Hear Nebraska — or should I say Rabble Mill — yesterday RM announced this year’s tour stops for the 4th annual Good Living Tour:

“The 2018 tour will travel to four locations: Imperial (6/23), Red Cloud (7/7), Norfolk (7/20) and first-time GLT community Broken Bow (6/9),” says the press release. “In addition to music, this year’s tour aims to reach young audiences through skateboarding — specifically, our educational skate-school and engaging technical demonstrations played out on our portable mini ramp.”

Participating bands have yet to be announced.

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Saddle Creek Records this week announced it’s releasing the sophomore album by Sam Evian, You, Forever, on June 1.

Sam Evian, whose real names is Sam Owens, said he banned tuning pedals during the recording process.  From the press release:

“‘Tuning pedals make it so easy to sound good together, so when you eliminate them it takes everything back to the ’60s, which is when all my favorite records were born,’ he says. ‘It makes everything more questionable, weird and unruly in a really simple way.’”

You can pre-order the album at the Saddle Creek site.  Check out the first single from the new album below:

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Belly dropped the second track from their upcoming album, DOVE, out May 4. Check it below,

In addition on Record Store Day, Belly will release a limited edition 10″ colored vinyl EP featuring two tracks from DOVE, one track exclusive to this release, and a cover of “Hushabye Mountain” from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

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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.

The Wedding Present at Red Eyed Fly, SXSW, way back on March 14, 2012.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

As you’ve probably already figured out, I didn’t go to the South by Southwest Festival in Austin this year. With The Reader no longer being a sponsoring publication, it’s unlikely I’ll ever get a SXSW media badge again. That doesn’t mean I’ll never return to SXSW, but it makes it a whole lot more expensive (if I want a badge, anyway).

So no, I’m not there, and neither is Kevin Coffey from the Omaha World-Herald (Why he’s not there, I don’t know, but with the recent slew of lay-offs at the paper, I can guess).

And with Hear Nebraska now rolled into Rabble Mill, there’s no one from HN reporting from SXSW, either. The latest Hear Nebraska news is that applications are being taken for the 2018 Good Living Tour. The deadline to be considered for the fourth annual event is March 26.

This begs the question: How can any of us lost Omaha souls keep up with what arguably is the most important music festival in the country?

Well, there’s still a fairly large contingent of Nebraskans attending SXSW. In fact, 11 Nebraska bands are participating in Nebraska Exposed, a free showcase being held on the rooftop of Cheers Shot Bar on E 6th St. Wednesday night.

The 11 bands: Better Friend, HAKIM, Laughing Falcon, The Dilla Kids, State Disco, Orion Walsh, SAS, Lloyd McCarter and The Honky Tonk Revival, A Different Breed and KHARI The Duo, No doubt the majority are from Lincoln, which makes sense since the showcase is presented by Lincoln public radio station KZUM and Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development.

If you happen to be Facebook friends with anyone in these bands, you might be able to glean some SXSW updates throughout the week. For me, the best reporter on the scene is Jeremy Buckley. J has been a SXSW regular for years, and he’s already streamed a number of SXSW performances on Facebook Live. If you’re lucky, Jeremy might let you be his friend, too.

In year’s past, Saddle Creek Records hosted a SXSW showcase, but not this year. In fact, the only Creek band that appears to be playing the festival is Hop Along, who’s busy promoting their upcoming release, Bark Your Head Off, Dog, slated for release April 6. You can see Hop Along’s SXSW schedule at saddle-creek.com/sxsw

That said, it’s odd that the other Creek acts with releases upcoming — Stef Chura, Young Jesus, Rural Alberta Advantage — aren’t playing in Austin this week…

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No shows tonight, but there are tons on the horizon. In the meantime, here’s the new video by Belly, who has self-released album coming out May 4 called Dove. And a tour, but alas, it’s a NOmaha affair…

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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.