Hey there, here’s that column I mentioned last week about not updating my blog in so long and how it will live forever (or at least until I don’t). It’s published in the May issue of The Reader, and online here. Go read it!

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It’s an anomaly similar to the perfect aligning of stars in the sky — both Benson First Friday and Blackstone Second Saturday are this weekend.

BFF you know about. BSS is a new art effort in Blackstone where galleries host openings. To celebrate, The Little Gallery Blackstone (formerly in Benson) is hosting Weird Therapy – a collection of 130 small ink-on-paper works by Brion Poloncic.

Local punk rock fans with a sense of history will remember Poloncic from his work the bands Tomato a Day and seminal Grass Records act Cactus Nerve Thang. Poloncic’s art is as mind-blowing as his music.

The show runs from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday at The Little Gallery Blackstone, 144 So. 39th St. (inside The Mansion just north of Night Owl). The event is free, distance controlled, and wear a mask! Free beer! Come by and say hello.

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In music news, Tim Kasher of Cursive and The Good Life launched a new Patreon called Home Phone. The archive project is a mix of new songs under the Home Phone moniker: “Short, catchy, to-the-point jams – unreleased songs I’ve written for Cursive / The Good Life / solo material that never saw any light of any day,” Kasher said of the project.

The online subscription service costs $6 a month (or $5 a month with annual subscription). The Patreon site will also include live streams, and if this goes the way of other Patreons I’ve seen have, Kasher will be doing all kinds of outlandish things online in no time. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/timkasher

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In other Kasher news, there’s a massively long video interview with Tim by Bringing It Backwards – the online interview show of American Songwriter magazine. The nearly hour-long interview delves deep into the history of Kasher’s music, Cursive, Saddle Creek Records and more. Check it below.

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Azure Ray has dropped yet another track from their forthcoming album, Remedy, out in June on Flower Moon Records. This one has a good beat, you can dance it, check it out.

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Simon Joyner’s new record store in the Old Market, Grapefruit, is slated to open today at 11 a.m. The shop, located at 1125 Jackson St., Suite 5, will sell new and used records, and the space will also be the world headquarters of Joyner’s Grapefruit Records label.

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And lest I forget, it’s the first Friday of the month which means Bandcamp Friday – that day when Bandcamp waives fees on its download sales. Go to Bandcamp and buy some stuff!

That’s all I got. 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 © 2021 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

It’s the first Friday of the month, and that means it’s not only Benson First Friday, it’s also another Bandcamp Friday.

By now you know the shtick — Bandcamp is waiving its fees all day and passing revenues onto the artists (many labels are following suit, including our very own Saddle Creek Records). So it’s a good time to download those albums you’ve been streaming on all the various and sundry services, like the new PUP EP, that Sufjan Stevens LP, the new Tomberlin EP, the new No Joy, just a ton of stuff. Despite COVID-19 and lack of touring, it’s been a decent year for new music.

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Benson First Friday is happening tonight (Here’s the list of openings), but alas there appears to be no music-related events associated with it. Benson is a hot zone for COVID (check the map) in a time when the virus is peaking in Douglas County. If you’re checking out art tonight, make sure you wear a mask in the galleries and art spaces.

And speaking of art spaces, The Little Gallery, which has been in Benson for more than five years, is moving to The Blackstone District. The new location is inside The Mansion at Blackstone, 144 S. 39th Street (just east of Night Owl). But don’t go trotting over there just yet as it ain’t open. I’ll let you know when it is…

That’s all I got. If I missed your show or music release, drop me a line or put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend fellow blue-dotters…

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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.

It’s another Bandcamp Friday wherein the online music store passes along its profits to the artist, meaning your buck goes further to support your favorite bands in These Days of Covid.

So are you looking for something to buy on Bandcamp today? Look no further than Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy, Volume 2, a 77-track compilation made up entirely of previously unreleased recordings from some of the most important names in music today. The album features never-before-heard new songs, covers, remixes, live versions and unreleased demos, and will be available for 24 hours today only, exclusively via Bandcamp.

Among the indie artists represented are Bright Eyes, Jenny Lewis, Perfume Genius, Arcade Fire, Bob Mould Band, Faye Webster, Charly Bliss, Guided By Voices and tons more. Cost is $20.20 (or more) and 100% of the net proceeds from the album’s sales will go to Voting Rights Lab, a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization that brings state advocacy, policy, and legislative expertise to secure, protect, and defend the voting rights of all Americans.

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The first Friday of the month has snuck up on us and with it comes Benson First Friday (#BFF). There are a few art openings happening in Benson, not the least of which is the one at The Little Gallery, 5901 Maple St. “Ramble,” by Lori Elliott-Bartle, features paintings and handmade prints inspired by the prairie. The opening runs from 6 to 9 p.m. tonight. Slap on a mask and come on by.

Also opening tonight in Benson — or I should say Grand Opening — is the new improved Reverb Lounge. You read about the improvements here, now check them out yourself. Lowercase Tres will DJ from 8 to midnight. It’s free but you have to wear a mask! If you want to see a live band on the new Reverb stage, Norfolk band The Begats plays Reverb tomorrow night (Saturday) at 9 for $5.

Also happening this weekend…

The Slowdown concludes its outdoor concert series hosted in partnership with the Maha Festival folks tomorrow night. Cover band Pet Rock was originally scheduled to play tonight but cancelled due to someone in the band getting COVID. Saturday’s show is the prime jewel in this concert series, featuring Masonjixx, And How, Cameron Logsdon, Angi Sada, Those Far Out Arrows and J. Crum, all for just $18.

The same rules apply as before — you’ll be cordoned off into a cattle-fenced 10 x 10 area where you’ll have to stay unless getting drinks. Masks are a must, except when in your veal-fattening pen. Bring a lawn chair unless you want to sit on the concrete. Smaller 2- and 3-person spaces also will be available. Read all the rules here. The show starts at 3 p.m. in the afternoon.

Also going on tonight and tomorrow is the virtual version of Lincoln Calling. The all-streamed event is free but they’re looking for your support. Find out more including the schedule at lincolncalling.com.

And that’s all I got. If I misses something, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.

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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.

Hey y’all, it’s Bandcamp Friday again. That means if you buy your downloads from Bandcamp today, Bandcamp will waive its fees and give all it’s money to the artists. An added bonus: Some labels, like Saddle Creek Records, also are waiving their cut, which means even more money for the artists. (Speaking of which, you might want to check out the new Land of Talk album, Indistinct Conversations, which just came out on Saddle Creek and got a whopping 7.7 from Pitchfork, who said about the album, “Low-key emotional intensity abounds in these stark, sketch-like reveries.” Indeed it does.

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Some other stuff to consider on this Bandcamp Friday:

Stephen Sheehan, who we all remember from the band Digital Sex and his solo work, also once was in a band called The World, which formed way back in 1989 and featured the rhythm section of golden age punk icons Mousetrap — bass player Craig Crawford and drummer Scott Miller — along with Digital Sex guitarist John Tingle and keyboardist Maureen Evans-Hansen. The band recorded a number of songs in 1990 that were never released and now have resurfaced 30 years later as The World (unreleased tracks – 1990). The four-song EP was restored, mixed and mastered by Tom Ware at Ware House and is being released today via Bandcamp. Check it out and read about the history of the band and buy the download.

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Uh Oh’s Joe Champion and Mari Crisler have a new 6-song EP called Joe & Mari Sing The Hits. The collection has two originals and four covers, including covers of songs by Alex G, Waxahatchee, Better Oblivion Community Center and Joe Frusciante. “Our music is always free but any cent that is donated via Bandcamp will go directly to The Union For Contemporary Art, a North Omaha nonprofit ‘founded on the belief that the arts can be a vehicle for social justice and greater civic engagement.'” Get it here. Kind of reminds me of one of my all-time favorites, Timbuk 3.

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What else have I been listening to that you can buy today at Bandcamp?

Fontaines D.C., A Hero’s Death
https://fontainesdc.bandcamp.com/album/a-heros-death

Perfume Genius, Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
https://perfumegenius.bandcamp.com/

Waxahatchee, St. Cloud
https://waxahatchee.bandcamp.com/album/saint-cloud-2

D É S I R, Solar – (Ambient electronic, from Omaha!)
https://queenofwands.bandcamp.com/album/solar

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Well, it’s another rather reserved Benson First Friday. If you’re in Benson tonight, drop on by the Little Gallery, 5901 Maple St. (the east bay of the Masonic Lodge building) where there’s actually two shows happening:

Outside there’s the Tiny Art Show, a benefit for women who run Nebraska, which is “women-power miniature art, made by amazing female artists of Omaha. We will also have a merch pop-up of all of our fan-favorite tees, totes, tank tops and more.” Inside it’s the New American Arts Festival: Oria Simonini and student work. The opening runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Strict face mask policy and limited access to the facility.

And that’s all I got. Have a great, masked 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 © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Once again, Bandcamp is waiving its fees today on all sales to help artists trying to get through the COVID-19 pandemic. So today your purchases at Bandcamp mean even more to your favorite bands. Saddle Creek Records and a lot of other labels are also passing along digital revenue to their artists.

Here some other great Bandcamp pages to check out and buy-buy-buy stuff:

— SPEED! Nebraska — Home to recordings by the likes of Wagon Blasters, Mercy Rule, Frontier Trust and The Mezcal Brothers, among others, as well as a ton of super-cool merch like the brand new SPEED Nebraska T-shirt shown above.

— Max Trax Records — Home to Little Brazil, Leafblower, Pro-Magnum and a ton more, as well as more sweet, sweet merch. Omaha’s third biggest label? Probably not, but pretty cool.

— 15 Passenger — Home to Cursive, Criteria and campdogzz as well as the wee lad Tim Kasher. Lots o’ digital and vinyl and cool merch, because you need something cool to wear to O’Leaver’s.

— Simon Joyner — Simon always has special deals on Bandcamp Fridays. This time it’s a CD of Hotel Lives Demos from 1999-2000, limited to 100 copies, and a CD of an unreleased 6-song EP collaboration with The Bruces called A Pleasure Then, from 2003, limited to 75 copies. Tons more.

— Dereck Higgins — The Omaha legend has a mountain of music available, including his just-released 4-song EP STRENGTH.

— Digital Leather — Shawn Foree is nothing less than a diabolical genius if not a musical one, and you can’t go wrong by buying any of his releases.

— Flight School — Did I use the word “genius”? It’s a word I reserve only for the truly gifted, like Einstein, Picasso and Flight School. Don’t get lost down this rabbit hole of a website without spending some money.

— Matt Whipkey — I think it’s safe to say Matt not only is talented but also prolific, based on this page. Tons of music reaching back to his days with The Movies and Anonymous American all the way to his latest project, the incendiary Unexplained Death.

— David Nance — Including David Nance Group, a ton here from his ground-breaking Peaced and Slightly Pulverized to his take on Beatles for Sale. Weird fun!

I’m sure I missed someone/something. If I missed your Bandcamp page, put it in the comments section…

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Tonight is what I’m guessing to be the first Benson First Friday during these Days of COVID. A number of Benson galleries are giving it a try using capacity limits, mask requirements and basically no food and drink inside the galleries.

Among those participating is The Little Gallery, 5901 Maple Street (the east bay below the Masonic Lodge building), which tonight is hosting the opening of Silent Spring, a group show featuring new work created under quarantine by Joe Addison, Alex Jochim, Caitlin Little and Trudy Swanson. The opening runs from 6 to 9 p.m. If you go, you might find this masked man sitting outside somewhere.

That’s it for the weekend. Hard to believe it’s July and we still don’t have live rock music, but that’s just the way it goes. Keep wearing a mask when you go in public and we may get live music back on our stages sooner!

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 © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.