by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Not a good week for shows in the Omaha area. In fact, nothing stands out until Masses and Lightning Bug on Saturday at Slowdown, and then Tim Kasher Nov. 19. Egad is this the slow season or am I just overlooking something? It can’t last forever, can it?

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It seems like only yesterday that Alessi Laurent-Marke — or just Alessi as she was known back in the day — was playing gigs at The Waiting Room and wandering around Benson with Jake Bellows. But in fact it’s been more than a couple years since I wrote this goodbye column to Alessi as she headed back over the waters to her home in England. Then out of the blue I hear about a show she’s playing in Portland, and discover she no longer is with Virgin Records, and hasn’t been since January. Alessi is now with Bella Union (Cocteau Twins’ old label, whose roster includes Beach House, Explosions in the Sky and Dirty Three), who just released her new EP Soul Proprietor. Maybe we can get her back to Omaha while she’s on tour.

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As I type this, I’m listening “Bitch Boyz Like It Rough,” a track off Bad Speler’s second mix collection now available for download at illegal-art.net. “The new mix is called Bill$ Gate and his Michael Soft Umpire PRESENT : The Babble iFad,” said Bad Speler mastermind Darren Keen. “It is a lot faster, smoother, and almost has a European breakcore influence. mos def something very different for the Midwest, for better or worse. trust me, our grandchildren are gonna love this band!” I’m sure they will, Darren. The mix collection is a pay-what-you-want endeavor, so go to the site, download, and pay what you think it’s worth — now there’s one possible future business model for the music industry. But we’ll talk more about that in this week’s column, which goes online tomorrow.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Show Is the Rainbow mastermind Darren Keen e-mailed me a link to a soundcloud page where he’s hosting demos recorded of his new band, High Art. The page is here. High Art is Keen on guitar/vocals, Jim Schroeder (UUVVWWZ) on drums/vocals, Saber Blazek on bass (Machete Archive — yes, that guy) and Josh Miller, keyboards, vocals (Columbia Vs. Challenger).

Keen calls the music Post Elfman Experimental Japenese Punk. It’s spazzy and outrageous; sonically challenging and kind of weird, just like Keen.  I asked him what inspired the music other than drugs. “High Art isn’t just a drug refrence,” he said. “My MAIN influence here is THE GUITAR. I really miss playing guitar and I hadn’t written much music on guitar lately (except Darren Keen stuff, which is all so nice and pretty). I just wanted to play in a guitar rock band that didn’t sound like butt rock or garage rock and was still super complex and musical. And weed! but not all of us even smoke weed so seriously, that’s not like our MAIN jam.”

Muscial influences include XTC, Danny Elfman / Oingo Boingo, Sparks, Nina Hagen, Deerhoof and NOFX. So what’s Keen & Co. going to do with these songs? “We are going to record a full length in September and release it early next year. This recording will be distributed online and via CDRs.” Check out High Art when they play at The Waiting Room June 3.

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Tonight at The Waiting Room, Minneapolis multi-instrumental artist Dosh performs with White Hinterland and This Is My Condition. Dosh is a one-man outfit who uses an array of technology to create arty soundscapes. His albums are released on SF label Anticon (Anathallo, Tobacco). $10, 9 p.m.