by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

My suggestion to you: Get your rock in tonight folks, because if the forecast is correct, we ain’t doing nothing on Saturday night except drinking and staring out our windows, which is a shame because there are a couple good shows that will likely get hurt by the weather.

But let’s start with tonight…

The marquee event of the weekend is at fabulous O’Leaver’s tonight when Digital Leather kicks off its “Tour” tour that will take them to the West Coast and Texas through mid-February. I’m not sure which album they’re supporting on this run since they’ve released a couple since their last road shot, but I suspect we’ll be hearing songs off their new cassette, Sponge, as well as tunes off the upcoming full length, Modern Problems (FDH Records). Opening tonight is New Lungs (D-Max of Little Brazil) and Worried Mothers. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tonight, Craig Finn of The Hold Steady drops by Slowdown in support of his new solo album, Clear Heart, Full Eyes. Don’t count on hearing any Hold Steady tunes, rather only the solo stuff, which is rather hit-and-miss (to say the least). Check out the Kevin Coffey’s OWH interview with Finn right here. Opening is Mount Moriah. $12. 9 p.m.

Saturday starts early with the “Songs at Shop” series, featuring Slumber Party Records. The instore concert held inside the Saddle Creek Shop at the Slowdown complex features acoustic performances by a handful of Slumber Party artists including Jasong Mountain (of Talking Mountain), Andy Cubrich (of Family Picnic), Anna McClellan (of Howard) and Sam Martin (of Capgun Coup). Performances run from 3 to 5 p.m. and are free. Buy some vinyl while you’re down there. And stay tuned for details about another very special Shop event next Tuesday…

Speaking of free shows, there’s another one later Saturday night at Mojo Smokehouse in Aksarben Village. Little Brazil, The Filter Kings and Ideal Cleaners will be blowing things up starting at 9 p.m. Fantastic line-up!

Finally, Blue Bird is headlining a show Saturday night down at Slowdown Jr. that includes Skypiper, Lawrence, Kansas, band Cowboy Indian Bear and El Valiente. $7, 9 p.m.

The only thing left to add: Snow, snow, go away… and… Go Giants!

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Here are a few odds and ends of interest that have been cluttering up my in-box:

Who remembers what the first title was in Sub Pop’s Singles Club back in 1988? Why it was none other than “Love Buzz,” the debut single by a little ol’ band that went by the name Nirvana. The Singles Club worked this way — for a subscription price you received one Sub Pop single per month by mail — awesome.  Sub Pop has done two more Singles Club series since then, the last one in 2008. Who knows if they’ll ever do it again.

In the meantime, our old friends at Matador have launched their own singles club. Titled Singles Going Home Alone, the Matador club is offering six 7-inch singles to be distributed throughout 2012.  The first of the bi-monthly releases features Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks and L.A. Guns, with the former covering the latter’s “Wheels Of Fire” and Tracii & Co. tackling “Gorgeous George” by The Jicks. Following that, releases are set to come from OBN III’s (March) and The Men from New York City (May). Subscriptions are $45. That’s quite a chunk of cash, but you also get a tote bag, 10% off the Matador store all year and a “secret surprise” (and BTW, copies of that limited-press Nirvana Singles Club offering are now fetching more than $2,500 on ebay). Check it out at Matador. Now when is Saddle Creek going to get off its tired ass and put together a Singles Club?

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Speaking of Matador and end-of-year lists, the label recently published its contributors’ annual end-of-year lists right here. I usually skip down to the end to see what obscure shit that label guy Gerard Cosloy is listening to these days. Of note: Digital Leather’s “Mind Eraser” made Steve Glauber of Matador Direct’s list of favorite tunes in 2011.

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Speaking of Digital Leather, their song “Young Doctors in Love” is featured at SPIN.com’s “First Spin” page, where you can download it for free. The song is from DL’s forthcoming LP Modern Problems, slated for release on FDH Records Feb. 14. It’ll also be included on another year-end comp that will be announced in the coming days (can you guess who’s?)…

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Speaking of album previews, our old Eagle Seagull pal Eli Mardock is offering an online preview of his upcoming album, Everything Happens For The First Time, right here. No street date or label info was passed along with this bit of news other than we’ll be seeing it sometime in 2012.

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Finally, kind of interesting is the return of D.C. post-punk band Q & Not U.  John Davis and Chris Richards recently performed together and intend “to keep working on songs and, hopefully, playing more shows,” according to this story in the Washington City Paper. Mynabirds fans may recall that Davis was half of Georgie James with Laura Burhenn.

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And so we enter the Christmas weekend where as per usual, there’s not much going on. You know, Christmas is for families, and all that jive. That said, tonight there’s a “Holiday Hootenanny” going on at The Sandbox featuring a plethora of rockabilly bands, including Snake Island, St. Christopher, Th’ Empires, Rumble Seat Riot and Gerald Lee Jr. or The Filter Kings. $10, all ages, show starts at 7.

Also tonight, Two Drag Club and Witness Tree are playing at The Barley Street Tavern. 9:30, probably $5. And Satchel Grande, is playing again tonight at The Waiting Room, where they’re practically becoming the house band (and why not?). $7, 9 p.m. Finally, Ragged Company is playing a set this afternoon down at House of Loom with cellist David Downing. 5 p.m. and free.

And that’s it for the weekend. Here’s hoping you get a brand new guitar for Christmas.

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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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Not a lot of time for a hardcore critique, so I thought I’d share some brief comments and photos taken at last Saturday night’s Hear Nebraska Vol. 1 CD release show at The Sydney. The event had a pretty decent turn-out despite the shitty weather, and the music couldn’t have been better (or louder).

Digital Leather at The Sydney, Dec. 3, 2011.

Digital Leather had the biggest stand-up crowd of the evening, which is a dumb way of saying that more people stood near the edge of the Sydney’s so-called “stage” for their set than any other Saturday night. This continues to be my favorite local band.

Domestica at The Sydney, Dec. 3, 2011.

Domestica brought it like the “old days,” and took every opportunity to let the crowd know that they were, in fact, from the “old days.” Lighten up on the old-age stuff folks. Your brand of punk rock is timeless and eviscerates 95 percent of the competition that’s young enough to be your kids.

Masses at The Sydney, Dec. 3, 2011.

This was a different Masses than I heard in July 2010 at TWR. Their sound has evolved from sludge noise to intricate, orchestrated, voice-of doom-rock that borders on metal but isn’t metal. Of the three or four all-instrumental rock bands that I’ve seen from Omaha and Lincoln (and you know who I’m talking about) these guys are now on top of the list.

Not pictured but worth mentioning is Dim Light, who played an amazing set. Is it me or is their sound constantly evolving to something that is thoroughly unique and brutal? Amazing stuff.

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Hear Nebraska Vol. 1

Some thoughts on Hear Nebraska Vol. 1, the first in a series of comp CDs that are being put together by the folks at hearnebraska.org (the board of which I am a member, though I had nothing to do with this album)…

The record is being celebrated with a release party Saturday night at The Syndey. This CD has a very limited run of only 150 copies. After that, it’s download-only. All cash goes to the HN coffers.

Designed to be (as HN executive Andy Norman says) “a cross-selection of Nebraska’s most exciting bands,” as a whole, it’s a pretty complete snapshot of where we are these days, though there will be those who will quibble that this band or that band was left off, there (presumably) will be room for them on Vol. 2. The breakdown:

Thunder Power, “Who Am I” — Easily the best Thunder Power song I’ve heard, and I’ve heard most of their recordings. It has an energy that I’ve always found lacking from their music, driven in part by terrific organ/keyboards, glowing guitars and an uninhibited vocal. It’s a fitting opening track and sets the bar for the rest of the comp (and for TP’s next album).

Big Harp, “Everybody Pays” — This is a different version than appears on their Saddle Creek debut. I’m not sure where it came from (perhaps from the Love Drunk video shoot?) — it pops from the speakers better than the original. I’m beginning to think live recordings are the future of the indie music industry, if only for the economy of it all.

The Betties, “Come Back to Me” — This sleepy little C&W number is my introduction to this band of western folkies whose love for Hank and Loretta are twangfully obvious.

Conduits, “Blood” — Another intrepid release from the band’s long-awaited debut (over a year now, right?), it’s one of their more upbeat numbers, a quick-step syncopation pulled together by Jenna Morrison’s languid, black-leather Euro croon that boarders on lovely drone, until the lonely siren birdsong that breaks the song in half, before the world comes crashing down again.

Dim Light, “For You” — Like a perverted stripper ballad lifted from the soundtrack of a David Lynch film, there’s something brazen and obscene in how Cooper throws down his caterwaul like a stoned Jim Morrison or Mark Lanegan. A drunken love call sang in an empty jail cell at 4 a.m.

Con Dios, “What’s Your Name?” — A new song that doesn’t appear on their officially unreleased recording, it sounds like Saddle Creek indie or Nebraska indie or whatever you want to call this style of upbeat folk music with downbeat vocals that’s so reflective of the last decade of sounds made from around here.

Domestica, “Shine” — Clocking in at less than two minutes (just like any good punk song) it’s another perfect slice of fist-pumping anthem rock that Heidi and Jon have been making for more than a decade.

The Mezcal Brothers, “Lonely Fool” — Clocking in at less than two minutes (just like any good ’50s jukebox song), this is diner rockabilly as you’ve come to expect from this band of local originals. As shiny as the bumper of a ’57 Chevy,

Digital Leather, “Sponge” — Off-kilter and off-balance, this little New Wave / No Wave synth ballad left me stumbling through early Cure (and mid-era Replacements) memories, lonely and simple and lost. Probably my favorite of the bunch.

So-So Sailors, “So Broken Hearted,” — Another song from another long-awaited release (over a year now, right?), it’ll be recognized as one of the band’s centerpiece numbers from their live set, grand and elegant in a style that’s more ’70s arena ballad than modern-day indie. Play it next time you’re headed to Jungle Land.

Kill County, “Home Blues” — Hold-me-close country ballad that sounds like John Hiatt long, long after closing time.

Wagon Blasters, “Golden Lariat” — Tractor Punk. Gary Dean Davis. Nebraska originals. Them Thornton boys. It all feels like driving too fast in a late-model El Camino on dirty county roads. Loud and reckless.

As stupid as it sounds, this comp would make the perfect Christmas gift for all those people who’ve asked you about the Nebraska music scene circa 2011. At $15, buy them in bunches. The CD release show at the Sydney Saturday features Digital Leather, The Wagon Blasters, Domestica, Dim Light and Masses and starts either at 9 or 10, depending on which listing you find. Cover is $5.

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I can tell you exactly when the screening of Color Me Obsessed: A Film About the Replacements starts tonight at Slowdown. The film rolls at 8 p.m., with director Gorman Bechard in the house.

This is not your typical rockumentary. According to IMDB.com, “Bechard bravely eschews including the band’s music, photos, and live footage, instead relying solely on the fans: their well-kept memories, hilarious anecdotes, and differing points of views about the foursome’s wildly varied discography and infamous antics.” Bechard will be conducting a Q&A after the film’s 123-minute runtime, after which five bands will be providing their interpretations of Replacements music: Anonymous American, Witness Tree, Travelling Mercies, Peace of Shit and Well Aimed Arrows (though I noticed today that Peace of Shit and Well Aimed Arrows are no longer listed on Slowdown’s website for this event — let’s hope it’s just an oversight).  $7, 8 p.m.

Also tonight, Honey & Darling are playing at O’Leaver’s with Nelsonvillians and Wind-Up Bird. $5, 9:30 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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Below is a handful of images from this past weekend’s festivities. Look for a full review in this week’s column. Until then…

Mister Heavenly at The Slowdown Block Party, Aug. 26, 2011. The "indie supergroup" was more Man Man than The Shins or Modest Mouse.

The Hold Steady at The Slowdown Block Party, Aug. 26, 2011.

The Hold Steady's Craig Finn makes a point during The Slowdown Block Party, Aug. 26, 2011.

Gus & Call at Dundee Day, Aug. 27, 2011. Is this the best band on the Slumber Party Records roster? (Yes)

Digital Leather plays a rapid-fire set at Dundee Day, Aug. 27, 2011.

The Show Is the Rainbow's Darren Keen in the crowd at Dundee Day, Aug. 27, 2011.

The Show Is the Rainbow ends Dundee Day on a high note.

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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.

So-So Sailors at the MAHA / Hear Nebraska Showcase at The Slowdown, July 28, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I don’t know what more to say about Digital Leather that I haven’t already said. The band continues to be one of my favorites, not only in Omaha, but anywhere. Last night at the MAHA/Hear Nebraska Showcase at The Slowdown, DL sported the same three-piece configuration they had at O’Leaver’s in May: John Vredenburg on bass, Jeff Lambelet on drums, and guitarist/vocalist Shawn Foree in the lead — a lean, mean trio burning brightly through their set as if they had nothing to lose.

Digital Leather at the MAHA / Hear Nebraska Showcase at The Slowdown, July 28, 2011.

Yeah, I loved the old synth-driven version of Digital Leather (One person asked me last night, “Where’s the digital part?”), but I dig the raw energy of this stripped down version almost as much. Foree is an electric, muscular frontman, Vredenburg is a chaotic, spitting punk madman, and Lambelet is out of control, driving his kick drum to the edge of the stage with every song, knocking cymbals off the tee for audience members to run on stage and fix (touching moments indeed). Imagine how these guys would have sounded sandwiched between J. Mascis and Guided By Voices at the MAHA Music Festival. Oh well, maybe next year, that is if they’re available. By then they’ll have a new record out on Absolutely Kosher and will likely be on an unending national/international tour, well on their way to becoming great big rock stars.

So-So Sailors had no problem following DL. The line-up included Ben Brodin on keys, replacing (for the evening) a busy Dan McCarthy, and doing a fine job. I’m so used to hearing S-SS’s set that each song is like an old friend, familiar and comfortable, as if their record came out a year ago when in fact it hasn’t been released yet. Imagine how “familiar” we’re going to be with these songs a year from now when they’re still playing them, supporting their debut release… Something tells me I won’t mind, although I’m already dying to hear some new material.

Speaking of comfortable bands, Fortnight continues to refine its Midwestern indie-rock sound, reaching out the furthest on their last song. I’d like to see these folks push their sound even further.

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Tonight, more MAHA star power as The Envy Corps play at The Waiting Room with Conduits and Tangent Arc. $8, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at O’Leaver’s tonight it’s Cloven Path, Blyeth and Flesh Eat Skin Disease. The usual 9:30 start, the usual $5.

At Barley St. tonight, Lonely Estates plays with Blue Rosa. 9 p.m. $5.

Talking Mountain continues to bombard Omaha with its spazz-aholic, smoke-choking, laser-blinded pop goodness at O’Leavers Saturday night, along with Mammoth Life. 9:30, $5.

Sunday is the biggest show of the weekend: Cold Cave with Astra and Touch People (the indescribable Darren Keen) at The Waiting Room. $10 now, $12 DOS. 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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Omaha punk rock band Digital Leather has been in the news recently. Frontman Shawn Foree just did an interview with Hear Nebraska (here) where he talks about his new yet-to-be-released EP Infinite Sun and his almost spiritual relationship with the late, great Jay Reatard.

But just as newsworthy was Foree’s interview with Mala Vida, Buena Musica, a Puerto Rican blog, published in Spanish, requiring the use of the good ol’ Babel Fish translator. In the interview with the headline “I Was Forced to Smoke Crack at Knife Point,” Foree talks about the history of Digital Leather, the new EP and then just drops out of the blue that he signed a deal with Absolutely Kosher Records, home of such acts as Goblin Cock, The Wrens, Pinback, The Mountain Goats and Xiu Xiu. Impressive.

Foree goes on to say that his split with Fat Possum Records, his label for one record, had to do with the label’s focus on “commercial sounding music.” He also discusses some of his past tour exploits involving street cocaine deals gone wrong and the aforementioned smoking-crack-at-knife-point incident that took place in Portland “which was awesome.” All of this, of course, depends on the accuracy of the Babel Fish translation…

We’re lucky to have Digital Leather in Omaha. If you haven’t already, I strongly suggest you seek out copies of Blow Machine, Sorcerer and his most recent full-length, Warm Brother. You will not be disappointed. BTW, Digital Leather was another band that I suggested to the MAHA organizers for their music festival (for the past two years). I think they were spooked by the, uh, graphic nature of some of Foree’s songs. My response to that: If what you’re listening to isn’t risky, than it’s not rock music. Find out how risky DL really is by checking out their set Thursday night at The Slowdown, where they’re playing a MAHA showcase curated by the more daring lads in So-So Sailors.

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Cursive’s press agent issued a release today stating what most people around here already knew — Cursive is working on a new album over at ARC Studios. Joining the core band of Tim Kasher, Ted Stevens and Matt Maginn are Patrick Newberry, who recently became a permanent member of Conduits, tour drummer Cully Symington, with producer Matt Bayles behind the soundboard. Bayles recorded the last Ladyfinger full-length, and he’s also worked with Mastodon and Isis.

After Cursive performs as this year’s MAHA Music Festival Aug. 13 at Stinson Park with original drummer Clint Schnase (read an interview where Schnase talks about the reunion, here), Kasher will hit the road on a solo tour in support of his new EP, Bigamy: More Songs From The Monogamy Sessions, which will be available on CD and vinyl only at the upcoming shows and in the Saddle Creek webstore. The digital download will be available Aug. 16.

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Apologies for the weirdness on the timing of these posts lately. I’m on the road right now. Which is why I’ll be missing tonight’s big show at Slowdown: Blitzen Trapper with AgesandAges. $13, 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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Digital Leather at O'Leaver's April 30, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

My weekend was so musically voluminous that I had to split it into two blog entries. And this is part 2:

I admit I was a little bummed when I heard Digital Leather’s lineup no longer would include keyboards. Not just that Annie Dilocker no longer was playing with the band, but no keyboards at all. Listen to Sorcerer or Blow Machine or Warm Brother. The keyboards are a center point of the band’s sound on all those albums. Make that were a center point. Someone told me that DL frontman/songwriter/genius Shawn Foree’s new songs simply didn’t use keyboards, so there is no reason to have a synth on stage anymore. In fact, Digital Leather was down to a three piece Saturday night at O’Leaver’s. Former guitarist Austin Ulmer is apparently living large in Grand Island. Foree is now on guitar, backed by John Vredenburg on bass and Jeff Lambelet on drums.

So here’s the thing about Foree:  He’s a prolific songwriter that’s constantly evolving his sound. And no matter what the lineup, that songwriting style — his voice — comes through on everything. Such was the case with the new material unveiled Saturday. Yeah, I missed the keys, but to be honest, they almost always were (regretfully) lost in the mix during live sets anyway. And even without them, there was no mistaking these for anything but DL songs. As a three-piece, the shift is to a more stripped down sound (naturally) that borders on traditional garage punk, which isn’t too far from where they’ve been headed for the last couple of years (on stage, anyway). Meanwhile, DL standards like “Your Hand, My Glove” were transformed into punk trash anthems that ride the bass line. “Studs in Love,” with extended riffage, was a highlight (Vredenburg called it their “Pink Floyd version” of the song). After the main set was done, the crowd wanted more and got it. The night ended with a cover of M.O.T.O.’s “Deliver Deliver Deliver.” beefed up raw and twice as fast as the original. Where’s that new album, boys?

Baby Tears opened the night with a set of gutter punk that was all grit and sweat and pain; with staging punctuated by a hilarious smoke machine that looked more like car exhaust than a special effect. Millions of Boys, the second opener, has transformed themselves from the twangy indie band that I saw last August at their debut to a full-out punk band with pop leanings. Both are recommended.

* * *

MECA / Red Sky finally began making some announcements, just a few months before their 6-day spoogefest at TD Ameritrade Park. Last week they announced their initial pricing scheme: 1-Day Pass: $15; 3-Day Pass: $30; 6-Day Pass: $60. Hey Red Sky — there’s no discount between the 3-Day and 6-Day pass — what the f**kl? Doesn’t matter anyway because “All passes include admission to Stages B & C only. Entry to Main Stage in TD Ameritrade Park Omaha is not included.” (their bf, not mine). So, $15 a day to see the county fair bands and the local yokels. If you want to see the headliner, well, that’ll cost ya extra, son.

Red Sky also announced last week that it’s pulling the ol’ “Battle of the Bands” shtick to fill those 20 or so local band spots. I guess I can’t blame them since your typical MECA schlub very likely has never heard a local band play before. I suspect we’ll see all the same bands at their showcases that we’ve historically seen at OEA events — i.e., none of the local bands that actually tour outside of Omaha and/or release distributed recordings (i.e., Saddle Creek bands). But you never know. Red Sky boasts on its “Battle of the Bands” webpage that it’s paying acts who play at their showcases (depending on the draw, whatever that means), as well as those who emerge victorious and make it to the C Stage.

And yesterday, RS announced its first headliner – 311 – which I suspect will set the tone for the entire festival. 311 is a local favorite, and should do very well, especially since tickets are reasonably priced at $35 and $25 (and includes admission to the B & C stages). RS also announced Sublime as part of the 311 package, but we all know that they mean Sublime with Rome, the Sublime knock-off band, who should fit right in line with the Journey knock-off band that will probably be announced next, but not until next week, apparently. RS is drawing out their announcements, for reasons no one knows for sure. Probably because they’ve yet to ink deals with the other big-name acts. Regardless, so far I’m 1-1 on my lineup hunches from way back in March.

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Finally, here’s an interesting show going on tonight: Wilmington, DE, duo The Sky Drops plays at The Barley Street Tavern with Eli Mardock and Pastel Pistol. The Sky Drops is Rob Montejo, formerly of Smashing Orange, who once opened for Lush in London and recorded a John Peel Session in February 1992. The other half of The Sky Drops is Monika Bullette (drums/vocals). This show should be required attendance by anyone interested in first-wave shoegaze. $5, 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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Mogwai at The Slowdown May 11, 2009.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’ll make this simple: Digital Leather is one of my favorite bands. They’re playing for the first time in Omaha since last November this Saturday night at O’Leaver’s. Expect to hear plenty of new material from upcoming releases. Joining them will be Millions of Boys and Baby Tears. The cherry on the cake: The first 25 paid through the door will receive a copy of the Digital Leather/Cola Freaks split 7″ courtesy of Vice Records and Scion A/V. $5, 9:30 p.m. Do Not Miss This One.

I jumped ahead of myself.  What about tonight? The most interesting show this evening, unfortunately, is in Lincoln, where West Plains, Missouri natives Ha Ha Tonka play at the Bourbon Theater. Their latest album, Death of a Decade, was released on Bloodshot Records. Foodies may recognize them from their recent appearance on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations show on The Travel Channel. They take alt country to a whole new level. Headlining is Kris Lager Band. $10, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Damon Dotson plays at Slowdown Jr. with Zach Short. $8, 9 p.m.

In addition to the return of Digital Leather, Saturday night is Mogwai at The Slowdown, with Errors opening. This will be the first time that a baseball game at the new TD Ameritrade Park will overlap a big show at Slowdown, but let’s face it, it’s just Creighton Vs. Bradley, and does anyone really care about Creighton baseball? The game, which starts at 6:30, will probably draw a few thousand, which should leave plenty of parking in and around the Slowdown compound. Now if this was CWS… but who am I kidding? Slowdown will be turned into a giant beer tent (and money printing operation) for those two weeks of June. Anyway, Mogwai is freaking amazing live, and if I wasn’t going to see Digital Leather, I’d be down there getting my ears blown off with you (don’t forget your earplugs, seriously…). Here’s my review of their May 2009 show at Slowdown. $20, 9 p.m.

Finally, Sunday night is the return of The Good Life, who haven’t played around here in a long, long time. They’re playing at Slowdown with Conduits, Honeybee and Hers and Fortnight. The 5-star line-up is a benefit for Omaha Girls Rock!, a camp for young girls to learn and play music. All bands performing have members who will be teachers and contributors in the program, and all proceeds will go toward the camp. Find out more about OGR! right here and read Hilary Stohs-Krause’s feature on the program (including perspective from OGR! founder/executive director Stefanie Drootin) at Hear Nebraska, right here. Great show for a great cause. $12, early start time of 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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Column 307: A Kind of Homecoming
Local boy Andy Norman launches hearnebraska.org

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

To understand the vision for HearNebraska.org — the new online music-directed website that is more than a website — you must understand its creator, Andy Norman.

HearNebraska.org launched Monday morning. I’m not going to go into great detail here about the site because you can discover its multitudes on your own simply by typing hearnebraska.org into your browser. I will tell you that its goal is to provide resources and a voice for bands, artists and members of Nebraska’s creative class — as well as the businesses that support them — in an effort to make the state a globally recognized cultural destination. I know that because I helped write the mission statement.

Full disclosure: I’m on the HearNebraska.org Board of Directors, so bally-hooing the site will seem somewhat self-congratulatory until you realize I get nothing from its success other than knowing that Andy and his lovely wife, Angie, are one step closer on their quest to acquire health insurance.

It didn’t have to be that way. Norman could be sitting in a fancy office on K St. in Washington, D.C., right now contemplating his next deadline had he followed his initial career path.

OK, let’s start at the beginning.

Shortly after graduating with a degree in journalism from University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2003, Norman headed to Omaha to work with former Omaha World-Herald columnist Jim Minge and a cadre of others (including The Reader‘s own Eric Stoakes) to create Omaha City-Weekly, an alt-weekly competitor to The Reader, in 2004. His tenure as managing editor at OCW was short-lived, as he ended up at The Reader in June 2005, where, among other things, Norman was my boss as the paper’s managing editor.

Three years’ worth of deadlines later, and Norman left The Reader in May 2008. “I was looking for a new challenge and didn’t want to work for any other paper or alt weekly,” he said. “I just wanted to go back to school.”

He found a program that offered a Master’s in Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University. “Basically, they teach you how to find and produce environmental stories by taking dry science and making it compelling,” he said. Norman paid his tuition by working as a grad assistant and editor of MSU’s award-winning EJ Magazine. He went on to spend the summer of ’09 covering environmental legislation on Capital Hill for Congressional Quarterly.

It all sounds very impressive, doesn’t it? “I had picked environmental journalism because I was trying to position myself and my career,” Norman said. “I wanted to learn about new media; I wanted to know how to transition in a rough journalism climate that hadn’t even gotten rough yet. I thought I was ahead of the curve.”

But something funny happened on the way to picking up his future Pulitzers — the economy died, along with journalism. “The housing bubble busted and the economy went to shit and no was buying newspapers anymore,” Norman said. “It was all about sports and entertainment. Lifestyle reporting was safe. Environmental journalists and foreign correspondents were disposable.”

Norman hadn’t even graduated from MSU yet and he was already second-guessing a career in environmental journalism. Instead, he and Angie were having drinks in a dive bar in Lansing and the conversation turned as it always did, to Nebraska music.

“We talked about how no one in Michigan knew about Nebraska music, and if they did know something it was only about Saddle Creek Records,” Norman said. “The idea popped up to create a statewide website that increased Nebraska’s music presence nationally.”

He took the idea to his advisors at MSU, and hearnebraska.org became Norman’s master’s project — a project that had nothing to do with the environment. “My advisors were incredibly supportive,” Norman said. “They said if you can make a job out of this or if it helps you get a job, we’re in no position to stand in your way. There was this air that no one had a fucking clue what was happening in journalism or how to navigate the waters, so they were open to it, and I had a pretty good pitch.”

Among his biggest supporters were Cliff Lampe, one of the founders of nerd/geek tech site slashdot.org, and Jonathan Morgan, a reporter for the New York Times and the Detroit News, who was behind a neighborhood hyper-local online application.

So after receiving his master’s in May 2010, Norman began to piece together the non-profit hearnebraska.org from his new home, back in Lincoln. Despite the unmistakable death knell of print journalism, with his credentials Norman still could have landed a cushy reporting gig somewhere. Instead, he followed his more financially modest dream.

Why didn’t he go for the money grab? “It’s not what I want,” Norman said. “I want to live comfortably. It would be great to have health insurance, but I lived in D.C. for a summer and worked for one of the best political papers in the country and I saw the lifestyle and how fast everything moved and how much I would have had to focus on my career as opposed to my family and friends, and that’s not what I wanted. I didn’t want to chase those ambitions.

“I’m proud of Nebraska, and I realized in Michigan that I had become this huge cheerleader for the state. I want to help it grow. I’m a Nebraska guy. It just makes sense to be here.”

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Speaking of The Reader, there have been a ton of changes at the paper which you may or may not know about. The executive suite sees the departure of Sarah Wengert as Managing Editor. Sarah’s not leaving town, she’s just looking to try something new. You’ll be seeing her byline out and about in various publications, including The Reader. Her replacement is Sean Brennan, who you might recognize from the ol’ Omaha City-Weekly. But there’s also a bunch of new warm bodies that have been added to The Reader‘s torch pile, including news writer Lincolnite Hilary Stohs-Krause, a name you may recognize from the Starcityscene.com blog. And something I didn’t have room to mention in the above column — Andy Norman also continues to contribute to The Reader in a news capacity — you didn’t think he was paying his bills doing hearnebraska.org, did you?

And then there’s maybe the most earth-shaking change of all, a monumental shift that very likely will have a quantum impact on the Omaha music scene — Chris Aponick has been added to The Reader staff as its new music editor. I’m not sure what his actual title is, but Aponick is now responsible for assigning music coverage as well as writing the weekly “Backbeat” column.

In the driver’s seat for only a couple weeks and Chris already has snagged his first exclusive. In his column this week he reports that Digital Leather has signed a deal with Tic Tac Totally Records to release their upcoming album, Infinite Sun, sometime this summer. This is the album that was partially funded through a successful Kickstarter effort, so if you, like me, laid down some cash you’ll be getting your limited edition copy sometime soon. TTT is a Chicago label whose roster includes Bare Wires, Wavves, So Cow, Meercaz, and Omaha’s very own trash-punk deviants, The Shanks. Pssst… just between you and me, Digital Leather is one of my favorite local bands…

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Finally, the Playing With Fire concert series announced yesterday that Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings is the headliner for their July 16 concert at Lewis & Clark Landing. It’s a huge announcement that sends shockwaves through the local festival circuit. SJ&theD-Ks is one of those bands that cuts through multiple genres — blues, R&B, rock and yes, indie — as well as age groups. Everybody thinks they’re cool because they are. Huge. Red Sky very likely never even considered booking them, but SJ/D-Ks would have been a perfect get for the MAHA Music Festival. This ups the ante even further. Can MAHA top it?

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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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.