by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

How do you suppose the guys in the band Peace of Shit came up with the name?

“Hmm… Let’s see. How about Peace in our Time? No, no, they’ll think we’re a hippie band. We need something tougher, more punk. OK, maybe, maybe… Piece of Ass? What do you think? That’s awesome. Waitaminit, wait a minute. I got something even better. How about Peace of Shit. And we’ll spell it P E A C E. Yeah, fuckin’ A. That’s it!”

Head butts and high-fives all around. It is, in my humble opinion, one of the best new band names I’ve heard in years, though I won’t be able to wear their T-shirt to the UP gym. The band consists of members of a handful of the area’s most belligerent punk bands, including Digital Leather, Baby Tears, the Shanks, The Fucking Party, La Casa Bombas, The line-up: Johnny VD, guitar; Calvin Retzlaff, drums; Nicky Waggonner, guitar; Craig Fort, bass; Todd VonStup, bass, and chief peace officer Austen Ulmer. But according to Todd, every show has a different line-up. Who knows who’ll show up for tonight’s POS cassette-release party?

“This 10 song cassette was recorded by Ben Allen and Austen Ulmer,” Todd said, “with Austen on vocals, guitars, bass and drums.  Jeff Lambelt also plays drums on a few tracks.  It is being released by Rainy Road Records (Watching the Train Wreck, Brimstone Howl, the Shanks).”

You can download the songs here. But come on, who wants digital files?  Tapes are $5 and you’ll soon be able to order them right from the Rainy Road website. But your best bet is just coming to the show tonight at O’Leaver’s. You know I’ll be there. I even have a tapedeck in my Tracker so I can suck in these sweet tunes on the way home from the bar. Also on the bill are Watching the Train Wreck and Mosquito Bandito. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Kind of/sort of competing with this show is another punk show down at Slowdown Jr. featuring Bazooka Shootout, Dim Light, and Grandmother’s Milk. $5, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, there’s a benefit for the National Humane Society taking place tonight Barley Street Tavern in the memory of Scout the Benson Bar Cat. Among the performers are All Young Girls Are Machine Guns, Platte River Rain and Alex Diimig. $5, 9 p.m.

John Wolf himself has confirmed that tomorrow night’s show (Saturday) at the Waiting Room will be the last time that you’ll ever get a chance to see Omaha legends Bad Luck Charm on any stage. It will be their final show. They’ll be going out in style with The Killigans and Cordial Spew, all for $7. Starts at 9. Come pay your respects to this maximum rock and roll band.

Also Saturday night, Fortnight will be celebrating the release of their new 6-song EP, Botany Camp, at Slowdown Jr. Fortnight is keyboardist Jenn Bernard, guitarists Mike Greene-Walsh and Tim Walker, bassist Matt Carlson, drummer Scott Micheels, and vocalist Corey Degner. Botany Camp was recorded on an analog board in a machine shed and a spare bedroom, then mixed at Enamel Studio and mastered by the master himself, Doug Van Sloun at Focus Mastering. Also on the bill are So-So Sailers, Landing on the Moon and Down with the Ship. $7, 9 p.m.

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Lazy-i Best of 2010

This is your last weekend to get in on the drawing for a copy of  the Lazy-i Best of 2010 CD sampler. Just send an e-mail to tim@lazy-i.com with your name and mailing address. Tracks include songs by Arcade Fire, Jenny and Johnny, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Belle and Sebastian, Titus Andronicus, The Mynabirds, A Weather, Zeus, The Black Keys, Pete Yorn and more. Full track listing is here. If you’re lucky enough to win, you’ll also get the new limited edition Lazy-i Sticker to stick on something. Deadline is next Tuesday, Jan. 18. Do 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.