by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Cleaning out the ol’ email basket…

While still recovering… from throat problems, Conor Oberst has been lighting up the internet with news. On a recent Broken Record podcast, Oberst talked about trying to convince Alan and Diana Meltzer of Wind-Up Records to not sign proto-grunge band Creed to their label way back in the mid-’90s. Oberst was in Commander Venus, which was then signed to Wind-Up. Conor must have been 16 or 17 at the time. Read all about it here in Exclaim.  Said Conor about the Creek record: “And then, sure enough, they put it out, and it’s the biggest thing in the world. So [that’s] another reason not to ever trust my judgement.“

Bright Eyes also just announced that Christopher Owens will be their supporting act when they kick off their North American Tour Jan. 16 in Phoenix. Owens was formerly in the S.F. duo Girls. He opens for Bright Eyes through Feb. 7, then hands the opener chores to Hurray for the Riff Raff, who eventually hands it over to Cursive in April. Those Bright Eyes/Cursive shows could be a real time machine. 

Still no make-up date announced for that “postponed” Steelhouse date….

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Speaking of time machines, tomorrow night (Thursday) at 7:30 p.m., Nebraska Public Media will re-air the next installment of its 33rd Street Sessions series featuring archive performances from Mercy Rule, The Millions and Floating Opera. The old concert clips are interspersed with recent interviews with Mercy Rule’s Jon Taylor, Heidi Ore and Ron Albertson, and The Millions’ Lori Allison. Fun stuff and the recording quality is top-notch. And if you watch via the embedded player below, you can skip over all the NPM fund drive pitches!

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Finally, Dream Ghoul just dropped another track from their upcoming album, A Forgotten Future, which is being released this coming Sunday. Dream Ghoul is the latest project from Max Holmquist (Oquoa). The album was recorded and mixed by Jim Schroeder, of Mesa Buoy and David Nance Band. No doubt you’ll hear most of the album’s songs when the band performs this Friday at Reverb with Western Haikus and The Ivory Claws…

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A few follow-ups to yesterday’s blog entry:

— Turns out The Millions used to play in Omaha all the time, most notably at the long-gone Sharkey’s (which became The Music Box which was torn down to make room for a 24 Hour Fitness). Alas, those shows somehow flew under my radar, though I often frequented Sharkey’s.

— That Titus Andronicus show Nov. 21 is being held at Sokol Underground, not The Sandbox. Also on the bill Ceremony, Slut River and Gordon.

— Kevin Coffey has another report on the closing of The Antiquarium in the Omaha World-Herald, which you can read here. The key bit of information:

(Co-owner Joseph) Tingley and Brian Byrd would like to reopen the store after clearing their debt and if they can find a new location with lower rent.

“We want to reopen at some point,” Tingley said.

Maybe you guys can find cheap digs in Benson? It could use a record store.

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Desaparecidos is slated to perform tonight on Last Call with Carson Daly on NBC. Also scheduled on the telecast: Brother Ali and The Iran Job. Check your local listings and set your DVR/Tivo.

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