by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A few things from my in-box…

Yesterday our hometown record label, Saddle Creek Records, announced the reissue of Rilo Kiley’s 2002 breakthrough LP, The Execution of All Things. This is the record whose title track declared the emergence of Omaha’s “booming music scene… and humility” Ah, those were the days. 

Somehow Saddle Creek has held onto the rights to this indie classic and are celebrating it with a die-cut gatefold clear vinyl (and CD), to be released April 25. Preorder yours here. This news goes hand-in-hand with Rilo Kiley’s just-announced limited U.S. Tour that comes nowhere near that once-booming music scene. 

Saddle Creek is two-for-two for reissue announcements. Hey Robb, how about some new music? 

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Speaking of hometown record labels, our very own Max Trax Records (the home of Little Brazil and Leafblower, among others), last week announced the debut single by Sioux Falls, South Dakota indie band Shurr Jr. 

Who is Shurr Jr.? The power trio consists of guitarist/vocalist Nick Maxwell, drummer Frankie Maxwell and bass player Kelly Maxwell. The siblings’s father, Frank Maxwell, was an Omaha music legend who played guitar in the band Fifth of May in the ‘80s and ‘90s. No doubt, the apples didn’t fall far from the tree. 

The single, “Drowning,” is the first track off the band’s upcoming EP, Red Shelter, slated for release by Max Trax March 28. It was produced by the band and Nate Van Fleet (See Through Dresses) at ARC studio and Van Fleet’s old studio, Divine Hammer.  

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In (dis)honor of King Trump’s inauguration, Lincoln duo Vempire released a maxi-single called “About Tuesday” with Permadeaf (Ryan Thomas of Machete Archive). The song was written the day after the election “so we can say we did something constructive rather than dig our nails into the wall,” said Vempire’s Mike Elfers. 

The maxi single (all tracks here) includes remixes by Lincoln’s Terra Genesis, Minneapolis’s Toilet Rats, Canada’s Candid Black and Peter Tansky from The Book of Very Very Bad Things Podcast in Scranton. 

“About Tuesday” is “a direct response to the current social and political climate, which rewards greed, ignorance, deceit, aggression, and scapegoating, while undermining empathy, cooperation, and understanding.” I guess that makes it a protest song – and we need more of those in these troubled times.. 

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Finally, here’s a stand-out track from the deluge from Minneapolis dream-core band She’s Green. The band just signed with NYC label Photo Finish Records; the single was produced by Slow Pulp’s Henry Stoehr. Reminiscent of Cocteau Twins or The Sundays, this one shifts gears from shimmering quiet to epic majesty. 

The five-piece, fronted by Zofia Smith, are headed on a rather massive U.S. Tour with the band Glixen that, despite their proximity, passes right over Omaha as it makes its Denver/Minneapolis/KC/Chicago jaunt in early March. 

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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Not much happening this weekend, if anything. If you know of something cool, put it in the comments section. It’ll probably be the last nice weekend of the year, so get out and enjoy it.

Lots of new music coming out today, too. I’ll be checking out new ones by METZ, Future Islands, Touche Amore, The Budos Band, Yo La Tengo, Peach Kelli Pop and Cut Worms, among others. There seems to be no let-up in new music releases in the COVID Era.

Today AV Club announced the release of No Bad Words for the Coast Today: The Execution of All Things Covers Comp. It’s just like what it sounds: a collection of covers of Rilo Kiley’s 2002 Saddle Creek Records’ debut The Execution of All Things by some of the hottest indie stars of today, including Mannequin Pussy, Diet Cig, Adult Mom, Sad13 (Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz) and a bunch I’m not familiar with like Gay Meat, Verdigrls and Sailor Boyfriend.

From now through Nov. 6 (album release date), all album proceeds will be donated to G.L.I.T.S., a NYC-based non-profit, social justice, advocacy and service organization addressing the health and rights crises faced by transgender sex workers. Pre-order the compilation via Bandcamp (exclusive).

I’ve always liked this album but never thought it would receive a covers treatment. Then again, why would any really good album need to a covers treatment? It’s a novelty, I guess. Anyway, check out the first couple songs available today on Bandcamp.

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Music blog UPROXX has a remembrance of sorts of Rilo Kiley on the band’s 15th anniversary. The writer goes through their catalog and has some nice comments about the sole Saddle Creek release in 2002, The Execution of All Things, which was something of a landmark for the label, its first real, non-Nebraska success. Rilo Kiley also would become the first band to to leave the label.

The details of their defection are interesting a decade later. This from Aug. 2, 2004, Lazy-i:

Rilo in the L.A. Times — Aug. 2, 2004

The LA Times published a story about Rilo Kiley yesterday with the headline “Leaving indie life behind — L.A.’s Rilo Kiley, with a new album on its own label and support from Warner Bros., believes its time has come.” Jenny Lewis lays out the logic behind jumping from Saddle Creek, saying essentially that they felt it was time for their big break, even if it costs them their creativity.

“I think we’re excited, but we’re a little nervous as well because we’ve been completely independent up until this point,” says Lewis, 28, in the LA Time article. “Once you start considering stockholders and the way these corporations are run, it isn’t necessarily in line with experimental music and continuing to do things in a totally organic way. But at the same time I feel like, you know, it’s been eight years for us, and if we’re not gonna do it now, then when? And I think we owe it to ourselves to continue to grow.”

Later, she explains that the band couldn’t get airplay on an indie label, which is absurd. “I think after making the record we started playing songs for our friends and we realized for the first time that [radio airplay] could possibly be an option, and I think that led to our decision in trying new things,” she said in the Times article. “With the shift that’s happening in music right now, where bands like Modest Mouse and Franz Ferdinand and all these rock bands are starting to get played on the radio again, it just seemed like the appropriate time.”

That’s kind of like saying that Creek bands are damned to only get airplay in college radio. She could have led the charge to help change that. Oh well, I’m sure there’s more to the story than this…— Aug. 2, 2004

There was.

Two years later I got a chance to ask Rilo Kiley drummer Jason Boesel about why the band strayed from Saddle Creek in this interview. Here’s an excerpt from the story from Sept. 22, 2004:

“We made this record with Saddle Creek and made it for Saddle Creek and figured it would come out on Saddle Creek,” (Boesel) said from his home in Los Angeles where the band is rehearsing for the upcoming tour. “Shortly after completing the record, we had some ideas and talked about them with Saddle Creek and discovered that we differed on a couple issues. Ultimately, we created our own record label to have total freedom over the record and the music.”

That, despite the fact that the CD was already in the can. Seems the disagreements between the band and Creek stemmed not from creative issues, but from what Boesel characterized as limitations inherent to indie record labels. Saddle Creek label manager Jason Kulbel said in last month’s issue of Alternative Press that one of the main differences was in how the two parties approached commercial radio. “Even if we had it, we are just not down with throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars at commercial radio so they will play our stuff,” Kulbel said in the AP article.

But Boesel said it was more than just the cost of doing business with commercial radio. “I don’t know if we’re throwing thousands down for commercial radio. That might be an exaggeration,” he said. “We didn’t want to put a ceiling on what we did.”…

“At some point, the hope is that this record would move to Warner Bros. proper,” Boesel said. “We wanted that to be a possibility. Even if it had been released by Saddle Creek that was a possibility, but it wasn’t something they (Saddle Creek) were comfortable with. They’re definitely crusaders with high morals and ethics, trying to do this thing for the greater good. For some, that’s the right approach. For us, it wasn’t. We’re trying to do something similar, but in a different way. We’re trying to enter into that world with full knowledge of the traps. We came in with a finished record and have not compromised it in the least.”

(Saddle Creek label executive Robb) Nansel said there were a number of reasons why Saddle Creek frowned upon a deal where Warner Bros. or any other major would simply take over the record. “They wanted us to sell ‘x’ number of records and then they would take it from us,” Nansel said. “The first few weeks are the most difficult time for any release.”

Boesel added, “It would be wrong to say we’re not taking a gamble choosing to go into this world. We’re taking a risk. These companies are set up to make money, while indies like Saddle Creek started out as a way to put out good music, which is a completely different thing.”--Lazy-i, Sept. 22, 2004

It is indeed. So did the gamble pay off? One assumes (maybe incorrectly) that Rilo Kiley made more money by moving to a major. Regardless, the band officially broke up in 2014. Jenny Lewis went onto a semi-successful solo career.

Actually, I don’t know how any musician or artist measures success these days. She had a number of quality solo releases; who knows how well they did from a money standpoint.

Lewis’ new project, Nice as Fuck, is something of a step backwards compared to her solo work. The first single, “Door,” is fun and clever but as lightweight a pop song as you’ll ever hear. And then it’s regurgitated six more times to fill out the collection (the band’s “theme song” is also included on the album). A nice little distraction for Lewis until she gets around to her next solo outing…

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Tonight at The Waiting Room is that Deerhoof show I mentioned yesterday. $15, 9 p.m. You really should go. Philly dark-punk band Blank Spell opens along with local hero Thick Paint.

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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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s a big day at Saddle Creek Records. UUVVWWZ’s The Trusted Language and Ladyfinger’s Errant Forms both drop today. Interestingly, both are being offered as digital/vinyl releases — i.e., Saddle Creek isn’t offering either on CD from the online shop, though the vinyl comes packaged with a compact disc. So if you want the CD, you have to buy the vinyl at a higher price ($15 for UU, $17 for Ladyfinger).

Is this CD-with-vinyl-only format how Saddle Creek will handle all releases in the future? I wouldn’t be surprised. Interestingly, digipak CDs of Errant Forms were on sale at last Friday’s album release show. I wonder if UU will have digipaks at Saturday’s release show at The Waiting Room…

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If Jenny Lewis wasn’t busy enough with the upcoming Postal Service tour, today Rilo Kiley announced (via Press Here Publicity) that it’s releasing a b-sides and rarities collection called RKives April 2 on LA based indie Little Record Company, owned by Rilo Kiley’s Pierre DeReeder.

“The record includes nine never-before released songs, a variety of demos, b-sides, and previously hard to find tracks. The 16-song CD and double vinyl will be available in multiple formats including a special deluxe bundle personally curated by Rilo Kiley.”

Who remembers when RK was on Saddle Creek?

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The Slowdown is featuring some interesting garage rock bands tonight, headlined by Cali band The Growlers (Burger Records), Milwaukee Sub Pop act Jaill, Bluenote/Capitol act Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas and Twinsmith. $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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Following up on a column from earlier this year, Omaha Girls Rock! announced yesterday that its second annual Rock Camp for Girls will take place the week of July 30. “OGR will provide 50 girls ages 8-18 with a chance to unleash their inner rock stars and to learn songwriting, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, and vocals,” sayeth the OGR press release.

The week-long day camp, hosted by the College of St. Mary, includes five days of instrument instruction, band practice, guest performances, and “enrichment workshops.”

“The girls are supported by trained, on-site female volunteers, including local and national teachers, social workers, professionals, and musicians. Campers learn instruments, form bands, and write their own original songs. The week culminates in a performance at the Slowdown, Omaha’s premier rock club, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 4. After camp, girls will receive a CD including a recording of their original songs mixed and mastered by a professional sound engineer.”

In other OGR news, the organization recently was designated as a 501(c)(3) charitable organizations by the IRS. That means your donations to OGR can be deducted from your taxes. So what are you waiting for? To donate, go to omahagirlsrock.com.

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While I’m catching up on my in-box , here’s a heart-warming little story from Alabama’s ai.com where Maria Taylor talks about what it’s like being a mom after having her first baby in May. So how is she going to tour that upcoming Azure Ray album with a baby in tow? “Luckily, my mom has offered to be tour nanny,” Taylor said in the article. “We’ll have a separate car for me, my mom and the baby, and we’ll see how he is touring. We’ll just take it as it comes, and figure it out.”

We already knew about the new Azure Ray album coming out on Saddle Creek Sept. 4, but Taylor also talked about a new duo she’s formed with producer Andy LeMaster of Now It’s Overhead. “I think the record is going to be pretty eclectic in its sound, with a pop sensibility and guy-girl harmonies,” Taylor said in the article. “We have about nine songs, and the hardest part is finishing the lyrics. We’re used to writing by ourselves.”

No word on who’s releasing the debut of this unnamed Taylor/LeMaster project, though I wouldn’t be surprised if Saddle Creek had been mentioned in the discussion…

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In “where are they now” news, SPIN reports that Jenny Lewis is working on a B-side collection of Rilo Kiley tracks as well as a follow-up to her Acid Tongue solo album. She’s also been composing the score and serving as music supervisor for a new movie called Very Good Girls.

“I’ve gotten my heart broken, and fallen in love, and moved out my shitty rent-controlled apartment, and lost my father, and tried to rebuild my relationship with my mother,” she said in the article. “All of these things have definitely popped up in my songs and I want to write something that’s real that people can feel.”

Check out the fan-made video for new song “Head Under Water,” performed with he old partners in crime, The Watson Twins.

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Finally, the Nebraska Pop Festival, which took place in Benson a couple weeks ago, presented a check July 17 for $1,630 to Arts For All Executive Director Judy Mallory, according to a press release. Last year NE Pop Fest raised $711 for the AFA. Kudos to festival promoter Chris Beiermann for following through.

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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.