The reissue of Silkworm’s In the West are among the recordings available from Bandcamp.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This is usually the spot where I tell you who’s playing where this weekend and which shows you absolutely, positively shouldn’t miss. It may be a long time until I get to do that again.

Last night I watched Kurt Vile on the Luck Reunion ‘Til Further Notice live Twitch stream. Live streamed performances are about all we’re going to get for the time being. A lot of local musicians already are getting into the swing of live streaming, judging by the number of people on Facebook sitting in their basements or bedrooms with guitars in their laps.

There are a couple of sources for lists of these live music performance streams. Kevin Coffey at the Omaha World-Herald has compiled a list, which you can find right here on the OWH website. And L. Kent Wolgamott of the Lincoln Journal-Star also has compiled a list, available somewhere on the Journal-Star website (though I can’t find it) and also here on Facebook. Check them out and put money in the digital money boot/hat to help keep these musicians going until COVID-19 goes away.

What else…

I got an email from FDH Records (the label put out a number of Digital Leather recordings, among other things) that said both FDH and Suicide Bong tapes are halting production of physical copies of new releases.

“We hope that once the dust settles we will be able to pick operations back up and get back to our main love of physical copies of music on vinyl and tapes. In the meantime we still plan on working with artists to keep new music coming digitally in these uncertain times.”

Just how bad are labels getting smacked in these Days of COVID? If their bands can’t be on the road selling albums, does it make sense to keep pressing? And how are record stores doing when entire states (California, for example) are now on lock down?

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Which makes this a good time to remind you that today (March 20) Bandcamp is waving its revenue share on sales. And a ton of labels are also giving 100 percent of revenue to the artists. “For many artists, a single day of boosted sales can mean the difference between being able to pay rent or not,” says Bandcamp. Check out the list of Artist and labels offering donations, special merch and more for this COVID-19 Fundraiser. (BTW, it appears to be a popular promotion – the Bandcamp servers are slooooow and keep locking up, Keep trying).

Among the recordings:

Mal Blum, Pity Boy (Don Giovanni) – They were slated to play at Reverb in the coming weeks. It was while doing research for that show that I first discovered them, and they’ve become one of my recent favorites. Here’s hoping they can reschedule their Omaha gig.

Porridge Radio, Every Bad (Secretly Canadian) – Some folks classify it as shoegaze but it’s poppier and in a lot of ways reminds me of Garbage. This record is going to be a classic.

Lantern on the Lake, Spook the Herd (Bella Union) – Newcastle band’s latest is sweet and haunting and pretty.

Silkworm, In the West (Comedy Minus One) — This is the definitive reissue of the beloved Chicago band’s second album, remixed from the original 2″ tape by Steve Albini, who engineered the original recording.

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And that’s all I got. Stay in this weekend and listen to some music. Before you know it, this will all be over…

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 © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Matthew Sweet is playing at O’Leaver’s July 30.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’ve got two seconds to write this:

The announcement went out this morning that ’90s indie rock superstar and recent Omaha transplant Matthew Sweet has been booked to play at fabulous O’Leaver’s July 30. The $15 tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. from here. Something tells me it’s going to sell out.

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I was going to embed 4AD band Future Islands videos from last night’s Kimmel show, but you’ve already seen them. Here’s hoping these guys don’t get over-exposed. I’d hate to see their music get pushed to the sidelines behind Samuel T. Herring’s wicked dance moves…

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Former Hear Nebraska Managing Editor Michael Todd yesterday launched a new website called Unfound Sounds.

“This site creates treasure hunts for good music on vinyl. We hide records in Omaha businesses, then post an album review and hints of the hiding place. If you know which business we’re detailing, go there and ask for the next step: a series of final clues pointing to the record’s exact location.”

Sounds fun. Go to unfoundsounds.com to play.

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The late, great Silkworm.

Finally, one of my favorite bands from the ’90s, Silkworm, is seeing the re-release of 1994 album Libertine by the fine folks at Comedy Minus One Records.

Says the press release: “This is a double 12″ pressing with a supplementary CD including ‘The Marco Collins Sessions’ as well as two additional recordings from the band’s time at Pachyderm Studio. Includes all-new artwork throughout (the revised cover is pictured at the top of this email) plus a full color insert with liner notes by Silkworm’s Tim Midyett. Mastered from the original 1/2″ tapes by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service.”

The record is in stores today or available online here. And you can stream the full album here.

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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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

“River’s Edge Park” Council Bluffs

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Believe it or not, it’s been a couple years since Playing With Fire’s “grand finale” at Stinson Park featuring Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings. That was one helluva night. So it seems only fitting that Sharon Jones and her band kick off the new Playing With Fire series as it moves from one side of the river to another.

Via a press release that went out this morning:

The City of Council Bluffs along with Con Agra Foods Foundation and the Iowa West Foundation are proud to announce the acclaimed Playing With Fire concert series will bring world-class jazz, blues, soul and funk music to celebrate the Grand Opening of River’s Edge Park at the foot of the Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge in Council Bluffs by offering a free Memorial Day concert on Monday, May 27, 2013.

The headliner will be Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings…To complement the headliners, Omaha’s own premier local funk and party band Satchel Grande, and popular veteran of the local blues scene, Mojo Bag, will open the show. Gates at 3:30 p.m. and Mojo Bag kicks off the festivities at 4 p.m.

So where exactly is “River’s Edge Park” (apparently named after the 1986 American drama film starring Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye, Daniel Roebuck, and Dennis Hopper as “Feck”)? Well, according to the park’s website, it will be right on the other side of the Bob Kerrey pedestrian bridge, with the stage backing right up to the river. Could be a very cool place to see a show…

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Among my favorite bands of the ’90s was a little Seattle act called Silkworm.

They were on a number of labels, but did some of their best work while on Matador, specifically 1996’s Firewater (though ’98’s Blueblood on Touch and Go is still my favorite). When their drummer, Mike Dahlquist, was killed in a car accident in 2005, the band called it quits, and a few years later, a couple members went on to form Bottomless Pit.

Anyway, today Matador major domo Gerald Cosloy posted in his blog “Can’t Stop the Bleeding” (a must read for any sports fan (even if you — like me — love the Yankees and Knicks)) that documentary Couldn’t You Wait? The Story of Silkworm is now available online for a mere $5. In addition to footage of the band, the film features interviews with Steve Albini, Stephen Malkmus, Jeff Tweedy and others.  Check out the clip below and then download the film.

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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.