by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The day before the official album release show for Speed! Nebraska’s Speed! Lightning 500 album, here’s a quick rundown of the record and who you’ll be seeing tomorrow night at Reverb Lounge. 

First, a bit of history about Speed! Nebraska. “We’re a 45 record label. That’s the main thing we do,” said the label’s head honcho, Gary Dean Davis, in a 2006 feature about the label, written in conjunction with its 10-year anniversary. 

The label was named after a 1995 full-length album by Davis’ former band, Frontier Trust, and was an attempt by Davis to stay involved in music after that band broke up. 

“At the time, I figured I would never be in another band,” Davis said. “but I still wanted to do something with music. I knew that (the band) Solid Jackson had made a recording of their song, ‘Fell,’ and that they weren’t going to put it out. They didn’t have the money and had moved onto other things. I said, ‘If I start my own label, can I put it out?’” 

And so, Solid Jackson’s “Fell” was the label’s first release, with a catalog number of Speed! 100. The new album’s catalog number is Speed! 12/500, which I think Gary said means that it’s the fifth 12-inch released by the label? So they’re more than a 45 record label after all. 

Five songs per side, 10 songs by 10 different Speed! Nebraska artists. Most of them you’ll know and recognize. The album sort of represents who’s on the current roster, though some of the bands, such as newcomers Cat Piss, Pagan Athletes, UN-T.I.L, The Broke Loose and Clarence Tilton, have yet to release anything on Speed! Nebraska. Hopefully, that will change in the months/years to come. 

Every song on the album is a keeper and, in a way, the record reminds me of those ‘90s samplers put out by labels like Grass, Tim/Kerr, SST, etc.  You get a little taste of everything, but there’s a distinctly punk thread that runs through all of it. 

Most of the songs were recorded over the course of two days – March 2-3, 2024 – at Fuse Recording Service in Lincoln with Charlie Johnson and Tim Kechely behind the controls. 

The two exceptions are Wagon Blaster’s “King Richard’s Satellite,” recorded by Bryce Hotz; and Cat Piss’s “Blues Igloo Grand Prix, recorded and mixed by Rosemary Ellis. The man with bat-like hearing – Doug Van Sloun – mastered the album at Focus.

The vinyl is “Hot Wheels Racetrack Orange” in color and sounds delightful, pressed by Waxxy Poodle in Madison, Wisconsin. The Johnny Lightning racetrack sleeve was designed by John Wolf, ruggedly screen-printed by Pat Oakes at Ink Tank. It’s a rock ’n’ roll keepsake!

Tomorrow night’s (Friday’s) “Speed! Lighting” album release celebration features five bands heard on the album, UN-T.I.L. (who I mentioned yesterday), Pagan Athletes, The Broke Loose, Bad Bad Men and Wagon Blasters. Copies of the record will be available for purchase, but if you miss the show, you can find them at Homer’s, Recycled Sounds and Grapefruit Records or you can order it online for $20 at the Speed! Nebraska Bandcamp page.  The show starts at 7 p.m. and is $10. 

Here’s the full track listing.

Speed! Lighting 500

Side 1 – Race the Winner

Wagon Blasters – King RIchard’s Satellite
The Really Rottens – Four Barrel
UN-T.I.L. – Radio Love Letters
Cat Piss – Blues Igloo Grand Prix
Bad Bad Men – Dirty Clean

Side 2 – Be a Champ

Mezcal Brothers – Ragtop Cadillac
The Broke Loose – Shotgun
Clarence Tilton – Constitution Tree
Pagan Athletes – In a Race Against Time
Domestica – Drive

See you tomorrow!

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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.