by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The biggest news over the weekend is that the Maha Music Festival is alive and well and could be bigger than ever next year. 

Maha will return as a one-day event Aug. 2, 2025, at its new Omaha RiverFront location. In fact, I’m told by two reliable sources that the headliners already have been booked. Among the big changes for 2025: One Percent Productions once again is involved in the festival’s booking. 

No doubt the festival wouldn’t be possible unless Maha (a 501(c)(3) organization), was able to line up the necessary sponsors. Will that include Union Pacific? I was told Medical Solutions, who was the main sponsor in 2023, withdrew its sponsorship, which was part of the reason last year’s festival was cancelled. 

As of 10 a.m., I’ve yet to have any of this confirmed by a member of the Maha Festival Board, despite reaching out to two board members over the weekend, so take this information for what it’s worth. 

One other bit of news: The Outlandia Festival, held at Falconwood Park in Bellevue, will not return in 2025. I’m not sure the specifics, though low numbers at last year’s festival likely played a role in the decision.

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The Speed! Lightning 500 album release show Friday night at Reverb Lounge was a crowded rock ’n’ roll gathering of Speed! Nebraska Records fans, both old and new. How do I know this? Because no other label (local or otherwise) has offered such a wide variety of merch over the years, and still does. 

Right when you walked into Reverb, you were hit by a wall of Speed! Nebraska-branded merch, ranging from T-shirts to hats to jackets, not to mention a wide selection of the label’s music released in all formats. Folks in the crowd proudly wore their Speed! Nebraska gear, including me in my Monroes T-shirt. 

You see, Speed! Nebraska is more than a record label; it’s a local punk-rock co-op whose members are treated like family by the label’s major domo, Gary Dean Davis. Every band testified from stage how proud they are to be part of a record label that’s been so core to the Nebraska music scene since the late ‘90s. 

Some highlights from Friday’s show (sorry, UN-T.I.L., I missed your set this time):

The synth-and-drums duo of Pagan Athletes continues to hone its sound and has come a long way since the first time I saw them perform five years ago at Almost Music’s farewell in-store. Vocalist/keyboardist Griffin Wolf and brother, drummer Nathan Wolf, have evolved their primitive digital noise-rock into a hard, rhythmic, punk wall of sound that must be seen and heard to be believed. Check them out this Saturday at O’Leaver’s.

The Broke Loose, a four-piece fronted by guitarists/vocalists Glenn Antonucci and Matt Evans, with Corey Randone on bass and Doug Kabourek on drums, plays indie power-pop with a throwback flair that reminded me of something you’d hear on a Titan Records compilation. Antonucci has a distinctively nasal vocal style sort of like Too Much Joy’s Tim Quirk that compliments the jangle-pop goodness. Standout moment was a solid take on their song “Just Like I Told You,” that was an evening highlight.

I’ve seen Wagon Blasters at least a hundred times (OK, maybe more like a dozen times) and Friday night’s set was one of their best performances. Proud frontman Gary Dean Davis, decked out in trademark necktie and Speed! Nebraska trucker cap (which you, too, can buy at their Bandcamp site), was at his high-flying best, yelling above guitarist Will Thornton’s tractor-punk power chords. Imagine how these folks would be received at something like Gonerfest or Coachella… or Maha!

Finally, Bad Bad Men closed out the night with another blistering set of psych-fueld punk rock. The power triad of Wolf, Siebken and Hug are Nebraska music scene elder statesmen who have created a natural extension of the heavy sound they’ve created all their lives, fronted by Wolf’s snarling vocals and ripping guitar riffs. 

All-in-all, it was a very satisfying rock show performed in front of a crowd of adoring fans featuring just a few of the label’s newest talent. There could have been six more bands on stage who contributed to the new Speed! Lightning 500 compilation (which you can buy at Homer’s, Grapefruit, Recycled Sounds or online at Bandcamp). Without a doubt, the label’s future is as bright at lightning.

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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

With no big touring indie shows on the calendar until next February (except for VIAL next Friday night at Reverb), we’ve entered into that long, cold winter of locals-only programming. Oh, there will still be a few straggling bands rolling into The Sydney at the last moment (System Exclusive, for example), but other than the proverbial “holiday shows,” it could be slim pickings for the next few months. Still, always something going on…

Like tonight. The event of the weekend is happening at Reverb Lounge tonight – the Speed! Lightning 500 album release show (which I wrote about at length yesterday). It’s a five-band line-up, a veritable Speed! Nebraska Rock Festival. The fun kicks off at 7 p.m. with UN-T.I.L., followed by Pagan Athletes, The Broke Loose, Bad Bad Men and Wagon Blasters (don’t be surprised if they switch things up). Entry fee is just $10, and you’ll have an opportunity to buy a copy of the fantastic new album pressed on Hot Wheels Orange vinyl… see you there.

Tomorrow night it’s off to fabulous O’Leaver’s for Wedding (a new project by Anna Schulte that includes Bokr Tov’s Colby Jenkins on bass, and Zachary Roland on percussion) and singer/songwriter Mitch Gettman. These weekly music shows are becoming a regular thing at The Club, which used to be known as one of the city’s hottest venues for touring indie-punk bands. They’re bringing it back! Poet Aaron Scobie starts things off at 9 p.m. $10. 

Finally, Sunday night it’s the just-announced show headlined by Pasadena duo System Exclusive, who “balance a hard-edged electronic pulse of old school synthwerks against hot-under-the-collar live drums and slashing post-punk guitars.” Their latest LP, Click, was released this past May on Le Cèpe Records. Las Cruxes, who has been busy recording a new album at ARC Records for Conor Oberst’s Million Stars label, opens the show at 9 p.m. (Sydney Time). $10. 

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend. 

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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

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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The weekend’s upon us, but first, a record review…

Mitch Gettman, Tilde (2023, self-released) — It’s hard not to look at this double-CD 20-song collection as anything less than a culmination of where the Omaha singer/songwriter has been heading since he began his musical journey more than a decade ago. Tilde is a mish-mash of styles, an audio resume, as if Gettman was trying to prove he can play anything your heart desires. He goes from somber piano ballad to Beatle-esque pop to shoe-gaze to Americana to indie to funk to hip-hop, and that’s all on the first CD. 

In fact, Gettman said he’s been working on Tilde since 2018, starting as a single-disc project that eventually expanded to single disc plus EP and then double album. Listeners would be hard-pressed to understand the rhyme or reason behind the song order. Gettman says disc 1 (the first 10 tracks, for those who will be downloading/listening via Bandcamp/Spotify) “is more akin to my past releases — singer-songwriter, alternative, indie rock-type stuff; while disc two is more experimental and suggests where I might be going from here on out as a musician and a songwriter.”

The line of demarkation between the two collections is faint. Disc 1 feels more like a song-o-matic pick-your-style conglomeration, but also contains some of his best work, including the epic rockers “Outside the Lines” and “Empire”; shoe-gaze killer “Must Be Killing Me,” the Wilco-esque “Still Hold On” and gorgeous keyboard-driven lovesong “Heroine.” But Disc 1 also includes various and sundry experiments in hip hop and funk as well as curious cover of The Carpernters’ “Sing.” 

DIsc 2 (tracks 11-20) are more cohesive as a collection, as Gettman leans into heavier territory with songs that range from psych to traditional rock to gorgeous, cinematic tracks (“Foraging in Torus,” “Atilla the Hun”) where he gives his musicians room to stretch atop the repetitive arcs. It’s hard not to play “spot the influence” as you go. The FM-ready “Daily Routine” and “Pitfalls Ahead!” are so reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac you wonder if it’s a tribute, while the softer indie tracks feels like a nod to Alex G and the rhythm-fueled stuff could be influenced by Tame Impala. 

It culminates in the final track, the 11+ minute “Goldie,” that shifts from a standard indie rock song with a funky bass line into something you might find on a Khruangbin album. Again, Gettman gives himself and his sidemen room to roam with great effect. The album is a showcase of Getmann’s musicianship as he handles guitar, bass, keys and an assortment of soundmakers throughout, with help from drummers Nate Van Fleet and Adam Stoltenberg, who are central to the album’s success, along with contributions from Paul Jensen, bass; Skye Junginger, tenor saxophone; Ryan Call, upright bass; and Blake Deforest, trumpet. Gettman and Stoltenberg get production credits and the whole thing was recorded at various Omaha and LA studios. 

As a whole, the record is something of a marvel and one of my favorite albums produced locally (or elsewhere) from the past year. The nature of modern music listening allows fans to pick and choose and make their own album out of 90-plus minutes of tracks that have no real central theme or concept (lyrically, Gettman sways between the usual lovesong stuff and reflections on the mundane nature of life – his life – Gettman is the everyman trying to get through his day, and the only thing keeping him going is that special someone – not groundbreaking stuff, but pop lyrics rarely are). I could whittle my choices down to a single, 12-song album but my choices would no doubt differ from yours.

With literally thousands of albums being dropped on Bandcamp every Friday, the odds Tilde will be “discovered” and heard by the audience it deserves is rather slim. When asked (in this day and age when anyone can record and release music online) why record labels are essential, I will point to this as an example. Had this album been released on any small or mid-sized indie label, it would at least get heard by critics, tastemakers and influencers. Self-released albums are doomed to be heard only by a friends-and-family audience. If that becomes the case with Tilde, it would be a shame.

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And you have a chance to hear Mitch Gettman and his band play songs of this marvelous album Saturday night at the release party at The Slowdown. Also on the bill is Matt Whipkey. Goodview opens the show at 8 p.m. in the front room. $12.

That same night, there’s a Speed! Nebraska showcase at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Lincoln super group Domestica tops a bill that includes Wagon Blasters, Bad Bad Men and Clarence Tilton. It says it starts at 8 p.m., but this is O’Leaver’s after all. Here’s hoping it starts late so I can swing by after the Gettman show. Oh yeah, it’s also free.

Saturday is busy. Saturday afternoon is the Little Bo Backyard Bash – the 3rd annual Little Bohemia Bash on the corner of 13th and William in the Dundee Bank parking lot. This year includes live music, art, activities, food trucks, beer, cocktails and many other surprises. All proceeds go to the Little Bohemia Business Association. Among the live music is Dave Nance Band (7 p.m. set time), Uh Oh (6 p.m.) and the Polka Police. It’s free (I think). More info here.

What about tonight? The only thing on the radar is a weird little show at Reverb featuring Nashville indie band Safari Room. The band’s frontman, Alec Koukoi, reached out to say he grew up in Omaha. Joining him is Bad Self Portraits. Sazcha opens this show at 8 p.m. $18.

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend! 

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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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s a Speed! Nebraska Friday night takeover in more ways than one tonight.

First, tonight at Grapefruit Records, 1125 Jackson St., our favorite local record label, Speed! Nebraska, is celebrating the release of In Frontier We Trust, a CD compilation of all the great Frontier Trust singles (four 45s-worth). It’s a project that Frontier Trust frontman Gary Dean Davis said was fun putting together. “We actually used a 45 as the master for the Highway Miles EP,” Gary said. Mastered by genius engineer Doug Van Sloun with cover art by Chris Harding Thornton, the CD will be like a time machine that takes you back to Omaha/Lincoln circa the mid-‘90s when Frontier Trust invented tractor-punk and sat at the forefront of Nebraska’s first golden age of indie rock. 

And here’s the best part – everyone who attends tonight’s CD release show gets a free copy of the CD. How can you beat that? 

Well, Gary Dean Davis’ latest band, Wagon Blasters, is headlining the show, which means we’ll get treated to a couple Frontier Trust classics in the “Half Trust” style with Bill Thornton on guitar.  Opening the show at 8 p.m. is Filter Kings frontman  Gerald Lee, Jr. Entry is $10 at the door.

Grapefruit Records is a fun room for a show, and Gary says Simon is even building a drum riser for the occasion. 

But that’s not the only Speed! Nebraska show happening tonight. Across town in Benson at Reverb Lounge, Lincoln power-punk trio Domestica headlines a rare (these days) Omaha show. Domestica’s previous incarnation, Mercy Rule, released singles on the Speed! Nebraska label, and often were Frontier Trust show mates at rock shows in the mid-‘90s. Ah, those were the days… 

Opening for Domestica is Mike Saklar’s The Sun-less Trio; Minne Lussa owns the middle slot. 9 p.m. start time, $8. 

If you’re crafty (and reckless) there’s a chance you could double-dip and catch both shows. 

The other red-hot show this weekend is Saddle Creek Records band The Rural Alberta Advantage headlining at Slowdown Jr. Sunday night. The band is on the road supporting The Rise EP, released last spring, which marked the return of founding member, keyboardist Amy Cole. Singer/songwriter Georgia Harmer opens at 8 pm. $22.

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend. 

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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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Once again, Bandcamp is waiving its fees today on all sales to help artists trying to get through the COVID-19 pandemic. So today your purchases at Bandcamp mean even more to your favorite bands. Saddle Creek Records and a lot of other labels are also passing along digital revenue to their artists.

Here some other great Bandcamp pages to check out and buy-buy-buy stuff:

— SPEED! Nebraska — Home to recordings by the likes of Wagon Blasters, Mercy Rule, Frontier Trust and The Mezcal Brothers, among others, as well as a ton of super-cool merch like the brand new SPEED Nebraska T-shirt shown above.

— Max Trax Records — Home to Little Brazil, Leafblower, Pro-Magnum and a ton more, as well as more sweet, sweet merch. Omaha’s third biggest label? Probably not, but pretty cool.

— 15 Passenger — Home to Cursive, Criteria and campdogzz as well as the wee lad Tim Kasher. Lots o’ digital and vinyl and cool merch, because you need something cool to wear to O’Leaver’s.

— Simon Joyner — Simon always has special deals on Bandcamp Fridays. This time it’s a CD of Hotel Lives Demos from 1999-2000, limited to 100 copies, and a CD of an unreleased 6-song EP collaboration with The Bruces called A Pleasure Then, from 2003, limited to 75 copies. Tons more.

— Dereck Higgins — The Omaha legend has a mountain of music available, including his just-released 4-song EP STRENGTH.

— Digital Leather — Shawn Foree is nothing less than a diabolical genius if not a musical one, and you can’t go wrong by buying any of his releases.

— Flight School — Did I use the word “genius”? It’s a word I reserve only for the truly gifted, like Einstein, Picasso and Flight School. Don’t get lost down this rabbit hole of a website without spending some money.

— Matt Whipkey — I think it’s safe to say Matt not only is talented but also prolific, based on this page. Tons of music reaching back to his days with The Movies and Anonymous American all the way to his latest project, the incendiary Unexplained Death.

— David Nance — Including David Nance Group, a ton here from his ground-breaking Peaced and Slightly Pulverized to his take on Beatles for Sale. Weird fun!

I’m sure I missed someone/something. If I missed your Bandcamp page, put it in the comments section…

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Tonight is what I’m guessing to be the first Benson First Friday during these Days of COVID. A number of Benson galleries are giving it a try using capacity limits, mask requirements and basically no food and drink inside the galleries.

Among those participating is The Little Gallery, 5901 Maple Street (the east bay below the Masonic Lodge building), which tonight is hosting the opening of Silent Spring, a group show featuring new work created under quarantine by Joe Addison, Alex Jochim, Caitlin Little and Trudy Swanson. The opening runs from 6 to 9 p.m. If you go, you might find this masked man sitting outside somewhere.

That’s it for the weekend. Hard to believe it’s July and we still don’t have live rock music, but that’s just the way it goes. Keep wearing a mask when you go in public and we may get live music back on our stages sooner!

Have a great weekend.

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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 © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I dropped the ball. The immensely talented Andrew Spellmon reached out earlier in the week and asked if I would contribute my thoughts to a story he was working on for Hear Nebraska. His one and only question:

What is Speed! Nebraska’s legacy/impact on the local/national scene?

I immediately responded to Andrew saying I’d be happy to comment. The deadline was Wednesday night. And things being what they are in my life these days, I completely forgot to send him anything. It didn’t slow ol’ Spellmon down, however, and yesterday Hear Nebraska published a very lengthy, detailed story called “Racing at 45 RPM: SPEED! Nebraska reaches 20 year milestone.” You can read it right here.

The feature includes “stories and memories” from the artist and collaborators who have taken part in the Speed! Nebraska history, including Jon Taylor (Domestica, Mercy Rule), Dan Jenkins (Ideal Cleaners), Lee Meyerpeter (Filter Kings), George Peek (Solid Jackson), Mike Tulis (co-creator of Speed! and member of The Monroes), as well as people like Dan Schlissel, who created competing label -ismist and now runs Stand Up! Records, and Trey and Lallaya Lalley, who ran the Capitol Bar & Grill and now run The Brothers Lounge.

Stellmon didn’t need me at all. Go read the story right now because it’s good.

Ten years ago, when Speed! Nebraska was celebrating its 10-year anniversary, I penned this story for The Reader that highlighted the label’s origins. At the time,  Speed! was enjoying its high-water mark. Or as Jesse Render, the label’s “special project coordinator,” put it: “We’re like a family. You do whatever job needs to be done. This is kind of the Golden Age of Speed! Nebraska.”

So to answer Stellmon’s original question, I’d have to say Speed! Nebraska’s legacy is not only the 37 vinyl and CD releases that it put out over the course of 20 years, it’s also the people who made the music heard on that stellar catalog of rock ‘n’ roll. Most of them are still doing it, and doing it well. Certainly Speed! Nebraska record executive Gary Dean Davis is going strong, as is the rest of the executive team mentioned in that 2006 article.

In fact, you can see for yourself Saturday night at The Brothers Lounge when Gary’s band, Wagon Blasters, is joined by Mike Tulis’ band, Lupines, for a 20 year anniversary celebration that should be epic in its awesomeness.

What else is happening this weekend?

Tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s another group is celebrating a 20th anniversary — Lincoln band Her Flyaway Manner. Watch as these fossils sling their guitars over their walkers and wheel chairs for a set that should go down in geriatric history. Joining them are Jump the Tiger and Wrong Pets (members of Little Brazil). $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tonight, See Through Dresses headlines at Milk Run. Joining them are New York band Haybaby (Tiny Engines Records) and The Way Out. No price listed, show starts at 9 p.m.

And lest we forget, tonight is the annual OEAA nominee showcase in Benson featuring more than 40 bands playing at six venues. Your $10 wristband gets you in to all shows all night. More info here.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) is the aforementioned Speed! Nebraska 20th anniversary bash at The Brothers Lounge. Wagon Blasters vs. Lupines. $5, starts at 9 p.m.

Also Saturday night, The Felice brothers headline at The Waiting Room. They’re out supporting their latest, Life in the Dark (2016, Yep Rock). Shelby Earl opens. $15, 9 p.m.

Finally Sunday afternoon is the Benefit for Standing Rock at O’Leaver’s. The line-up includes Dark Diamond, DJ Machmuller, Noah Sterba and Pro Magnum. The benefit kicks off at 3:30 p.m. $5. Find out more about the benefit right here.

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.

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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

If you’re even passibly interested in post-punk, especially bands with a ’90s Homestead-style flair, you’ve got to check out Domestica. The band’s history is legend. Born out of the ashes of classic Nebraska band Mercy Rule, Domestica is a power-punk trio whose forte is guitar-driven buzz-saw rock songs about living and loving in the great, dusty Midwest. At the trio’s core is Capital-city-based husband/wife combo of bassist/vocalist Heidi Ore and guitarist Jon Taylor — the First Family of Nebraska punk.

Domestica has been around for a while, taking a brief hiatus when Mercy Rule returned for a short time a few years ago. The band’s last recording was the digital-only Domestica 2, released last year. Based on what I heard Saturday night at O’Leaver’s, it’s time for them to get back into the studio. Now with former Sideshow drummer P. Tisdale (I don’t know if he spells it Paul or Pawl, I’ve seen it both ways) they’re playing on a whole new level.

I’ve heard Heidi sing at least a couple dozen times over the decade, and she’s never sounded better than Saturday night. Part of the reason is, believe it or not, O’Leaver’s new PA, which does a good job with separation. I usually can’t hear Heidi because she’s buried beneath Jon’s guitar. This time she gave Jon a run for his money. In fact, I would have preferred Jon turn it up a bit more. He tweaked it about halfway through the set (but I could have used even more).

The set’s final song was (I believe) a new one. The band rarely leans back on riffs, preferring to keep with a short-shock chorus/verse format. On this one they repeated the guitar/bass lines in a way I can’t quite remember hearing before. I’d love to see them take off on a riff and repeat it over and over and over. Domestica as a jam band? Not quite…

Before they left the stage, they gave out one final treat. Earlier in the set a woman ran up to Heidi and told her it was her birthday, and (I think) made a request — Mercy Rule classic “Summer.” Heidi rolled into a verse of the song by herself as the rest of the band joined and transformed it into something slutty and psychedelic. Happy Birthday indeed.

Before Domestica I caught Sons of O’Leaver’s set, which was as cock-sure as always. They’re like Omaha’s unique version of The Replacements minus the booze and drugs (well, minus the drugs anyway). Don’t get lost in the fog of rhythms — both guitarists have some of the most clever guitar licks you’ll likely hear at The Club. Pay Attention!

This was the annual Speed! Nebraska showcase featuring all S!N bands. Missing from the festivities, however, was label co-founder Gary Dean Davis, who it was announced from stage, was at UNMC recovering from surgery. More details I cannot say, other than it sounds like Gary’s going to be all right.

On the other hand, I never heard why this year’s Soapbox Derby was cancelled, though I did hear rumors of a fill-in event in the near future involving other juvenile modes of racing transportation…

* * *

What’s this, a new local-focused record store?

The news of this new venture came via Facebook yesterday, headlined “Make Believe Music Shop Grand Opening (and free 2nd St. Creamery Ice Cream)“.

“Make Believe Music Shop and 2nd St. Creamery are coming together to celebrate the latest venture from the people who brought you Make Believe Studios in Little Italy. Just as the studio serves Omaha-area bands, so too will the record store, aiming to line our shelves with primarily Nebraska artists. Opening day is set for Friday, July 19.”

The shop is asking for help getting area musicians – as many of the 1,000 local artists as possible – into the store the first few days to bring in their records to sell.

“In addition, there will be free ice cream, BBQ and cold drinks. Join us in celebrating a new addition to the Omaha music scene.”

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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

Well, it looks like another O’Leaver’s weekend, with the “little bar that could” putting on two of the hottest local indie shows Friday and Saturday.

Tonight it’s the Twinsmith CD release show for the band’s self-released debut. Consisting of former members of Betsy Wells and drummer Oliver Morgan (formerly of Little Brazil), Twinsmith has a modern indie-pop style that combines touches of Band of Horses, Beach House and Vampire Weekend. Check out the Lovedrunk video for “The Thrill” below. Opening is the always entertaining Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship, and hot next-wave band Gordon (get there early). $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tonight, 2012 Maha Music Festival alum Josh Rouse plays at The Waiting Room. Matt Whipkey opens. $20, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, down at The Barley Street, John Klemmensen plays with a handful of locals including John Larsen, Andrew Jay and Morse Code (from Plattsmouth). $5, 9 p.m.

Finally, tonight at Slowdown Jr. it’s a $2 show featuring Detroit band Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas. Local newcomer Phantom Scout opens. $2, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night, it’s back to O’Leaver’s for the annual Speed! Nebraska Records showcase. In year’s past this was accompanied by a soapbox derby, but I guess so many racers are still on the DL that they’re skipping it this year. No matter, the party continues with The Killigans, Sons of O’Leaver’s Domestica and The Filter Kings. Good times. $5, 9 p.m.

The other big local show Saturday night is at The Waiting Room where Snake Island is hosting its tour kick-off and album release show for their Make Believe Recordings debut, Evil Music. Their month-long tour will take them to Seattle, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and more. Opening is Lincoln’s Universe Contest, Plack Blague and Eric in Outerspace. $8, 9 p.m. Check out the new Snake Island video for “Evil Music.”

Meanwhile, The Sweatshop Gallery (right next to the Barley Street) is hosting Milwaukee’s Rio Turbo, described as “TRASHY Dance PARTY, Frontman of CATACOMBZZ.” Opening is local legend Solid Goldberg and Jailbate. $5, 9 p.m.

It’s back to Sweatshop Sunday night for what could be the strangest show of the weekend headlined by San Francisco’s Bad News. According the invite: “The cross-geographical pair, Sarah Bernat and Alex Lukas weld industrial hymns out of gritted synth tones, mutilated samples and darkly protracted guitars. Working within limitations, the two have an affinity for hardware, dead-panned vox and loaded, unpredictable live performances. Bad News has proved their penchant for unsavory frequencies, achieved with artful brutality and control of their uniquely industrial sound.” Opening is the death metal guitar of Fathr^ (Dapose from The Faint), Violator X, Ruby Block and Progress. $5, 9 p.m.

Last but not least, this weekend marks the grand opening of The Berry and Rye, a new craft cocktail bar brought to you by Loom-inaries Brent Crampton and Ethan Bondelid, in the former Myth space at 1105 Howard St. We’re talking fancy frickin’ awesome drinks. To be part of it, you need to make a reservation at 402.613.1331.

Did I forget anything? Add it to the comments section. Have a hot weekend…

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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.

Column 349: Speed! Nebraska Turns 15

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

When the invitation went out via Facebook for this Friday night’s Speed! Nebraska 15th Anniversary rock show at The Brother’s Lounge, the first thing that went through my mind was: Has it really been five years since we did that Speed! Nebraska 10-year anniversary cover story in The Reader?

That story, published June 28, 2006, recapped the history of the vinyl-loving record label that’s home to a handful of the area’s best local bands, including Ideal Cleaners, The Filter Kings, Domestica, The Third Men, Students of Crime and label chief Gary Dean Davis’ band, The Wagon Blasters.

In that article, Wagon Blasters drummer (then Monroes drummer) Jesse Render declared that it was The Golden Age of Speed! Nebraska Records. Five years later and Davis says that Golden Age continues.

“Not much has changed,” Davis said over the phone, while one of his three precocious children made noise in the background. “At that time I was feeling good about the fact that there were a lot of bands on the label. The amazing thing is that in five years, that’s continued.”

In many ways Davis and his label cohorts have always been ahead of their time. Since its first release — a 7-inch by long-defunct band Solid Jackson called “Fell” b/w “In a Car” — the label has focused on releasing vinyl. Except for punk fans and audiophiles, vinyl was viewed as a novelty and a waste of money… back then. Today, almost every mid-major indie band — along with a number of major-label superstars — releases music on vinyl as CD sales continue to decline.

“Vinyl may be back, but it never left for us,” Davis said.

Regardless, he added that the so-called “vinyl renaissance” hasn’t had much of an impact on Speed! Nebraska’s sales. “If you can get a turntable into someone’s home, that’s in our best interest,” he said, “but I don’t know if it’s filtered down to what we do.”

But it’s never been about sales. Having music released on vinyl is “the musicians’ dream,” Davis said. “Talking to the guys in our bands and others who have not had vinyl releases, it’s the ultimate. Elvis put out records. Johnny Cash put out records. In a sense having a record puts you on the same level as those guys. The reason you got involved with music was from listening to records.”

He pointed out that today, fewer people are even releasing CDs thanks to the impact of digital downloading. “If you’re going to do a release and make it download-only, you could put out a new record every day, right?” Davis said. “It’s a watering down of what it means to be a musician. The time involved with putting out a record — recording and mixing and mastering and sending it to the plant and waiting for them to come back and then doing the cover — there’s a lot of stages to that finished project vs. the general immediacy of the times we live in.”

Davis equated it to the difference between getting a letter in the mail and receiving an e-mail — or between receiving a birthday greeting on your Facebook wall and getting hand made birthday cards from his students at St. Stanislaus, where he’s the principal. “A Facebook happy birthday is nice, but a handmade card — I mean, I keep those,” he said. “Someone spent time and thought enough to do it. There’s something more special about that.”

So don’t even bother asking Davis about Spotify. He doesn’t know what it is and doesn’t care enough to find out. It isn’t because he’s some sort of neo-luddite anti-technology snob; he just thinks making vinyl records is, as Wilford Brimley used to say, “The right thing to do.”

And keep doing it he shall. This past year, Speed! Nebraska released a new CD by Ideal Cleaners, Far As You Know, and the tasty 10-inch vinyl compilation Speed! Soapbox Riot 300, which included a song by every band currently on the label’s roster. Davis said future plans include a possible 7-inch by The Filter Kings, more by Ideal Cleaners, and a full-length by Domestica, while Davis’ own band, The Wagon Blasters, is currently writing songs, though they’re in no hurry to put something out.

“Playing in a band is still fun and a nice thing to do, but if I have to do something with the kids…” Davis said. “All the guys in the band understand. We do this because it’s fun. There’s never any tension about it. Once we have enough songs, we’ll go into the studio.”

I ended that 2006 cover story by asking Davis where Speed! Nebraska will be in 2016. So it just made sense to ask him again if he thought the label would be around in five years.

“Oh yeah, definitely, whether I’m playing in a band or not,” he said. “I want to keep doing the label in some capacity, whatever it looks like. As long as we continue to have something to say in our records and music and the aesthetic and presentation, we’ll continue to do it.”

The Speed! 15th Anniversary Celebration is Friday, Nov. 11, at The Brothers Lounge, 38th & Farnam St., featuring performances by Ideal Cleaners, The Wagon Blasters, Domestica, Techlepathy and The Filter Kings. Show starts at 9 p.m., cover is $5. If you go, consider bringing Davis an anniversary card, preferably one that’s hand made.

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Debut performances by bands are always special events. And none more so than the one taking place tonight when The Lupines trot onto the “stage” for the first time at fabulous O’Leaver’s. The band consists of some local heavy hitters: John Ziegler of Brimstone Howl, the legendary Mike Tulis of The Third Men, Mike Friedman, who’s played alongside Simon Joyner, and Javid Dabestani of Bright Calm Blue and Broken Spindles. Opening the show is Detroit garage/psych/grit band Gardens (Alive Naturalsound Records). $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tonight, down at Film Streams, it’s a screening of silent film The Adventures of Prince Achmed with a new original score performed live by Jake Bellows (Neva Dinova), Ben Brodin (Before the Toast and Tea, Mal Madrigal) and Ryan Fox (1989 Chicago Cubs, Our Fox, The Good Life). Tickets to the 7 p.m. screening can be purchased from the Film Streams website: $8 for Film Steams members, $10 for students, and $12 for the general public. Go!

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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.