Former Nebraskan now New Yorker, Stathi, dropped a note the other day to say he’s got a new track out called “Chasing Dreams, Chasing Time.” You can find it here on Bandcamp.
Stathi also recently opened for Conor Oberst at Bowery Ballroom during his sold-out NYC Residency, night one. “Very cool experience! I played a few songs in his band during this set as well on keys and vocals,” Stathi said.
Like its Los Angeles version, the weekly New York City residency, called Conor Oberst and Friends, has had a plethora of “special guests” including Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, Yeah Yeah Yeahs members Brian Chase and Nick Zinner, the Strokes’ Nikolai Fraiture, LCD Soundsystem’s Nancy Whang, and Clark Baechle of The Faint, according to Stereogum.
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Tonight at Reverb Lounge it’s the return of Philly rockers Sheer Mag. Their latest, Playing Favorites, was released last month on Third Man Records. At the band’s core is frontwoman Tina Halladay, who has one of the most distinctive, raw vocal styles in indie these days. Omaha rockers Garst opens at 8 p.m. $20.
There’s a few “news” items to pass along, but they will have to wait until Monday because… it’s the weekend!
And once again, there are no national-touring indie shows on Omaha’s weekend calendar. Such is life. We’re a lonely species, we indie music lovers. Hey, we’ll always have the past two decades, right?
Tonight at art space Project Project, 1818 Vinton St., Las Cruxes headlines a show as part of the Vinton St. “Second Friday” series (Do they call it #VSF?). What version of Las Cruxes will perform tonight – the big band or the power trio? Find out. Also on the bill are Stolen Wolves and Grief Police, two bands I’m unfamiliar with. 7 p.m., $5 donations accepted.
That’s about it for Friday.
Tomorrow (Saturday) singer/songwriter Stathi headlines a gig at Pageturners Lounge with the bar’s chief capo Philip Schaffart. 8 p.m. and no cover.
Meanwhile, back in Benson, the prog power-duo of Griffin and Nathan Wolf —also known as Pagan Athletes — celebrates the release of their new album, Landlocked, at Reverb Lounge. I’ve listened to a few tracks and it’s an edgy, drums-and-synth-powered, throbbing, noise-rock head trip. Providing support is the also-synth-powered Jeff in Leather and Omaha rockers Garst. $10, 9 p.m.
Earlier in the day, Reverb is hosting the Omaha Girls Rock Headliner Showcase, where this year’s batch of students shows off their talent. These shows are always jam-packed… with parents. Still, a lot of fun and it’s free. 3 p.m.
Also Saturday, punk legends The Queers headline this year’s Punk Rock BBQ at The Waiting Room. This is an afternoon-to-evening, 10-band event that also includes Wyoming’s Teenage Bottlerocket and Minneapolis band Tightwire. See the full line-up and other particulars here. Starts at 4 p.m. $35.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a super-duper weekend…
Apologies for the lack of updates. Lazy-i is updating its back office software, so some things are moving around that, if done properly, you shouldn’t notice. Let me know if you do.
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Local heroes The Faint have been added to the Just Like Heaven Festival May 13 in Pasadena. Rolling Stone said the third-annual one-day festival brings together “fan-favorite indie rock and electro-dance artists.” Yeah Yeah Yeahs are the headliners and top billed include MGMT, Future Islands, and M83. The Faint is listed in the smaller type, but they’re there. This is the first we’ve heard from the band in a few years, with frontman Todd Baechle living somewhere in the California desert near Thousand Palms, California. It’ll be a return engagement for The Faint, who played at the first Just Like Heaven fest back in 2019.
Will this be a one-off show for The Faint? I highly doubt it. Keep your eyes peeled.
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Since I’ve been remiss in posting, here are a few things that have been dangling in my in-box this week.
Singer/songwriter Stathi dropped a new track recently called “Make Sense, Make Amends.” Says Stathi: “I collaborated with a friend of mine in NYC and producer Emmett Folger on this one, and we recorded the tune at his studio in Brooklyn. We played all of the instruments between the two of us and I recorded all of the vocals with the exception of the vocal samples that are laced into the song.” Check it out and watch for a new demos release from Stathi in the coming weeks.
Omaha power pop act Names Without Numbers dropped a new single called “Florida.” Says NWN’s Dave Owens: “We plan to release 1-2 more singles and then an EP in spring. We already have studio time booked in May to record another collection of songs and hope for a late 2023 release. Then on top of that, it is the 20-year anniversary of our first LP, Running Marathons/Chasing Ambulances. We’ll have a full remastered re-release with vinyl and other goodies later this year via Steadfast Records.”
Cleveland’s Steadfast Records counts The Appleseed Caste and Unwed Sailor among its roster. Check out the single below:
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Actually, another reason for lack of updates has been the lack of shows. This weekend is no exception.
Only one show is on the radar — that bondage-loving EDM-powered, Lincoln-based, leather-gimp Plack Blague is playing an afternoon show at Reverb Lounge Sunday. You read that right – a matinee. Joining him is the rising local electronic music artist Jeff in Leather and Gore-TXT doing a DJ set. .No idea why the afternoon scheduling as there’s nothing else on the Reverb schedule that day. So… experiment? $10, 3 p.m. It’s as good a reason as any to do some day drinking.
And believe it or not, that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
It’s a real hodgepodge of local shows this weekend, with no big touring indie in the bunch (Hey, look at all these venues! Hey, where are all the bands?).
Tonight Stathi (Patseas) is back at Pageturners Lounge. Joining him is Sean Paul (Eric in Outerspace, The Sunks). This free show starts at 8 p.m.
There’s also a show tonight in an undisclosed location: Pagan Athletes is playing with Ivory Daze and FAHR at Rancho Rodeo. This sounds like a house show. No idea where, but you can DM them for the address.
Saturday night Jeremy Mercy and the Rapture Orphans opens for Daniel & the Deliverance and The Bedrock at Brokedown Palace, 88th and Maple St. Brokedown Palace (f.k.a. the Barley Street Tavern). 8 p.m. $10.
Sunday, Philly’s Mondo Cozmo, a.k.a. Josh Ostrander, is playing at Reverb. His latest, This is for the Barbarians (2022, Last Gang Records) is more alt rock than “folk rock” as listed on his Wiki. He’s been on Universal and Geffen in points in his career. Our own Ben Eisenberger opens at 8 p.m. $20.
And that’s it. If I missed your show put it in the comments section.
I now leave you with this new song from Pronoun called, “Roe vs gofvckurself” which pretty much sums up SCOTUS. Have a great weekend.
Looks like we’ve hit the wall again. There are still shows booked at all the usual places, but no indie, no touring acts, etc. If it’s going to be a dead weekend, it might as well be this weekend, with Omnivore (sic) raging at peak levels throughout Douglas County. It’s probably a good idea to stick around the homestead until this spike subsides.
The skinny: The Waiting Room has a comedy tour, Reverb has a C&W act, Slowdown postponed tonight’s show and Saturday has a live broadcast screening of Thom Yorke’s new band, The Smile, which will cost you $20 — seems a bit steep for a streamed event by a debuting act. Jeremy Mercy and his band are playing at the Down Under Saturday night at 9. And that’s about it.
A couple releases while I have your attention…
Former Omaha guy now NYC guy Stathi Patseas has a new gorgeous demo compilation called Dogs Bark Omaha that just dropped on Bandcamp. Check it out.
Nate Van Fleet dropped me an IM to let me know about a recording by local project Bug Heaven. The crew represented on the tracks: Drew Shuck, vocals, guitars, drums; Alex Brown on guitars; Drew Augustine, bass, vocals; Nate on auxiliary percussion; Kelly Langin on vocals; Megan Siebe on synthesizer & keyboards and Ian Aeillo (Omaha’s version of Daniel Lanois) on additional instrumentation. Ian also produced and mixed it. Check it out:
Las Cruxes at The Brothers Lounge, Sept. 27, 2019. The band hosts a cassette release show at Pageturners Thursday night (12/30).
We might as well get an early start on the weekend.
Tonight, singer-songwriter Mitch Gettman is headlining a gig at Slowdown Jr. The show is a celebration of his debut full-length album, We Are the Mad Ones, released in December 2011. Your $12 ticket will get you a copy of the CD. Joining Mitch tonight is NYC-based Omaha expatriate STATHI, who’s last album was the tasty Post-Truth EP. Show starts at 8 p.m.
Tomorrow night (Thursday) Spanish-language punk band Las Cruxes is hosting a cassette-release show at Pageturners. The band is earning a rep as one of the best new acts out of Omaha. How little ol’ Pageturners will contain them is a mystery. Joining them are fellow rockers Cat Piss and Nowhere. No price listed (this one may be free!), show starts at 8:30.
Also Thursday night, kicky Omaha indie act Ojai headlines at Reverb Lounge. The trio is fronted by singer/songwriter Michael Hulstein. I’m just now listening to their 2020 album View from the Chandelier and liking what I’m hearing. Also on the bill is FOX, and Mitch Gettman (probably playing the same set he’s playing tonight!). $7, 8 p.m.
Then comes New Year’s Eve — a night dedicated to amateurs, cover bands and those looking for drunken love. There is one show of interest — Smutthole Burpers, a Butthole Surfers cover band, is playing at fabulous O’Leaver’s. The band features members of The Natural States, Bokr Tov and Boner Killerz, according to the Facebook invite. There will also be karaoke and free headache-inducing champagne at midnight. Hey man, the whole thing is free, and starts at 9 p.m.
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Lazy-i Best of 2021 Compilation CD
And for those of you wondering where your copy of the Lazy-i Best of 2021 Compilation CD is, don’t fret. I didn’t forget you. It turns out that even little ol’ me is being impacted by supply chain issues. I won’t get my discs until sometime after the New Year, which means you won’t get yours until after that.
That gives anyone wanting to enter the drawing for a free copy even more time to enter! The collection includes songs by Hand Habits, Mdou Moctar, Nation of Language, Turnstile, Claud, Low, Sufjan Stevens, Parquet Courts, Brad Hoshaw, Spoon, Azure Ray and more. The full track listing is here.
To get your name in the hat, merely send an email with your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. Hurry, contest deadline is Jan. 10.
Dolores Diaz & The Standby Club at The Waiting Room, May 21, 2016.
Last week (Thanksgiving week) was pretty uneventful music-wise. This week’s starting off with a bang.
Today STATHI — a.k.a. Stathi Spiros Patseas — dropped a new EP titled Post-Truth. The 6-song digital release was produced by Miwi La Lupa and includes contributions from a plethora of Omaha talent including James Maakestad, Meg Siebe, Patrick Newbery, Tyler Chickinelli, Colin Duckworth, Drew Tvrdy, Kevin Donahue, Sean Paul, Mary Fernandez and, of course, lots of Miwi.
The music falls in the folk rock category alongside bands like Nap Eyes, Susto, and ’70s SoCal acts, with Stathi providing vocals reminiscent of Jackson Browne. The EP’s centerpiece is “Questions & Answers,” a mid-tempo 6/8-time sunset rocker that brings it all together.
It’s out now on all the usual digital platforms including good ol’ Bandcamp.
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Also announced today, Cursive’s label 15 Passenger Records is releasing the debut album by Dolores Diaz & The Standby Club, affectionately called Live at O’Leaver’s.
The project, as you all know by now, is a covers band that includes a ton of Omaha superstars including Conor Oberst, Miwi La Lupa, Corina Figueroa Escamilla (as Dolores), Roger Lewis, Matt Maginn, Dan McCarthy, Ben Brodin, Phil Schaffart and Jim Schroeder. Now that’s a crowded stage (and it certainly was those nights at fabulous O’Leaver’s).
Live at O’Leaver’s will be released digitally Dec. 11, with a vinyl version expected April 9. You can pre-order your copy right here at the 15 Passenger website. Check out a track below:
And though I mentioned it before a few weeks ago, the new Anna McClellan LP, I Saw First Light, dropped a week ago Friday on Father / Daughter Records. This is the follow-up to her 2018 debut, Yes and No, and was produced by Anna, Ryan McKeever, Sean Pratt, Megan Siebe and Hootie Erickson. It’s on Bandcamp, and here’s my favorite song from it:
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Finally, it’s Giving Tuesday, which moving forward is replacing Give Omaha as thee primary day to open your wallets and help local non-profits. They never needed it more than they do right now.
So who’s nervous on this Election Day eve? Despite all the threats and sturm and drang, for some reason I’m less anxious than I was in 2016. We’ll either have a new president or Marshall Law by the end of the week… Look, if you have voted already, make sure you go to the polls tomorrow. Has there ever been an election where an individual vote was more valuable?
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A quick music update: Things have been quiet lately and are bound to get even quieter with winter and COVID-19 spiking in Douglas County. That tiny taste of live music at the end of summer/early fall is probably going to be it until next spring. I just finished a column that’ll be in the next issue of The Reader wherein I say we take live music for granted. Something tells me we won’t come next May…
One place where we might see live music again is The Barley Street Tavern, which reopened last Friday. The venue is now operated by the folks who operate Brokedown Palace on 88th and Maple. According to a Facebook post that went online Friday, the new owners have no plans to change the Barley’s operations / vibe, but let’s face it, they need to make it what they want it to be. Just keep some of ol’ Barley spirit (or ghosts) around for good times’ sake….
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Lots of new local music was released last week. Here’s a few of those releases that are on my radar:
Omaha goth/indie punk band No Thanks released their latest LP, Submerger, on Halloween via Kansas City’s Black Site Records. Produced by No Thanks, the album was recorded, engineered, and mixed by Mathew Carroll (See Through Dresses) at Little Machine in Omaha, and was mastered by Mike Nolte at Portland OR’s Eureka Mastering with vinyl mastering by Chris Muth at Taloowa Corp. out of Yonkers, NY. That’s right, vinyl, limited to 75 (at least for the first pressing). Order it here (sure to be a collector’s item).
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Omaha blank wave/electro-punk band Benny Leather dropped its full-length, Temporary Insanity, yesterday via FDH Records. Who is Benny Leather? Nobody knows (but actually, everyone knows but they’re not saying). Let’s just say I’d love to see this band play at O’Leaver’s (or the new Barley Street). This one also is available on limited-edition vinyl. Order yours here.
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Omaha rocker Matthew Sweet announced last week he’s releasing his 15th album, Catspaw, Jan. 15 on Omnivore Records. Says the press release: “…aside from excellent drumming by longtime collaborator Ric Menck (Velvet Crush), this is Matthew Sweet’s first entirely solo effort. Sweet handles all of it: recording, mixing, Höfner bass, electric guitars, and Pet Sounds-like background vocals.” The first single, “At a Loss,” was released last week.
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Bright Eyes released a song in support of Planned Parenthood called “Miracle of Life,” with proceeds generated from its sale benefiting he organization. Said Conor Oberst: “It is a protest song, I guess. Or maybe just a little story about what was, what still is in many parts of the world and what could be again here in this country if the GOP is successful in reshaping the Supreme Court and rolling back all of the hard fought progress made for reproductive rights in the last fifty years.” On the track Bright Eyes is joined by Phoebe Bridgers, Jon Theodore and Flea. Buy it here.
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Jordan Smith of Twinsmith has another band called Steady Wells and it released a new single last week called “Good Again.” I believe this is the second single by Smith under this moniker.
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And finally,
Omaha singer/songwriter Stathi Spiros Patseas has released new song from his band STATHI. “This is my first release since my debut EP Life of Compromise, which I released in March of last year,” he said. “This single is part of an upcoming EP called Post-truth, which has not yet been announced, but will likely be released sometime next month. The EP was recorded at ARC in September of 2019 and produced by Miwi La Lupa.“
Kevin Donahue, Drew Tvrdy and Miwi join Stathi on the track. Dig it:
Thought I’d share some new music that crossed my path over the last few days…
Local singer/songwriter Nathan Ma dropped a new song via YouTube called “Blue Bird.” The track, produced by David Nance and recorded and mixed by Jim Schroeder, features Colin Duckworth on pedal steel, Tanner Rogerson on drums, Jonathan Cobb on bass and Nathan on guitar and vocals.
Detriot’s Protomartyr dropped the second track from its forthcoming album, Ultimate Success Today, out July 17 on Domino. The track, “Worm in Heaven,” is downright laid back compared to previous Protomartyr burners.
Saddle Creek Records is releasing a new LP by Land of Talk July 31 called Indistinct Conversations. The first single is called “Compelled.” Got to hand it to the Creek for sticking with these folks.
And then there’s the one that got away… Big Thief yesterday dropped a stand-alone track called “Love in Mine,” that’s an outtake from 2019’s Two Hands’ sessions. The band recently released Demos Vol. 1 – Topanga Canyon, CA – Feb 2018, which benefits their road crew. Check it out here.
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Tonight at 7 p.m. local singer/songwriter Stathi is doing a live stream from Instagram Live at @thestathi. He’ll be playing six songs from his debut EP Life of Compromise, released in March 2019. That recording included a lot of local folks we’re all familiar with, including Mike Mogis on pedal steel/mandolin, Pat Oakes on drums, Megan Siebe on cello/viola and MiWi La Lupa on assorted instruments.
Listen tonight, but wait until tomorrow to buy the album, as Bandcamp is waiving fees again tomorrow to help artists during COVID.
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