Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers play The Slowdown Thursday night.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Being the self-proclaimed indie music snob that I am, I typically would never have discovered Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers. I mean, the Michigan-based band has been classified in the jam band / funk / pop category, has counted major label Universal among its distributors. and has been known to perform in Hawaiian shirts. That’s about as far away from “indie” as it gets.

But after receiving multiple emails from their publicist, I watched the video for the single “Lonely” off their Kickstarter-financed latest release, Pluto, and found myself tapping my toe. When I read via Wiki that Hertler started the band in an effort to get the attention of a girl who hosted an open-mic night, I was hooked.

Hertler was game to take the Ten Questions survey. Here’s what he had to say:

1. What is your favorite album?

Joe Hertler: It’s basically impossible to pick my favorite, but off the top of my head, maybe Black Radio by Robert Glasper? Sgt Peppers and maybe Live in Verona by Jamiroquai are up there, too.

2. What is your least favorite song?

I love It, by Iconopop. My sax player uses it as a wake up song sometimes for the band when everyone’s been sleeping in the van and we’ve reached our destination. I really do not care to ever hear that song again.

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Obviously playing music is super fun, but the adventure of tour with my bandmates (and getting to visiting and reconnect with friends and family in distant locations) is ultimately what makes it the most meaningful.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?


It can be stressful at times, but honestly we have a pretty damn good time playing music together and keeping each other in good spirits. It’s important to be aware of your emotions and the emotions of others. It’s also just as important to take care of yourself, you know, like exercising, eating decently, sleeping, and doing fun shit that doesn’t have to do with music, like hiking, site seeing, etc. If you’re aware of how your behaviors affect your bandmates, then really, there’s really not too much to hate. You gotta embrace all aspects of band life.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

I think they’re all pretty damn fun 😉

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

Michigan, Mountain States, and the West Coast have always treated us very, very well!

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

We had a sound system take a shit on us at a gig in Ashville. This was also after the promoter moved us to their rave cave room because there were issues with original room we were going to play. The heat went out, too, so it was like 50 degrees in the venue. Made for kind of a rough show. Honestly, though, we don’t really have bad shows. We tend to get pissed and nit-pick over little fuck-ups, but being critical of oneself is just part of it. Certainly doesn’t determine whether a show is good or bad. As long as the crowd is engaged, which they always seem to be – that’s what makes a show good.

8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?

Yep! We do various side hustles, but for the most part we support ourselves through music. Aaron is an ex-engineer and part-time chainsaw carver. I used to be a teacher. Micah and Ryan do some work for our producer’s company on the side, and Rick makes giant mechanical wooden clocks.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do? 

I would love to make horror movies!

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

Haven’t heard many stories, but there’s some really great music happening in Omaha. My buddy, Rick Carson, owns a really incredible studio called Make Believe, which is a really hot space right now. Of course, there’s the Saddle Creek label. It’s a pretty bad-ass city 🙂

Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers plays with Here Come the Mummies Thursday, Feb. 22, at The Slowdown, . Tickets are $22 Adv/$25 DOS. Show starts at 9 p.m. For more information, go to TheSlowdown.com.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Destroyer plays at The Waiting Room this Saturday.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Sometimes I wish I had an eleventh question. If I did, I’d ask Dan Bejar why he called his project Destroyer when there’s nothing destructive about it.

Destroyer songs, like the ones heard on the band’s latest album, Ken (Dead Oceans, 2017), swing and sway and feel like riding a bike with no hands. In fact, Destroyer has more in common with sweater-wearing acts like Belle & Sebastian than a faux-metal monster like KISS.

Bejar, a Vancouver-born Canuck and part-time member of The New Pornographers, formed Destroyer in 1995. And while he’s had a number of breakthrough records, the one that first stood out (for me, anyway) was 2011’s Kaputt (Merge/Dead Oceans), a dazzling collection of infectious indie pop songs. Ken carries on in the same way, at times dreamy and introspective, at other times dancey and introspective.

I caught up with Bejar and asked him to take my Ten Questions survey. Take it away, Mr. Destroyer:

1. What is your favorite album?

Dan Bejar: Strangeways Here We Come, Hejira, There’s A Riot Goin On, Veedon Fleece, stuff like that…

2. What is your least favorite song?

There’s so many terrible ones it makes me think I’m maybe just not that into songs.

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

The nights when the stage sound is killer.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

There are people at home that I miss very much.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Peace of mind.

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

Bologna.  Outside.  For free.

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

I have played a couple fairly gnarly college shows.  Won’t name names in case I decide to enroll.

8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?

Yes.  It took five years.  And then another five years of mostly hovering just beneath the poverty line.  It also helped to write songs for the New Pornographers in those lean Destroyer years.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Acting coach.  Actor.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

Debauched… And possibly frozen.

Destroyer plays with Mega Bog Saturday, Feb. 3, at The Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. Showtime is 9 p.m.; tickets are $20. For more information, go to onepercentproductions.com

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Mega Bog opens for Destroyer this Saturday at The Waiting Room. Photo by Vanessa Haddad.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Mega Bog is the project of Seattle native now Brookynite Erin Birgy, who has been making her unique potion of jazz-infused art rock for eight years. Her latest album, Happy Together (2017, Nicey), runs and wobbles between free-form loveliness and dizzy indie rock, giddily capturing an artist in motion with a breathy voice that evokes memories of Nico. Her band has included members of iji, Hand Habits and Big Thief’s James Krivchenia (who also mixed and mastered her new record).

We caught up with Birgy and asked her to take the Ten Questions plunge. Here’s her answers:

1. What is your favorite album?

Mega Bog’s Erin Birgy: Definitely don’t have a favorite, but Diamond Dogs is almost always on standby. It’s what I use to practice vocals. Deeply inspiring.

2. What is your least favorite song?

(Bandmate) Zach (Burba) and I are trying to pick a least favorite song, but it’s hard! We thought of a time our friend, Joel, who helps with all the album art, was playing something by a Magnetic Zero band.

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

I enjoy the responsibility of learning how to take care of others, my family, and act as an ambassador for this weird music world.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Peanut butter in the car. Having to compromise with other peoples cleanliness standards, or lack of.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Water and cedar oil.

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

“Every place is home” by Vollmar

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

A show at Bard College eight years ago. It was a terrible tour, with an abusive guy in the band we were touring with, and I was at the end of my rope dealing with their creepiness and anger. It was freezing, everyone in the band was fighting, and I cut my hand on a borrowed guitar after mine broke, and just laid my head down on the concrete floor and started crying. I took it all out on Zach while we played, which made it doubly worse. He left the “stage” early and people were backed up against the garage door, just scared and annoyed.

8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?

In some moments, it seems like it. I do a lot of strange gigs, but kind of a $200 an hour minimum, if it’s not music.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

I don’t see myself as a professional. Or a musician. I do see myself as a citizen scientist. I could take that more seriously.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

I’ve never heard a story about Omaha, Nebraska.

Mega Bog plays with Destroyer Saturday, Feb. 3, at The Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. Showtime is 9 p.m.; tickets are $20. For more information, go to onepercentproductions.com

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Tonight Son, Ambulance returns to the stage, this time as part of Pageturners’ Winter Concert Series. The band just played a few weeks ago at O’Leaver’s, but no two Son, Ambulance sets are ever alike nor is the line-up from show to show. Expect some surprises, and a large crowd. Sean Pratt & the Sweats open at 9 p.m. Admission is, as always, free.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Anna McClellan this morning leaked a new track off her upcoming LP, Yes or No. Photo by Ebru Yildiz.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Sunday night Mimicking Birds opened for someone at The Waiting Room or Reverb, not sure who now. Regardless, the band’s publicist had reached out weeks ago for some promo. I sent her the Ten Questions survey; she’d get back to me.

A few days before the show she sent me some answers from Mimicking Birds frontman Nate Lacy — half of them. Nate didn’t want to answer some things, and asked for different questions. I explained the premise behind Ten Questions is that everyone answers the same 10 questions. He wasn’t interested, and so, no harm, no foul.

Then Saturday afternoon Nate had a change of heart and his publicist sent the following answers. Too late. She asked that even though the concert had passed, would I run them anyway, so here they are. I’ve been listening to Mimicking Birds on Spotify this morning before work. The music is trippy, ethereal, laid-back indie rock that kind of reminds me of Ester Drang. It’s definitely worth checking out. From Portland. On Glacial Pace Records.

So, here’s Ten Questions with Mimicking Birds:

Mimicking Birds

What is your favorite album? 

Mimicking Birds’ Nate Lacy: Pink Floyd’s The Wall 

What is your least favorite song?

Prob anything by AC/DC

What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

The exhilaration of performing together as if we’re one entity.

What do you hate about being in a band?

Touring is prob a hate/love relationship, the uneconomical and negative environmental impacts of it, the exhaustion/health affects, being away from loved ones for long periods of time, the danger of endlessly careening across highways in deranged states, etc., etc., but at the same time there are few things  more rewarding than bringing your music to people and experiencing first hand how much the art has affected lives, and being able to hug those people and share that moment of deep connection through the music and its message.  It truly gives you a sense of purpose and fulfillment more than any amount of money or things ever could.

What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Water

In what city or town do you love to perform?

Denver, CO

What city or town did you have your worst gig in (and why)?

We’ve had a fair amount in similar fashion but more recently prob Austin due to late set time (12:30-1 am set), rude crowd, poor sound, exhaustion, sick, etc., bookended by very long drives.

Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?

No, I also work at a hotel in Portland as a bellman/valet.

What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Entomologist

What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

Heard many times we should have been in Omaha instead of Lincoln, NE.

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I’ve been listening to this new Anna McClellan album, Yes or No, a ton. My favorite track is the 8-plus-minute epic “Nail-biting Song” which takes you around the sun and back again. Anna’s got such a unique, soulful voice, there’s no question in my mind she’s going to be discovered by a large audience. It takes time.

Anyway, today McClellan dropped another song from the album (below), which comes out Feb. 23 on Father/Daughter Records. You should pre-order your copy now before they run out, cuz they probably will and then you’ll feel stupid for not pre-ordering your own copy.

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John Maus plays electronic music. Here’s a guy who (according to Wiki) took two years off to learn how to build modular synthesizer. Now that’s dedication to a genre.

A couple of his albums have garnered praise including a “best new music” nod from Pitchfork; the latest, Screen Memories (2017, Ribbon Music) garnered a massive 8.0 Pitchfork rating. Whoot!

Maus headlines tonight at Reverb Lounge. LukDlx opens.$15, 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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Mogwai plays The Waiting Room Thursday, Nov. 30.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Mogwai is a Glaswegian ensemble that creates intricate, throbbing headphone-friendly instrumentals. Their debut album, Mogwai Young Team, released in 1997 on Chemikal Underground and Jetset in the U.S., is considered a post-rock masterpiece that helped open the door to other instrumental-heavy art-rock projects. It was followed in ’99 by Come On Die Young, their first release on indie stalwart Matador Records that led up to their commercial breakthrough, 2001’s Rock Action.

The band’s latest, Every Country’s Sun (Temporary Residence, 2017), holds tight to the formula that has made them indie-rock icons — songs that start with a quiet guitar melody, keyboard or soothing percussion line that slowly build-build-builds as if climbing a mountain until they reach some sort of breathless peak — usually at ear-bleeding wake-the-neighbors decibels — to slowly come back down in wait for the next mountain to conquer.

It’s a formula that’s worked for 20 years, along with a live show augmented with intense stage lighting, blinding strobes and unmatched sonic drama. Find out for yourself Thursday night at The Waiting Room. I caught up with Mogwai multi-instrumentalist Barry Burns and asked him to take the dreaded Ten Questions survey.

1. What is your favorite album? 

Barry Burns: Eek. It’s always changing and very often, too, so I’d be lying to name one.

2. What is your least favorite song? 

This is much, much easier. That Maroon 5 song “This Love.”

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band? 

The concerts and hanging out with some of the funniest people I’ve ever met.

4. What do you hate about being in a band? 

Traveling on planes and being away from my wife and daughter.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)? 

Probably scotch whisky. It’s rarely a disappointment

6. In what city or town do you love to perform? 

Glasgow, Tokyo, Osama, Barcelona.

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)? 

Oslo. All the gear, like, ALL of it stopped working and I remember trying to hide behind the piano (which was also broken)

8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?

Yes, we’ve been lucky in some ways but also worked constantly the entire time we’ve been together.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do? 

I’d like a go at proper cooking. Having a lot of time at home for long spells gives me time to practice that so I’m getting better. I’d probably hate being a taxi driver.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

Only that a guy who used to tour manage and do our live sound used to live in Omaha and he stole 10,000 dollars from us.

Mogwai plays with Xander Harris Nov. 30 at The Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St.. Tickets are $23 Adv./$26 DOS. Showtime is 8 p.m. For more information, go to onepercentproductions.com.

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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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Yawpers play at O’Leaver’s Nov. 2.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Denver trio The Yawpers plays a gritty, groovy style of alt country/punk/blues that combines the best parts of J. Cash, C. Isaak and C. Stapleton with their own rootsy take on rock ‘n’ roll. The band scored a deal with Bloodshot Records after a successful showcase at 2015’s South By Southwest Festival. Their latest album, Boy in a Well (2017, Bloodshot), was recorded with Tommy Stinson of The Replacements behind the knobs. Can their sound be contained inside fabulous O’Leaver’s vintage walls? Find out Thursday night.

I caught up with Yawpers frontman Nate Cook and gave him the Ten Questions treatment. Check it:

1. What is your favorite album?

Nate Cook: King Bee (Muddy Waters) is probably the one I’ve played the most. It was the first record I ever bought on vinyl, and probably still the one I spin most frequently.

2. What is your least favorite song?

There’s only one answer to this question, and it is “Smooth.”

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Casting a wide net, eating the finest regional cuisines, and being empowered to act like a 12 y/o.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Divorce.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Laundry detergent. That shit is a god send on the road.

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

Chicago will always be my jam. My current record for “most days spent awake consecutively” was set there.

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

I once fell down an ice ridden fire escape in Lawrence, KS, after having to open for a Grateful Dead cover band. Sometimes I wish the fall had killed me.

8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?

Yes, but meager to the point of embarrassment. If I want to eat something besides crow and Annie’s I’ll pick up the occasional bartending shift.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

I always wanted to try my hand at cooking, though I doubt I possess the patience. If you made me teach 8th graders, I’d climb that fire escape in Lawrence every day, praying God relieve my burden.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

Just of your reputation for putting out quality music, and never letting us fucking play there. Until now, of course.

The Yawpers play with The Velveteers and Clarence Tilton Thursday, Nov. 2, at O’Leaver’s, 1322 So. Saddle Creek Rd. Showtime is 9 p.m. Tickets are $10. For more information, go to widmestproductions.com.

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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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Cults at 1100 Warehouse, South by Southwest Music Festival, March 15, 2012. The band plays the Bemis Art Auction After Party Oct. 27.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Dreamy synth-rock duo Cults have generated a musical cult of their own since their self-titled full-length debut released in 2011 by Columbia Records imprint In the Name Of, run by indie star Lily Allen. Since then, New Yorkers Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion have released two more critically acclaimed albums, 2013’s Static and their latest offering, titled Offering, which came out earlier this month on Sinderlyn.

The new album is a collection of dreamy, floating pop songs that display Follin’s floating, echoing voice over a cushion of synths, guitars and tapping drums, a perfect setting for an early evening bike ride on a vacant, treelined blacktop county road. The duo’s Oct. 27 performance with Omaha’s own dream-pop duo, Closeness, is part of the Bemis Center Art Auction After Party, a joint promotion of Bemis and the Maha Music Festival.

I’m told that there are fewer than 50 tickets left for this show, btw…

I caught up with Cults and asked them to take my Ten Questions survey. Here’s what they had to say.

1. What is your favorite album?


Cults: Home Schooled-The ABCs Of Kid Soul. Pretty sure everyone in our band could sing every lyric to every song from this record. The mix of incredible musicianship with the most bizarre/touching vocal performances you’ve ever heard perfectly rides the line between emotionality and kitsch.

2. What is your least favorite song?

Sugar Ray, “Every Morning.” I once had the song stuck in my head for an entire year. It’s a great song but having any song stuck in your head for that long will ruin it for you!


3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Being able to travel to places I never imagined I would see.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

It’s hard to keep in touch with people when you are constantly changing time zones and leaving for long periods of time.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Salt! I am definitely guilty of over-salting my food on a regular basis.

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

Omaha. The last time we stopped here on tour we played The Slowdown. There was a snowstorm, we did our laundry in the venue, hung out at the bar next door and caught up with an old friend. We felt so at home. One of the best nights of the tour!

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

Soon after our first EP came out we were asked to open for a pretty large act in D.C. Save for a few tiny warm up gigs we had never really played a show before. Let’s just say it was a little too early for us to be playing a stage that big and we could’ve used quite a bit more practice.

8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?

Luckily, yes. When we were offered our first tour we immediately dropped out of college and quit our jobs without hesitation. With only one semester left!

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?


One of my good friends travels setting up and testing out zip lines. If I was more of a daredevil I think I would try to steal his job. I would hate to be an accountant. Math stresses me out!

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

I heard that the bobby pin was invented in Omaha and for that I am eternally grateful!

Cults plays with Closeness at the Bemis Center Art Auction After Party Friday, Oct. 27, at Bemis Center’s Okada Sculpture & Ceramics Facility across the street from 723 So. 12th St. Showtime is 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 through Oct. 26, $30 thereafter. For more information, go to bemiscenter.org/benefit

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The new one by SAVAK, Brooklyn indie-punk band fronted by former Omahan Mike Jaworski, made their new album, Cut-Ups, available for streaming before tomorrow’s drop day. The band — which includes members of Obits, Holy Fuck, The Cops, The Make Up and more — just played several dates in support of Pinback and  will be supporting Hot Snakes in Brooklyn and Boston next month.

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It’s a night for heavy music.

Over at The Waiting Room, industrial giants KMFDM headlines. Opening is fellow industrial band OhGr (Nivek Ogre and Mark Walk of Skinny Puppy). $28, 8 p.m.

Also tonight, doom metal monsters Primitive Man headlines at fabulous O’Leaver’s with Bell Witch, Vickers and Houma. $8, 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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Deer Tick plays The Slowdown Oct. 25.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Some might describe Deer Tick as an alt country band, and certainly when they got their start in the early 2000s there was more of a twang in their giddy-up. But these days Deer Tick’s music more closely resembles an indie-fueled folk-rock act with a big heart.

Their latest releases — Deer Tick Vol. 1 and Deer Tick Vol. 2 — an acoustic album and a separate electric set,  both recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee — are a diverse combination of music styles with solid songwriting snarled to life by frontman John McCauley.

We caught up with McCauley and asked him to take our Ten Questions survey:

1. What is your favorite album?

John McCauley: I don’t know if I could pick one. Mystery Girl by Roy Orbison was the first album I had as a kid and I still really love that record. I’ve been playing the recently reissued A Man Called Destruction by Alex Chilton a lot. Probably wouldn’t count it as a “favorite” but I sure do like that record a lot.

2. What is your least favorite song?

I really don’t like “Rosanna” by Toto. Something in the way the music swings really pisses me off.

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Traveling, enjoying food in places far from home.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Sharing a hotel room sucks. Pretty fun otherwise.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

LSD. I wish I had the time to do it more often. I think it’s a really beautiful drug. It’s been a couple years since my last dose, I think I’m due for one.

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

Dublin, Ireland. Nice place to buy hats and sweaters, too!

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

It all depends on how you look at the situation. Sometimes we don’t sell a lot of tickets somewhere and the show is uneventful and that sucks. A stretch of shows like that can be really hard on you. But if you want Deer Tick behaving badly stories, they’re quite numerous. One gig in San Francisco we didn’t get paid for because I took my clothes off and got the crowd to started a chant, cursing the sponsor. I was pretty deep in my cups that night and determined to make mischief. Some people thought it was really funny. I think it seemed to some people that I was having a meltdown. I dunno, maybe I was! The guy who did the lights that night said it was the best show he’d ever seen, but other spectators thought the show was a total disaster, worst they’d ever seen! I played a really bad show in Lawrence, Kansas, once. I was in a bad way, mixing pills and alcohol, and played poorly and forgot a lot of lyrics. I think I sang the same verse two or three times in one of our songs. That is one show, maybe the only show, I truly regret.

8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?

Yeah. I’ve been doing nothing but music since 2007 or so. Deer Tick started in 2004.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

I used to be a projectionist and I liked that job a lot. I’d love to run an old cinema, maybe someday I’ll have the chance to get involved with one. I waited tables for a few weeks once and absolutely hated it. Wouldn’t want to do that again. Because of that experience I always tip well. To get less than a 20 percent tip from me you’d have to do something like spit in my food right in front of me.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

I heard that the band Deer Tick went to Fun-Plex once.

Deer Tick plays with Chris Crofton Wednesday, Oct. 25, at The Slowdown,  729 No. 14th St. Tickets are $20 Adv./$23 DOS. Showtime is 8 p.m. For more information, go to theslowdown.com.

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Yes, I did attend a show this weekend — Lung/Crybaby at O’Leaver’s Friday night. Look for a review and pictures from that show 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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Zola Jesus plays The Waiting Room Oct. 11. Photo by Tim Saccenti.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

After seeing Zola Jesus perform at SXSW in 2012 I walked away thinking frontwoman and creative force Rosa Danilova was an indie Gaga. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she exploded into dance the moment the band broke into its dreamy, spiritual, post-ambient rock drenched in synths, guitar and drums.

Her music has been compared to Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance, though it bears an even darker tone on her latest album, Okovi, released last month on Sacred Bones Records.

“While writing Okovi, I endured people very close to me trying to die, and others trying desperately not to,” Danilova said. “This album is a deeply personal snapshot of loss, reconciliation, and a sympathy for the chains that keep us all grounded to the unforgiving laws of nature.”

We caught up with Danilova and asked her to take the Ten Questions survey:

What is your favorite album?

Zola Jesus’ Rosa Danilova: It changes. Right now it’s the Stalker OST.

2. What is your least favorite song?

Hmm… I don’t know that I have one.

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Being able to insidiously connect with people I’ve never met.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

The pressure it makes me put on myself.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Sap, from trees.

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

I like to play cities that remind me of home…

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

Well, I once cried on stage at Silencio in Paris. Not my best moment.

8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?

Thankfully, I am, though it takes a lot of work and sacrifice. I tour a lot and live in the middle of Wisconsin, which is cheap. It helps make it possible to focus on doing what I love.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Sometimes I wish I would be an architect, but I would build very bad buildings. I’m sure they would collapse. I’ve worked many jobs in the past and was fired from most of them. I’m not a very good employee!

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

I’m not sure I’ve heard many stories, but I sort of glorify Omaha in my mind. Being a midwesterner from Wisconsin, I feel companionship with Nebraska. Which is why I’m excited to finally play there.

Zola Jesus plays with John Wiese and Ivan Zoloto Wednesday, Oct. 11, at The Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. Tickets are $15. Showtime is 8 p.m. For more information, go to onepercentproductions.com.

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Tonight Brooklyn noise rock band Ice Balloons (Volar Records) plays at fabulous O’Leaver’s. The band includes Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio and members of Samiam, among others. Benny Leather (Ben VanHoolandt of Digital Leather) and Low Long Signal open. 9 p.m. $5.

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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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Church plays The Waiting Room Oct. 10.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

If you listened to college music in 1988 you owned a copy of The Church’s seminal album Starfish, with its breakthrough hit, the dreamy, atmospheric “Under the Milky Way,” a song that dominated CMJ and MTV. Afterward, the Aussie band released 14 more studio albums, leading up to 2014’s Further/Deeper (Unorthodox Records), which, in some ways, marked a re-emergence for a band that’s always been around.

Now comes the band’s 26th studio album, Man Woman Life Death Infinity, out Oct. 6. It’s the second album with the rejuvenated line-up consisting of frontman Steve Kilbey, co-founder Peter Koppes, Tim Powles and Ian Haug. The tour that brings them to The Waiting Room Oct. 10 is their first since 2015.

We caught up with frontman Kilbey and asked him to take the Ten Questions survey:

1. What is your favorite album?

The Church’s Steve Kilbey: Diamond Dogs by David Bowie… or do you mean by The Church? Then that is Priest = Aura.

2. What is your least favorite song?

By The Church? Maybe “These Boys” off Remote Luxury.

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Playing onstage when we are having a great night.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Playing onstage when we are having a bad night.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Marijuana

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

Chicago, Melbourne, London, Atlanta to name a few.

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

I once had a terrible gig in Christchurch New Zealand. Everything was wrong. I wanted to disappear!

8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?

I am squeaking by on music, plus I paint and write articles, etc.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Love to have been an ancient greek scholar. Hate to be a mathematician.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

I played there once. I dunno if they liked us much. Hope they do this time around.

The Church plays with The Helio Sequence Oct. 10 at The Waiting Room. Tickets are $25 Adv./$30 DOS/$99 VIP. Showtime is 8 p.m. For more information, go to onepercentproductions.com.

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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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.