What is Better Living Oblivion Center? Enquiring minds want to know…

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Last week Tim Kiefer, the man behind Widmest Productions production company, which booked shows throughout Benson, at O’Leaver’s and at other venues, announced Widmest was ending after three years of operations.

“We loved doing this, but all good things must come to an end and as professionals in our late 40s with young kids, we just couldn’t give Widmest the attention it needed – and the bands and venues we work with deserve nothing but our utmost attention,” Kiefer said.

Among the acts Widmest booked are Christopher the Conquered, Clarence Tilton, Bud Bronson & The Good Timers and Cracker.

“We were able to work with one of our favorite artists for our first show, Grant Hart (in May 2015),” Kiefer said. “We had a great weekend getting to know him and the events were great. Grant was everything he was cracked up to be: generous, a bit odd, curmudgeonly, funny and genuine. It was awesome.”

Another highlight was releasing Bazile Mills’ 2015 EP Where We Are. “We’re proud of the record and being a part of the entire process was a great experience,” he said. “We didn’t really think through distribution, which was a pretty big miss, but we’re whole in the end and we have the record as proof of our efforts.

“It is cliche, but the best part truly was meeting a ton of really great people,” he added. “We learned a lot about how difficult it is to make a living in this industry (We weren’t trying to make our living through Widmest, thank God!) and how hard the artists work to try and make it. Thankfully, there are so many great musicians willing to throw their hats in the ring. In the end, we remain huge fans of a wide range of artists and we look forward to going back to just enjoying the fruits of others’ labors!”

Are there any local promoters left outside of One Percent Productions that book indie shows in Omaha?

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One bit of mysterious music news… from Brooklyn Vegan.

Within the past month, Conor Oberst and Team Love have been connected to a viral promotion for Better Oblivion Community Center, which may or may not be the name of a new music project. Brooklyn Vegan reported that BOCC may be connected to a collaborative project involving Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers, who already have a history of working together.

I guess we’ll have to wait until next Wednesday, Jan. 23, to find out. That’s the date of BOCC’s “launch party” according to the message that plays when you call the number on the brochure…

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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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.