Somewhere in middle America

13 May 2009 at 22:57

A Free Man

I’ve never been to, nor have I ever had any great compulsion to visit, Omaha. Even during my self-imposed exile in the Midwest, I didn’t venture down the road from Columbia to the other Gateway to the West.

Maybe that was a mistake, because there’s obviously something going on in Omaha. There is a steady stream of great independent music coming out of this small city in the nation’s hinterlands.

Obviously there’s Conor Oberst and his Bright Eyes and Saddle Creek Records, all of whom have been releasing outstanding indie folk for the past few years. Series Two Records is a basement digital label that has been churning out great recordings, albeit most of them from artists outside of Nebraska, for the last couple of years. But the tunes just keep on spilling out of Omaha and I’ve got a couple more Nebraskan minstrels to tell you about today.

Thunder Power caught my attention a few months back with the outstanding sunshine indie pop of their debut EP ‘Love Yourself’ EP which was released earlier this year. They’re back, releasing a ‘split’ EP with UK singer songwriter Alessi’s Ark (aka Alessi Laurent-Marke). ‘Friend Ships’ features three new songs from Thunder Power and is a pretty strong statement that their debut wasn’t a fluke. Bring on the full-length, guys!

Buy ‘Friend Ships’ or ‘Love Yourself’ here.
Outlaw Con Bandana is a slightly different kettle of fish. The Omaha based collective has just released their fourth full-length album, “Faeries and Rewards”. Outlaw Con Bandana is a little bit like the lo-fi love child of a one night stand between the late 90’s Drive-By Truckers and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. If that sounds like a bastard you’d like to meet, then check out “Faeries and Rewards” and the rest of Outlaw Con Bandana’s back catalog from .

Both bands are in the stable of up and coming Slumber Party Records. I don’t know what you guys have going on in Omaha, but keep it coming!

Thunder Power - "Postscript" [2:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Outlaw Con Bandana "Booze Hound" [2:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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2 Comments

by Karen Olson

14 May 2009 at 22:32

I went to Omaha for a mystery conference a couple of years ago. I’d had a lot of misconceptions about the city, and when I arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. It was sophisticated and hip, and I spent an evening at a jazz bar that had amazing music. I’m going to Indianapolis in October and keeping an open mind.
by Erin

15 May 2009 at 14:44

As mentioned before, I’m from Omaha and I don’t think people rate it at all. I never used to! But it really is a fantastic place. The music scene there is great there are other great acts coming out of that cow-town besides Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes!

I used to ‘run with’ a few musicians and that group included Kyle Harvey. http://www.myspace.com/kyleharveymusic

Went to school with Dan McCarthy of McCarthy Trenching.
http://www.myspace.com/mccarthytrenching or http://www.last.fm/music/McCarthy+Trenching

You probably know of Saddle Creek’s Neva Dinova, but if not, check them out too. http://www.myspace.com/nevadinova or http://www.last.fm/music/Neva+Dinova

Happy listening!

Erins last blog post..All That Glitters IS Gold