Add new record label and Chicago location, subtract a few members, and you get Margot and the Nuclear So and So's 'Buzzard'

[Margot and the Nuclear So and So's w/ Jookabox & Burnt Ones]
[Tuesday, 9 p.m.] [Waiting Room, Omaha] [$10]

as seen in the Daily Nebraskan
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's aren't the same band they were four years ago.

Membership has slimmed from a jamboree to six. They're no longer based out of Indianapolis, Ind., but now Chicago. And they've started a personal record label, Mariel Recording Company, set up by band songwriter and ringleader Richard Edwards along with guitarist Erik Kang.

The band released their Chicago-influenced "Buzzard" in September with their label after working with Epic for their 2008 sophomore dual-release "Animal!" and "Not Animal." Big-label pains aside, Margot looks forward to releasing an EP in January.

Margot will be in Omaha on Tuesday for a 9 p.m. show at the Waiting Room.

I was able to talk with Edwards while out on tour about the new album.

Mac Lethal gives details on 'Irish Goodbye,' due out Spring 2011

[Mac Lethal w/ F. Stokes & Conchance]
[Monday, 9 p.m.] [ Waiting Room, Omaha]
[$10]

as seen in the Daily Nebraskan
Mac Lethal has had his share of time with independent hip-hop label Rhymesayers.

"I have nothing but respect for them," said the Kansas City hip-hop artist.

His first album "11:11" was released with the label. After leaving, Mac re-released the album his own way on his own label, Black Clover Records.

Any hard feelings in the past, Mac still keeps relations with Rhymesayers artists like Slug of Atmosphere and Brother Ali, especially with the passing of the label's Eyedea.

Michael "Eyedea" Larson was found dead in his apartment Oct. 16 at the age of 28. His death was recently ruled as an accidental drug overdose with the direct cause of death being opiate toxicity, according to the Ramsay County medical examiner's office of the Twin Cities area.

With the passing of his mother a few years ago, death is all too familiar with Mac. The experience is also a topic of interest on his upcoming album "Irish Goodbye," expected out on Black Clover this spring.

Don't be misled by Mac having but one album out. He actually has quite the plethora of music with six volumes of "The Love Potion Series" and other mixtapes.

Mac will be in Omaha at the Waiting Room on Monday night with Chicago artist F. Stokes and local artist Conchance.

I was able to catch up with Mac while on tour to discuss details of the new album.

Tim Kasher talks new solo album

[Tim Kasher w/ Darren Hanlon & Conduits] [Thursday, 8 p.m.]
[Bourbon Theatre, Lincoln] [$10 in advance, $12 at the door]

Get free downloads of "Cold Love" and "I'm Afraid I'm Gonna
Die Here" at www.timkasher.com. 

as seen in the Daily Nebraskan

You know Tim Kasher as a renowned Omaha musician and leading man of Cursive and The Good Life.

But with his new solo release "The Game of Monogomy," you can get to know Kasher and his thoughts on marriage, namely the dead weight of having a spouse and not being able to sleep around anymore.

After touring up north for the first time in 2009 with Cursive in states like Montana and the Dakotas, Kasher was inspired to record the album at the SnowGhost Music studio in Whitefish, Mont., by Glacier Park this past January.

The album features pop-leaning tunes like "Cold Love" and "I'm Afraid I'm Gonna Die Here" as well as measures of orchestration with the help of the Glacier National Symphony — Kasher's attempt at an ode for his love of pop, rock ‘n' roll and dabbling in what hasn't yet been dabbled in.

I was able to talk with Kasher about his new album, which he's currently on tour promoting. You can catch Kasher on Thursday at 8 p.m. at the Bourbon Theatre.

Slumber Party Records hosting unplugged show & dinner at Omaha vegan restaurant

[Slumber Party Records dinner & show fundraiser]

[Saturday, dinner at 7 p.m., show at 9 p.m.]

[Daily Grub, Omaha] [$20 dinner + show, $10 show]

mp3: "Tonight You Belong To Me" by Slumber Party artist Honeybee

as seen in the Daily Nebraskan

Omaha's Slumber Party Records is teaming up with neighborhood vegan restaurant Daily Grub for a dinner and unplugged show Saturday night to help out label funds.

It's Slumber Party's first organized fundraiser, said label owner Aaron Markley.

Event goers can catch dinner and the show at 7 p.m. for $20 or just attend the show, beginning at 9 p.m., for $10 at the Daily Grub, located on 1054 S. 20th St. in Omaha. Proceeds will go toward a handful of upcoming releases from Slumber Party artists and others.

Label artists set for new albums include Noah's Ark Was A Spaceship with "Hanga-Fang," Honeybee and Conchance. Upcoming splits from Slumber Party include "Kids Beat Your Vegetables" from Sean Pratt and Capgun Coup's Sam Martin and a split with Outlaw Con Bandana and Bruces. They'll also be releasing a 7-inch from Iowa City, Iowa's Sam Locke Ward and the Boo Hoos.

Before Dawn: the playlist

Here are some songs chosen by Dylan Bliss, Dan Stier and myself from this morning's radio show Before Dawn on Lincoln's KZUM 89.3. You can stream the show online at www.kzum.org every Tuesday from 4-6 a.m. CST. I gave airtime to my favorite band from my home state Montana, 1090 Club. Anther notable is a new track called "Down by the Water" from The Decemberists, who's new album "The King Is Dead" is to be released Jan. 14 of 2011. You can download it over at their website for free.


:: Electric President - Good Morning, Hypocrite :: White Denim - If You're Changing :: The Netherfriends - Oh-Hi-Ho :: 1090 Club - Second Hander :: The Black Keys - Till I Get My Way :: Cloud Nothings - Talk to Me :: Arcade Fire - Neighborhoods #1 (Tunnels) :: Bombadil - Honeymoon :: The Decemberists - Down by the Water :: The Decemberists - Engine Driver :: Gayngs - The Gaudy Side of Town :: The War On Drugs - Comin' Through :: Kings of Leon - Back Down South :: Camera Obscura - Away With Murder :: Dirty Projectors - No Intention :: Bright Eyes - We Are Nowhere and It's Now :: Of Montreal - Sex Karma :: Bon Iver - Brackett, WI :: Margo & the Nuclear So and So's - A Children's Crusade on Acid :: Small Black - Photojournalist :: Feist & Grizzly Bear - Service Bell :: Benji Hughes - I Went With Some Friends To See the Flaming Lips :: Benji Hughes - Baby It's You're Life :: Four Tet - Angel Echoes :: The Tallest Man on Earth - Troubles Will Be Gone :: Spoon - You've Got Your Cherry Bomb ::

Download this!

Elliott Smith - An Introduction to...
compilation, 14 tracks
out on Kill Rock Stars
mp3: "Between the Bars" from the album "Either/Or"


Tracks from all seven of Elliott Smith's albums are on the compilation: "Roman Candle," "Elliott Smith," "Either/Or," "XO," "Figure 8," "From a Basement on a Hill," and "New Moon." 

Brian Eno - Small Craft On A Milk Sea
LP, 15 tracks, 4 bonus tracks with Limited Edition and Collector's Edition box sets
out on Warp
You can listen to tracks from the album over at www.brian-eno.net

Matt & Kim - Sidewalks
LP, 10 tracks 
out on Matt & Kim Inc. under Fader Label

Before Dawn: the playlist

This photo by Brianna Soukup reminded me of the picture Dan set on his desktop background of Andrew Bird. This is Dan.

Here is this morning's playlist from Before Dawn with Dylan Bliss on KZUM 89.3. Myself and Dan Stier were there to co-host. You can catch it every Tuesday morning from 4-6 a.m on your local Lincoln radio or you can stream it online at kzum.org. There shall be a day when it all can be 'podcasted.' 


:: Electric President - Safe and Sound :: Phosphorescent - It's Hard to be Humble "When You're From Alabama" :: The Netherfriends - Oh-Hi-Ho :: CSLSX - We Ought to be Together :: First Aid Kit - Sailor Song :: Islands - Switched On :: Two Gallants - The Prodigal Son :: Elvis Perkins - While You Were Sleeping :: Bright Eyes - Cleanse Song :: The Avett Brothers - The Weight of Lies :: Benji Hughes - Girl in the Tower :: Blind Pilot - 3 Rounds and a Sound :: Mynabirds - Numbers Don't Lie :: Nurses - Technicolor :: Suuns - Up Past the Nursery :: Jens Lekman - A Postcard to Nina :: Broken Bells - The Mall and the Misery :: The Decemberists - Grace Cathedral Hill :: Blitzen Trapper - Sadie :: Dutch Hall Road - At the Center of the Earth :: Groove Armada - Hands of Time :: White Denim - Tony Fatti :: Wise Blood - STRT SRNS :: Women - Eyesore :: Benji Hughes - Cornfields ::

SSLYBY on no longer recording in their parents' basements, new album 'Let it Sway'

[Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin w/ The Lonely Forest & Tie These Hands]
[today, 9 p.m.] [Slowdown, Omaha] [$10]

as seen in the Daily Nebraskan
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

Yes, it’s a mouth-full. It’s a grammatically satisfying full sentence. It’s the name of a band out of Springfield, Mo.

SSLYBY has recorded three albums over a decade-long career. They’ve been on the radar of the music media ever since recording and self-releasing their debut album “Broom” in 2005.

The band left recording albums in their parents’ houses behind with their newest LP “Let it Sway,” getting production help from Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla and Sparklehorse’s Beau Sorenson. The album was released on the band’s label, Polyvinyl, this past August.

The guys will be coming to Omaha to play the Slowdown on tonight.

I was able to chat with SSLYBY drummer/guitarist/vocalist Phil Dickey after their European tour to talk more about the new album.