Don’t expect to spend too much time sitting down Saturday in the cozy confines of the Holland Center’s 1200 Club.

The trombone-fueled funk of Big Sam’s Funky Nation has been known to put audiences on their feet from beginning to end with their jazz-influenced blend of R&B, funk and blues-rock. It’s a magical, electric kind of vibe that is truly infectious.

They call it urban funk, and Big Sam’s Funky Nation is one of the genre’s driving forces. Led by trombone powerhouse Big Sam Williams, formerly the trombonist for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, who the San Francisco Chronicle calls “the top man on the slide trombone in the birthplace of jazz,” the Funky Nation refuses to let the audi- ence sit still. Between the band’s solos, Big Sam’s signature dance moves and his distinctive trombone riffs, the energy level is high voltage when this band takes the stage.

The Funky Nation is a stellar group of world-class musicians who meet the challenges of their funky band leader. The band is comprised of Andrew Baham on trumpet/vocals/keys, Andrew Block on guitar, Chocolate MILK on drums, and Eric Vogel on bass, in addition to Big Sam on trombone and vocals. BSFN’s signature “Noladelic Powerfunk” sound masterfully combines a rock sensibility with an improv-style associated with jazz and the horn-heavy front sections that are the hallmark of big band funk.

Big Sam began playing with the Dirty Dozen at 19 before striking out on his own and creating the Funky Nation. Big Sam powered-up the horn section on the critically acclaimed, Grammy nominated, “River in Reverse,” and is prominently featured in “Hot as a Pistol, Keen as a Blade,” the concert tour DVD. While touring with Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint, in the Fall of 2006 and Summer of 2007, he earned consistent reviews as a musical force and star soloist. Big Sam has played with Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Dave Matthews, Ozomatli, and Widespread Panic. He has also shared the stage with U2 and Green Day for the emotional and energetic re-opening of the Superdome, which was broadcast live on Monday Night Football.

BSFN is a festival favorite across North America and their contagious tunes and memorable live performances have attracted fans far and wide, ranging from France, to the United Kingdom, to Greece, to Brazil, to Canada. BSFN has sealed its mark on the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage, Gathering of the Vibes, Telluride Blues & Brews, Doheny Blues Festival, Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo Arts & Music Festival, Wakarusa, Voodoo Music Experience, Bear Creek Mu- sic & Arts Festival, LEAF & many more.

By Mary Nelson

KMTV’s “The Morning Blend”

It’s the thought that counts. Isn’t it?

Summer brings with it the promise of big-name blockbuster films, and this season’s lineup looks like it will be no exception.

With heavyweight titles like “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “Men In Black 3″ and “The Dark Knight Rises” in the mix, Summer 2012 is shaping up to be record-breaking year.

This week we’ve looked ahead and compiled what are expected to be the big hits of the summer, complete with opening dates, brief summaries and links to the official trailers. 

MAY 11 

“Dark Shadows” (PG-13)

Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet-or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. 

MAY 16

“The Dictator” (R)

 The heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed. Stars Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, Megan Fox, John C. Reilly.

MAY 18

“Battleship” (PG-13)

Peter Berg produces and directs Battleship, an epic-scaled action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force. Inspired by Hasbro’s classic naval combat game, Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch as Lt. Alex Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Sam Shane, a physical therapist and Hopper’s fiancée; Alexander Skarsgård as Hopper’s older brother, Stone, Commanding Officer of the USS Sampson; Rihanna as Petty Officer Raikes, Hopper’s crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and international superstar Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stone’s superior (and Sam’s father), Admiral Shane

“What to Expect When You’re Expecting” (PG-13)

Over the moon about starting a family, TV fitness guru Jules and dance show star Evan find that their high-octane celebrity lives don’t stand a chance against the surprise demands of pregnancy. Baby-crazy author and advocate Wendy gets a taste of her own militant mommy advice when pregnancy hormones ravage her body; while Wendy’s husband, Gary, struggles not to be outdone by his competitive alpha-Dad, who’s expecting twins with his much younger trophy wife, Skyler. Photographer Holly is prepared to travel the globe to adopt a child, but her husband Alex isn’t so sure, and tries to quiet his panic by attending a “dudes” support group, where new fathers get to tell it like it really is. And rival food truck chefs Rosie and Marco’s surprise hook-up results in an unexpected quandary: what to do when your first child comes before your first date? 

MAY 25

“Men In Black 3″ (PG-13)

In Men in Black 3, Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back…in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K’s life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him — secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind. -

JUNE 1

“For Greater Glory” (R)

What would you pay for the price of freedom? In the exhilarating action epic For Greater Glory an impassioned group of men and women each make the decision to risk it all for family, faith and the very future of their country, as the fims adventure unfolds against the long-hidden, true story of the 1920s Cristero War the daring peoples revolt that rocked 20th Century North America. 

“Piranha 3DD” (R)

There’s something in the water . . . again. And this time no one is safe from the flesh eating fish as they sink their razor sharp teeth into the visitors of the best summer attraction, The Big Wet Water Park.

“Snow White And The Huntsman” (PG-13)

In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Charlize Theron) out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) dispatched to kill her. Sam Claflin joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White’s beauty and power.

JUNE 8

“Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” (PG)

Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple and of course, King Julien, Maurice and the Penguins are all along for the comedic adventure. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent – Madagascar style. 

“Prometheus” (Unrated)

Ridley Scott, director of Alien and Blade Runner, returns to the genre he helped define. With Prometheus, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

JUNE 15

“Rock of Ages” (Unrated)

Rock of Ages tells the story of small town girl Sherrie and city boy Drew, who meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams. Their rock ‘n’ roll romance is told through the heart-pounding hits of Def Leppard, Joan Jett, Journey, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Whitesnake and more.

“That’s My Boy” (R)

While still in his teens, Donny (Adam Sandler) fathered a son, Todd (Andy Samberg), and raised him as a single parent up until Todd’s 18th birthday. Now, after not seeing each other for years, Todd’s world comes crashing down on the eve of his wedding when an uninvited Donny suddenly shows up. Trying desperately to reconnect with his son, Donny is now forced to deal with the repercussions of his bad parenting skills. 

JUNE 22

“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” (Unrated)

Visionary filmmakers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov reinvent the time-honored genre and present the terrifying creatures of the night as they were meant to be experienced — as fierce, visceral, intense and bloodthristy. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter brings to the screen the secret life of our nation’s favorite president…as history’s greatest hunter of the undead. 

“Brave” (Unrated)

Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (Robbie Coltrane). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Witch (Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late.

“Seeking A Friend For the End of the World” (R)

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World stars Golden Globe Award winner Steve Carell and Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley and is the feature directorial debut of screenwriter Lorene Scafaria. Set in a too-near future, the movie explores what people will do when humanity’s last days are at hand. As the respective journeys of Dodge (Mr. Carell) and Penny (Ms. Knightley) converge, the two spark to each other and their outlooks – if not the world’s – brighten

JUNE 29

“G.I. Joe: Reatliation”

In this sequel, the G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence. 

“Magic Mike” (R)

Set in the world of male strippers, Magic Mike is directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Channing Tatum in a story inspired by his real life. The film follows Mike (Tatum) as he takes a young dancer called The Kid (Pettyfer) under his wing and schools him in the fine arts of partying, picking up women, and making easy money. 

JULY 3

“The Amazing Spider-Man” (Unrated)

The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

JULY 6

“Savages” (R)

Three-time Oscar (R)-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone returns to the screen with the ferocious thriller Savages, featuring the all-star ensemble cast of Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch and Demian Bichir. The film is based on Don Winslow’s best-selling crime novel that was named one of The New York Times’ Top 10 Books of 2010. Laguna Beach entrepreneurs Ben (Johnson), a peaceful and charitable Buddhist, and his closest friend Chon (Kitsch), a former Navy SEAL and ex-mercenary, run a lucrative, homegrown industry-raising some of the best marijuana ever developed. They also share a one-of-a-kind love with the extraordinary beauty Ophelia (Lively). Life is idyllic in their Southern California town…until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them. When the merciless head of the BC, Elena (Hayek), and her brutal enforcer, Lado (Del Toro), underestimate the unbreakable bond among these three friends, Ben and Chon-with the reluctant, slippery assistance of a dirty DEA agent (Travolta)-wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel. And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills.

JULY 13

“Ice Age: Continental Drift” (Unrated)

Scrat’s nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he’s been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences – a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these upheavals, Sid reunites with his cantankerous Granny, and the herd encounters a ragtag menagerie of seafaring pirates determined to stop them from returning home. 

JULY 20

“The Dark Knight Rises” (PG-13)

The epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Eight years after Batman took the fall for Two Face’s crimes, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham’s finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.

JULY 27 

“The Watch” (Unrated)

A group of guys stumble upon an alien invasion during a faux neighborhood watch meeting where they usually do some male bonding to get away from their dull suburban lives in this sci-fi comedy starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Will Forte. Akiva Schaffer directs from a script by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Jonah Hill and Rosemarie DeWitt co-star. 

“Step Up Revolution” (PG-13)

Step Up Revolution is the next installment in the worldwide smash Step Up franchise, which sets the dancing against the vibrant backdrop of Miami. Emily (Kathryn McCormick) arrives in Miami with aspirations of becoming a professional dancer and soon falls in love with Sean (Ryan Guzman), a young man who leads a dance crew in elaborate, cutting-edge flash mobs, called “The Mob.” When a wealthy business man threatens to develop The Mob’s historic neighborhood and displace thousands of people, Emily must band together with Sean and The Mob to turn their performance art into protest art, and risk losing their dreams to fight for a greater cause. 

AUGUST 3

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” (PG)

The oh-so-wimpy Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) gets himself into more mischief when he spends the summer working at a country club in this third installation of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. David Bowers returns to direct from a script by Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky. 

“The Bourne Legacy” (Unrated)

The narrative architect behind the Bourne film series, Tony Gilroy, takes the helm in the next chapter of the hugely popular espionage franchise that has earned almost $1 billion at the global box office: The Bourne Legacy. The writer/director expands the Bourne universe created by Robert Ludlum with an original story that introduces us to a new hero (Jeremy Renner) whose life-or-death stakes have been triggered by the events of the first three films. For The Bourne Legacy, Renner joins fellow series newcomers Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach and Oscar Isaac, while franchise veterans Albert Finney, Joan Allen, David Strathairn and Scott Glenn reprise their roles.

“Total Recall” (Unrated)

Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), even though he’s got a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life – real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police – controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), the leader of the free world – Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) to find the head of the underground resistance (Bill Nighy) and stop Cohaagen.

AUGUST 10

“Hope Springs” (Unrated)

After thirty years of marriage, a middle-aged couple attends an intense counseling weekend to decide the fate of their marriage.

“The Campaign” (Unrated)

When long-term congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naïve Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), director of the local Tourism Center. At first, Marty appears to be the unlikeliest possible choice but, with the help of his new benefactors’ support, a cutthroat campaign manager and his family’s political connections, he soon becomes a contender who gives the charismatic Cam plenty to worry about. As Election Day closes in, the two are locked in a dead heat, with insults quickly escalating to injury until all they care about is burying each other, in this mud-slinging, back-stabbing, home-wrecking comedy from Meet the Parents director Jay Roach that takes today’s political circus to its logical next level. Because even when you think campaign ethics have hit rock bottom, there’s room to dig a whole lot deeper. 

AUGUST 15

“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” (PG)

Director/writer Peter Hedges brings enchantment to the screen with The Odd Life of Timothy Green, an inspiring, magical story about a happily married couple, Cindy and Jim Green (Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton), who can’t wait to start a family but can only dream about what their child would be like. When young Timothy (CJ Adams) shows up on their doorstep one stormy night, Cindy and Jim — and their small town of Stanleyville — learn that sometimes the unexpected can bring some of life’s greatest gifts. 

AUGUST 17

“ParaNorman” (UNrated)

The film is about Norman, a 13-year-old boy who is the only person in a small town that has the abilities to prevent an attack from zombies.

“Sparkle” (Unrated)

A trio of sisters (Jordin Sparks, Carmen Ejogo, and Tika Sumpter) head to the top of the music charts and experience firsthand the lows of fame in this remake of the 1976 musical drama. Whitney Houston, Derek Luke, and Cee Lo Green co-star, with music penned by R. Kelly.

“The Expendables 2″ (Unrated)

The Expendables are back and this time it’s personal… Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren),Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) — with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) aboard — are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them.

By Jim Minge

May 3-10, 2012

CLICK on the “Shout! It Out” LINK

Shout!ItOut

CLICK on the “Calendar” LINK below to VIEW our full Calendar of Events covering May 3 through May 10 

Calendar

“Marvel’s The Avengers” (PG-13)

Marvel Studios presents “Marvel’s The Avengers” – the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

What the Critics Are Saying:

Agent Phil Coulson will love “The Avengers.”

You surely will, too, if you recognize his name. Officious but loveable S.H.I.E.L.D. sleuth Phil is one of many Marvel Comics minions Joss Whedon summons to his energizing superhero adventure, making this first blockbuster of summer 2012 something of a geek drill.

It helps if you go to the film having already seen the two “Iron Man” movies, plus “Thor,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” all released between 2008-11 and leading up to this ensemble nerdgasm.

But you don’t have to sport a propeller beanie to enjoy “The Avengers,” and this may be the highest possible praise for what director Whedon and his co-writer Zak Penn have wrought.

They’ve cannily crafted a saga guaranteed to pass muster with the Comic-Con cognoscenti, without forsaking regular popcorn munchers who just hope to see the planet get saved with maximum firepower and a few laughs.

– Peter Howell, Toronto Star

What happens when Thor (Chris Hemsworth) goes weapon-to-weapon with a guy who’s pissed him off — namely Captain America (Chris Evans)? In one of the many rousingly intense confrontations that make up Joss Whedon’s heavy-duty Marvel action psychodrama “The Avengers,” the hammer (literally) meets the shield, and — clang! — the shield wins. At least Thor can console himself that he’s stronger than the other guy who’s busting his chops: Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). When it comes to putdowns, however, even Iron Man’s snarkmeister alter ego, Tony Stark, has Thor beat. He refers to the billowy Viking megahulk as ”Point Break” and ”Shakespeare in the Park.”

The best thing about “The Avengers,” a multi-tentpole blockbuster that gathers half a dozen Marvel superheroes and unfurls them on a baddie from another planet, is that it also unleashes them on each other. Simply put:These freaks of goodness may be a team, but they don’t like one another very much. The six have been assembled by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), director of the peacekeeping alliance S.H.I.E.L.D., to defeat Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor’s megalomaniac adoptive brother, who arrives through a wormhole and steals the Tesseract — a cosmic cube that throws off ice-blue electromagnetic vapors like the best special effect of 1986. Loki, with stringy long hair, black eyeballs, and a ghostly pallor (he looks like Marilyn Manson playing Richard III), plans to destroy the world through ultimate war.

– Owen Gielberman, Entertainment Weekly

At long last and with trumpets blaring, the Marvel Comics universe comes together in a big-screen fighting force replete with WWII- and Cold War–era icons, all of them united in the common purpose of defeating evil alien snake monsters. In humanspeak, that means you’ve got a bunch of superheroes in a single movie. (Why not call it what it really is—the economy value pack?) The Avengers has burned, like the sweatiest geek’s fantasy, for years now. If you have to ask why it was so crucially important to get all of this spandex on camera at the same time, you probably don’t belong here and should immediately find a safe location in a bunker somewhere. Clearly, you haven’t been waiting breathlessly through the credits of Iron Man or Thor, desperate for a glimpse of an eye-patched Samuel L. Jackson, the almost-mystical Nick Fury, and his team to come.

Honestly, I haven’t been one of the anticipators either. Still, a certain cape-wearing savior—director Joss Whedon—should be thanked for making a summer tentpole that remembers to be fun, flip and broadly entertaining. Whedon, the pop savant responsible for TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, straddles the line between sarcastic gab and pulp solemnity like Eli Manning on a fourth-down, go-it-alone jag. Entrusted with his most expensive project to date, he’s made irreverent room for jokes about collectible playing cards, flying monkeys from “The Wizard of Oz,” the embarrassing behavior of Asgardian siblings and belated requests for stiff drinks, blissfully ignorant that millions of why-so-serious fans are depending on him. It’s a ballsy move you can’t help but love.

– Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York

Tops at the Box Office

A look at the box office receipts from last week:

1. “Think Like A Man” – $17.6 million

2. “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” – $11.1 million

3. “The Hunger Games” – $10.8 million

4. “The Lucky One” – $10.8 million

5. “The Five-Year Engagement” – $10.6 million

6. “Safe” – $7.9 million

7. “The Raven” – $7.3 million

8. “Chimpanzee” – $5.2 million

9. “The Three Stooges” – $5.2 million

10. “The Cabin In the Woods” – $4.6 million

Feel Never Real plays the Lauter Tun on Wednesday, May 9, Shamrock’s on Thursday, May 10.

By MarQ Manner

Dallas band Feel Never Real is a three-piece band that features Tim Jones (vocals, guitar), Mathew Cass (bass), and Shea Lange (backup vocals, drums). The band has a full melodic but aggressive rock sound that is surprising coming from a three-piece band.

A three-piece rock band in itself is rare these days, especially amongst the harder rocking bands. Formed in 2004 the band has released two albums, including their most recent “Vs. Sea Of Disease.” That album is a mix of fun party songs, emotional rock songs, and potential modern rock radio staples. The band will be performing two shows in Omaha this coming week, and one with popular hard rock band Blackstone Cherry in Kearney, Neb. Feel Never Real will perform in Kearney on May 8 at the Garage, May 9 at the Lauter Tun for an acoustic show, and at Shamrock’s on May 10 for a full-on loud and electric performance. I talked via phone this past week with vocalist/guitarist Tim Jones.

Shout! – So you guys formed in 2004 and have been doing this for almost a decade now. How hard has it been to navigate the mu- sic industry in these very tumultuous times?

Tim Jones – Its difficult I guess from what you are told from different places and as you meet people and see the landscape change. We went from people telling us one thing to shoot for with labels and such, and then told to shoot for the other thing and it is so wishy washy. Then you find that it wouldn’t get you what you want, or we would get a big time manager behind us and he is like I will get you a label deal and then that is not really the deal. I think this is good for bands that are not unsigned as we use the social networking thing and embrace that to its fullest.

Shout! – A three-piece band playing aggressive rock is somewhat unique especially with a big sound like you have. Do you find it easier to make this happen as a three-piece or are there challenges? If so what are those challenges?

Tim – I like it personally myself. I have al- ways been in three-piece bands. You can write a second guitar part and that can be hard live. I think it keeps us a lot more honest and a lot more raw in our appeal.

Shout! – Do you use any studio trickery at all?

Tim – We create some backing tracks and stuff. We go for what you said in the beginning and that is what we are told live is that we have this extremely thick sound and a lot of that is Matt and Shea on bass and drums as they are good at filling in those holes that one guitar will leave.

Shout! – Tell me about “Vs. Sea Of Dis- ease” and how this was different from record- ing your first album?

Tim – It was a different experience as it has been three years since we did our first record and we learned a lot since then. Our first time we were very green and that was not so much the case the second time through. There is a lot more us taking control of our production and it is not so much the idea of a producer.

Shout! – Is there a track on the album that really stands out to you or has a special meaning to you?

Tim – I will be honest with you. This was probably the most emotionally charged record we have done. I will bet I will say that every time I make a record. I think it plays into our professionally for us and our personal lives as we have been on different labels and different managers and that is a lot of what this album is about and that being against these things. It’s about having to write this song, record with this person, and it becomes that vicious cycle where it becomes so cookie cutter right now. There is a lot of the same people using the same producer and sounding the same.

The Music MarQet

By MarQ Manner

I did a radio interview recently on Rick Galusha’s long-running show “P.S. Blues,” which airs Sundays 9 a.m. to noon on 89.7 FM the River.

I was there to talk about a show I had booked and was promoting, but we ended up talking a lot about what is happening musically and culturally in town. The question about Saddle Creek and the indie music scene that has defined Omaha for so long came up. Was it still a driving force in town? I didn’t hesitate with my answer of yes.

However, there may have been a time in the past couple of years where I would have paused. There were questions as to the status of “the Big 3” – Bright Eyes, Cursive, and the Faint (at left on “Yo Gabba Gabba”) – and whether they were as relevant as they once were. Questions about those three bands have been answered in the past year. Bright Eyes released what is in my opinion one, if not their most, solid albums to date with “The People’s Key,” and I am not alone in that assessment, as many national outlets placed it on their 2011 best of lists.

The recent news of Conor Oberst’s “one-off band” Desaparecidos (at right via the band’s Facebook page) reuniting to play the Maha Music Festival here in Omaha and performing new songs at a secret show at the Slowdown last week caused a national stir in online editions of Pitchfork, Paste and Rolling Stone.

Cursive is on a very successful tour right now supporting their “I Am Gemini” album. On Monday it was announced that the Faint, who many thought were done performing together, were going to be playing a show in Omaha on August 18, at the Slowdown, and on August 17 at Wooly’s in Des Moines. Those core artists are fully accounted for and up and running.

My answer did not focus on those artists, though. It focused on what is happening with the “next wave” of indie acts and how they are working their way into the national underground music conscious. Recently, Omaha band Icky Blossoms (at left) were signed to Saddle Creek Records after playing many gigs at SXSW. They were also asked to headline the Maha Music Fes- tival local stage. The band has recorded its new album with TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek, and this week released a much-shared new video for its single “Babes.” They are a band being talked about a lot both in town and beyond and are sure to have some big things in the works for later this summer and fall.

Omaha-via-N.Y.C. transplant Laura Burhenn (at right) and her band the Mynabirds are also signed with Saddle Creek Records and are about to release their sophomore album “GENERALS,” which is said to be a concept and protest record. The title track and first single is a stomping solid track that indicates this album, to be released on June 5, could be a winner and take this band to a whole new level of notoriety. They have already been featured on NPR as a pick of the week on the “All Songs Considered” program. A third Omaha band, Conduits, recently signed to Conor Oberst’s Team Love Records and have just completed a tour opening up for Cursive. The band recently released their fantastic self- titled debut album and an epic video directed by Jonathan Tvrdik for the single “Last Dirge.” This band is also very much in the conversation when talking about “the next wave” of Omaha indie bands.

So, yes, the Omaha indie music thing is still a driving force and is keeping the conversation about our music scene going. With the three Omaha “heritage” acts going strong and many more younger bands supporting and creating new sounds I would say it is more of a thing than ever before.

MarQ Manner has been involved with music in Omaha his entire adult life – from managing and booking bands to a 15-year run as manager at Homer’s Records to writing a local music column for the past 12 years. Currently, Marq is the Music Nominating Chair for the Omaha Arts & Entertainment Awards.

What Are You Doing This Week?

What: Free Comic Book Day

What Are You Doing This Week?