Omaha's Music Will Surprise You

Did you know that a few solid bands came out of Omaha Nebraska? I remember the punk band Self Gratification back in the 1980's, but after that, I lost interest.

Right now, Bright Eyes is one of the biggest bands to come out of corn country. When my band played there, we blew up two p.a. systems. The gig was great.

I wonder if Bright Eyes gets a huge crowd to show up when they play back in their home town. That would require the booking of the Qwest Center. That's probably too big. They can fit a soccer field in that place.

Slowdown Music Club holds around 500 people, and it looks pretty nice too. Bright Eyes is too big of a band for that place. There has to be a middle ground. The Waiting Room looks pretty big. My guess is that it's still too small for Bright Eyes. Perhaps they can never go back?

Turner Hall Covers The Small Market

If you don't mind standing around in what looks like an unfinished basement, Turner Hall is a place to check out touring bands that can't fill the larger theaters, but would be too much for a small club. The good folks at Turner Hall left the space in a semi-unfinished state when renovating the space. Turner Hall is run by the same folks who manage the Pabst Theater and Riverside. If you check out the website, Turner Hall seems to be the stepchild of the group. That's too bad, because it's a nice place to see a band.

A band like Buckwheat Zydeco is the perfect fit for Milwaukee's Turner Hall. He plays there on February 12th. The Drive-By Truckers will take the stage on February 25th.

St. Louis for Head On Collision

The boys in Head On Collision came out with their disk in 2008. Their tours have brought about some interest.

For now, the only gig I see booked is a Chicago date on Jan. 31st, 2009.
To quote Diabolical Conquest- "Playing tight, ballsy, unadulterated form of thrash metal with utmost sincerity, Head On Collision have by far surpassed the expectations of this disillusioned thrash metal fan. I would strongly recommend Ritual Sacrifice to all those with the fire of real thrash metal burning in their hearts and who are disgusted by the new trend of weak retro thrash that is rampant these days."

Check them out the next time that they are within 200 miles of your home.

Binky Tunny cd almost finished

A band that I have been tracking for quite a while is nearly finished with their cd. Binky Tunny and The Farmland Chokehold has been around since 1999, made two cd's, and are on the verge of putting out their third.

I have watched the lineup changes throughout the years. This current group of musicians leans towards the harder rock side. I got a taste of the new material through Sonic Bids. I see that they landed on the soundtrack to the movie Victim. Nice job Binky. If I could suggest a song, check out "Flower." That's the one right from the studio. It's a bit raw, but it gives you the taste of things to come.

Meanwhile, after talking with Binky about things, she said that this spring is the release target.

Old School rock posters from Wisconsin

Milwaukee Rock posters just keeps getting better. You can find old posters photos, music and memories when you check out the site. Ron F. has put together a huge collection of posters that go back thirty years.

Spend some time surfing that site, and you just might relive your youth. You will come to remember the times when you could put posters up all over Milwaukee's East side, collect three dollars at the door, and still walk away with a hundred bucks in your pocket.

It's interesting to think that Milwaukee's cover charges are still so much lower than other cities of similar size. I'm off-topic here, but when you see these posters, you will be reminded just how cheap it was to get into a show back then. DIY art can be pretty funny too.

Dayton Ohio plays like this.

I played in Dayton Ohio a number of times in the late 1990's. I haven't been back since then, so I decided to surf the web to see what's hot. I like the site Daytonbands.com. They keep an up-to-date listing of rock and roll happening in Dayton. There are links for non rock shows too.

If you are in Dayton, and have nothing to do, check out that website first.

Fat Wreck Chords drinking night in Chicago

One club to check out is club Exit Chicago. My suggestion is Fat Tuesday, where the music is strictly from Fat Wrech Chords. The drinks are cheap and the music goes on until 4am. Other nights, there are theme parties, great bands, dj's and the like.

They claim to be open 365 days per year.
You have to get away from the family on Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, all the lame holidays.

It's been a while

We're near the end of the summer festival season, and so far I have seen some great bands. I checked out the Redwalls from Chicago, Coldplay in Vegas, and finally, just about every band that played at Summerfest.

With that, I have to move on. More later.

The Doctor's Office

I played a gig at the Doctor's Office the night that the new non-smoking law took effect. There were a lot of sour faces in the bar. It was half as crowded as usual. Fast forward to the next year, and the place was full.

People adjusted to the new law. It wasn't the end of the world. In fact, I like to go to non smoking bars.

I'm less hungover the next day. The poison is only from what I drink.