Music of Nebraska
Encyclopedia
Music of Omaha and other smaller parts of Nebraska has included a variety of country, jazz, blues, ragtime, rock and alternative rock musicians. Several towns across the state have active musical venues, with several communities having a particularly important musical legacy.
such as Bright Eyes, The Faint
, and Cursive
. These bands are playing a significant role in the current national rock scene. The formation of the sound occurred in the mid 1990s with Commander Venus
, Frontier Trust, Weak, and Matchbook Shannon, and clubs such as the Cog Factory
, and Sokol Music Hall. Many people involved in these bands and venues are currently involved with Saddle Creek.
Other related aspects of the Omaha sound include various alternative bands. The alternative music scene has produced such popular artists as 311
, Beaver & the Hottage Cutch, Betsy Wells and Grasshopper Takeover
, and Omaha has been a temporary home base of Midwest bands such as Tilly and the Wall
, Rilo Kiley
, The Urge
, Pomeroy
, and Blue October
. Tim McMahan's Lazy-i and SLAMOmaha.com are the main media outlets promoting Saddle Creek and other Omaha bands.
In Omaha, a mainstay of the music scene is Nils Erikson. The studio houses modern equipment and has recorded with artists with local connections such as 311, but what makes the studio famous is its collection of vintage equipment. On top of the studio, Nils heads local jam band Paddy O'Furniture. Other mainstays of the music scene in Omaha include folk artists such as Simon Joyner
, Kyle Knapp, and his son, Saddle Creek artist Joe Knapp
, Joe Watson, Mike Murphy
, Kevin Quinn, and electronic artists John Bantner, Peter None and Chip Davis
.
Notable jazz musicians include guitarist Dave Stryker and drummer Victor Lewis.
Omaha also has many heavier acts as well. in the mid to late 90's' the bands Secret Skin, Clever, and Twitch dominated the scene with their highly rhythmic and guitar driven sound. Since the turn of the millennium, it has been a strong spot for Metalcore
bands. A good amount have gone on to be National acts, such as Analog, Paria
, System Failure, and I Am Legend
. Also the Power Metal
band Cellador
hails from Omaha. It also draws many other heavy musical acts, strongly of the Screamo
genre, including Eyes of Verotika, Caught in the Fall, and Robots Don't Cry. Other notable groups include Noah's Ark was a Spaceship, Back When
, and Father
.
The 2000s saw the rise in popularity of Saddle Creek Records
. The label went on to build a music venue called Slowdown
, encouraging more bands to stop in Omaha rather than skipping to Lawrence, Kansas
or Iowa
. The Waiting Room also opened in March 2007.
For over a decade Terry O'Halloran and the Omaha Blues Society have brought world class blues to Omaha. Within the past 5 years Omaha has grown to love local favorites "Satchel Grande" and "Funk Trek". Their predecessors "Electric Soul Method" and "Polydypsia" helped set the stage for this music to grow in Omaha. Meanwhile - the jaded black hoodies keep telling themselves they are the best thing since sliced bread. A message to them: Get Bent.
. The main artery of North 24th Street was the heart of the city's African-American cultural and business community with a thriving jazz and rhythm and blues scene that attracted top-flight swing, blues
and jazz
bands from across the country.
The most important venue was the storied Dreamland Ballroom, which was opened in the Jewell Building in 1923 at 24th and Grant Streets in the Near North Side
neighborhood. Dreamland hosted some of the greatest jazz, blues, and swing performers, including Duke Ellington
, Count Basie
, Louis Armstrong
, Lionel Hampton
, and the original Nat King Cole Trio. Whitney Young
spoke there as well. Other venues included Jim Bell's Harlem, opened in 1935 on Lake Street, west of 24th; McGill's Blue Room, located at 24th and Lake, and Allen's Showcase Lounge, which was located at 24th and Lake. Due to racial segregation
, musicians such as Cab Calloway
stayed at Myrtle Washington's at 22nd and Willis while others stayed at Charlie Trimble's at 22nd and Seward. The intersection of 24th and Lake was the setting of the Big Joe Williams
song "Omaha Blues".
and His Original Dixie Ramblers, and the Lloyd Hunter Band who became the first Omaha band to record in 1931. A Lloyd Hunter concert poster can be seen on display at the Community Center in nearby Mineola, Iowa
.
North Omaha's musical culture also birthed several nationally and internationally reputable African American musicians. International Jazz
legend Preston Love
, and influential drummer Buddy Miles
were all friends while they grew up and played together. They collaborated throughout their lives, and while they were playing with the greatest names in Rock and Roll, Jazz, R&B and Fund. Big Joe Williams
and funk band leader Lester Abrams
are also from North Omaha. Omaha-born Wynonie Harris
, one of the founders of rock and roll
, got his start at the North Omaha clubs and for a time lived in the now demolished Logan Fontennelle projects at 2213 Charles Street.
band The Chevrons, who were voted Omaha's most popular band in 1966. Other 1960s bands include The Echos, 7 Legends, Velvet Haze, Little Denny Wonder, Freedom Road and The Beautiful People.
band from Fremont, Nebraska
was The Nomads
, followed by The Sneakers, The Fugitives, The Invaders and The Brackmen. The long-running popular Haywood-Wakefield Band
is maybe the region's most influential. Doug Campbell
from Lincoln
, Little Joe & the Ramrods, The Smoke Ring
, Don Sohl & the Roadrunners and Ron Thompson & the Broughams were also influential.
hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100
chart for six weeks with their song In the Year 2525
. Starting in the late 1970s, with the coming of the punk movement there has been and remains an explosion in rock bands on the Lincoln scene. In the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, many notable bands like 13 Nightmares, Leafy Green Things, The New Brass Guns, For Against, The Millions, Sideshow, 2 Below and Mercy Rule came from Lincoln. Current notable artists The Brigandines, The JV All*Stars, An Hobbes
Stonebelly, BlackDoubt, Ideal Cleaners, Straight Outta Junior High, Nick Hardt, Brimstone Howl
, The Awkwords, Son of 76 & the Watchmen, and Eagle*Seagull. The brothers A.J. Mogis and Mike Mogis
also own Presto! Recording Studios
which is located in Lincoln.
Omaha
Bands on the Saddle Creek record label out of Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
such as Bright Eyes, The Faint
The Faint
The Faint is an American indie rock band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, the band consists of Todd Fink, Jacob Thiele, Dapose, Joel Petersen and Clark Baechle. The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer and included Conor Oberst...
, and Cursive
Cursive (band)
Cursive is an American indie rock band from Omaha, Nebraska, on Saddle Creek Records.-History:The band was formed in 1995 by Tim Kasher, Matt Maginn, Steve Pedersen , and drummer Clint Schnase. In 1997, they released Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes. After a couple years of touring, the band...
. These bands are playing a significant role in the current national rock scene. The formation of the sound occurred in the mid 1990s with Commander Venus
Commander Venus
Commander Venus was an American emo band from Omaha, Nebraska. Fronted by Conor Oberst and Tim Kasher, the band also included Todd Fink and Matt Bowen of The Faint, Ben Armstrong of Head of Femur and Robb Nansel, executive producer of the indie label Saddle Creek...
, Frontier Trust, Weak, and Matchbook Shannon, and clubs such as the Cog Factory
Cog Factory
The Cog Factory, formerly located at 2224 Leavenworth Street in Omaha, Nebraska, was a 501 non-profit organization that provided a punk rock music performance space for the area. The facility opened in 1994 with bands Ritual Device, Sideshow and Mousetrap. Musician Conor Oberst began making public...
, and Sokol Music Hall. Many people involved in these bands and venues are currently involved with Saddle Creek.
Other related aspects of the Omaha sound include various alternative bands. The alternative music scene has produced such popular artists as 311
311 (band)
311 is an American rock band from Omaha, Nebraska. The band was formed in 1988 by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Nick Hexum, lead guitarist Jim Watson , bassist Aaron "P-Nut" Wills and drummer Chad Sexton...
, Beaver & the Hottage Cutch, Betsy Wells and Grasshopper Takeover
Grasshopper Takeover
Grasshopper Takeover were a band from Omaha, Nebraska, United States. They were formed in December 1995. Its members were Bob Boyce , Curtis Grubb , James McMann , and Michael Cioffero . They released five full length CDs and three EPs...
, and Omaha has been a temporary home base of Midwest bands such as Tilly and the Wall
Tilly and the Wall
Tilly and the Wall is an indie pop group from Omaha, Nebraska. Their name originated from a children's book called Tillie and the Wall, written by Leo Lionni...
, Rilo Kiley
Rilo Kiley
Rilo Kiley was an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles. Formed in 1998, the band consisted of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Jason Boesel....
, The Urge
The Urge
The Urge is a St. Louis rock band formed in 1987 by drummer Jeff Herschel, bassist Karl Grable, guitarist Pat Malecek, and singer Steve Ewing...
, Pomeroy
Pomeroy (band)
Pomeroy is a band that had significant success throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s in the Midwest. Blending hip-hop and funk, the group was able to draw a large following during that time period, but has fallen in relative obscurity due to lack of touring and publicity.- Biography :Pomeroy...
, and Blue October
Blue October
Blue October is a rock band from Houston, Texas. The band was formed in 1995 and currently consists of Justin Furstenfeld , Jeremy Furstenfeld , Ryan Delahoussaye , Matt Noveskey , and Julian Mandrake .-History:Blue October was formed by lead...
. Tim McMahan's Lazy-i and SLAMOmaha.com are the main media outlets promoting Saddle Creek and other Omaha bands.
In Omaha, a mainstay of the music scene is Nils Erikson. The studio houses modern equipment and has recorded with artists with local connections such as 311, but what makes the studio famous is its collection of vintage equipment. On top of the studio, Nils heads local jam band Paddy O'Furniture. Other mainstays of the music scene in Omaha include folk artists such as Simon Joyner
Simon Joyner
Simon Joyner is a singer-songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Considered by some to be the forefather of the burgeoning Omaha music scene , he has profoundly influenced the music of Bright Eyes. Joyner also collaborated with John Darnielle, of The Mountain Goats, and Beck listed Joyner...
, Kyle Knapp, and his son, Saddle Creek artist Joe Knapp
Son, Ambulance
Son, Ambulance is an American band based in Omaha, Nebraska. They are signed to the Saddle Creek label.Singer/songwriter Joe Knapp appeared on albums of other bands, such as Fevers and Mirrors by Bright Eyes, before releasing Son, Ambulance's debut album—a split with Bright Eyes called Oh Holy...
, Joe Watson, Mike Murphy
Michael Murphy (musician)
Michael John Murphy is a folk musician based in Omaha, Nebraska. He plays various instruments, including the guitar, piano, and Native American flute. He has been a singer songwriter based out of Omaha since the 1970s.- Style :...
, Kevin Quinn, and electronic artists John Bantner, Peter None and Chip Davis
Chip Davis
Louis F. "Chip" Davis, Jr. is the founder and leader of the music group Mannheim Steamroller.He also wrote the music for C.W. McCall, including the 1975 hit "Convoy".-Biography:...
.
Notable jazz musicians include guitarist Dave Stryker and drummer Victor Lewis.
Omaha also has many heavier acts as well. in the mid to late 90's' the bands Secret Skin, Clever, and Twitch dominated the scene with their highly rhythmic and guitar driven sound. Since the turn of the millennium, it has been a strong spot for Metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
bands. A good amount have gone on to be National acts, such as Analog, Paria
Paria
Paria is a village situated near Vapi in Valsad District, Gujarat. India. The town of Udwada, away from Paria, has a railway station which connects Paria to Mumbai and western Gujarat...
, System Failure, and I Am Legend
I Am Legend
I Am Legend is a 1954 horror fiction novel by American writer Richard Matheson. It was influential in the development of the zombie genre and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease...
. Also the Power Metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band Cellador
Cellador
Cellador is a power metal band from Omaha, Nebraska, formed by guitarist Chris Petersen in 2004. After a rotation of a few member try-outs in the band's earliest days, Cellador's album line-up was cemented in 2004. The band eventually signed to Metal Blade after playing a show with The Black Dahlia...
hails from Omaha. It also draws many other heavy musical acts, strongly of the Screamo
Screamo
Screamo, though used loosely to generally describe music that features screamed vocals, is actually a musical subgenre of hardcore punk which predominantly evolved from emo, among other genres, in the early 1990s...
genre, including Eyes of Verotika, Caught in the Fall, and Robots Don't Cry. Other notable groups include Noah's Ark was a Spaceship, Back When
Back When
"Back When" is the title of a song written by Stan Lynch, Stephony Smith and Jeff Stevens, and recorded by American country music singer Tim McGraw. It was released in August 2004 as the second single from McGraw's 2004 album Live Like You Were Dying...
, and Father
Father
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
.
The 2000s saw the rise in popularity of Saddle Creek Records
Saddle Creek Records
Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Conor Oberst and Justin Oberst in 1993 . Conor soon turned over his role in the company to Robb Nansel...
. The label went on to build a music venue called Slowdown
Slowdown (venue)
Slowdown is an entertainment venue located at 729 North 14 Street in NoDo, a new development near the Near North Side neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska. A combination of a live music venue, shops, restaurants and apartments, the venue was developed by Saddle Creek Records as a direct competitor to...
, encouraging more bands to stop in Omaha rather than skipping to Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
or Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. The Waiting Room also opened in March 2007.
For over a decade Terry O'Halloran and the Omaha Blues Society have brought world class blues to Omaha. Within the past 5 years Omaha has grown to love local favorites "Satchel Grande" and "Funk Trek". Their predecessors "Electric Soul Method" and "Polydypsia" helped set the stage for this music to grow in Omaha. Meanwhile - the jaded black hoodies keep telling themselves they are the best thing since sliced bread. A message to them: Get Bent.
North Omaha
From the 1920s through the early 1960s North Omaha boasted a vibrant entertainment district featuring African American musicAfrican American music
African-American music is an umbrella term given to a range of musics and musical genres emerging from or influenced by the culture of African Americans, who have long constituted a large and significant ethnic minority of the population of the United States...
. The main artery of North 24th Street was the heart of the city's African-American cultural and business community with a thriving jazz and rhythm and blues scene that attracted top-flight swing, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bands from across the country.
The most important venue was the storied Dreamland Ballroom, which was opened in the Jewell Building in 1923 at 24th and Grant Streets in the Near North Side
Near North Side (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Near North Side of Omaha, Nebraska is the neighborhood immediately north of downtown. It forms the nucleus of the city's African-American community, and its name is often synonymous with the entire North Omaha area...
neighborhood. Dreamland hosted some of the greatest jazz, blues, and swing performers, including Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
, and the original Nat King Cole Trio. Whitney Young
Whitney Young
Whitney Moore Young Jr. was an American civil rights leader.He spent most of his career working to end employment discrimination in the United States and turning the National Urban League from a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively fought for equitable access to...
spoke there as well. Other venues included Jim Bell's Harlem, opened in 1935 on Lake Street, west of 24th; McGill's Blue Room, located at 24th and Lake, and Allen's Showcase Lounge, which was located at 24th and Lake. Due to racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
, musicians such as Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
stayed at Myrtle Washington's at 22nd and Willis while others stayed at Charlie Trimble's at 22nd and Seward. The intersection of 24th and Lake was the setting of the Big Joe Williams
Big Joe Williams
Joseph Lee Williams , billed throughout his career as Big Joe Williams, was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar...
song "Omaha Blues".
Notable North Omaha musicians
Blues singer Wynonie Harris was born and raised in Omaha. Early North Omaha bands included Dan Desdunes Band, Simon Harrold's Melody Boys, the Sam Turner Orchestra, the Ted Adams Orchestra, the Omaha Night Owls, Red PerkinsRed Perkins
Frank Shelton "Red" Perkins was a bandleader of one of the oldest Omaha-based territory bands, The Dixie Ramblers. Born in Muchakinock on December 26, 1890, Perkins' band was based in the city's Near North Side. National Orchestra Service booked his gigs...
and His Original Dixie Ramblers, and the Lloyd Hunter Band who became the first Omaha band to record in 1931. A Lloyd Hunter concert poster can be seen on display at the Community Center in nearby Mineola, Iowa
Mineola, Iowa
Mineola is an unincorporated village in Mills County, Iowa, United States. This community on the highlands east of Keg Creek was first established as Lewis City during construction of the Wabash Railroad. The land had previously been owned by German immigrant freighter Louis Lanz and Germans long...
.
North Omaha's musical culture also birthed several nationally and internationally reputable African American musicians. International Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
legend Preston Love
Preston Love
Preston Haines Love was a renowned alto saxophonist, bandleader and songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska.-Biography:Preston Love grew up in North Omaha and graduated from North High....
, and influential drummer Buddy Miles
Buddy Miles
George Allen Miles, Jr. , known as Buddy Miles, was an American rock and funk drummer, most known as a founding member of The Electric Flag in 1967, then as a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys from 1969 through to January 1970.-Early life:George Allen Miles was born in Omaha, Nebraska on...
were all friends while they grew up and played together. They collaborated throughout their lives, and while they were playing with the greatest names in Rock and Roll, Jazz, R&B and Fund. Big Joe Williams
Big Joe Williams
Joseph Lee Williams , billed throughout his career as Big Joe Williams, was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar...
and funk band leader Lester Abrams
Lester Abrams
Lester Abrams is a singer, songwriter, musician and producer who has played with such artists as B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Peabo Bryson, Quincy Jones, Manfred Mann, Brian Auger, The Average White Band, The Doobie Brothers, Rufus and many others. Two of his co-compositions appeared on the Grammy...
are also from North Omaha. Omaha-born Wynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris , born in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. With fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952, Harris is generally considered one of rock and roll's forerunners, influencing Elvis Presley...
, one of the founders of rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, got his start at the North Omaha clubs and for a time lived in the now demolished Logan Fontennelle projects at 2213 Charles Street.
Surf
One of Omaha's most famous exports is the influential surfSurf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
band The Chevrons, who were voted Omaha's most popular band in 1966. Other 1960s bands include The Echos, 7 Legends, Velvet Haze, Little Denny Wonder, Freedom Road and The Beautiful People.
Fremont
The earliest rock and rollRock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band from Fremont, Nebraska
Fremont, Nebraska
Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Dodge County, Nebraska, United States, near Omaha in the eastern part of the state. The population was 26,397 at the 2010 census....
was The Nomads
The Nomads (band)
The Nomads are a Swedish garage punk band founded in 1981 by Hans Östlund, Nick Vahlberg, Joakim Tärnström and Ed Johnson. Today, Östlund and Vahlberg are the only members left of the original line-up....
, followed by The Sneakers, The Fugitives, The Invaders and The Brackmen. The long-running popular Haywood-Wakefield Band
Haywood-Wakefield Band
Haywood-Wakefield Band is one of the longest running and most popular rock and roll bands from Nebraska. Considered by many to be one of the most influential bands of the state, Haywood-Wakefield Band was created in 1978 in the city of Fremont by lead guitarist & vocalist Ken McMahon...
is maybe the region's most influential. Doug Campbell
Doug Campbell
Doug Campbell was a rock and roll guitarist from Nebraska, and the recipient of the 2000 Ron Tuccitto Award from the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame.- References :*...
from Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, Little Joe & the Ramrods, The Smoke Ring
The Smoke Ring (band)
The Smoke Ring was a rock band from Norfolk, Nebraska active in the 1960s. It was formed from two previous regionally popular rock and roll groups, Little Joe & the Ramrods and The Strollers...
, Don Sohl & the Roadrunners and Ron Thompson & the Broughams were also influential.
Lincoln
Being a university town, Lincoln has had a thriving music scene since the 1950s. Lincoln's Zager and EvansZager and Evans
Zager & Evans were a Lincoln, Nebraska rock-pop duo of the late 1960s and early 1970s named after its two members, Denny Zager and Rick Evans, who met at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Fellow Nebraska artists Dave Trupp and Mark Dalton backed up the duo on drums and bass respectively...
hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart for six weeks with their song In the Year 2525
In the Year 2525
"In the Year 2525 " is a hit song from 1969 by American pop-rock duo Zager and Evans. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks commencing July 12, 1969. The song was written by Rick Evans in 1964 and originally released on a small regional record label in 1968...
. Starting in the late 1970s, with the coming of the punk movement there has been and remains an explosion in rock bands on the Lincoln scene. In the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, many notable bands like 13 Nightmares, Leafy Green Things, The New Brass Guns, For Against, The Millions, Sideshow, 2 Below and Mercy Rule came from Lincoln. Current notable artists The Brigandines, The JV All*Stars, An Hobbes
An Hobbes
An Hobbes is an American hip hop musician.A philosophy graduate of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Hobbes writes about ethics, comics, and nerdiness in the Midwestern United States. He has performed shows both inside and outside of the United States as a solo artist and as one third of The...
Stonebelly, BlackDoubt, Ideal Cleaners, Straight Outta Junior High, Nick Hardt, Brimstone Howl
Brimstone Howl
Brimstone Howl is a punk blues band based in Omaha, Nebraska. They are often called "garage rock", although the band members themselves reject the term. The band formed in 2002 as Caesar the Greaser, and became The Zyklon Bees in 2004. In May 2005 the band changed their name to Brimstone Howl....
, The Awkwords, Son of 76 & the Watchmen, and Eagle*Seagull. The brothers A.J. Mogis and Mike Mogis
Mike Mogis
Mike Mogis is a Nebraskan producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who, along with his brother A.J. Mogis, founded Presto! Recording Studios ....
also own Presto! Recording Studios
Presto! Recording Studios
Presto! Recording Studios is located in Lincoln, Nebraska, and run by brothers Mike Mogis and A.J. Mogis. The studio began in the brothers' North Platte, Nebraska basement and around 1995 moved to the basement of a Lincoln home. First known as Whoopass Recording Studio, the name was later changed...
which is located in Lincoln.
See also
- Nebraska musical groups (category)
- Culture in Omaha
External links
- Starcityscene.com: Online zine covering the Lincoln music scene.
- 1% Productions
- Lazy-i: Online indie music 'zine/blog with a special emphasis on the Omaha area.
- SLAM Omaha
- Duffy's Tavern - venue in Lincoln, Nebraska
- Knickerbockers - venue in Lincoln, Nebraska
- The Bourbon Theatre - venue in Lincoln, Nebraska