Old Skool Underground, Say What?
One night while sitting in the dark shadows inside the Studio…Gallery, a zany and smile-ready man with a plastic bottle of whiskey and a neon-colored top hat reminiscent of the Cat In The Hat invited me a party. He handed me only a generic business card with the title of Old Skool Underground, his personal penmanship inscribing a date of the event and a URL address suggesting I go online to find all the info.
Turns out Old Skool Underground is a new party crew in Omaha. They put that event together in a matter of two weeks and garnered 350 in attendance, says one of the crew's founders Ryan Coe.
"That gave us the motivation and confidence to put this weekend's events together," Coe says.
Coe, who also runs a rental DJ service for weddings and school dances called 360 Entertainment, has put together a three-day Memorial Day festival this weekend. The Old Skool Underground's group "of about 15 or 20" has put together an ambitious schedule of 30 live acts and 24 DJs.
"The thought process behind the whole thing is to try to unify Omaha as much as we can," says Bob Woodworth, one of the organizers responsible for the online content. "Other than Ryan, we're all just average Joe Shmoes just doing this for fun, and we'd like to establish ourselves as a promotional force in Omaha to bring everybody together."
While I wasn't at the debut event from the crew, I could tell there's definite nostalgia for the rave era with them. The name "Old Skool Underground" gave one clue. The other was their logo: a yellow smiley face. That symbol became the emblem of the late '80s acid house era in the UK and later adapted as a symbol to represent rave culture as a whole.
There was something special about the rave era in context to what Woodworth said. Back in those days, you'd see a vast cross section of people all under one roof. I remember a particular night at the Armory (the Army Reserves gym where they had a series of raves) that in one panoramic view, I saw b-boys, candy kids, punk rockers, jocks and a drag queen with a elegant chandelier on his head.
"We used to travel around the Midwest together, going to different parties (raves) every week," Coe says. "You would see someone from KC and they would roll 50 deep, and we'd do the same in their city."
"Back in the days of the early- to late-'90s, people got together for music and just the sake of partying together," Coe says. "Today when you go out to bars, people only support their own little group."
And he's right. It's a common problem that can be described only as cultural entropy. When a music scene is burgeoning from its inception, there's little distinction between genre boundaries. As time progresses, journalists dissect and compartmentalize the music, people associate certain trends or behaviors to certain elements of the music all while becoming more attached to their particular tastes. Next thing you know, a new subculture is born and separation occurs.
For better for for worse, this process is all too natural to our cultural habits. The fact that Omaha has so many different "scenes" now is testament to our growing and evolving city. And from the scattered ashes of cultural separation inevitably arises a voice calling everyone back together.
"One night a group of us got together and just discussed the idea of doing events that would bring all different kinds of music together," Coe says. "The Omaha scene has so many amazing artists and performers, but everybody is separated."
The Old Skool Underground isn't an original idea, but it's certainly a necessary one. You can check out the scene mixer this weekend at the RiverWest Park grounds. Be prepared for a chock-full array of talent and activities. Check out the full schedule at oldskoolunderground.com.
house of loom
Speaking of scene mixers, in case you missed the news, I announced last week that loom is going to have its own permanent, 5-day-a-week venue starting this July. That means June 2 is the final loom at España. For the occasion, I put together a "yearbook" tribute to the España era that can be downloaded for free. We'll also hand out 40 hard copies at the event.
In a nutshell, two parts of house of loom will be a lounge ad nightclub concept with an emphasis on DJ-led events and occasional bands. In tandem with that, one part will be dedicated to visual and performing art, and one part will be in creating something similar to what you might call a community center, but redefining that term with an edgy and progressive format.
You can read the rest on the Hear Nebraska article here.
Upcoming Events
Gunkglasses At Night | May 26 | Waiting Room
Gunk is back. This time with guest Oh Snapp!!
Demetri's Birthday | May 27 | Bar 415
You gotta give it to 415. They've stuck with dance music all these years, thanks to Demetri. So now the owner of the establishment will be celebrating his birthday with James Ehrman and Myth at the decks.
Nerdtron Vs. The World | May 28 | Comfort Inn & Suites
These Nerdtron people don't rest! Here's another all-day, all ages extravaganza with a Scott Pilgrim vs. the World theme.
Primus Afterparty | May 28 | Waiting Room
Inflect and Somasphere will be rocking Waiting Room after Benson's street party with headliner Primus.
Zach Schmieder Birthday | May 28 | The Sydney
If you've hung around downtown or in Benson at any music spot, you know this guy. Well, he's moving to Austin and this is his last birthday party in Omaha with DJs Kobrakyle and Masaris.
Old Skool Underground Entertainment Industry Company Party Adult Playground | May 28-30 | River West Park
Other than the longest event name I've ever seen, this new party crew has a hugely ambitious lineup of bands, MCs, DJs and more. Looks like a whole heap of messy fun!
loom Weaves España — One Last Time | June 2 | España
loom's putting an end to the España era before it moves onto it's own venue, house of loom. Read all about that here.
Kids At The Bar | June 4 | Nomad Lounge
These Oklahoma City-ites are badass electro hipsters. Opening DJs, Masaris and Wrekafekt.
SCION Presents: The Dim Mak Pickle Patch Tour | June 15 | Nomad Lounge
Masaris is keeping Omaha busy, bringing in four artists from Steve Aoki's label, including Autoerotique, PeaceTreaty, Ali Love and New Ivory.
Fresh | June 24 | Waiting Room
This is DJ (R)Con's event concept intended to gather up all aspect's of Omaha's hip-hop culture. Breakers, taggers, emcees, producers, DJs and beyond.
DJ Diatribes & Dandies is a weekly column written by Omaha promoter and DJ Brent Crampton exploring the electronic dance music and DJ-related culture in his city. Contact him at brentcrampton@gmail.com.