Have you ever wondered what your all-time favorite Nebraska songs would sound like with a little spirited re-imagination? For a fifth straight year, HN’s Take Cover Lincoln benefit concert has you covered.
For the uninitiated, Take Cover consists of two shows — this year, at Lincoln’s The Zoo Bar and Omaha’s O’Leaver’s — comprising 37 total Nebraska acts. Each will reinterpret one song by an influential Nebraska musician, plus perform one original.
But there are a few exciting changes this year. Nebraska comedians Annie Hildebrand (Lincoln) and Ryan de la Garza (Omaha) will emcee the event, tossing an added spice into the mix. Nearly all performances are by full bands, where past years comprised mostly solo or stripped down sets. And proceeds help support HN’s paid internships, which we are proud to offer for the first time in 2016.
Take Cover Lincoln goes down this Saturday, Jan. 23, at Zoo Bar (RSVP here). Read on to find out which songs our group of bands will cover, from whacky throwbacks like Zager and Evans and Electronic Nightmare to indie favorites by UUVVWWZ and Icky Blossoms.
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blét
We are going to cover “Christmas Song” by McCarthy Trenching. It’s on 2008’s Calamity Drenching.
At the heart of our band, one thing that really connects us is a shared love and appreciation for really good folk songs, so that was the obvious starting point when we went searching for a tune to cover. From there, it doesn’t take long to land on McCarthy Trenching. We really believe in Dan as a folk artist and as a songwriter. His catalog is chock-full of beautiful, tightly structured songs, so we knew going in that we could choose almost any song of his and it would provide a solid body/foundation that we could dress up and make our own. We tossed around a few ideas and finally landed on “Christmas Song.” The spirit of that song just seemed to fit best for us.
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The Ambulanters
We chose the song Grips by UUVVWWZ.
Once, while being asked my name by a patron of the local coffee shop where I make my living, my dreams were almost realized. “What’s your name?” he asks, to which I reply with “Jim. ” The patron immediately responds with “Jim Schroeder? From UUVVWWZ?” While my heart rises to the heavens, my mouth slowly corrects him, despite the strong desire to agree wholeheartedly with his assessment. After spiraling through an identity crisis laced in self loathing, I came to the only logical conclusion one would.
Become Jim Schroeder.
The Ambulanters have graciously allowed me to indulge in this quest, and in doing so, we will be performing the song “Grips” by UUVVWWZ at Take Cover.
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Bud Heavy & the High Lifes
Bud Heavy and friends will be covering the song “Black Cats” by blét. We’re covering it because Joe, Spence, and Cole are some of the nicest cats in town. We are also huge fans of their band and we hope to make them cry like small children when (if) they hear their own song.
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Walk By Sea
We’ll be doing “Two at a Time” by Evan Bartels. We chose this song because Evan is a fantastic and kind artist, and this song in particular is another one of his that’s really impactful. There’s no question that brokenness exists all around us, and while it’d be nice to be hopeful, sometimes the best or only hope is to sing songs of sorrow. Often that involves a couple glasses of whiskey alongside our friends, as the song suggests. All in all, we’re really excited to re-imagine this song.
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Evan Bartels & the Stoney Lonesomes
We will be performing Gerardo Meza’s song “Hole In Your Heart.”
My guitar player Jake Brandt, or Dale as people have been referring to him lately, was actually the one who suggested this song to me. I’m a big fan of Gerardo and his writing so I was on board with it. After listening to this song I thought that it would be a good cover for us for a couple reasons. First and foremost, it’s a great song. Gerardo has a gift of using his songs to tell a story that connect with me on what feels like a very personal level. I think it’s a combination of the lyrics he puts together as well as the way he delivers them. Whenever I’m listening to him play, especially live, it feels less like I’m watching a guy onstage and more like I’m getting life lessons, priceless advice and having a drink with an old friend. Secondly, I wanted to cover one of his songs because he was one of the first guys to vouch for me and get me on a set at the Zoo Bar when I was like 17. He’s a standup guy and I feel really lucky to be a part of the same community of artists that he is. I hope that, as a band, we can do his song justice and bring something of our own to it, while staying true to the rawness of his story telling.
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Thirst Things First
BOOT:\\: THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER SENT TEAM TTF ON A MISSION WITHOUT MY SUPERVISION. THEY ARE CONFIDENT THAT THEY WILL ASSIST SMELL NEBRASKA, UNITED STATES, WORLD ON THEIR MOST RECENT ENDEAVOUR: HIDE. THE CHILATO CREW WILL BE PERFORMING A NUMBER ENTITLED ‘OIL FEVER’ BY NONE OTHER THAN OUR ARCH NEMESIS, SPUTNIK KAPUTNIK. #OIL
Mikey: Yeah, BOOT:\\ was close, as usual. It is “Take Cover,” not “Hide,” btw. We will be performing without him for once since it will be a quick changeover. We are covering “Dollar Fever” which used to be “Taco Fever” by Sputnik Kaputnik. The song is really, really, stupid, so it should sit very nicely in Thirst Things First’s wheelhouse.
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La Musa Confusa
I’m covering “Baby Elephant” by the Silver Rabbit.
I chose it because it’s noisy, upbeat and fun to sing along to. The lyrics hint at the binary world of sexuality and gender that children tend to be socialized in.
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Verse & the Vices
The song from a Nebraska artist that we will be covering is called “The Master Plan” by Ace & Dan.
We’ve selected this song because we have personally known Ace Bettinger and Dan Cox for many years. We remember when this song was written and the emotional time in which Dan mourned the loss of several of his close friends and former band mates. When we heard the song we remember seeing an emotional Dan celebrating the life of his friends. This song means a lot to us because it pays tribute to those who have gone before us. We thought it would make a good cover because we were aware of the possibilities of increasing the energy and bringing our unique approach to celebrate life with this song.
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Orion Walsh
“Wagon Wheels” by Brad Hoshaw
The first time I heard Brad Hoshaw play “Wagon Wheels” the song captured my attention immediately. It was at Junkstock a few years back on a windy October afternoon. Brad stood by himself on the flat bed of a an old truck, which was most likely built in the 1930’s, and with just his voice and guitar, delivered the song. “I’m hunting down old lovers with a loaded gun”, he sang, then listed several ex-girlfriends and why each relationship had went awry. He then listed his own flaws and failures as well. The song which played in a minor key struck my ears with a sense of pain and reminiscence of my own experiences with love lost. Brad’s recollection of the past was similar to my own. I sat on the grass and thought about how similar we all are. For “Take Cover” I will be covering “Wagon Wheels” but changing the names of Brad’s x-girlfriends to my own.
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Emily Bass
“No Religion” by AZP
I chose this song because I love the lyrics. They seem mystical and magical, and they fit that same sound in the melodies and chord structure. I liked the simplicity in form because I thought it would lend itself really well to filled-out harmonies and be soften by women’s voices. It’s a great song to cover because an arrangement can really bring out different aspects of the recording. I sang backups on AZP’s album on this song, and it stuck with me ever since. I wanted to pay some tribute.
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Clay
We are going to do “Next Time” by Risky Clique for our Nebraska song.
Risky Clique is full of our friends. Clay has gone to school, hung out, played shows, jammed and blacked out with every member of that band. Aside from being friends, we’ve also been inspired by Risky’s music. All we ever like to sing about is sad stuff, and I get that vibe from Kyrstin’s lyrics. We hope our cover will do the original justice.
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Powers
Powers will be covering Life of a Scarecrow’s “Grass Over Ass.” We deliberated for quite a while on picking a song. Us all having been around the Lincoln venues and playing in bands for a while, we’ve seen a lot of amazing music over the years. So, narrowing it down wasn’t easy. Not to mention all of our favorite Nebraska artists are highly proficient musicians, which didn’t make for a simple task. Life of a Scarecrow kept coming up in our discussions, we all really love their music and are huge fans of the album. “Grass Over Ass” stood out to us, with undeniable grooves, dual guitar work and huge moments. It seemed like the right fit. That being said, we are all very excited to present our version of this local classic.
Hear “Grass Over Ass” here.
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A Ferocious Jungle Cat
We are going to cover “Butt to Butt” by Electronic Nightmare, for the simple reason that the hook has been stuck in my head for 5 years.
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Better Friend
Better Friend chose to cover Desaparecidos “Mañana.” We wanted to pick a song that people know pretty well, and is just fun for us to play. Manana was always a stand out on Read Music, Speak Spanish because of it’s in your face, intense punk vibe. It comes right out at full intensity and doesn’t calm down very much over its brief 2 1/2 minute run time. Mañana is also a song that resonates with us through its theme of bringing about changes in the world as a group of people rather than trying to just do it all on your own. Plus playing this song gives meg a chance to just belt for a few minutes and us to play a straight forward punk song and run around on stage like the people we grew up watching.
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Commander Kilroy
Commander Kilroy has chosen “In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)” by Zager and Evans. The 1969 hit rings true today in its dark portrayal of the evils of technology. In an attempt to modernize the song, we added distorted guitar and bass lines to create a harder, edgier sound. We are excited to present the classic song to a new generation of fans.
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Bien Fang
We are covering “I’ll Have What She’s Having A Baby” by Millions of Boys.
The first time I heard this song they were playing in the basement of the Middle Haus and I kind of thought it was the best thing ever. It’s totally a sentiment that I can relate to. I know Courtney and I have had many conversations about how we have these moments where we’re like, “OMG, I want a fucking baby right now. Who am I?!” Followed closely by moments of sheer terror at even the abstract idea of being responsible for another human being. To quote Courtney, “I don’t even want to make myself dinner sometimes.” And really, I’ve never heard a song actually talk about that. Ever. Plus, it’s a really fun song to play. Yeah.
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I Forgot To Love My Father
“Sex to the Devil” by Icky Blossoms
The irreverence that exists within the lyrical content of the devilish chant ode to vices of all kinds only worked to ossify our own understanding of being pious to the dark lord…the ultimate electronic dance music disc jockey. When the sky has become consumed with darkness and all souls consumed by bass tones only then will one realize the dead can dance.
But really…The tune Sex To The Devil is the best dance jam in Nebraska music history. It caters to our band’s size, and caters to our urge to utilize blood and gross ritual. Beware front-row dancers.
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Powerful Science
We would prefer for our song choice to remain a secret until the show.
Thanks,
XOXOXO, hugs and kisses, Powerful Science
and P.S.
Hugs and kisses,
Sincerely,
Powerful Science
P.S. – Stands for Powerful Science.
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Like the rest of us, you’ll have to wait to hear what Powerful Science, Mesonjixx, FREAKABOUT and Mezcal Brothers are cooking up. See you Saturday!