by Jordan Minnick
When their doors were kicked in and their house robbed in April 2009, members of Omaha band Lightning Bug were left gear-less while writing a record. But almost two years later, maybe it wasn't so bad, after all.
“It was kind of, I guess, a good thing," says bassist Keith Rodger, "because when we went to rebuild our sound, we got equipment that was so much better. It gave us so much more to offer than when we started."
But before the band was able to replace their stolen equipment, they learned to play and write more minimally — "the technique of using little instruments and little effects to make something that’s really forceful and full-sounding," Rodger says.
Through their misfortune, the band found the dynamic for the untitled EP — a sound that's been refurbished as well as stripped. And with a combined writing effort by all players, the guys consider the album's sound more representative of who they are as a band, says guitarist Laurence DeBoer.
The new music features the band's signature ambient guitar sound contrasted by expediting tempos and singer David Moore’s abrasive vocals — all accompanied with definite tinges of experimentation. Think scratching of turn tables and minced pieces of jam sessions.
“I think it’ll be a cool record to really influence people to keep pushing the boundaries of music,” he says, “especially in Omaha, because there’s so many people making so many different kinds of music and it’s now starting to crack the surface.”
Lightning Bug has wrapped up production and mixing at Make Believe Studio and is presently weighing options for record packaging. They’d like to issue vinyl copies along with CDs, both of which will include a digital format. The band is scraping up funds from day jobs and playing shows to help pay for the record, which it hopes to release by summer.
The final cut for the EP currently consists of four tracks. “Hopefully we’ll have another one or two to release, as well,” Rodger says.
Stream Lightning Bug's new song "Snakes."
The guys are also eager to have friends and other local artists remix their new tracks, something they’d like to see become standard with their music releases.
“It’s kind of like making music for people to not only listen to but also create music with, too, which is kind of weird," Rodger says, "but it’s kind of what our premise has always been."
You can catch Lightning Bug Friday, Feb. 4, 9:30 p.m. at the The Sandbox, 2406 Leavenworth St. Omaha with Conchance, Pharmacy Spirits and No I'm the Pilot.
Jordan Minnick is Hear Nebraska's editorial intern. Originally from Montana, she feels more at home in Nebraska, where she says the music scene completely compensates for the minimal geography. She'll be interning this summer at The A.V. Club Austin. Contact her at jordanminnick@hearnebraska.org.