SLOWDOWN
Omaha Block Party feat. The Hold Steady, Mister Heavenly, The Donkeys & Conduits
Friday, 8:00 p.m.
free
SLOWDOWN
Resisting the musical trends in New York City, vocalist/guitarist Craig Finn (ex-Lifter Puller) formed the Hold Steady after moving from Minneapolis in 2000. Wanting to capture the sound of bands such as the Replacements and the Grifters, he recruited guitarist Tad Kubler (also ex-Lifter Puller), drummer Judd Counsell, and bassist Galen Polivka. Recording mostly live, the band released its debut, Almost Killed Me, on Frenchkiss Records in March 2004. Dave Gardener (Rocket from the Crypt, Drive Like Jehu) and Dean Botulonis signed on to produce Separation Sunday, which arrived in 2005. The World/Inferno Friendship Society's Franz Nicolay (keyboards) and Bobby Drake (drums), formerly of End Transmission and Arm, were also added to the Hold Steady lineup. The band's third effort, 2006's Boys and Girls in America, marked its first release for Vagrant. After writing the majority of their fourth record on the road, the Hold Steady returned to John Agnello's Water Music studio to record Stay Positive, their most heavily produced effort. In July of 2008, the album was released by both Vagrant and Rough Trade. In 2010 the band announced the departure of Franz Nicolay. Later that same year they released their fifth album, Heaven Is Whenever.
Mister Heavenly is… a band, a threesome as charming and, sometimes, as tricky to pin down as their moniker suggests. They sing a theme song in which one voice pledges undying devotion, and another cheerfully asserts that he’ll never be Mister Heavenly. Don’t think of it as a conflict; it’s more of a yin-yang thing. Mister Heavenly finds harmony in unexpected places.
Mister Heavenly is… comprised of indie rock veterans Nick Thorburn (Islands/The Unicorns), Ryan Kattner (Man Man), and Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse). Their mutual admiration society was in place before Mister Heavenly took shape. Modest Mouse and Man Man toured together repeatedly, starting in 2007. Nick and Ryan met in Philadelphia in the final days of The Unicorns, or maybe the early days of Islands. They’re not sure, but they hit it off instantly. They bonded over a lot of things—music, cough syrup, being signed to the same label—but it was one of their fundamental differences that inspired Ryan aesthetically. “I always thought that the two of our voices together would make an interesting contrast since they occupy very distinct ends of the vocal spectrum,” he says.
Mister Heavenly is… a trio of men who love dogs.
Mister Heavenly is… at the forefront of “doom wop,” which is a state of mind rather than a nitpicky micro-genre. It is born from a shared love of 1950s vocal-based R&B classics by ensembles like the Penguins, the Platters, and the Moonglows, and also a fascination with ill-fated romance. The album title, Out of Love, is both a nod to passion as a motivator (“I did it out of love”) and also the absence or dissolution of same ("She fell out of… read more
Taking their cues from such California-based bands as Pavement, the Grateful Dead, and harmony acts like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the Donkeys craft country-tinged pop/rock songs inspired by their state's warm weather and relaxed pace. High school friends Timothy DeNardo, Anthony Lukens, and Sam Sprague first played together as teenagers, while Jessie Gulati joined the latter two musicians in a band named The Moon and Sixpence soon after graduation. The musicians eventually banded together as the Donkeys, lacing well-crafted pop with elements of classic rock, country, and laid-back psychedelia. The group signed with Antenna Farm Records and issued a self-titled debut in 2004. Leaving Antenna Farm several years later, the Donkeys eventually settled with the Texas-based label Dead Oceans before issuing their 2008 follow-up, Living on the Other Side. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide
Beyond expectations, we've made music that reflects the dirty passion we have for music. Our ethos is simple: if it sounds good, lay it down…. (& If it's crap, work it into an eloquent crap sculpture.) .. We believe in music as a force to build and destroy. ..We are the conduit through which the ether flows. ..Believe it. .. We were hatched in 1999. Our wings were wet and our eyes had yet to open, but steadily the cosmos nurtured us into a beast of majestic ambivalence. .. The original line-up was:.. ..Seth Allison: Guitars and Horns.. Jeff Gagnon: Bass Guitars.. Zack Menard: Guitar.. Jason "Sketcher" Halfacre: Drums.. Josh "Bobo" Bowling: Drums and vocals. …. Sketcher "Sketchy", "Sketch", "Duke", "Filbert", Halfacre left the band to pursue Californian engagements, public drug use, and culinary expertise….. Zack left to pursue life, the universe, and coffee/beer fueled existentialism. Good luck….. In 2001, longtime friend of the band Josh Bowling took over steady drum duties, thumping the nasties from the eighth plane of satyr. …. Two years later Azwan assumed lead guitar status, shredding any skeptectations with a pine cone of explosive wailing succubi. …. The current lineup has been converting cynics and confusing bar patrons since 2003. …. Visit us in the real world sometime… XOXO