Saddle Creek announces Document series; Photo coverage: Bad Suns, Thick Paint at Slowdown; Cult Play remixes Third Eye Merchants’ “Red Eye” for ‘Vision’ one-year anniversary; Head Of Femur releases sophomore LP this weekend

Saddle Creek announces Document series

In addition to planned releases by roster artists, Saddle Creek Records is cooking up something new to celebrate its founding spirit.

The Omaha indie rock label has announced its new Document series, which features artists from outside the label roster and the cities from which they hail. Each installment includes a record with unreleased music, plus a specially curated zine highlighting the artist’s hometown music scene.

In a statement, Saddle Creek explains the series takes inspiration from the label’s original concept, as an attempt to highlight its home city through music and art. Found Robb Nansel explains further:

“In the beginning, Saddle Creek was simply a way for us to highlight the music and art community in our hometown of Omaha, NE. Over the years, we have grown and our roster expanded to include artists from all over the world, but we never lost our love for the spirit in which the label was founded. While the scope of the label may have evolved over time, we know there are great music scenes all around the world that are in the same place we were in the beginning: a group of creators coexisting and collaborating within an artistic community that they know is special, but hasn’t quite gotten the spotlight it deserves.

“With that in mind, we introduce our new vinyl series, Document. We see Document as a unique way to reference our past, while at the same time reaching out to bands that aren’t already part of the Saddle Creek family and allow them to shine a light on the art and music of their own communities. It’s our way to try to capture a band and their community in a specific place at a specific time, and share that with the world.”

Seattle indie rock band Posse gets the first release, two-song 7-inch Kismet, scheduled for Friday, March 10. Pre-order here. Other artists slated for the series include Palehound, Hand Habits, Wilder Maker and more.

* * *

Photo coverage: Bad Suns, Thick Paint at Slowdown

HN multimedia intern Connor Lepert went to Slowdown last night to catch Los Angeles alt rock band Bad Suns with Graham Ulicny playing solo as Thick Paint. Bad Suns tours in support of last year’s sophomore album Disappear Here, which has garnered praise from the likes of Nylon Magazine and Idolator, and has also led to sold out shows like last night’s.

See Lepert’s photos below:

Bad Suns

Thick Paint

Photos by Connor Lepert

* * *

Cult Play remixes Third Eye Merchants’ “Red Eye” for ‘Vision’ one-year anniversary

Barely more than a year ago, Omaha hip-hop duo Third Eye Merchants released its harrowing, gritty debut EP Visions. To celebrate, it released the vocal and instrumental tracks and turned other local artists loose on them.

One of them is Omaha producer Cult Play, who tackled and reformed the horn-hued basement closing track “Red Eye.” The reworked version is perhaps even more claustrophobic than Downtown James Brown’s original, with an pounding industrial beat, pulsing bass and barely a semblance of verse from emcee Static Soul (aka Jacob Adams).

It’s one of six remixes featured on the re-release, picked out of dozens. A corresponding show happens tomorrow night at The Sydney and features Third Eye and Cult Play alongside Tha Füt, The Madness Apparatus, Relentless Approach and R_DB_ARD, plus a live painting by The Madness Apparatus’ Pensive. 9 p.m. show, $5, RSVP here.

Listen to the “Red Eye” remix below:

* * *

Concert Round-Up: Weekend Edition

All weekend long, Lookout Lounge celebrate the two-year anniversary of its re-opening with a bunch of acts Friday and Saturday. Tonight at 7 p.m., its Noizewave, Wither, Decay, RAF, Fr!day, Stronghold, TKO, Alpha 5 and Eponymous with DJ Madix spinning all night. Tomorrow, starting at 6 p.m., see Cordial Spew, Your Last Chance, The Beat Seekers, Finch X Kovacs, Processions, Wolf Dealer, GrownKidz Entertainment, Dsm-5, Trench and T Philly’s Tenderness. Both shows are free and open to all ages. RSVP here.

Also tonight, plan your Benson First Friday around a show at Barley Street, which features The Bishops, Kait Berreckman, Karen Bahr, Leslie Wells and Dream of Venus Burlesque. 8 p.m. show, $5, RSVP here.

And in Lincoln, Universe Contest plays it’s first show in months, alongside The Dancing Dead, at 1867 Bar. It’s forthcoming album, the first since its major lineup shift a few years ago, is in the can and awaiting release. This show serves as a fundraiser for its upcoming tour, and is in fact by donation. Music starts at 10 p.m. RSVP here.

Tomorrow, indie rock band Head of Femur releases its first new album in nine years at Duffy’s Tavern. Hear! Hear! Tunemaker out on Sower Records — follows 2008’s Great Plains, hearkening back to the band’s horn-laden art pop origins. It’s a bright, sunny record with all the energy and lyrical creativity that found them a niche nationwide audience in their heyday. The Bottle Tops and Halfwit open the show. 9 p.m. $10, RSVP here.

Check out a fuller listing of this weekend’s shows at our statewide calendar here. Let us know where you’re headed in the comments and follow along via Instagram @hearnebraska.

Have an upcoming show, new music release or other news to share? Email the details to news@hearnebraska.org.