Music of Omaha

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Music in Omaha, Nebraska has been a diverse and important influence in the culture of the city. Long a home to jazz, blues, funk and rock, today Omaha has dozens of sub-genres represented, including Latin, alternative rock and hip hop. Omaha's historical music contributions include being the home of a thriving African American music scene from the 1920s.^[1]. More recently, it is home to rock's "Omaha Sound" and the birthplace of one of pop music's most successful producers, Terry Lewis.

Contents 1 Institutions and venues 2 History of music in Omaha 2.1 Notable North Omaha musicians 3 Modern African American music 3.1 Hip hop 4 Surf music in Omaha 5 The "Omaha Sound" 6 Hard rock 7 Country 8 Jazz and funk 9 See also 10 External links 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Institutions and venues

The Dreamland Ballroom was located at 2221-2225 North 24th Street in North Omaha on the second floor of the Jewell Building. Opening in 1923, it became the premier nightclub for big bands and jazz in Omaha. James Jewell, Jr. booked the original Nat King Cole Trio for $25 a person for one show. Other performances included Dinah Washington, Earl Hines, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Lionel Hampton.^[2] Dreamland closed in the 1960’s. Today the renovated Jewell Building is used for offices and apartments.

Although Sokol Auditorium and its sister space Sokol Underground have been a concert hot spot for many years, the city has recently seen a rise in other indie music venues. These newer venues include The Waiting Room (created by One Percent Productions, an Omaha-based booking company), Rock'N'Jocks(formely the Rock), and The Mosaic. There are numerous other smaller venues and coffee shops that offer nightly performances. The Slowdown complex, a Saddle Creek-generated combination of a music venue , shops such as Urban Outfitters, restaurants, and apartments, located near the Qwest Center, has just recently opened up.

Recent developments in the Omaha music scene include the closing of the Cog Factory and the Ranch Bowl, two prominent venues that helped launch the current Omaha music scene. Two new developments are Slowdown^[3], a new recording space for Saddle Creek Records located on the edge of downtown Omaha, and One Percent Productions'^[4] venue, The Waiting Room Lounge^[5]. In addition to The Waiting Room Lounge, the Benson area features prominent venues, including The Barley Street Tavern, reputed to be the bar with the best acoustics for live music in Omaha due to its 'double barrel' layout. Also, the Omaha Blues, Jazz, & Gospel Festival and the Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame both celebrate African American music in Omaha.

[edit] History of music in Omaha

From the 1920s through the early 1960s the Near North Side neighborhood boasted a vibrant entertainment district featuring African American music. The main artery of North 24th Street was the heart of the city's African-American cultural and business community with a thriving jazz and rhythm and blues scene that attracted top-flight swing, blues and jazz bands from across the country.

The most important venue was the storied Dreamland Ballroom, which was opened in the Jewell Building in 1923 at 24th and Grant Streets in the Near North Side neighborhood. Dreamland hosted some of the greatest jazz, blues, and swing performers, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, and the original Nat King Cole Trio. Whitney Young spoke there as well.^[6] Other venues included Jim Bell's Harlem, opened in 1935 on Lake Street, west of 24th; McGill's Blue Room, located at 24th and Lake, and Allen's Showcase Lounge, which was located at 24th and Lake. Due to racial segregation, musicians such as Cab Calloway stayed at Myrtle Washington's at 22nd and Willis while others stayed at Charlie Trimble's at 22nd and Seward. The intersection of 24th and Lake was the setting of the Big Joe Williams song "Omaha Blues".

[edit] Notable North Omaha musicians

“	North Omaha used to be a hub for black jazz musicians, 'the triple-A league' where national bands would go to find a player to fill out their ensemble.	”
—Preston Love[7]

Early North Omaha bands included Dan Desdunes Band, Simon Harrold's Melody Boys, the Sam Turner Orchestra, the Ted Adams Orchestra, and the Omaha Night Owls, as well as Red Perkins and His Original Dixie Ramblers. Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders who became the first Omaha band to record in 1931. A Lloyd Hunter concert poster can be seen on display at the Community Center in nearby Mineola, Iowa.^[8] Nat Towles was a renowned territory band leader based in Omaha. The National Orchestra Service was an important company based in Omaha that managed white, black and integrated territorial bands.

North Omaha's musical culture also birthed several nationally and internationally reputable African American musicians. International Jazz legend Preston Love, and influential drummer Buddy Miles were all friends while they grew up and played together. They collaborated throughout their lives, and while they were playing with the greatest names in Rock and Roll, Jazz, R&B and Fund. Funk band leader Lester Abrams is also from North Omaha. Omaha-born Wynonie Harris, one of the founders of rock and roll, got his start at the North Omaha clubs and for a time lived in the now-demolished Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects at 2213 Charles Street.^[9].

One of Omaha's most notable musicians of the 1940s was Anna Mae Winburn. As the leader of North Omaha's Cotton Club Boys, which included the amazing guitarist Charlie Christian^[10], Winburn traveled the local region as a typical territorial band. However, upon the advice of Jimmie Jewell, owner of the Jewel Building, Winburn left Omaha and hit the "big time" with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.

Another notable artist was Lalomie (Lomie) Washburn^[11]. Born in North Omaha, she went on to write songs and sing backup with such legends as Chaka Khan, Rufus, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin. She signed with the Parachute label in 1977, where she released her first album "My Music is Hot". She went on to launch a solo career, which drew a large following in Germany in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1992 she release several 12" singles, and in 1997 a second (self titled) solo album. She came back to Omaha to do a small tour during her mid 70's. She died on 18 Sept 2004 in Los Angeles. In 2005 she was inducted into the Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame.

[edit] Modern African American music

While African Americans have contributed greatly to the history of music in Omaha, they continue to impress black culture upon the city and the country as a whole. Pop music producer Terry Lewis was born in Omaha in 1956. The second half of one of the most successful production teams in the history of recorded music, Lewis contributed to the success of a variety of modern stars, including Janet Jackson. Other artists from Omaha's modern African American music scene include Thomas Wilkins, current director of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, and Lois "Lady Mac" McMorris, a lead guitarst and vocalist.

[edit] Hip hop

Omaha is also home to a growing underground hip hop scene. For a long period of time, the scene was defined by North High School graduate Houston Alexander, aka Scrib or FAS/ONE. In the 1980s he led a hip hop movement in North Omaha called the Scribble Crew as an alliance of graffiti writers who developed a reputation as the top tag artists in the area. The art stands today at 24th and Binney Streets, to 16th and Corby Streets, and other North Omaha locations, and is still respected by the community. His Midwest Alliance act was active through the 1990s and into the new millennium, and is seen as influential on the Omaha scene.^[12] Today Alexander is a DJ on a local radio station in Omaha that hosts an independent music show featuring hip hop, and he facilitates an elementary school program that teaches students about hip hop called the "Culture Shock School Tour".^[13] Alexander has also been vocal about Omaha's lack of support for its hip hop artists.^[14]

OTR Entertainment, with offices in Omaha and Chicago, features a variety of artists on their label, including Prominence, Xpreshin aka XP, OMC, Full Bred, MOC, and K-2.^[15] Jerry Wade, aka DJ Kamikaze, was first a member of Omaha's Posse-N-Effect. Their first show was in 1989 in Miller Park in North Omaha.^[16] Pigeon John, an increasingly popular Christian rapper, is originally from Omaha.^[17] Cerone Thomas, known as Scrybe, has had a number one single on college radio stations across the United States.^[18]

Mars Black, perhaps the Omaha rapper with the most national exposure, has released an album on New York City's Team Love Records label. However, in a review of the Mars Black album Folks Music, one reviewer noted that Mars describes the Omaha hip-hop scene as "almost non-existent". Continuing about the album, the reviewer writes, "It's only in such a desolate music environment that his pitiful flow, painfully corny emo-rhymes, and insulting bling-boasts could exist."^[19]

Other recently released artists include Afta Lyfe on Straight Ball'n Records, Cornbread on Outta Bounds Records^[20], and Toot on Utopia Entertainment.^[21] Articulate, Buck Bowen, Jamazz, and Surreal The MC of Noizewave are some of Omaha's most frequent live hip-hop performers.

Today many hip hop shows are held at the Sokol Auditorium in Omaha's Little Bohemia^[22], as well as Cleopatra's on Ames Street.

[edit] Surf music in Omaha

One of Omaha's most famous exports is the influential surf band The Chevrons, who were voted Omaha's most popular band in 1966. Other 1960s surf and rock bands from Omaha include The Echos, 7 Legends, Velvet Haze, Little Denny Wonder, Freedom Road and The Beautiful People.

[edit] The "Omaha Sound"

Bands on the Saddle Creek record label out of Omaha, Nebraska such as Bright Eyes, The Faint, and Cursive are known as the "Omaha Sound".^[23][24] These bands are playing a significant role in the current national rock scene. The formation of the sound occurred in the mid 1990s with Commander Venus, Frontier Trust,MouseTrap,SolidJackson, and clubs such as the Cog Factory, and Sokol Music Hall. Many people involved in these bands and venues are currently involved with Saddle Creek.

Other related aspects of the Omaha sound include various alternative bands. The alternative music scene has produced such popular artists as 311, Grasshopper Takeover and Tilly and the Wall. Omaha has been a temporary home base of Midwest bands such as Rilo Kiley , The Urge, Pomeroy, and Blue October. Tim McMahan's Lazy-i, Omahype.com, the Worlds of Wayne podcastWorldsofwayne.com and SLAM Omaha (Support Local Art & Music) are among the main media outlets promoting Saddle Creek and other Omaha bands.

In Omaha, a mainstay of the music scene is Nils Anders Erickson and Rainbow Recording Studios. The studio houses modern equipment (digi HD3 Accel with appogee AD/DA) and has recorded artists with local connections such as 311,Stevie Wonder's band and Buddy Miles, but what makes the studio famous is its collection of vintage equipment (from Liberace's gold microphone to The Messengers hand built console:used on dozens of international hits). On top of the studio, Nils heads local jam band Paddy O'Furniture.The World's Tallest Irish Cajun Punk Band. As Rainbow Recording Studio's popularity faded during the mid 1990s, other studios began producing records that had a serious impact on the scene locally and nationally. These studios included Warehouse Recording Studios, Presto Recording Studio and Bassline Recording Studio.

Other mainstays of the music scene in Omaha include singer/songwriters such as Simon Joyner, Kyle Knapp, and his son, Saddle Creek artist Joe Knapp, Sarah Benck, Matt Whipkey, Chris Saub, Korey Anderson, Chris Lager, Brad Hoshaw, Vago, Rocky Lodestar, Tim Wildsmith, Joe Watson, Mike Murphy, Kevin Quinn, and Kyle Harvey.

A integral part of the Nebraska music scene are the two Omaha based record labels. Saddle Creek Records was founded in 1993 by Mike Mogis and Robb Nansel, who later opened Slowdown, a music venue in NoDo. Conor Oberst’s Team Love was founded in 2004. Other significant music venues currently include, The Waiting Room Lounge, opened in 2007 as well as Mick's Music Bar, The Barley Street Tavern, Oleaver's Pub, Sokol Underground, Shea Rileys, the P.S. Collective, and Barfly.

[edit] Hard rock

Omaha has many heavier rock acts. Doug Ingle was the lead vocalist and organist in the late 60's band Iron Butterfly. Since the turn of the millennium, it has been a strong spot for Metalcore bands. A good amount have gone on to be national acts such as Analog, Paria, System Failure and I Am Legend. It also draws many other heavy musical acts, strongly of the Screamo genre. Other notable local groups include Father, and Bloodcow.

[edit] Country

Omaha also has a number of country, country western and modern country artists, including lead singer Jolie Edwards of Jolie and the Wanted.

[edit] Jazz and funk

Omaha has a thriving jazz, funk, and jam-rock scene that would be considered the current underground movement in the area. Bands like Polydypsia, Artillery Funk, Reggaejunkiejew Satchel Grande, Lucas Kellison and Assembled Soul, Sarah Benck and the Robbers, and Anchondo head up the music in this genre. Popular bands of the past in this area include Strange Pleasures, Electric Soul Method, The Kind, and The Jazzwholes.

[edit] See also

• Culture in Omaha, Nebraska
• Culture in North Omaha, Nebraska
• Sorry About Dresden
• Darrin's Coconut Ass: Live from Omaha

[edit] External links

• Saddle Creek Records website.
• Omaha Hip Hop website.
• Kyle Knapp website.
• Worlds of Wayne Podcast website
• S.L.A.M.Omaha website

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• (2005) A Rich Music History Long Untold, The Omaha Reader. - Describes Omaha's influence on many genres of music, including jazz, blues, soul, R&B, and rock.

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