* The Faint’s lead singer Todd Fink provided MTV’s Hive website with a short list of five of his favorite current Nebraska bands. The piece ran Monday, November 5th on MTVHive.com, as part of its daily Hive Five feature. Fink’s five picks were accompanied by descriptions and videos of each band. Fink’s five: Icky Blossoms, Digital Leather, Plack Blague, Solid Goldberg and Tilly & the Wall.
* The Whigs had the unfortunate circumstance of playing a show the Monday after one of the busiest going-out weekends of the year. The Atlanta rock band’s October 29th performance fell right after a weekend of Halloween events and seemed to hurt turnout for the show. That didn’t stop the power trio from ripping confidently through their four albums’ worth of material to an appreciative crowd of 40 people. Parker Gispert is a live-wire guitarist and singer, often hopping on one foot around the stage as he strikes his guitar. The real star may just be drummer Julian Doro. He’s a hard-hitting drummer who has evolved from no-frills pounder to the artfully brutal engine that drives the Whigs lean, muscular mix of streamlined classic rock and gutsy, garagey power-pop.
* Love Drunk unveiled its 100th video on the eve of Election Day, featuring Lincoln band UUVVWWZ playing inside Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler’s office. The Saddle Creek Records band performs “No Apart” for the session, which is filmed in one take from several different angles. The video and 99 others can be seen at lovedrunkstudio.com.
* Local indie pop band Thunder Power is making the internet rounds with its new video for “Spiralling Sky”. The song is from the band’s upcoming Slumber Party Records album, Volumes. The video is a mix of live-action and animation, directed by Lindsay Trapnell. It features both an animated monkey and two real-life gibbons.
* Black on High will release their debut album Gnomad Friday, November 16th, celebrating the event with a show at the Waiting Room Lounge, 6212 Maple St. The band, who describe their sound as “the combination of early 90s Seattle sounds with the late 80s thrash metal movement”, recorded the album in their own studio. Founding members Dan Cinotto and Scott Armstrong started the band in 2008. Tragedy in Rome, The Monarchs of Speed and Tendead also are on the bill.