Omaha, NE, home of Saddle Creek Records, known for producing bands such as The Faint, Bright Eyes, and Cursive is planning on developing a $10 Venue/Bar, Pizza shop, Theater or what I like to call "Scenesters on Parade". story at tiny mix tapes
I'm from Omaha too - and this depresses me a bit. I grew up going to Slowdown shows at the Cog Factory, my college roommate was dating Conor when he was 13, etc, etc, etc. The beauty of the whole scene was how disjunct the venues were. Saddle Creek bands played in holes in the wall and random locations. I remember a solo Conor show at Shock Juice Bar - a retro clothing store and juice bar. Building a monument [New Urbanist in Aesthetic, nonetheless, to this scene seems a bit the antithesis of the whole movement. Is this what success breeds?
small record labels have yet to show this much interest in this side of promoting/supporting their artists. i do understand/wonder how it will effect the community of omaha, but let's face it, these bands are not just playing at "holes in the wall" when they are touring now. what first came to my mind when reading this bit was the concept of developing to attract "the creative class" and i never really was sure what to think of it, but with what is happening here, i think it sounds like an interesting endeavor.
The whole notion is definitely a critique on current culture and the inseparable link between success in any genre and, essentially, land development.
The area they are building this complex in is 98% black, in a complete state of disrepair and neglect, however, contains a huge array of 50's wearhouses and storage yards. Therefore, artist communities have been rapidly renovating the spaces for co-op facilities, etc - the typical North American city story. Recently the City of Omaha cut an 6 lane 'Welcome to Omaha' boulevard through the area in order to connect downtown to the airport, which has attracted enormous corporate headquarters [Gallup Poll, etc]. Everytime I go home to Omaha to visit, I'm intrigued by the juxtapositions in this area [artists, black ghettos, glassy corporate monuments]. It's interesting to think about how the artist communities in Dallas were affecting by the collapse of Enron. Even the upper brow institutions - opera, symphony - felt it. They lost their patrons. I guess it's an unavoidable fact that artists of any kind are completely dependent on the patronage of corporate society. However, in the case of the Saddle Creek development, I don't understand why their plan has to be an institution. Why couldn't they, instead, strategically choose 4-5 sites in Omaha and use each one as a chance to introduce a smaller scale architecturally challenging intervention - thus contributing to Omahas urban fabric the very condition that built their success. The world doesn't need more institutions - especially in the forming of more engaging city fabric - which, believe me, Omaha is in DESPERATE need of.
May 30, 05 2:58 pm ·
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thanks stephanie, that's the first ever emo Architecture news...
sometimes i miss omaha.......................................................................................
I'm from Omaha too - and this depresses me a bit. I grew up going to Slowdown shows at the Cog Factory, my college roommate was dating Conor when he was 13, etc, etc, etc. The beauty of the whole scene was how disjunct the venues were. Saddle Creek bands played in holes in the wall and random locations. I remember a solo Conor show at Shock Juice Bar - a retro clothing store and juice bar. Building a monument [New Urbanist in Aesthetic, nonetheless, to this scene seems a bit the antithesis of the whole movement. Is this what success breeds?
small record labels have yet to show this much interest in this side of promoting/supporting their artists. i do understand/wonder how it will effect the community of omaha, but let's face it, these bands are not just playing at "holes in the wall" when they are touring now. what first came to my mind when reading this bit was the concept of developing to attract "the creative class" and i never really was sure what to think of it, but with what is happening here, i think it sounds like an interesting endeavor.
The whole notion is definitely a critique on current culture and the inseparable link between success in any genre and, essentially, land development.
The area they are building this complex in is 98% black, in a complete state of disrepair and neglect, however, contains a huge array of 50's wearhouses and storage yards. Therefore, artist communities have been rapidly renovating the spaces for co-op facilities, etc - the typical North American city story. Recently the City of Omaha cut an 6 lane 'Welcome to Omaha' boulevard through the area in order to connect downtown to the airport, which has attracted enormous corporate headquarters [Gallup Poll, etc]. Everytime I go home to Omaha to visit, I'm intrigued by the juxtapositions in this area [artists, black ghettos, glassy corporate monuments]. It's interesting to think about how the artist communities in Dallas were affecting by the collapse of Enron. Even the upper brow institutions - opera, symphony - felt it. They lost their patrons. I guess it's an unavoidable fact that artists of any kind are completely dependent on the patronage of corporate society. However, in the case of the Saddle Creek development, I don't understand why their plan has to be an institution. Why couldn't they, instead, strategically choose 4-5 sites in Omaha and use each one as a chance to introduce a smaller scale architecturally challenging intervention - thus contributing to Omahas urban fabric the very condition that built their success. The world doesn't need more institutions - especially in the forming of more engaging city fabric - which, believe me, Omaha is in DESPERATE need of.
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