UNO alum at forefront of Omaha's music community with Lazy-i Web

When he launched his Lazy-i "blog" back in 1998, Tim McMahan was ahead of the curve. Not only did he foresee the impact of the Internet on music, but he was also a pioneer of predicting Omaha's music success.McMahan, founder of Lazy-i.com and a music columnist for The Reader, is an alumnus of UNO who graduated in 1988 with a degree in journalism. In fact, his writing career started at The Gateway, where he wrote stories on his way to eventually becoming editor-in-chief.

"The first semester or so that I worked there, I really got battered around; my writing wasn't very good at all," McMahan said. "I was terrible."

While McMahan is self-deprecating about his early work at the paper, Tim Kaldahl, assistant director of media relations at UNO and also a UNO alumnus, worked under McMahan at The Gateway for two years and said McMahan was "easily one of the best writers" he'd ever seen.

"He knows his stuff; it's really cool and if he's got an opinion, it's an authority's opinion," Kaldahl said with a smile.

After a minute of talking to McMahan, you realize that statement is true. At ease enough to wear a baseball cap and t-shirt, McMahan will shoot the breeze as readily as he will argue a point with you and back it up too. That confidence is probably why he's managed to snag interviews for his site with hit local acts like The Faint and Cursive as well as more nationally-known acts like Nada Surf and Jimmy Eat World.

A lot of groundwork for where McMahan is today was laid in the early 90s when Omaha was not even a blip on the national music radar. Covering Omaha's music scene for local weekly newspapers and regional monthly magazines after graduating from UNO, McMahan maintained an internship at Union Pacific that evolved into a job as senior manager of media technology.

"It's the type of job that spawned a good career, and I also have enough time on weekends and after work to do the music stuff that I do, so it's a nice balance," he explained.

But the balance is still not easy. Maintaining a Web site, doing interviews and pounding the pavement while making ends meet just to make connections is something that Kaldhal said is just part of who McMahan is.

"He's quoted here, there and everywhere because he's the local guy on the ground," Kaldahl said. "Because he does know everybody and he's put the time and energy into it . I don't know how he does it all, I really don't."

While he is humble about his site's success, saying it "only" gets 1,300 hits a day, there is no arguing that McMahan has become synonymous with the now national 'Omaha Sound.' And while critics may think McMahan is taking the easy route, covering chart-topping acts like Bright Eyes, he said they are missing the point.

"People forget, the point about [covering Saddle Creek] is that whether they like it or not, the city is developed by that label and its bands," he said passionately. "I don't think the Seattle Weekly ever asked 'What are we covering Sub Pop for? What's this Nirvana band?'"

At 44, McMahan isn't concerned with trying to catch his big break. If anything, he says his long-term goal is to keep focusing on the community and create a book chronicling Omaha's music scene from 1991 to the present.

And he said that commitment to local music came from a mantra he learned and followed while at UNO: telling the local story first.

"People all over the country are [covering Omaha's music] and it's in your back yard," he said. "Why wouldn't you cover what's in your back yard?"

You can access McMahan's Web site at lazy-i.com