by Chris Aponick

* The Black Squirrels are hanging it up, according to a post on the Omaha band's Facebook page. The band, led by female vocalist Kat Smith, cultivated a steady following in Omaha's roots and folk community with their throwback country sound during the three-plus years that they played around town. The one-time Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards recipients were also named a Top 20 band by The Reader in 2008 and 2009. They released two albums, 2007's Last of the Ghost Town Gang and 2008's Paying For Your Pleasure. The band's laidback Americana swing will be missed. * Blue Martian Tribe, the Butchers and Biatomic Point are playing together April 11 at the Waiting Room Lounge, 6212 Maple St., to raise funds for the Sienna Francis House. There will be a suggested $6 donation at the door to support the services offered by the Omaha homeless shelter. The show, a project of the University of Nebraska at Omaha's service learning program, seeks to help the shelter rebound after a harsh winter. * Love Drunk Studio is taking its act on the road at the end of April, as it seeks to shoot its live, one-take videos in 12 cities on its way to New York City and back. The group has already shot videos with more than 20 different bands in Omaha and Lincoln, in a variety of locations in both cities. Those videos are all available on Love Drunk's newly minted website at lovedrunkstudio.com. Go ahead and check it out, it's a good way to waste an hour. * For those looking to plan out your potential Record Store Day purchases in advance of the Saturday, April 16 event, head over to recordstoreday.com. The website for the international celebration of independent record retailers has posted a comprehensive list of all the day's available offerings for free download, in the form of a handy PDF file. * Lincoln's Cultiva Coffee is getting into the record sales game, with a small, curated selection of mostly used vinyl at its retail coffee shop, 727 South 11th St.. Cultiva owner Jon Ferguson once owned Dropbay and Zero Street Records in Lincoln. Both have since closed.

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