Mike Mogis has been busy; OEA showcase on Friday

It seems like everywhere I turn, I keep hearing about Mike Mogis.

Lately, he's been a busy guy. Last year, he recorded, produced and performed with the Monsters of Folk.

Pete Yorn's album, which dropped last year, was recorded at ARC and produced by Mogis and so was the solo album by Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, which was also out in 2009..

News today was that The Low Anthem is having their new record mixed by Mogis. Their previous effort, "Oh My God Charlie Darwin," is fantastic and they actually played at Slowdown on Sunday night. Frontman Ben Knox Miller told Paste Magazine that Bright Eyes' "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" absolutely blew them away.

The new Low Anthem record, their third, is due in September.

Lately, a lot of folks have been talking about how Mogis and Conor Oberst have been working on some new Bright Eyes stuff over the past few months, which would make sense. He told Spinner that BE would probably get together after Monsters of Folk concluded its tour, which happened months ago.

ARC Studios is basically at Mogis' house and was built by he and neighbor Conor for them to record Bright Eyes, even though he said last September that they had yet to do so. But Mogis said having the studio right next to their homes has its advantages.

"We text, 'Do you want to come and listen to this guitar part,' and he'll come up," Mogis told Spinner.

Wonder what else we'll see from Mogis and friends in the near future.

* * *

Anybody going to the OEA Award showcase this weekend? Yes, it's in Council Bluffs, which a lot of people are fretting about.

But I like the idea of moving it out of Benson from time to time. And it's not like Council Bluffs artists aren't eligible for the OEAs.

Anyway, a $10 wristband gets you into all five venues. Looks like we have 22 artists on tap for Friday. Happy hunting.

Here's the schedule, taken right from oea-awards.com.

Barleys
8 p.m. — Clock Tease
9  — Minnaoonies
10 — Thousand Houses
11 — Fino
midnight — Dive Kings

The Venue
9 — Shine
10 — Strap On Halo
11 — Whipkey/Zimmerman
midnight —   Dielated

Fiddlin Monkey
8:40 — All Young Girls Are Machine Guns
9:40 — Kyle Harvey
10:40 — Jaymie Jones
11:40 — Platte River Rain

Glory Days
7:30 — Fork In The Road
8:20 — Chantilly Reign
9:20 — Love Technicians
10:20 — Manna
11:20 — Mr. Important

T’Z
8:40 — Benn Seiff
9:40 — Scott Severin
10:40 — MC DL
11:40 — Black On High