Back in May (here, to be exact) I wrote about how Kite Pilot was bidding Omaha a fond farewell as Todd and Erica Hanton headed for better climes in Portland. Final shows were scheduled; people said goodbye. Only a few weeks later, while enjoying some ice cream at the Dundee Ted & Wally's, Protoculture's Koly Walter informed me that the couple had already returned to Omaha. What? Within a few weeks, Kite Pilot was gigging around town again, this time with a visiting original guitarist Austin Britton, home for the summer from the West Coast.

"We went out there in June to find a place to live," Todd said. "We did a lot of research first -- the rental market, areas of town that we would or would not like to live in. After five days of driving around the city, looking at houses and apartments, waiting for call-backs, this is what we found. Compared to Omaha, you will pay about 30% more in rent for about 30% less in the quality of living. Anything worth renting was snatched up immediately."

The frustrating search to find affordable housing resulted in the couple reevaluating the reason why they were moving to Portland in the first place.

"We had another sit down, each of us writing a list of pro's and con's of living in both cities, what we wish we could do in Omaha that we weren't already, what we wanted to get out of Oregon," Todd said. They discovered that they weren't willing to compromise their standard of living without a good reason. "If we were to move for an awesome job or for the benefit of Kite Pilot, that would be another story. Neither of those were reasons why we wanted to move," he said.

They'd also miss their music. "We missed playing even before we left Omaha. We have the contacts, the players and the music right here, so why start all over again? True, we might have more success in the long-term by playing in a larger market and not having the Saddle Creek (Records) hanging over our heads like every other local band, but success is what you make of it, where you make it."

Saddle Creek hanging over their heads? Did he mean that he feels there's a stigma being from Omaha and not being on Creek? "That is a real good way of saying it," Todd said. "Everyone that is not from here thinks, 'Hey, you guys are great! Why aren't you on Saddle Creek?' They don't have any idea of the social dynamics that goes into something like that."

Todd said he and his wife realized that the real changes they wanted to make were within themselves and not dependent on location. "Living in Omaha can often feel like you are in the movie 'Groundhog Day,'" he said. "We all want new and exciting. We all look for it in different place. We were looking in Portland. But you know what? After a certain amount of time, the allure of a new city wears off, no matter what city. We feel that we have to change our attitude about Omaha, instead of changing where we live."

Now for some points of clarification:

--Kite Pilot will continue as a trio after Austin moves back to the West Coast later this year, with Jeremy Stanosheck on drums. Todd said the band will probably start writing new songs.

--Erica will no longer perform in The Protoculture. "The whole reunion was to put out all of their songs in one compilation," Todd said. "Now that that is complete, she is done. The guys want to continue, though. Erica wants to focus on KP only."

-- The couple got their house back, and Todd even got his job back with Elan. Erica, on the other hand, didn't return to her government job. "She actually started a company called Saque," Todd said. "Right now the only product she has are handmade purses and shoulder bags. She just got them into her first store -- Crane Coffee on Cass St. Having her business started, she is currently looking for a new job."

You can check out Kite Pilot with special guest Austin Britton tonight when they open for Art in Manila at The Waiting Room with The Ladybug Transistor. Show is $7, starts at 9 p.m.

Unfortunately, I'll likely miss that show as one of the most gonzo shows in recent history is happening down at Sokol Underground tonight: The Cloven Path CD release "party" with Dance Me Pregnant, The Shanks and The Little Nastys. I expect mayhem the likes of which haven't been seen on any stage since the days of GG Allin, or at least plenty of drunken debauchery. $7, 9 p.m.

This is a busy weekend: Tomorrow at the Waiting Room it's Eagle*Seagull, Spring Gun and Michael Morris (9 p.m., $7). Also Saturday night, The Shanks play again, with Mosquito Bandito ($5, 9:30 p.m.). Sunday night it's Against Me! with Two Gallants, Gaslight Anthem and Cobra Skills (8 p.m., $14). Also Sunday night, The 4th of July play at O'Leaver's with Thunder Power!!! and Midwest Dilemma ($5, 9:30 p.m.).

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Here's part 2 of the Two Gallants interview that began yesterday. Missing is mention of the guy who took all the video footage of the incident that ended up on YouTube (the videos are still online, here and here). He also got arrested and went through the court process with Tyson Vogel. I do not know his fate, however. Vogel said, beyond June's return engagement, the band would play at Walter's again.

According to their Myspace page, Noise FM cancelled their appearance tonight at Sokol. One Percent still lists them on their site, however. Doesn't matter, because everyone's going to that show to see Bazooka Shootout anyway. Also on the card, Ric Rhythm and the Revengers and Anatomy of a Riot. $8, 8 p.m.

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Last Saturday afternoon I chatted with Two Gallants' Tyson Vogel from his apartment in San Francisco. His cohort, Adam Stephens, was somewhere in Paris visiting his girlfriend while the band enjoyed some much needed time off the road. "When we have some down time, we're on opposite ends of the world," Vogel said. "This has been the longest break in the past three months. We finally got two weeks off, and we're both reveling in it."

We spent most of our interview talking about the Walter's on Washington incident and the aftermath. That part of the interview will go online tomorrow as this week's column.

The rest of the time was spent talking about Saddle Creek, the band's new EP and opening for what would seem to be oddly matched bands, like Against Me! and Les Claypool. Vogel and Stephens bring an interesting perspective to working with Saddle Creek Records. They're really the first band signed to the label that didn't have direct personal ties to anyone in any of the other Creek bands (read about how they got signed here). How happy are they with the label?

"The reason that we stay with Saddle Creek is we enjoy working with them," Vogel said. "We do get frustrated with how hands-off they are. They always have good ideas and opinions, but they really want to keep the artist in control of the art, and we both admire that. That's why we enjoy working with them. They're respectful of our ideas and have a good sense on how to get things done. They also have good distribution and work with the industry without pandering to it -- that's a great thing. They stay true to their nature; they enjoy music and want to keep it that way. It's been really good working with them."

When I pressed him on the frustrations, Vogel clarified his comments. "It's not frustration," he said. "We don't know about this music business stuff. We just know how to play music. One of the reasons we like working (with Saddle Creek) is that they put a lot of consideration and thought into things."

The band's new EP, the 5-song The Scenery of Farewell, was released in June and though it's a departure instrumentally for the band, their signature sound is still there.

"I would hope that (the EP) would have the same feeling," Vogel said. "In the end, it's not that we're purposely trying to do anything different. What makes it different is the songs come from a slightly different place. These songs demand more than the electric bass songs. We're putting this out because it's just as important as electric or loud songs. It's more stripped down in the sense that the songs aren't that complicated and demand a different kind of playing. At the same time, they're just as full or even more so, since we have these other players playing with us and adding other layers."

The band just finished a 3-week acoustic tour of Europe with additional support players -- and it may be the last time they play songs off the EP live. They're going back to their two-piece configuration for the Against Me! tour. "The acoustic shows can be heavy and dark at times. It's not for every night.," Vogel said. "The songs on the EP have opened up both of us internally to let go a bit more, so we can keep on writing songs."

Songs for the new self-titled LP, slated for release Sept. 25, were recorded at a completely different session than the EP. "Originally, the EP was supposed to be a full length, but we took three songs off -- we didn't like how they came out, and it would have been a long, heavy record. One of those songs will be on the new full length. I would say this record is really significant because we never recorded songs without playing them live."

Vogel said the band traditionally spends a year playing songs before putting them down on tape. "For this next album, we haven't played the songs for anyone yet. Not to be too lofty, (Adam and I have) come separately and together into the music more. This next album represents a change for the better, it'll be different than What the Toll Tells and more similar to The Throes."

Combining Two Gallants with Against Me! for a tour seems odd. Against Me! plays relatively straight-up FM alt rock -- quite a contrast to Two Gallants' more traditional sound. Vogel said he and Stephens invited the contrast.

"The Les Claypool tour was a weirder mix," he said, adding that he grew up with the early Primus records. "One night we ran into each other, and Les and I talked and had a good conversation. I admire him for his creative judgement and ideal in life. He invited us to come on tour. We knew it would be a very different audience. With Against Me!, people have told us for a long time that we should tour with them, and we have mutual friends. We thought it would be fun because they always seem to pop up in the periphery. I hope that we're not too much of a downer. The first band (Gaslight Anthem) is more of a punk band. Actually, it's more involved than punk, very melodic and kind of anthemic alternative, I guess.

"The last tour broke us in. The Les Claypool fans are pretty intense. There's a story about Rasputina going on tour with him and getting pennies thrown at them. If the music is so different but comes from a similar place, it can still come off. People there to see Against Me! might find something they can relate to in our music. I'm a proponent for an eclectic