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VIDEO: Watch and listen to Karmin perform
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» Nebraska native and YouTube sensation Amy Heidemann will perform with her partner as the featured musical act tonight on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."
"It's pretty exciting to me," said her father, 54-year-old Mark Heidemann of Seward, Neb., near Lincoln. "I told Amy that when I was in high school I hung out with a group of friends, and on Saturday night we'd always end up at somebody's house. And at 10:30, we'd watch 'SNL.' "
Amy and fiance Nick Noonan, from Maine, make up the duo Karmin. The name, they say, comes from the Latin word for song, "with altered spelling to hint 'karma.' "
If their karma, or fate, is to become a highly successful act, they are well on their way — and tonight's gig could be a big turning point.
They are no longer newbies, having appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and as an opening act for Lady Gaga, and they were interviewed by Rolling Stone. But they first became widely known on the Internet, watched by tens of millions as they performed their versions of popular songs.
Their bio calls their act music in its simplest form — guitar, percussion and voice, with catchy tunes and feel-good ballads inspired by rock and hip-hop.
Mark Heidemann, sales manager for Hughes Brothers Inc., and wife Teri, a first grade teacher, always have played music at home. He said Amy "was constantly singing" and knew by age 12 that she wanted to be a performer.
At 17 she and her mother and younger sister Megan, now 21 and also an excellent singer, came to Omaha as more than 200 singers tried out for "American Idol." Amy modestly said in a World-Herald article that she was amazed that "there really is so much talent in Nebraska."
After graduating from Seward High in 2004 she displayed her Nebraska talent at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she met Nick. They now have a contract with Epic Records, which will release the duo's first album of original material this spring.
Tonight, as he did with buddies long ago, her dad will spend Saturday night watching "SNL" — this time at home with his family, perhaps with his heart racing a little faster.
» TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts will be roasted Monday evening as the Omaha Press Club's latest "Face on the Barroom Floor."
The humorous 6:30 p.m. event on the 22nd floor at 1620 Dodge St. is open to the public. For dinner reservations, call 402-345-8008.
At a noon luncheon Thursday at the Press Club, World-Herald Publisher Terry Kroeger will discuss the newspaper's future in light of its recent sale by its employees and the Peter Kiewit Foundation to Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
» Sadie Bankston, founder of the family-support group PULSE, is hoping an attorney will offer his or her pro-bono services as an occasional legal adviser.
The group's attorney of the past 21 years, she said, apparently has left his practice. PULSE, for People United Lending Support and Encouragement, was started after the death of Sadie's son in a 1989 drive-by shooting. She can be contacted at 402-706-1861.
» Still an avid attendee of live local theater, Florence Young is said to have appeared in the first play ever staged by the Omaha Community Playhouse.
That would be "Enchanted Cottage" in 1925. On Wednesday, Florence will celebrate her enchanted life anew — her 105th birthday.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1132, michael.kelly@owh.com
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