Pushing a cart connecting an IV drip to his veins, DrumLuke trolls the hospital halls for his daily fix.

Between surgeries for gallstone complications that have complicated his social life, he needs to check the pulse of Omaha's music scene.

"I'm alive," he types in the message board after finding a computer for patients' use. "And they said I won't be able to do anything for 10 to 14 days. But I doubt that'll happen. I'll be out partying again before you know it."

Before you know it, the local music scene has made its way into the hospital room, pulsing to the beat of blinking cursors and fingers clicking on keyboards across town, pumping messages through cables and wires, everyone getting their daily fix.

Their admitted addiction is SLAM Omaha, a local organization and Web site - standing for Support Local Art/Music - that has revolutionized the Omaha music scene by providing a social network for a generation that communicates by word of modem.

	Slammer: Dave Wilson SLAM names: Depressed Dave Wilson, Evil Decepticon, Sunshine, Bret Stanfield, Marklar Age: 27 Occupation: inventory specialist at Bluffs Run Casino bars and lead singer and guitarist of local band Uggly Favorite artists/musicians: Nirvana, the Beatles, Alice in Chains, the Police, the Breeders About SLAM: "When I get on SLAM, I feel like I'm part of something."

"I am an Internet junkie," DrumLuke said. "One day I was just bored and I went there (to SLAM). And I've been there every day since."

While SLAM started as a stop on the information superhighway for local art and music fans, it has evolved into a world all its own.

Welcome to the Land of SLAM.

Five days before his surgery, DrumLuke and two friends spend seven hours hanging out at the Ranch Bowl and an after-hours gathering at another friend's house. They never log on to SLAM, but it surrounds them.

SLAM slang pops up as often as comments about the movie "Office Space" playing on the big-screen television and the lasagna baking in the microwave just before 4 a.m.

"Is Donald a guy or a girl?" Word asks the seven others, referring to a Slammer they had never met.

"Girl," says DAVEYBACK, "the thing about SLAM is that everybody can have 20 different names."

Slammer: Matt Fenn SLAM name: renots Age: 16 Occupation: senior at Westside Alternative School, sandwich maker at Blimpie Subs and Salads on Saddle Creek, bass player for local band 1h87 Favorite artists/musicians: Glassjaw, Deftones, Sepultura, Bellicose About SLAM: "It helps a lot of bands that need promotion. SLAM is a good way to get your name out."

Some people, like Dave Wilson, use their real names as one of many screen names. His creations include Evil Decepticon, a character from the '80s cartoon "Transformers," and Sunshine, an anti-drug lesbian.

"I realized that was the perfect outlet for my craziness," Dave Wilson said. "I've lived a crazy life, and I want to share it with a lot of freaks. SLAM Omaha, that's where a lot of your creative people are."

People like Angie.

A 28-year-old college student, Angie uses SLAM to seek feedback on her poetry, express her appreciation for folk-rock musician Ani Difranco and coordinate concert outings with friends. She also goes by Cheerful Angie.

She created the screen name to help Dave Wilson, who sometimes posts as Depressed Dave Wilson. While his humor has earned him distinction - the humor board is also titled "the Dave Wilson board" - his mood occasionally reveals despair rooted in a tough childhood.

"If I'm not having the greatest day, I can get on SLAM and have a lot of fun," Dave Wilson said. "I'm never out to hurt no one, and I don't want to be sick in a way that isn't funny."

	Slammer: Angie Kritenbrink SLAM names: Angie, Cheerful Angie Age: 28 Occupation: senior at Buena Vista University-Council Bluffs Center; claims examiner at an insurance agency Favorite artists/musicians: Ani DiFranco, Whiskeytown, Lucinda Williams, Oil About SLAM: "Anytime I go out now, to the Ranch Bowl or the Music Box, I know at least one person there."

Like many people, Angie didn't find his sometimes raw and bizarre posts funny at first. But after seeing his more serious posts, she started to empathize.

"I feel like I know Dave," Angie said. "Dave Wilson turns out to be a pretty complicated, intelligent, interesting and sensitive person."

SLAM's founders acknowledge that some postings might offend, but they said playing Big Brother will turn away even more people in a community that values free speech so dearly.

"We're all anti-censorship anyway," said thad steady, bass player in local pop-punk band the Fonzarellies.

A lot of people feel like they know DrumLuke, too.

Ten days after his surgery, he walks through the door of an after-hours party. A girl on the couch notices, whispering to a friend. Someone else comments, "Didn't he just have surgery?" They ask how he is feeling. They shake his hand.

"It's like a family," he said earlier.

Slammer: Chris Speers SLAM names: MadRichard, Kiffer, Ambulence Driver, American Pyscho, Lumberg Age: 22 Occupation: flower delivery driver for Camelot Florist, lead singer and guitarist for local band Smith Victer Favorite artists/musicians: Oasis, The Verve, Blur, Superdrag About SLAM: "Before I got on SLAM, I didn't know anybody. Now I know everybody. It's introduced me to the entire music scene."

The Web site has brought together people who, despite different backgrounds, share a passion for expression. About 11 of the 18 people in the living room are Slammers.

In the crowded kitchen, thad steady exchanges hellos with Pat Minturn as they squeeze past each other.

"I never would have seen his (lousy) band if it hadn't been for SLAM," Pat Minturn said, joking with thad steady over a beer.

Thad steady explained that while the two knew each other before SLAM, they never really hung out. Thad steady, 24, is a veteran of the Cog Factory, a live music venue in the underground indie-punk scene; Pat Minturn, 22, is a regular at the Ranch Bowl, where more mainstream acts play.

"That's what I think makes SLAM work, is they are open to everybody - the punk kids, the EMO nerds, the rockers, the metal kids," thad steady said.

And the farm kids.

	Slammer: Dustin Treinen SLAM names: dustincose Age: 18 Occupation: bass player for local band Bellicose, freshman at Creighton University Favorite artists/musicians: Sutter Cane, Plosion, System Failure, Trippin Default About SLAM: "A lot of people know who I am because they have seen me post on SLAM."

While SLAM naturally draws most of its audience from Omaha and Lincoln, the site has loyal followers from rural areas and from as far away as Virginia. For Dan P., an 18-year-old who lives on a farm about three miles east of Osceola, Neb., SLAM is a sort of promised land. When two friends who shared his musical tastes moved away last year, DanP. craved interaction that his small town couldn't provide.

"People around here aren't into local music. They're into what they hear on the radio," he said.

For people like DanP. and Dave Wilson, SLAM is a big part of their social life. Dave Wilson, an inventory specialist at Bluffs Run Casino bars, works from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. - during prime nightlife hours.

"When I get off work, there ain't no one around. So I get on SLAM and I find out what the frivol has been going on the night before," he said.

For others, nametags at benefit concerts have helped put faces with names. Even without nametags, people on regular nights out on the town ask, "Who are you on SLAM?" to gauge whether they already know each other.

Slammer: Kelly McCallie SLAM names: MachineGunKelly Age: 21 Occupation: nurse's assistant at Douglas County Health Center, sophomore at Iowa Western Community College Favorite artists/musicians: Modest Mouse, Mary Lou Lord, The Replacements, Neutral Milk Hotel About SLAM: "This Web site told me everything I needed to know about everything going on with local music. It was awesome."

Many Slammers say addressing someone online is less intimidating than in person. But the anonymity also allows people to criticize or bully without accountability.

"It's a lot easier to be mean to people you don't know," said MachineGunKelly, a 21-year-old who frequently lambastes Slammers who are mean.

She charged onto the message boards after living in Cleveland for several years. She logged on to learn about the local music scene, asking if any girls were into music rather than just into guys who played in bands.

The post received more than 80 responses, some from angry female Slammers, some of whom later became friends - a common occurrence.

The largely male message boards are seeing more females post. And that's good, the guys say. They want more "chicks" like Kelly. They think she's pretty cool.

Especially one named Craig.

In February, Slammers were greeted with a flashing banner at the top of the page: "It started with the message board post."

The banner played a series of flashing messages, including the post from last November that led to MachineGunKelly and Craig meeting: his open invitation to Slammers to get a cocktail one night. Then came a special announcement for the Slammers who had not heard yet: "It will end with: MARRIAGE! Congratulations to Craig and MachineGunKelly on their engagement."

Just as SLAM broke that news, it continues to serve as a place for news, opinions, nonsense, discoveries, frustrations, laughs or something people want. Something they must have.

Four months after his surgery, DrumLuke needs another dose. It's 1:15 p.m. on a Tuesday. He is alive. And so is the Land of SLAM.

"Chat room. NOW," he types. "Meet me there."