| Saddle Creek 50 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Compilation album by Various artists | |
| Released | 2003 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Label | Saddle Creek Records |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Pitchfork | 7/10 [2] |
| Exclaim! | [3] |
Saddle Creek 50 is a compilation by Saddle Creek Records in honor of being the label's 50th album release. It was released in 2003 and features one album track and one non-album track by each of the bands then recording for the label.
Enhanced CD content: All 45 of Saddle Creek's online weekly movies from 2002.
Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993. Mogis soon turned over his role in the company to Robb Nansel. The label is named after Saddle Creek Road, a major street which cuts through midtown Omaha and also the beginnings of a scene whose members included Justin's brother Conor Oberst, Tim Kasher, and others. Collectively, they were known unofficially as the "Creekers". Saddle Creek first appeared in print on a show flyer, offering to "Spend an evening with Saddle Creek" Saddle Creek became an incorporated entity as a result of a class project on entrepreneurship. Distribution is handled by Redeye Distribution.
Rilo Kiley was an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consisted of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Dave Rock.
Conor Mullen Oberst is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos, the Faint, Commander Venus, Park Ave., Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Monsters of Folk, and Better Oblivion Community Center. Oberst was named the Best Songwriter of 2008 by Rolling Stone magazine.
Timothy J. Kasher is an American musician from Omaha, Nebraska, and is the frontman of indie rock groups Cursive and the Good Life, both of which are on the Omaha-based record label Saddle Creek Records.
Jennifer Diane Lewis is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley.
Azure Ray is an American dream pop duo, consisting of musicians Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor. Formed in Athens, Georgia, in 2001, they later moved to Omaha, Nebraska, and became part of the Saddle Creek Records music scene, which also included Bright Eyes, The Faint, and Cursive. Azure Ray's music has often been featured in film and television, including Six Feet Under, Grey's Anatomy, and The Devil Wears Prada. They have released five albums and several EPs.
Blake Sennett is an American musician and actor who served as the lead guitarist for indie rock band Rilo Kiley, as well as the lead singer/lead guitarist for his alt-rock side project the Elected. Until 2017 he led Night Terrors of 1927 with Jarrod Gorbel. In addition to being a musician, Sennett was a teen actor, appearing on the television shows Salute Your Shorts and Boy Meets World. As an actor, Sennett originally went by the names Blake Soper and Blake Swendson.
Todd Fink is the lead singer of the band The Faint. He attended Omaha's Westside High School.
Michael Riley Mogis is an American producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who, along with his brother A.J. Mogis, founded Presto! Recording Studios. Mogis currently runs ARC in downtown Omaha.
Sorry About Dresden was an indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band formed in 1997 and was signed to Saddle Creek Records. Sorry About Dresden has released three full-length albums, an EP, and has appeared on several compilations.
Presto! Recording Studios is located in Lincoln, Nebraska, and run by brothers Mike Mogis and A.J. Mogis. The studio began in the brothers' North Platte, Nebraska basement and around 1995 moved to the basement of a Lincoln home. First known as Whoopass Recording Studio, the name was later changed to Dead Space Recording. When the brothers moved the studio to its current downtown Lincoln location, they found a vintage Presto brand vinyl recorder left behind by the studio's former occupant, from which the current name was taken.
Gretta Cohn is an American media executive and cellist who is CEO of the podcast network Pushkin Industries.
A.J. Mogis is a musician from North Platte, Nebraska. He currently plays bass guitar in the indie-rock band Criteria. His brother is Mike Mogis. Together, they founded Presto! Recording Studios and have recorded almost all the albums released by Saddle Creek Records as well as albums by friends' bands. They were also members of Lullaby for the Working Class. Criteria has so far released two albums.
Nate Walcott is an American musical composer, arranger, pianist, keyboardist, and trumpeter. He has composed the scores for several feature-length films, including 2014's The Fault in Our Stars. He is a member of the band Bright Eyes, and has played in Conor Oberst's Mystic Valley Band and with singer-songwriter M. Ward. Between 2016 and 2019, Walcott was the touring pianist and keyboard player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, during their The Getaway World Tour.
Lagniappe is a compilation album released by the Omaha-based record label Saddle Creek, after the events of Hurricane Katrina. It is a benefit album, and all profits from its sale are donated to the Red Cross' relief efforts in New Orleans.
Jason Lyon Boesel is an American musician, songwriter and producer based in Los Angeles. He was the drummer for Rilo Kiley and has also played with The Elected and Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band.
Jiha Lee is the former keyboardist of the Good Life and has performed with Bright Eyes. Having left the Good Life after their second album, Black Out, she returned to record the track "Inmates" for Album of the Year. Her recordings with Bright Eyes include vocals and flute on tracks from Fevers and Mirrors, Lifted, and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. She also played the flute on the track "Hail To Whatever You Found in the Sunlight That Surrounds You" on the Rilo Kiley album The Execution of All Things.
Spend an Evening with Saddle Creek is a documentary focusing on the first ten years of the Saddle Creek scene in Omaha, Nebraska. It was released in 2005 by Plexifilm. It was directed by Jason Kulbel and Rob Walters.
Andy LeMaster is an American musician, songwriter, engineer, and producer from Athens, Georgia. Now It's Overhead is the primary project for his own songwriting, while he also releases music under his own name and contributes as a co-writer on various projects. LeMaster has engineered, produced, and performed on many albums since he began recording in the late 1990s, including releases by Bright Eyes, Now It's Overhead, Azure Ray, Conor Oberst, Maria Taylor, Orenda Fink, Better Oblivion Community Center, and Michael Stipe. He is co-owner of Chase Park Transduction recording studio in Athens with fellow producer/engineer/musician, David Barbe. He has been a frequent touring member of Bright Eyes since the late 90's, and has performed live as a band member with several other artists including Azure Ray, Fischerspooner, and Michael Stipe. LeMaster is also a talented visual artist, and has done all the covers for Now It's Overhead's records. Andy has stated in interviews that he identifies as gay. He made a guest appearance on Late Night with David Letterman in 2007 playing bass as a rotating member of the band Bright Eyes.
Michael Evan Bloom is an American musician, singer, composer, producer and mixer who has performed, produced or recorded with artists such as Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis, Julian Casablancas, Johnathan Rice, Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, and Rachael Yamagata. He was a co-founder of The Elected. Bloom plays guitar, bass, lap steel guitar, keys, drums, banjo, and harmonica. He is also a composer and has served as music supervisor for films and TV shows. He is the younger brother of actor/writer Brian Bloom and actor/producer/writer Scott Bloom.
