| Saddle Creek 50 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Compilation album by Various artists | |
| Released | 2003 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Label | Saddle Creek Records |
| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
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 street that cuts through the east side of midtown Omaha, and 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.
The Execution of All Things is the second full-length album released by Los Angeles-based indie pop band Rilo Kiley. Expanding on their previous musical sound that mostly incorporated guitars, vocals, percussion and pianos, the album contains heavy electronica sampling mixed into the songs in a rather unusual and displaced-sounding way. Also, unlike their previous tracks which were written in very traditional manners, the lyrics to the songs on Execution are very wordy and read like prose. Musically, the record has a very sunny disposition, with bouncing bass lines and simple melodies complemented by lead singer Jenny Lewis's vocal style, but the upbeat music is generally counterpointed by the often dark and morose subject matter that the lyrics reference. The album was recorded at Saddle Creek Records in Omaha, Nebraska, and the aforementioned features show the influence of that studio's associated Omaha Sound.
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 a 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 and rhythm guitarist 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.
Blake Sennett is an American musician 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 child 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.
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 a cellist who is best known for playing cello in the rock group Cursive from 2001-2005. She left the group in August 2005. Her departure was announced on the Cursive website in late August:
Cursive regrets to announce the departure of cellist Gretta Cohn. After four years in the band, Gretta has decided to leave Omaha to pursue other interests and projects, including a potential solo album. The split is very amicable: the band wishes her well and she in turn eagerly anticipates the new Cursive material to come. Cursive will not be seeking a replacement.
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.
Nathaniel Clifford "Nate" Walcott is an American musical composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist. 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.
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. His primary band in the 2000s was Now It's Overhead. LeMaster has engineered, produced, and contributed to many albums since he began recording in the late 1990s, including many Saddle Creek releases by Bright Eyes, Now It's Overhead, Azure Ray, Maria Taylor, and Orenda Fink. He is co-owner of Chase Park Transduction studio in Athens with fellow producer/engineer/musician, David Barbe. He's been a frequent touring member of Bright Eyes since the late 1990s, and has performed live as a band member with many 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.
