Saddle Creek Records

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Saddle Creek Records
Saddle Creek Records logo.png
Founded1993 (1993)
Founder Mike Mogis
Justin Oberst
Distributor(s) Redeye Distribution (US)
Genre Rock
Country of originU.S.
Location Omaha, Nebraska
Official website saddle-creek.com

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 (as Lumberjack Records). 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 (at the time a solo artist and now from Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Desaparecidos, and Monsters of Folk), Tim Kasher (then of Slowdown Virginia, currently of Cursive and The Good Life), 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" (later to be the title of the label's DVD.) [1] Saddle Creek became an incorporated entity as a result of a class project on entrepreneurship. Distribution is handled by Redeye Distribution. [2]

Contents

SCR continues to be the flagship label of a style of music called "The Omaha Sound", characterized by a slight country twang. It is increasingly inaccurate, though to reference it as such with the rise of more electronic sounds like those favored by The Faint and Broken Spindles. The eclectic sounds of Saddle Creek's disparate member bands is somewhat explained by their history; a number of the original members of the label attended grade school together. [3] A "sister label" of sorts, to Saddle Creek is Team Love which was begun by Conor Oberst in 2004.

History

The label opened its arms to the first bands on its roster not based in Omaha in 2001 with releases by Now It's Overhead and Sorry About Dresden. Other artists not from Nebraska followed including Los Angeles' Rilo Kiley, Eric Bachmann (formerly the leader of Archers of Loaf from Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Crooked Fingers from North Carolina), Georgie James (Washington D.C.), Two Gallants (San Francisco), and most recently Tokyo Police Club (Toronto). [4]

In 2005, Spend an Evening with Saddle Creek , a documentary detailing the first ten years of the record label's history, was released. The DVD features extensive interviews with the Saddle Creek bands, archival footage, and rare live performances. On June 8, 2007, the label opened their own music venue named Slowdown [5] (after the group Slowdown Virginia) which is located in downtown Omaha.

The label's name was inspired partially by the A-side single of Polecat's 1994 -ismist Recordings release 2500 Ft of Our Love, "Saddle Creek." [6]

Bands

Discography

All releases marked either LBJ (Lumberjack) or SCE (Saddle Creek Europe) [7]

YearNo.ArtistTitleFormat
1993LBJ-01 [8] Conor Oberst Water CS
1993LBJ-02 [9] Polecat Dilly DallyCS
1994LBJ-03 [10] Slowdown Virginia Dead Space CD
1995LBJ-04 [11] Smashmouth Some of You Will Be HermitsCS
1995LBJ-05 [12] Polecat/SunbrainHappy Valentine's Day/Makeout PartySplit 7-inch
1995LBJ-06 [13] Commander Venus Do You Feel at Home? CD
1995LBJ-07 [14] We'd Rather Be FlyingThe Solution for Your Thinning HairCD
1995LBJ-08 [15] Norman Bailer Sine Sierra CS
1996LBJ-09 [16] VariousMusic Me All Over7-inch
1996LBJ-10 [17] Cursive The Disruption CDr, 7-inch
1996LBJ-11 [18] Lullaby for the Working Class Consolation7-inch
1996LBJ-12 [19] Lullaby for the Working Class Blanket Warm LP
1996LBJ-13 [20] Drip/Commander VenusLast Go/Bow to the Prom KingSplit 7-inch
1997LBJ-14 [21] The Wrens/Park Ave. Split SingleSplit 7-inch
1997LBJ-15 Lullaby for the Working Class ...In Honor of My Stumbling7-inch
1997LBJ-16 comm.venus* The Uneventful Vacation LP
1997LBJ-17 Lullaby for the Working Class I Never Even Asked for Light LP
1997LBJ-18 Cursive The Icebreaker 7-inch EP
1998LBJ-19 Bright Eyes A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995–1997 LP
1997LBJ-20VariousA Sampler CDCD
1998LBJ-21 The Faint Media CD
1998LBJ-22 Cursive The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song CD
1998LBJ-23 Bright Eyes Letting Off the Happiness CD/LP
1999LBJ-24 Lullaby for the Working Class The Ebb & Flow, the Come Go, the To & Fro7-inch
1999LBJ-25 The Faint/Ex-Action FiguressplitSplit 7-inch
1999LBJ-26Gabardine Gabardine CD
1999LBJ-27 Lullaby for the Working Class Song LP
1999LBJ-28 The Faint Blank-Wave Arcade LP
1999LBJ-29 Spoon The Agony of Laffitte CD Single
1999LBJ-30 Bright Eyes Every Day and Every Night EP CD/12"
2000LBJ-31 Cursive Domestica CD/LP
2000LBJ-32 Bright Eyes Fevers and Mirrors CD/LP
2000LBJ-33 The Faint Blank-Wave Arcade Remixes 12-inch

Compilations

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Spend an Evening With Saddle Creek. Dir. Jason Kulbel and Rob Walters. DVD. Plexifilm, 2005.
  2. ↑ "Beggars leaves ADA to join Redeye, alongside Domino, for physical distribution in the US". January 6, 2020.
  3. ↑ Justin Oberst was 13 years old at the time of the first Lumberjack release, Conor Oberst's "Water"
  4. ↑ Roy, Jessica (January 28, 2016). "I Like That Bitch's Life: How Jenny Lewis Was a Twee Teen's Dream". New York. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  5. ↑ Slowdown
  6. ↑ Sisson, Patrick (September 3, 2005). "'Saddle Creek' chronicles iconic record label's story". Chicago Tribune. Chicago. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Saddle Creek Discography". Saddle Creek . Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Conor Oberst - Water (Cassette) at Discogs". Discogs . 1993. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Polecat - Dilly Dally (Cassette, Album) at Discogs". Discogs . 1993. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Slowdown Virginia - Dead Space (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs . 1994. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Smashmouth - Some Of You Will Be Hermits (Cassette, Album) at Discogs". Discogs . 1995. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Sunbrain / Polecat - Happy Valentine's Day / Make Out Party (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs . 1995. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Commander Venus - Do You Feel at Home? (CD, album) at Discogs". Discogs . Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  14. ↑ "We'd Rather Be Flying - The Solution for Your Thinning Hair at Discogs". Discogs . 1995. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Norman Bailer - Sine Sierra at Discogs". Discogs . 1995. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Various - Music Me All Over at Discogs". Discogs . 1996. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Cursive - The Disruption at Discogs". Discogs . 1996. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Lullaby for the Working Class - Consolation at Discogs". Discogs . 1996. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Lullaby for the Working Class - Blanket Warm at Discogs". Discogs . 1996. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Drip / Commander Venus - Split Single at Discogs". Discogs . 1996. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Saddle Creek - CDs and Vinyl at Discogs". Discogs . Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Saddle Creek on Facebook". Facebook . 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
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