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 and named after Saddle Creek Road, a major street in midtown Omaha. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded in 1993 by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst. Mogis soon turned over his role in the company to Robb Nansel. It was initially called Lumberjack Records; 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] Distribution is handled by Redeye Distribution. [2] SCR continues to be the flagship label of a style of music called "The Omaha Sound", characterized by a slight country twang. A "sister label" of sorts to Saddle Creek is Team Love, which was begun by Justin Oberst's brother Conor Oberst in 2004.

Contents

History

The company was incorporated in 1993 as Lumberjack Records. It was started as part of a college class in entrepreneurship by Mike Mogis and the then 13-year-old Justin Oberst. Mogis was soon succeeded by Robb Nansel. The label's first release was "Water", a solo recording on cassette by Oberst's younger brother Conor Oberst, who was 13 years old at the time. [3] When national distribution began in 1996, to avoid confusion with another distributor the name was changed to Saddle Creek Records, for Saddle Creek Road in Omaha. [4] [5] Artists who recorded for the label including Conor Oberst and Tim Kasher were at the time members of a local music scene centered on Saddle Creek Road whose members were known as "Creekers", [3] and the label name was partly inspired by the A-side single of Polecat's 1994 -ismist Recordings release 2500 Ft of Our Love, "Saddle Creek". [6]

Initially a local label, Saddle Creek opened its arms to non-Omaha bands 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). [7]

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 in downtown Omaha, named Slowdown after the group Slowdown Virginia. [8] [9]

Bands

Discography

All releases marked either LBJ (Lumberjack) or SCE (Saddle Creek Europe) [11]

YearNo.ArtistTitleFormat
1993LBJ-01 [12] Conor Oberst Water CS
1993LBJ-02 [13] Polecat Dilly DallyCS
1994LBJ-03 [14] Slowdown Virginia Dead Space CD
1995LBJ-04 [15] Smashmouth Some of You Will Be HermitsCS
1995LBJ-05 [16] Polecat/SunbrainHappy Valentine's Day/Makeout PartySplit 7-inch
1995LBJ-06 [17] Commander Venus Do You Feel at Home? CD
1995LBJ-07 [18] We'd Rather Be FlyingThe Solution for Your Thinning HairCD
1995LBJ-08 [19] Norman Bailer Sine Sierra CS
1996LBJ-09 [20] VariousMusic Me All Over7-inch
1996LBJ-10 [21] Cursive The Disruption CDr, 7-inch
1996LBJ-11 [22] Lullaby for the Working Class Consolation7-inch
1996LBJ-12 [23] Lullaby for the Working Class Blanket Warm LP
1996LBJ-13 [24] Drip/Commander VenusLast Go/Bow to the Prom KingSplit 7-inch
1997LBJ-14 [25] 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

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. 1 2 Olivera, Bryan (May 4, 2021). "Label Spotlight: Saddle Creek Records". HIP Video Promo.
  4. ↑ Cortez, Efren (September 30, 2020). "5 Forgotten Saddle Creek Bands". Hard Noise.
  5. ↑ Fennell, Sean (August 1, 2023). "The oral history of Saddle Creek's fight upstream". Alternative Press.
  6. ↑ Sisson, Patrick (September 3, 2005). "'Saddle Creek' chronicles iconic record label's story". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ McMahan, Tim (June 8, 2017). "Ten Years Gone: A Brief History of The Slowdown and The Waiting Room…". Lazy-i.com.
  9. ↑ Slowdown
  10. ↑ "Gabardine". AllMusic. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Saddle Creek Discography". Saddle Creek . Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Conor Oberst - Water (Cassette) at Discogs". Discogs . 1993. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Polecat - Dilly Dally (Cassette, Album) at Discogs". Discogs . 1993. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Slowdown Virginia - Dead Space (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs . 1994. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Smashmouth - Some Of You Will Be Hermits (Cassette, Album) at Discogs". Discogs . 1995. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Sunbrain / Polecat - Happy Valentine's Day / Make Out Party (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs . 1995. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Commander Venus - Do You Feel at Home? (CD, album) at Discogs". Discogs . Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  18. ↑ "We'd Rather Be Flying - The Solution for Your Thinning Hair at Discogs". Discogs . 1995. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Norman Bailer - Sine Sierra at Discogs". Discogs . 1995. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Various - Music Me All Over at Discogs". Discogs . 1996. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Cursive - The Disruption at Discogs". Discogs . 1996. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Lullaby for the Working Class - Consolation at Discogs". Discogs . 1996. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Lullaby for the Working Class - Blanket Warm at Discogs". Discogs . 1996. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Drip / Commander Venus - Split Single at Discogs". Discogs . 1996. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Saddle Creek - CDs and Vinyl at Discogs". Discogs . Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Saddle Creek on Facebook". Facebook . 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
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