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.
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.
Cursive is an American indie rock band from Omaha, Nebraska, on 15 Passenger Records, Saddle Creek Records, and Big Scary Monsters (UK). Stylistically described as emo and post-hardcore, Cursive came to prominence with 2000's Domestica and found commercial and critical success with 2003's The Ugly Organ. The band has released eight studio albums, a compilations album, and a mix of singles and EPs since 1997.
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.
Jonathan Leonard Friga, known professionally as Jonathan Cain, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known as the keyboardist for Journey. He has also worked with the Babys and Bad English. Cain was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey on April 7, 2017.
Slowdown Virginia was an indie rock band from Omaha, Nebraska. Formed in 1993, the band recorded and released one album, Dead Space, on Lumberjack Records in 1994, the predecessor to today's Saddle Creek Records. After playing an influential role in inspiring the later formation of other Omaha bands like Bright Eyes, The Faint, and Desaparecidos with their energetic live shows and recordings, Slowdown Virginia broke up in the spring of 1995. A month after breaking up, Kasher, Maginn, and Pedersen regrouped with a new drummer to form Cursive. Omaha's mixed entertainment venue Slowdown is named in honor of the band.
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.
The Ugly Organ is the fourth studio album by American rock band Cursive, released on March 4, 2003, through Saddle Creek Records. It was released both on black and translucent green 180 gram vinyl.
Steve Pedersen is an American guitarist from Omaha, Nebraska. He left Cursive in 1998 to attend law school at Duke University in North Carolina, after graduating from Creighton University with a degree in political science. At Duke, he started the band The White Octave, which released two albums and appeared on a few samplers. When Pedersen graduated, he returned to Omaha, started Criteria, and began working at Kutak Rock LLP.
Matt Maginn is a musician from Omaha, Nebraska. He plays bass guitar in the indie-rock band Cursive and is a frequent contributor on a number of Bright Eyes records. He was also a founding member of Slowdown Virginia.
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.
The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song is the second full-length album by the American indie rock band Cursive, released in 1998.
Clint Schnase is a musician from Omaha, Nebraska. He played drums in the indie-rock band Cursive from 1995 until late 2006. He also recorded and toured with Bright Eyes, Lullaby For The Working Class, The Good Life, Smashmouth, Gravy Train, Gymnastics, McVoy, Dumb, Race For Titles, My Fellow Acrobats, The Brigadiers, Pinkerton
Such Blinding Stars For Starving Eyes is the first full-length album from Omaha, Nebraska band Cursive. Unlike Cursive's later releases, which were released by Saddle Creek Records, this album was released by Crank! Records.
The Difference Between Houses and Homes (2005) is a compilation by American indie band Cursive of some of their early material. It is subtitled Lost Songs and Loose Ends 1995-2001. This compilation features songs from The Icebreaker 7", The Disruption 7", Sucker and Dry 7", and the split between Cursive and Small Brown Bike.
The White Octave was a rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group was founded shortly after Steve Pederson left Cursive, and was initially a trio with Lincoln Hancock and Robert Biggers before Finn Cohen was added on guitar. They released two full-length albums and appeared on several compilations before finally breaking up. The founding member, Steve Pedersen went back to his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska to form the band Criteria. Robert Biggers and Finn Cohen went on to form The Nein. The group reunited to play in North Carolina in 2014.
Criteria is an indie rock band from Omaha, Nebraska, formed in 2003 when ex-Cursive founding member Steve Pedersen returned to his hometown after graduating from the Duke University School of Law. He spent six months in a friend's basement where he wrote all ten songs for his new project's debut album. He recruited the help of some old friends, A.J. Mogis on bass guitar, Aaron Druery on guitar, and Mike Sweeney of Beep Beep on drums. Their first album, En Garde, was released on his previous band's label, Initial Records.
En Garde is the debut album of indie-rock band, Criteria. Formed by one of the founding members of Cursive, Steve Pedersen came back to his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska after graduating from Duke University. He recruited the help of old friends, Aaron Druery, A.J. Mogis, and Mike Sweeney. Originally released by Initial Records, it was re-released in 2005 when the band moved to Saddle Creek Records.
Dead Space was the only album released by the Omaha, Nebraska based rock band Slowdown Virginia. Distributed by Lumberjack Records in 1994, copies of the album spread locally on compact disc. Slowdown Virginia broke up shortly after the release of the album, with three of the four members forming the band Cursive a month later.
Kutak Rock LLP is a US law firm, founded in 1965 in Omaha, Nebraska. As of January 2021, it had more than 500 attorneys in 18 offices across the U.S. In 2020, Kutak Rock LLP was ranked as the 94th largest law firm in the U.S. based on number of attorneys and 124th based on revenue. Kutak Rock LLP is ranked as one of the best law firms for female equity partners with over 25% of the firm's equity partners being female. The firm has earned the title of one of the "Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality" and for multiple years has received a perfect 100 score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index.
