Saddle Creek Records is an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

based in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by

Mike Mogis Michael Riley Mogis (born May 16, 1974) is an American producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who, along with his brother A.J. Mogis, founded Presto! Recording Studios (previously known as Dead Space Recording and, earlier, Whoopass Record ...

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 that cuts through Midtown Omaha, and the beginnings of a scene whose members included Justin's brother

Conor Oberst Conor Mullen Oberst (born February 15, 1980) 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 (previously named Norman Bailer), Commander Ve ...

(then a solo artist, currently of Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band,

Desaparecidos An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiz ...

, and Monsters of Folk),

Tim Kasher Timothy J. Kasher (born August 19, 1974) 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. Music Slowdo ...

(then of Slowdown Virginia, currently of

Cursive Cursive (also known as script, among other names) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functional ...

and

The Good Life The Good Life or Good Life may refer to: Film * ''The Good Life'' (1996 film), a Spanish film by David Trueba * ''The Good Life'' (1997 film), an American crime comedy film * ''The Good Life'' (2007 film), a Canadian-American film by Stephen ...

), 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.)Spend an Evening With Saddle Creek. Dir. Jason Kulbel and Rob Walters. DVD. Plexifilm, 2005. Saddle Creek became an incorporated entity as a result of a class project on entrepreneurship. Distribution is handled by

Redeye Distribution Redeye Distribution, is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, United States. It was founded in 1996 by Tor Hansen, Kim Hansen, Glenn Dicker. The label focuses on independent music. History Redeye is represen ...

. Saddle Creek Records continues to be the flagship label of a style of music called "The Omaha Sound", characterized by a slight country twang. This is increasingly inaccurate, though, with the rise of more electronic sounds such as those favored by

The Faint The Faint is an American indie rock band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, the band consists of Todd Fink, Graham Ulicny, Dapose and Clark Baechle. The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer and included Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes, with who ...

and

Broken Spindles Broken Spindles was a band solely consisting of Joel Petersen of Omaha, Nebraska, who also played bass, guitar and keyboards in The Faint. The music of Broken Spindles ranged from instrumental electronic songs to sparse piano pieces to rock-i ...

. 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. A "sister label", of sorts, to Saddle Creek is

Team Love Team Love is an independent record label based in New Paltz, New York, founded by Conor Oberst and Nate Krenkel in 2003. It has released albums by several other recording artists. Team Love also released the documentary film by Roy Germano, Th ...

, started by

in 2004.

History

The label opened arms to their first bands not based in Omaha in 2001 with releases by Now It's Overhead and

Sorry About Dresden 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. Career Combining elements of traditional alternative rock and punk rock, the band has drawn comparis ...

. Other non-Nebraskan artists followed, including Los Angeles's

Rilo Kiley 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 group released their debut album '' Take-Offs and Landings ...

, Eric Bachmann (formerly leader of

Archers of Loaf Archers of Loaf is an American indie rock band originally formed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1991. The group toured extensively and released four studio albums, one compilation, numerous singles and EPs, and a live album which was release ...

and Crooked Fingers from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

Georgie James Georgie James was an American indie pop/ rock group from Washington D.C. composed of John Davis (formerly of Q and Not U) and Laura Burhenn. When Q and Not U disbanded in 2005 after releasing three albums, the band split into three different p ...

( Washington D.C.), Two Gallants (

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

), and most recently

Tokyo Police Club Tokyo Police Club is an indie rock band from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2005, it consists of vocalist and bassist Dave Monks, keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook, and drummer Greg Alsop. The band found early success with the ...

(

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

). 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 A slowdown ( UK: go-slow) is an industrial action in which employees perform their duties but seek to reduce productivity or efficiency in their performance of these duties. A slowdown may be used as either a prelude or an alternative to a strik ...

Slowdown
/ref> (after the group Slowdown Virginia), located in downtown

. The label's name was inspired partially by the A-side single of

Polecat Polecat is a common name for several mustelid species in the order Carnivora and subfamilies Ictonychinae and Mustelinae. Polecats do not form a single taxonomic rank (i.e. clade). The name is applied to several species with broad similari ...

's 1994 -ismist Recordings release ''2500 Ft of Our Love'', "Saddle Creek."

Bands

* Art in Manila * Azure Ray * Beep Beep *

Big Thief Big Thief is an American indie rock band with folk roots based in Brooklyn, New York. Its members are Adrianne Lenker (guitar, vocals), Buck Meek (guitar, backing vocals), Max Oleartchik (bass), and James Krivchenia (drums). The band's deb ...

* Black Belt Eagle Scout * Bright Eyes * Criteria *

* Hop Along *

* Icky Blossoms * Indigo De Souza * Ladyfinger (ne) * Eastern Youth * Eric Bachmann *

Land of Talk Land of Talk is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2006 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band is led by singer and guitarist Elizabeth Powell. History Before becoming the front-person for Land of Talk, Elizabeth Powell began her career as a ...

* Maria Taylor *

Mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organi ...

* Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson * The Mynabirds *

Neva Dinova The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it is ...

* Now It's Overhead * Old Canes * Orenda Fink * Palm *

The Rural Alberta Advantage The Rural Alberta Advantage is a Canadian indie rock band that formed in 2005 in Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Nils Edenloff on lead vocals and guitar, Amy Cole (Robin Hatch between September 2016 and January 2018) on keyboards, bass, an ...

Sebastien Grainger Sebastien Alexandre Grainger (born 11 April 1979) is a Canadian singer and musician, best known as drummer and singer of the alternative rock duo Death from Above and the singer and guitarist for his band Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains. H ...

* Sam Evian * Son, Ambulance *

The Spirit of the Beehive ''The Spirit of the Beehive'' (Spanish: ''El espíritu de la colmena'') is a 1973 Spanish drama film directed by Víctor Erice. The film was Erice's debut and is considered a masterpiece of Spanish cinema. The film focuses on a young girl nam ...

* Stef Chura * The Thermals *

* Tomberlin *

Young Jesus Young Jesus is an American indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Since 2014, the band has been based out of Los Angeles, California. History Young Jesus began as a high school band in the Chicago suburbs, consisting of two members who are no l ...

Past bands

* Commander Venus *

Gabardine Gabardine Burberry advertisement for waterproof gabardine suit, 1908 Gabardine is a durable twill worsted wool, a tightly woven fabric originally waterproof and used to make suits, overcoats, trousers, uniforms, windbreakers, outerwear and o ...

* Park Ave. *

* Slowdown Virginia * Two Gallants * We'd Rather Be Flying

Discography

*LBJ-034 Bright Eyes/ Son, Ambulance - Oh Holy Fools: The Music of Son, Ambulance & Bright Eyes CD/LP *LBJ-035 Cursive - Burst and Bloom CD/LP *LBJ-036 Son, Ambulance - Euphemystic CD/LP *LBJ-037 The Faint -

Danse Macabre The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ) (from the French language), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory of the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification o ...

CD/LP *LBJ-038 Now It's Overhead - Now It's Overhead CD/LP *LBJ-039

- The Convenience of Indecision CD *LBJ-040

- The Happiest Place on Earth CD5 *LBJ-041 Azure Ray - November EP CD *LBJ-042 Desaparecidos -

Read Music/Speak Spanish ''Read Music/Speak Spanish'' is the first studio album by American punk band Desaparecidos. Released in February 2002, the record is the forty-second release of Saddle Creek Records. Reviews were mostly positive upon release. About ''Read M ...

CD/LP *LBJ-043

- Black Out CD/LP *LJB-044

- Old Blood CD *LBJ-045 Bright Eyes -

There Is No Beginning To The Story ''There Is No Beginning to the Story'' is the third EP by Bright Eyes. The songs on it are fairly varied, with "From a Balance Beam" and "Loose Leaves" having more electronic qualities, while "Messenger Bird's Song" and "We Are Free Men" are ...

EP CD/12" *LBJ-046 Bright Eyes - Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground CD/2xLP *LBJ-047

- The Execution of All Things CD/LP *LBJ-048 Bright Eyes - A Christmas Album CD *LBJ-049 Cursive - Art Is Hard CD *LBJ-050 Various Artists -

Saddle Creek 50 ''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. Track ...

2xCD/LP *LBJ-051 Cursive -

The Ugly Organ ''The Ugly Organ'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Cursive, released on March4, 2003, through Saddle Creek Records. It was released both on black and translucent green 180 gram vinyl. Background and production Following a b ...

CD/LP *LBJ-052 Sorry About Dresden - Let It Rest CD *LBJ-053 Bright Eyes - Vinyl Box Set 5xLP + 2x12" + box set *LBJ-054 Azure Ray - Hold On Love CD/LP *LBJ-055 Azure Ray - The Drinks We Drank Last Night CD *SCE-056 Rilo Kiley - The Execution of All Things CD *LBJ-057 Azure Ray - New Resolution CD *LBJ-058 Now It's Overhead - Fall Back Open CD *LBJ-059 Cursive - The Recluse CD *SCE-060 Bright Eyes/

- One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels CD/LP *LBJ-061

- fulfilled/complete CD/LP *LBJ-062 The Good Life - Lovers Need Lawyers CD/10" *LBJ-063 Beep Beep -

Business Casual Business casual is an ambiguously defined Western dress code that is generally considered casual wear but with smart (in the sense of "well dressed") components of a proper lounge suit from traditional informal wear, adopted for white-col ...

CD/LP *LBJ-064 The Good Life - Album of the Year CD/LP *LBJ-065 Now It's Overhead - Wait in a Line CD *LBJ-066 The Faint - I Disappear CD *LBJ-067 The Faint -

Wet From Birth ''Wet from Birth'' is the fourth studio album by the American band The Faint, released on September 14, 2004. The U.S. release uses HDCD encoding, but the package is not labeled as HDCD. Track listing In popular culture *The instrumental br ...

CD/LP *LBJ-068 Bright Eyes -

Lua Lua or LUA may refer to: Science and technology * Lua (programming language) * Latvia University of Agriculture * Last universal ancestor, in evolution Ethnicity and language * Lua people, of Laos * Lawa people, of Thailand sometimes referred t ...

CD *LBJ-069 Bright Eyes -

Take It Easy (Love Nothing) "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)" is a single by Bright Eyes, released in October 2004. It, along with "Lua", took the top two spots on ''Billboard'' magazine's Hot Singles Sales chart, something that had not been accomplished by one artist since 199 ...

CD *LBJ-070 Cursive - The Difference Between Houses and Homes CD/LP *LBJ-071 Son, Ambulance - Key CD *LBJ-072 Bright Eyes -

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning ''I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning'' is the sixth studio album by American band Bright Eyes, released on January 25, 2005 by Saddle Creek Records (the same day as their seventh album, ''Digital Ash in a Digital Urn''). The album will be reissued ...

CD/LP *LBJ-073 Bright Eyes -

Digital Ash in a Digital Urn ''Digital Ash in a Digital Urn'' is the seventh studio album by American band Bright Eyes, released on January 25, 2005 by Saddle Creek Records, the same day as their sixth album '' I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning''. It peaked at number 15 in th ...

CD/LP *LBJ-074 Maria Taylor - 11:11 CD *LBJ-075 Orenda Fink - Invisible Ones CD *LBJ-076 Mayday - Bushido Karaoke CD *LBJ-077 Bright Eyes - When the President Talks to God iTunes exclusive *SCE-079 Bright Eyes - First Day of My Life CD/7" *LBJ-080 Criteria - En Garde (reissue) CD *LBJ-081 Criteria - When We Break CD/LP *LBJ-082 Broken Spindles - inside/absent CD/LP *LBJ-083 The Faint - Desperate Guys CD *LBJ-084 Bright Eyes - Easy/Lucky/Free CD/2x7" *LBJ-085 Criteria - Prevent the World CD *LBJ-086 Orenda Fink - Bloodline iTunes single *LBJ-087 Various Artists - Lagniappe *SCE-088 Bright Eyes - Motion Sickness: Live Recordings CD *LBJ-089 Saddle Up and Love It - Saddle Creek/Lovitt Records Hot Topic Compilation CD *LBJ-090 Two Gallants - Las Cruces Jail 7" *LBJ-091 Two Gallants - What the Toll Tells CD/LP *SCE-092 Two Gallants - Steady Rollin' iTunes Exclusive *LBJ-093 Cursive - Dorothy at Forty CD/7" *LBJ-094 Cursive - Happy Hollow CD/LP *LBJ-095 Eric Bachmann - To The Races CD *LBJ-096 Now It's Overhead - Dark Light Daybreak (Live in the Studio) iTunes Exclusive *LBJ-097 Now It's Overhead - Dark Light Daybreak CD *LBJ-098 Ladyfinger - Heavy Hands CD *LBJ-099 Bright Eyes - Noise Floor: Rarities 1998-2005 CD, 2*LP *LBJ-101 Bright Eyes - Four Winds CD/12" *LBJ-102 Maria Taylor - Lynn Teeter Flower CD *LBJ-103 Bright Eyes - Cassadaga CD/2xLP *SCE-104 Cursive - Big Bang digital single *LBJ-105 Two Gallants - The Scenery of Farewell CD/12" *LBJ-106 The Good Life - Heartbroke 7"/Digital Single *LBJ-107 Art in Manila - Set the Woods on Fire CD *LBJ-108 The Good Life- Help Wanted Nights CD/LP *LBJ-109 Two Gallants - Two Gallants CD/LP *LBJ-110

- Places CD/LP *SCE-111 Two Gallants - Despite What You've Been Told Digital Single *SCE-112 Georgie James - Need Your Needs Digital Single *SCE-113 Richard Swift - Dressed Up for the Letdown CD *LBJ-114 Cursive - Rhapsody Original EP Digital *LBJ-115 Cursive - Bad Sects 12" *LBJ-116

- Elephant Shell CD/LP *LBJ-117

- You May Already Be Dreaming CD/LP *LBJ-118 Georgie James - Cake Parade 7"/Digital *LBJ-119 Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell (Remixes) Digital *LBJ-120 Son, Ambulance - Someone Else's Deja Vu CD/LP *LBJ-121 Tokyo Police Club - Tessellate 7" *SCE-122 Two Gallants - Miss Meri Digital Single *LBJ-123 Beep Beep - Enchanted Islands CD *LBJ-124 Neva Dinova - Neva Dinova (2009 Reissue) Digital *LBJ-125 O+S - O+S CD/LP *LBJ-126

- Some Are Lakes CD/LP *LBJ-127

- American Names 7"/Digital EP *LBJ-128 Sebastien Grainger - Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains CD/LP *LBJ-129 Ladyfinger (ne) - Dusk CD *LBJ-130 Tokyo Police Club - FNMTV Live (Rhapsody Exclusive) *LBJ-131 Tokyo Police Club - Live Session iTunes Exclusive EP *LBJ-132 Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen CD/LP *LBJ-133 Cursive/Ladyfinger (ne) - Record Store Day Picture 10" *LBJ-134 Sebastien Grainger - Who Do We Care For Digital Single *LBJ-135 Tokyo Police Club - Baskervilles Remix Digital Single *SCE-136 Dag för Dag - Shooting from the Shadows CD EP *LBJ-137 UUVVWWZ - UUVVWWZ CD *LBJ-138

- Hometowns CD/LP *LBJ-139 Orenda Fink - Ask The Night CD/LP *LBJ-140 Old Canes - Feral Harmonic CD/LP *LBJ-141 O+S - We Do What We Want to Digital *LBJ-142 Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Summer of Fear CD/LP/Digital *LBJ-143

- Fun & Laughter EP CD/Digital *LBJ-144

- Drain the Blood 7"/Digital *LBJ-145 Bright Eyes /

- One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels CD/LP/Digital (2010 Reissue) *LBJ-146 The Mynabirds - What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood CD/LP/Digital *LBJ-148

- Discovering America Digital Single *LBJ-149

- Cloak and Cipher CD/LP/Digital *LBJ-150

- Swift Coin 7"/Digital *LBJ-151

- Cold Love 7"/Digital *LBJ-152

- The Game of Monogamy CD/LP/Digital *LBJ-153 Adam Haworth Stephens -

We Live on Cliffs ''We Live on Cliffs'' is the debut studio album by singer/songwriter Adam Stephens, vocalist and guitar player for San Francisco, California's folk rock guitar/drum duo Two Gallants. ''We Live on Cliffs'' was released on September 28, 2010, on Sa ...

CD/LP/Digital *LBJ-154 Azure Ray - Don't Leave My Mind Digital Single *LBJ-155

- Delirium Tantrums 7" (online-store exclusive) *LBJ-156 The Mynabirds - All I Want is Truth (for Christmas) 7"/Digital *LBJ-157

- Departing CD/LP/Digital *LBJ-158 Bright Eyes - The People's Key CD/LP/Digital *LBJ-159 Bright Eyes - Singularity Digital *LBJ-160 Azure Ray (feat.

Sparklehorse Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band from Richmond, Virginia, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous. Sparklehorse was active from 1995 until Linkous' 2010 death. Prior to forming Sparklehorse, Linkous fronted local bands ...

) - Silverlake Digital

Compilations

*'' Saddle Creek Records, A Sampler'' (1998) *''

'' (2002) *'' Lagniappe: A Saddle Creek Benefit for Hurricane Katrina'' (2005)

References

External links

Saddle Creek Records official website

with Robb Nansel
Lazy-i Interview: September 2004
with

Lazy-i Interview: March 2005
with Robb Nansel and Jason Kulbel {{Authority control Conor Oberst Record labels established in 1993 American independent record labels Companies based in Omaha, Nebraska Music of Omaha, Nebraska Indie rock record labels