Timothy J. Kasher (born August 19, 1974) is an American musician from

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, and is the frontman of

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

groups

Cursive Cursive (also known as joined-up writing) 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 functionality and m ...

and the Good Life, both of which are on the Omaha-based record label

Saddle Creek Records 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 ...

Music

Slowdown Virginia

Slowdown Virginia was formed in Omaha in 1993 by Kasher with Matt Maginn, Steve Pedersen, and Casey Caniglia after the dissolution of a previous band called The March Hares. With a sound described as a heartland Pavement and into the Pixies, Slowdown Virginia recorded and released one album, ''

Dead Space ''Dead Space'' is a science fiction horror franchise created and directed by Glen Schofield. ''Dead Space'' was developed by Visceral Games and published and owned by Electronic Arts. The franchise's chronology is not presented in a linear format ...

'', on Lumberjack Records, with the help of funding from friends. The band was short lived, breaking up in 1995, but it inspired other bands to form in Omaha like

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 (band), Brig ...

and Bright Eyes, the formation of Saddle Creek Records out of Lumberjack Records, and the name of Omaha's indie music venue,

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 stri ...

Cursive

Kasher, Maginn, and Pedersen formed a new band,

, in 1995, adding

Clint Schnase 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 (Indie rock band ...

to the band. The bands released two albums, described as full of emotion and distortion, before disbanding in 1998 as Kasher moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, after getting married. Kasher also spent some of this time playing guitar in Commander Venus, recording and releasing two albums. Pedersen left Omaha to study law at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

shortly afterward. Kasher's marriage and time away from Omaha did not last long; he returned within eighteen months of leaving Cursive and Omaha. With Pedersen away, Kasher recruited

Ted Stevens Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr. (November 18, 1923 – August 9, 2010) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Senate, U.S. Senator from Alaska from 1968 to 2009. He was the longest-serving Republican Party (United St ...

to join the previous other band members. The re-formed Cursive soon recorded and released their third album, ''Domestica,'' at Presto! Studios in Omaha, using the stock room of the USA Baby store where Kasher worked as the band's practice space. ''Domestica'' showed this version of Cursive to have a tight-knit, hard-rock sound with the addition of Stevens as well as Kasher's newfound focus on introspective, storytelling focused lyrics. Cursive added cellist Gretta Cohn for the next several releases and the band, and Kasher's writing, found critical success with 2003's ''

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 ...

'', a "gale force" of "personal indigence." Cohn departed Cursive in 2005, and the band continued on without a cellist. Cursive has subsequently recorded and released three more studio albums, also concept albums - a style that Kasher began loosely with ''The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song'' and developed full-blown with ''Domestica''. Cursive's last release was ''

Vitriola ''Vitriola'' is the eighth studio album by the post-hardcore band Cursive (band), Cursive, released on October 5, 2018 on the band's own label 15 Passenger Records. The album is the first release from Cursive in six years, the first with original ...

'' in 2018.

The Good Life

The Good Life was originally planned to be a solo project. Kasher wanted to experiment with different types of lyrics and melodies. He released '' Novena on a Nocturn'' under the name the Good Life on Better Looking Records in 2000, five months after Cursive's ''Domestica''. ''Novena on a Nocturn'' touched on the same themes of ''Domestica'', mainly ones of divorce and loss, and was noted in reviews for Kashers intense focus on his lyrics and personal storytelling. 2002's '' Black Out'' was also a mostly solo effort with friends assisting in the recording, and was released on Saddle Creek Records. As with ''Novena'', the album was noted for its focus on melodies and lyrics, with Dan Ocean of ''Punk News'' describing the sound as "a slower paced Cursive with some electronica and an abundance of hooks." After using the Good Life as essentially a side project, Kasher decided to make the Good Life a full-fledged band. Kasher recruited Ryan Fox, Roger Lewis, and Stefanie Drootin-Senseney and released '' Album of the Year'' in 2004. Despite his intention to make the Good Life a band in its own right, Kasher still retained most creative control over the band for much of ''Album of the Year'' and similarly for 2007's '' Help Wanted Nights'', described by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'''s Eric Harvey as "two consecutive concept albums dealing with boozers and their second homes." The Good Life took a break after 2007. Kasher released two albums with Cursive and two solo albums before reconvening the Good Life in late 2013. This time Kasher approached the Good Life with recording the album as a band, with all members contributing to the process of writing the songs. The result was the rock-oriented '' Everybody's Coming Down'', released in September 2015.

Solo work

His first solo album, '' The Game of Monogamy'', was released to mixed reviews on October 5, 2010, on

. Written after Kasher moved from Los Angeles to Montana, Kasher's first truly solo work was noted for its lyricism and instrumentation but also for again repeating on the themes of a broken romance that dominated early releases by the Good Life and Cursive's ''Domestica''. Chris Parker from ''Alternative Press'' called the album "overture to middle age and the declining allure of the bars and hook-ups scene." The follow-up EP, '' Bigamy: More Songs from the Monogamy Sessions'', was released in August 2011. ''Bigamy'' continues the same themes as ''Monogamy'' with seven additional songs. ''

Adult Film Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings ...

'', Kasher's second solo album, was released on Saddle Creek Records in 2013. Featuring a more reserved vocal style and stripped-down instrumentation as compared to ''The Game of Monogamy'', ''Adult Film'''s topic touch on mistrust, anxiety, and the fears of adult life. Kasher's fourth solo album, "Middling Age", was released in April 2022.

Musical style and influences

''Pitchfork'''s Taylor Clark once described Kasher's singing as "perhaps the worst great voice in indie rock," noting his lack of ease in singing with a range and a deficiency in enunciation. His voice is commonly recognized as a signature part of Cursive's sound. Kasher's songwriting receives similar attention, particularly 2003's ''The Ugly Organ'', which took an introspective meta view on the songwriting process itself. For his part, Kasher has said that a lot of the inspiration for grand visions for his solo albums came from

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

. Kasher cites Bowie for helping him to "wake me up to, well, you can do whatever you want. I mean, you’re doing a solo record. You can go in absolutely any direction." Even prior to this, Kasher's writing for albums moved more and more towards a screenplay style of writing, to the point of the lyric sheet for ''I Am Gemini'' being described by one reviewer as "a full-blown ''

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

''."

Personal life

In 2007, Kasher moved from

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. While also working on new music with both Cursive and the Good Life, he took up writing

screenplays A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a ''teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writ ...

. In late 2009, he relocated to

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

to focus more explicitly on his writing. He is currently again living in Los Angeles. He has an undergraduate degree in English, with a minor in Philosophy. He has stated that if he was not pursuing music full-time, he would have become an English professor, teaching writing or literature. He is the youngest of six children, with four older sisters and one older brother. In 2015, Kasher married his long-term girlfriend Gwynedd Stuart, the managing editor at '' Sporked''. In 2017, a feature film ''No Resolution'' — written and directed by Kasher starring Maura Kidwell and Layne Manzer — was released. In an interview with '' The Reader'', Kasher said an earlier version premiered at the

Film Festival a year prior in 2016.

Discography

Solo albums

*'' The Game of Monogamy'' (2010, Saddle Creek) *'' Bigamy: More Songs from the Monogamy Sessions'' (2011, Saddle Creek) * ''

'' (2013, Saddle Creek) * ''No Resolution'' (2017, 15 Passenger) * ''Middling Age'' (2022, 15 Passenger)

Other work

* Commander Venus – '' Do You Feel at Home?'' (1995, Saddle Creek) * Commander Venus – '' The Uneventful Vacation'' (1997, Thick Records) * Bright Eyes – '' Every Day and Every Night'' (1999, Saddle Creek) * Bright Eyes – '' Fevers and Mirrors'' (2000, Saddle Creek) * Bright Eyes – '' Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground'' (2002, Saddle Creek) * Bright Eyes – ''

Noise Floor In signal theory, the noise floor is the measure of the signal created from the sum of all the noise sources and unwanted signals within a measurement system, where noise is defined as any signal other than the one being monitored. In radio com ...

'' (2006, Saddle Creek) * Head of Femur – '' Ringodom or Proctor'' (2003, Greyday Productions) *

Rilo Kiley Rilo Kiley ( ) is an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consists of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Jason Boesel. The group released their debut album '' Take-Offs and Landing ...

– '' The Execution of All Things'' (2003,

) * Planes Mistaken for Stars – '' Up in Them Guts'' (2004,

No Idea Records No Idea Records is an American independent record label based in Gainesville, Florida which focuses on punk rock and its sub-styles and produces both vinyl records and compact discs. No Idea Records started not as a record label, but as a zine ...

) * Son, Ambulance – ''Key'' (2004, Saddle Creek) *

Statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

– '' Leave Your Name'' (2004,

Jade Tree Records Jade Tree International, Inc. is an independent record label formed by Darren Walters and Tim Owen in 1990 in Wilmington, Delaware. History Origin (1987–1990) In 1987, Tim Owen and Darren Walters were introduced during a punk show in Washin ...

) *An Iris Pattern -''Sod is Gold'' (2006) * McCarthy Trenching – '' McCarthy Trenching'' (2006, Team Love Records) *

Thursday Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week. Name Th ...

– '' Kill the House Lights'' (2007,

Victory Records Victory Records is a Chicago-based record label founded by Tony Brummel. It operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several record labels. It has featured many prominent artists including Thu ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasher, Tim 1974 births American male singer-songwriters American rock singers American rock songwriters Living people Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska Saddle Creek Records artists Cursive (band) members Commander Venus members 21st-century American accordionists 21st-century American singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Nebraska