vlaze.com

Saddle Creek Records is an independent record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. The label was founded by Mike Mogis and Robb Nansel in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). 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 Conor Oberst (then a solo artist, currently of Bright Eyes), 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 became an incorporated entity as a result of a class project on entrepreneurship. Justin Oberst, brother of Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, stepped in to fill the shoes of Mogis around 1998, with Mogis moving more into recording and production.

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 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.

Add Comment