Coordinates	22°14′57″N84°52′58″N
background	solo_singer
instrument	Vocals, accordion, guitar, organ, keyboard, vuvuzela, bass
name	Tim Kasher
born	August 19, 1974Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
genre	Indie rock, emo, post-hardcore, alternative rock, folk rock
associated acts	Cursive, The Good Life, Slowdown Virginia, Commander Venus
label	Saddle Creek
notable instruments	Gibson Corvus II, Gibson Les Paul
years active	1993–present }}

Tim Kasher (born August 19, 1974) 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. Prior to those bands, Kasher was in a band called Slowdown Virginia. He also made a brief appearance with the Omaha band Commander Venus and The March Hares.

Kasher has a very close relationship with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes. They grew up in Nebraska together, went to the same Catholic high school, Creighton Prep. In the Bright Eyes song "Nothing Gets Crossed Out," Oberst sings, "Tim, I've heard your album and it's better than good," referring to the album ''Black Out'' by Kasher's band, The Good Life, released in 2002 on Saddle Creek Records. Furthermore, Oberst later sang backup on the song "Staying Alive," from Cursive's 2003 effort ''The Ugly Organ''.

Kasher temporarily disbanded Cursive after the departure of guitarist Steve Pedersen (who left to pursue a law degree at Duke University and now leads the Saddle Creek band Criteria). Kasher married and moved to Portland, Oregon. According to interviews, Kasher went through a bitter divorce in 2000, which led to the regrouping of Cursive, as well as providing the inspiration for The Good Life album ''Black Out'' and Cursive's ''Domestica''.

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'' on Better Looking Records. He then recruited Ryan Fox, Roger Lewis and Stefanie Drootin into the band and released ''Black Out'', ''Lovers Need Lawyers EP'' and ''Album of the Year''.

In 2002, Kasher suffered a collapsed lung and was forced to cancel all US tour dates at the time. Because he lacked health insurance, Saddle Creek asked fans for donations to help pay for the cost of the operation. After healing, recording on ''The Ugly Organ'' began.

The Good Life's fourth full-length album, Help Wanted Nights, was an album which Kasher wrote as a soundtrack for a screenplay which he started writing in 2006 and has since finished. Help Wanted Nights was released on September 11, 2007.

In 2007, Kasher moved from Omaha to Los Angeles, California. While also working on new music with both Cursive and The Good Life, Kasher has recently taken up writing screenplays. In the fall of 2009, Kasher relocated to Montana to focus more explicitly on his writing.

His first solo album, The Game of Monogamy, was released on October 5, 2010 on Saddle Creek Records. It has received mixed review from fans, with one critic saying: "A theatrical pop record about middle age, from the man who fronted the band that fueled our teenaged angst, might be too much for some fans to accept. [The Game of Monogamy] doesn’t have the sonic obliteration that made Cursive great, or the shaky whiskey-hangover feeling that is the raw emotion of The Good Life, but Monogamy is Tim Kasher in true form. And it’s really fucking good." -thedropp.com

During his years with Slowdown Virginia and early years with Cursive, Kasher played a silver Gibson Corvus II guitar. Once this guitar fell into disrepair he played a Gibson Les Paul, he has also used a Gibson RD in the past, but has recently been using a Gibson Melody Maker.

The follow-up to his first solo album, was released on August 16, 2011 on Saddle Creek Records. It's called Bigamy: More songs from the monogamy sessions wich includes songs he wrote while touring for The Game of Monogamy. The album will only be available at his upcoming tourdates and online only via the Saddle Creek Records webstore.

Album appearances

see also albums under The Good Life, Slowdown Virginia, and Polecat.

With Cursive

''Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes'' (1997, Crank! Records)

''The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song'' (1998, Saddle Creek)

''Domestica'' (2000, Saddle Creek)

''Burst and Bloom'' (2001, Saddle Creek)

''8 Teeth to Eat You'' (2002, Better Looking Records)

''The Ugly Organ'' (2003, Saddle Creek)

''Happy Hollow'' (2006, Saddle Creek)

''Mama, I'm Swollen'' (2009, Saddle Creek)

With The Good Life

''Novena on a Nocturn'' (2000, Better Looking Records)

''Black Out'' (2002, Saddle Creek Records)

''Album of the Year'' (2004, Saddle Creek Records)

''Help Wanted Nights'' (2007, Saddle Creek Records)

As Tim Kasher

''The Game of Monogamy'' (2010, Saddle Creek)

''Bigamy: More Songs From the Monogamy Sessions'' (2011, Saddle Creek)

Other

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 (Rarities: 1998-2005)'' (2006, Saddle Creek)

Head of Femur - ''Ringodom or Proctor'' (2003, Greyday Productions)

Rilo Kiley - ''The Execution of All Things'' (2003, Saddle Creek Records)

Planes Mistaken for Stars - ''Up in Them Guts'' (2004, No Idea Records)

Son, Ambulance - ''Key'' (2004, Saddle Creek)

Statistics - ''Leave Your Name'' (2004, Jade Tree Records)

An Iris Pattern -''Sod is Gold'' (2006)

McCarthy Trenching - ''McCarthy Trenching'' (2006, Team Love Records)

Thursday - ''Kill the House Lights'' (2007, Victory Records)

References

External links

Review of The Game of Monogamy

Cursive official website

Cursive on MySpace.com

The Good Life on MySpace.com

Saddle Creek Records

Interview by The Land Salmon Sept. 2007

Tim Kasher interview on Robot40.com

Review of The Game of Monogamy

Tim Kasher performs and is interviewed on Radio Happy Hour

Category:1974 births Category:American accordionists Category:American male singers Category:American rock singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Nebraska Category:People from Omaha, Nebraska Category:Saddle Creek Records artists Category:Cursive members

es:Tim Kasher

Coordinates	22°14′57″N84°52′58″N
name	Conor Oberst
landscape	Yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Conor Mullen Oberst
born	February 15, 1980Omaha, Nebraska, United States
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist
genre	Indie folk, indie rock, folk rock, alternative country
instruments	Guitar, piano, drums, vocals
years active	1992–present
label	Saddle Creek Records, Merge Records, Wichita Recordings, Team Love Records
associated acts	Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Desaparecidos, Commander Venus, Park Ave., The Faint, The Magnetas, Monsters of Folk
website	Conor OberstBright EyesMonsters of Folk
notable instruments	}}

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, Norman Bailer (The Faint), Commander Venus, Park Ave., Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, and Monsters of Folk.

Musical career

Oberst began his musical career at age 13 while at St. Pius X/St. Leo School in Omaha, Nebraska. He was in the school choir and other musical groups at the school. One night in 1992, Ted Stevens (of Mayday and Cursive) invited Oberst onstage to play. Bill Hoover, who was in attendance, invited Oberst to come back to play with him a couple of weeks later. In that short amount of time, Oberst wrote enough songs to fill out the set, establishing himself as an artist. Shortly thereafter, Oberst began committing his new repertoire to tape in his parents' basement with his father's four track cassette recorder and an acoustic guitar.

In mid-1993, Oberst self-released his debut album ''Water'' on cassette tape. The release of the album was financed by his brother Justin on what they called Lumberjack Records, the indie label that would become Saddle Creek Records, making them founders and present day executives of the label.

Shortly after his two solo recordings, Oberst began playing with four friends; they formed Commander Venus in mid-1995.

''Here's to Special Treatment'' was followed by 1996's ''The Soundtrack to My Movie'', a cassette only released on Sing Eunuchs!. ''Kill the Monster Before It Eats Baby'', a split 7" vinyl with Bill Hoover, was also released around this time.

The Faint

In 1994, following a Slowdown Virginia show, Oberst, along with friends Joel Petersen, Todd Fink (formerly Todd Baechle) and Clark Baechle, formed a band called Norman Bailer, later known as The Faint. A few days later, Oberst told the other members of the band that they had a show in two weeks at Kilgore's. Despite having never performed together, they produced nine songs to perform. An album, ''Sine Sierra'' was released on cassette only in 1995.

Commander Venus

Oberst formed the rock band Commander Venus in 1994 with Tim Kasher, Todd Baechle, Ben Armstrong, and Robb Nansel. They recorded two albums: ''Do You Feel at Home?'' (1995) and ''The Uneventful Vacation'' (1997). Kasher later went on to form Cursive, Baechle became the vocalist for The Faint and Nansel was the co-founder of Saddle Creek Records. Kasher left the group to focus on Cursive as they were about to go in to the studio to record their second album, and was replaced by Todd Baechle. Commander Venus disbanded in 1998.

The Magnetas

The Magnetas were only active for a very brief period of time in 1996 in Omaha, Nebraska. Along with Oberst, band members included Todd Fink (The Faint) and Chris Hughes (Beep Beep). They recorded three songs, only one of which ("Anex Anex") was released on Ghostmeat Records' ''Parts'' compilation album. Two other confirmed recordings exist: "Clatter" and "Science Fiction in Schools."

Park Ave.

In January 1996, Oberst began playing drums in a group named Park Ave., alongside Baechle, Jenn Bernard, Neely Jenkins (now in the band Tilly and the Wall), and Jamie Williams (also in Tilly and the Wall). The group only played between 10 and 15 shows and made a handful of recordings (several of them with Mike Mogis as producer). The group disbanded in 1998 when Williams, the singer and primary songwriter, moved to London, England. In 1999, Urinine Records released their only album, ''When Jamie Went to London...We Broke Up'', which has also now been re-released under Team Love.

Bright Eyes

Oberst originally founded Bright Eyes as a solo project in 1995, and after the disbanding of Commander Venus, released ''A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997'' in January 1998. This was followed quickly by ''Letting Off the Happiness'', released in November of the same year. It featured members of numerous bands and was recorded in the Oberst family basement. One year later, Bright Eyes released its first EP, ''Every Day and Every Night''. Bright Eyes' third album, ''Fevers and Mirrors'' was released in May 2000; it was ranked 170 on Pitchfork Media's list of the top 200 albums of the 2000s.

With the release of 2002's ''Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground'', Bright Eyes received national attention and Oberst was proclaimed a breakthrough artist by several notable magazines. On January 25, 2005 Bright Eyes simultaneously released two new albums: the folk ''I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning'' and more electronic-pop ''Digital Ash in a Digital Urn''. ''Time'' listed ''I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning'' as one of the top ten albums of 2005.

The ''Four Winds'' EP was released in March 2007, followed by their seventh album, ''Cassadaga'' in April. The song ''Four Winds'' was named a top 100 song of 2007 by ''Rolling Stone''. Oberst spent the next two years focusing on other music projects, and in June 2009 told ''Rolling Stone'' he wanted to make one final album with Bright Eyes before retiring the group. The band subsequently released ''The People's Key'' on Conor's 31st birthday, February 15, 2011.

Desaparecidos

Oberst was a guitarist and singer for Desaparecidos. The music and lyrics of Desaparecidos differ greatly from Bright Eyes, having more in common with punk rock than Oberst's usual folk rock. The lyrics are generally social commentary on the state of affairs in America and the pitfalls of the suburban lifestyle, as opposed to the more introspective lyrics of Bright Eyes. Desaparecidos was active as a band between 2001–2002 but have regrouped to play shows in the Omaha area. They have two releases: a single for "The Happiest Place on Earth" and the full-length "Read Music/Speak Spanish".

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

In November 2007, it was reported that Oberst would work on a solo record with Jake Bellows, and that he and M. Ward would start a band and perform two late December shows in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Contrary to what was believed, the shows were not played with M. Ward, but rather with Nik Freitas and Jason Boesel. They also played a show in February in Mexico City, Mexico.

On March 31, 2008, it was announced that Conor Oberst would play at the 2008 Reading and Leeds Festivals. In addition, he also performed at the Electric Picnic, in County Laois, Ireland on August 31, 2008, the Cains Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Austin City Limits in late September 2008, shows across Australia in early October 2008, and the Warfield Theater in San Francisco October 24. Conor also headlined the Friday night slot of The End of the Road Festival at the Larmer Tree Gardens in Wiltshire, held over the weekend of 12–14 September 2008.

Conor Oberst released the self-titled album ''Conor Oberst'', which was recorded in Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico with Taylor Hollingsworth on guitar and Macey Taylor on bass, on August 5, '08 on Merge Records.

In about mid October, the band sold a new EP, ''Gentleman's Pact''. It was limited to 1000 copies and was only available on tour. The band placed limitations on how many were sold at shows. It has four unreleased tracks. Three of them are pre-album songs while "Corina, Corina" is a cover of a traditional folk song.

Conor and the band released their second album, ''Outer South'', on May 5, 2009 on Merge Records. They have also released a documentary, ''One of My Kind''.

Monsters of Folk

Conor Oberst is one of the four members of the band Monsters of Folk. Other band members include Jim James of My Morning Jacket, M. Ward and fellow Bright Eyes member Mike Mogis. The band members swap instruments and share vocal duties. The quartet released their self-titled debut album on September 22, 2009.

Songwriting

He was named the best songwriter of 2008 by Rolling Stone magazine.

Saddle Creek and Team Love

Oberst is one of the founding members of the independent record label Saddle Creek Records, which hosts and has hosted bands including Cursive, Desaparecidos, The Faint (who left to start their own label Blank.wav), Rilo Kiley (who left to start their own label Brute/Beaute Records), Bright Eyes, Two Gallants, Son, Ambulance, Azure Ray, The Good Life, Sorry About Dresden, among others.

Oberst co-founded the Team Love record label (along with Nate Krenkel long time manager of Bright Eyes) to "do different things, or smaller things, that we couldn't get everyone to be into at the same time" at Saddle Creek. such as Tilly and the Wall, Willy Mason, The Felice Brothers, David Dondero, Taylor Hollingsworth and Jenny Lewis' solo album with The Watson Twins.

Influences

Oberst was drawn to music at a very early age, due in part to his older brother Matt's penchant for bands like The Smiths, R.E.M., Fugazi, and The Cure. He has cited their first singles collection, ''Staring at the Sea'', as the first record he ever bought, as well as being one of his favorites. "It must have been third grade...I bought the cassette at a local record store chain called Homer's in Omaha. I just loved the sound of Robert Smith's voice. It just sounded good."

Some of his biggest influences and favorite songwriters are local musicians David Dondero and Simon Joyner. Joyner wrote the song "Burn Rubber", which Bright Eyes covered on the "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)" single. The two used to do mini-tours together, usually on weekends due to Joyner having a family.

Oberst has also been heavily influenced by the 1960s folk revival, mentioning Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, and country singers Emmylou Harris, John Prine and Townes Van Zandt. He covered Neil Young's "Out on the Weekend", collaborating with Mike Mogis, Jim James and M. Ward in concert. He performed the Townes Van Zandt song "Rex's Blues" live with fellow musician Steve Earle. He has also performed two of John Prine's songs live, "Crazy as a Loon" and "Wedding Day in Funerville". Harris sang on a few tracks on Bright Eyes' ''I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning''.

Oberst was also greatly influenced by Daniel Johnston. A cover of "Devil Town" is featured on ''Noise Floor (Rarities: 1998-2005)''.

Oberst was also profoundly influenced by the work of Elliott Smith, saying in an October 22, 2003 ''All Things Considered'' interview that "sometimes when you're not feeling good, you have to listen to really sad music like Elliott Smith's" and that [Smith] "wrote the sweetest, saddest, most gentle songs". Oberst also said he liked to "listen to Elliott Smith's songs when he [couldn't] find anyone to talk to on the phone" and thought that it was sad that, "through his music, [Smith] had the ability to answer feelings in others that he was unable to answer in himself". A live cover of Smith's "The Biggest Lie" is featured on ''Motion Sickness''.

Personal beliefs

Oberst has publicly supported PETA. On January 1 and February 7, 2008, Oberst performed at a rally in Omaha, Nebraska for 2008 presidential candidate Barack Obama. While he was raised Catholic, Conor Oberst holds no specific religion, claiming he has not found one that "hit the mark" for him yet. He expresses disappointment in the narrow-mindedness of major religions, and is fascinated and frustrated by "eternal" concepts.

Discography

As Conor Oberst

:{| class="wikitable" |- style="vertical-align:bottom;" ! Title ! Year ! Label ! Format(s) ! Notes |- | ''Water'' | 1993 | Lumberjack | cassette | |- | ''Here's to Special Treatment'' | 1994 | Sing, Eunuchs! | cassette | |- | ''The Soundtrack to My Movie'' | 1996 | Sing, Eunuchs! | cassette | |- | ''Kill the Monster Before It Eats Baby'' | 1996 | Sing, Eunuchs! | 7" | Split EP with Bill Hoover |- | ''Conor Oberst'' | 2008 | Merge Records | cd, vinyl |- | ''Gentleman's Pact'' | 2008 | no label | cd, vinyl |- |''Outer South'' | 2009 | Merge Records | cd, vinyl | |}

In bands

Monsters of Folk The Sun Society

Guest work

Arab Strap - ''Monday at the Hug & Pint'' (2003)

Criteria – ''En Garde'' (2003)

Cursive – ''The Ugly Organ'' (2003)

Street To Nowhere – ''Tipsy'' (2006)

Tilly and The Wall - ''You and I Misbehaving

Mayday – ''Old Blood'' (2002)

Son, Ambulance – ''Key'' (2004)

Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins – "Handle With Care" (2005)

Dntel – "Breakfast in Bed"

Melon Galia – "N'en Parlons Plus"

The Faint – "Dust"

Maria Taylor – ''11:11'' (2005) and ''Lynn Teeter Flower'' (2007)

"Lua" (2009) ''Dark Was the Night'', Red Hot Organization

The Album Leaf-"Hungry for a Holiday"

References

External links

Team Love Records

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

– Brand new Conor Oberst fan site/community

Saddle Creek Records

Live review on Drowned in Sound

Review Solo Projects

Interviews

New York Magazine: Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst Finds Inspiration in New York (01.07.05)

NPR: A Chat with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes (01.14.05)

Huffington Post: Conor Oberst on Politics, The Presidency, and Purple States (06.26.08)

Category:1980 births Category:American agnostics Category:American folk singers Category:American male singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American indie rock musicians Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Nebraska Category:Pescetarians Category:People from Omaha, Nebraska Category:Saddle Creek Records artists Category:Team Love Records artists Category:Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska

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