Conor Oberst

Desaparecidos is an American post hardcore band. It is a project headed by singer/guitarist Conor Oberst, the frontman of the indie folk band Bright... Eyes. The band's sound was labeled "full-on emo-in-the-garage" by Alternative Press, "the sort of howlingly tuneful Midwestern punk that disappeared with Hüsker Dü" by Entertainment Weekly, "anthemic thrash" by Rolling Stone, and as such is noted for its sonic differences from Oberst's primary band. They have also been hailed as the "Saddle Creek supergroup". Hailing from Omaha, Nebraska, Desaparecidos' lyrics are mostly about the sociopolitical state of affairs in America. The band has been both lauded and criticized for its intentionally raw sound following the release of Read Music/Speak Spanish. In sharp contrast to Bright Eyes' confessional, even sometimes mournful vocals, Conor Oberst's vocals in Desaparecidos' songs were much more characteristic of post-hardcore: angular, energetic and engaging. "Desaparecidos" means literally "disappeared ones" in Spanish and Portuguese, and is a reference to leftists who were arrested by various South American military governments and then vanished without a trace.
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Commander Venus was an American emo band from Omaha, Nebraska. Fronted by Conor Oberst and Tim Kasher, the band also included Todd Fink and Matt... Bowen of The Faint, Ben Armstrong of Head of Femur and Robb Nansel, executive producer of the indie label Saddle Creek. Kasher subsequently went on to front the band Cursive, and Oberst later became famous as the core member of the indie folk collective Bright Eyes, and later the punk band Desaparecidos. They recorded two albums, Do You Feel at Home? on Saddle Creek and The Uneventful Vacation, on Grass Records, which became Wind-up Records, that ultimately licensed the CD to Thick Records. Shortly after his two solo recordings, Conor Oberst began playing with Tim Kasher and Matt Bowen to form Commander Venus the summer before Oberst's freshman year at Creighton Prep. "I didn't know how to play with a band at all," he says. "I couldn't keep in time with the drums." Robb Nansel, who runs Saddle Creek Records, also joined the band on guitar. In 1995, they released Do You Feel at Home? on their own label, Saddle Creek.
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The Faint is an American indie rock band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, the band consists of Todd Fink, Jacob Thiele, Dapose, Joel Petersen and Clark... Baechle. The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer and included Conor Oberst . He quit shortly after the band was formed, though the Faint continued to share a spot with Bright Eyes on Saddle Creek Records. Growing up, Fink, Petersen, and Baechle skateboarded in their free time until Fink developed knee problems, which shifted their hobbies towards making music. The band originally consisted of Clark Baechle, Todd Fink , and Joel Petersen. They signed to Saddle Creek Records and released a few singles, but were unable to establish widespread sales. After adding Matt Bowen, the Faint released Media. At the end of 1998 Jacob Thiele joined the band, and shortly thereafter Matt Bowen was replaced by Ethan Jones. They toured the U.S. playing what would become the songs that would comprise the next album, Blank-Wave Arcade which had a more dance and techno influenced sound and was an underground hit.
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Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as a way to release music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded to include artists from around the world and records... reaching the top of the Billboard music charts. After releasing a number of 7" records and cassettes, the first Merge Records full-length CD release came on April 1, 1992 with MRG020 Superchunk - Tossing Seeds, the band's first collection of singles. The label's first album to reach the USA Billboard 200 was the Arcade Fire's Funeral, a 2004 release. Arcade Fire gave the label its then highest-charting release with their follow-up, 2007's Neon Bible, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, and, later, reaching #1 with their third album, 2010's The Suburbs. Other Billboard Top Ten releases include Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Transference, along with She & Him's Volume Two.
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Wichita Recordings is an independent record label located in London, founded in 2000 by Mark Bowen and Dick Green. Its most notable signees are Bloc Party, The Cribs, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Her Space Holiday, Los Campesinos! and Peter Bjorn and... John. The label signed the aforementioned Clap Your Hands Say Yeah for a UK distribution deal for the group's debut album. They have recently signed UK producers Simian Mobile Disco for the UK. The label's first release was the Bright Eyes album Fevers and Mirrors, released in 2000.
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Team Love is a New York City-based independent record label founded by Conor Oberst and Nate Krenkel in 2003. It has released albums by musicians including Tilly and the Wall, Jenny Lewis, David Dondero, Craig Wedren, Capgun Coup, Gruff Rhys, The Shortbus Movie Soundtrack, McCarthy Trenching, El... Madmo, Bright Eyes, Refried Ice Cream, and Willy Mason. A distinguishing marketing tactic of Team Love has been complete albums for download in unprotected mp3 format at no cost on their website in addition to traditional record and CD sales. Team Love's first release was Tilly and the Wall's Wild Like Children on June 22, 2004. In 2006, Team Love released Jenny Lewis' solo debut with The Watson Twins and later the Tilly and the Wall follow-up Bottom of the Barrels. The year before, it put out records by David Dondero and Craig Wedren as well as the Bright Eyes live album Motion Sickness . Team Love reissued Park Ave.'s When Jamie Went to London We Broke Up in late 2005. The album was produced on Urinine Records in 1999, but in 2005 Urinine closed, making the album out of print.
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