is an
Independent Record Label based in
Omaha, Nebraska . The label was founded by
Robb Nansel and
Mike Mogis 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 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.
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. Distribution is handled by the
Alternative Distribution Alliance .
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.Justin Oberst was 13 years old at the time of the first Lumberjack release, Conor Oberst's "Water" A "brother label", of sorts, to Saddle Creek is
Team Love , started by
Conor Oberst in 2004.
The label opened arms to their first band not from Omaha, Los Angeles'
Rilo Kiley , in
2002 , though the band eventually left for their own label. Other non-Nebraskan artists include,
Eric Bachmann (formerly leader of
Archers Of Loaf and
Crooked Fingers from
North Carolina ),
Georgie James (
Washington D.C. ),
Two Gallants (
San Francisco ), and most recently
Tokyo Police Club (
Canada ).
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 8th June 2007, the label opened their own music venue named ), located in downtown
Omaha, Nebraska .
