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, Commander Venus, Park Ave., Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, and his newest project Monsters of Folk.
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CONOR OBERST TICKETS
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Early years
Conor Oberst was born and raised in
Omaha, Nebraska. He was born to Matthew Oberst, Sr., an information manager for
Mutual of Omaha, and Nancy Oberst, an inner-city elementary school principal. He grew up with two older brothers,
Justin Oberst, a
lawyer, and
Matthew Oberst, Jr., a teacher and part-time
musician best known for his band,
Sorry About Dresden. Oberst's mother claims that he was banging on a piano since he was two years old. Besides his brother Matt, Oberst's father was also a musician who played
guitar and piano for various cover bands in his youth, and together they began teaching Conor to play guitar at the age of 10. By the time he knew only two chords, he was already writing songs.
Musical career
Oberst began his musical career at age 13 while at St. Pius X/ St. Leo School. He was in the showchoir 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.
[1] 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.
Norman Bailer (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 managed to produce nine songs to perform. These songs were more oriented towards light rock, rather than the then-popular aggressive rock. 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. Kasher later went on to form
Cursive, Baechle became the vocalist for
The Faint and Nansel was the co-founder of Saddle Creek Records. Comparisons to
The Pixies and
Sunny Day Real Estate were often made. They recorded two albums:
Do You Feel at Home?
(1995) and
The Uneventful Vacation
(1997). The latter is considered by many to be a seminal work in the
emo genre. Kasher left the group as they were about to go in to the studio to record their second album, and was replaced by Todd Baechle. In 1998, just as the band was beginning to receive some attention, Commander Venus broke up.
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.
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). Although Conor and Clark were both in their early teens, the rest of the band was well in to their college years. 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's television performances with Bright Eyes have included a spot on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
, where he performed "When the President Talks to God" in May 2005. The performance drew notice for the song's political overtones. Oberst has also appeared on
The Late Show with David Letterman
, where he performed "Trees Get Wheeled Away" , and
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
, where he sang "Road to Joy" (which included an abrupt smashing of instruments and an interview with Conor Oberst promoting the band's two new albums:
Digital Ash in a Digital Urn
, and
I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
).
Aside from his
Tonight Show
performance, Oberst has made other political statements as a band member of Bright Eyes along with fellow band member Mike Mogis. A longtime opponent of
Clear Channel, Oberst in September 2005 cancelled a show the band was scheduled to play at The Pageant in
St. Louis due to the venue's ties with the media giant.
[2] Before the 2004 presidential election, he took Bright Eyes on the road with
Bruce Springsteen and
R.E.M. as part of the "
Vote for Change" tour.
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 suburban lifestyle, as opposed to the more introspective lyrics of Bright Eyes.
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
[3] and perform two late December shows in
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
[4] Contrary to what was believed, the shows were not played with M. Ward, but rather with Nik Freitas and
Jason Boesel.
[5] 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 swap instruments and share vocal duties. The quartet will release their self-titled debut album on September 22, 2009.2009
[6]
Songwriting
Oberst is known for the diversity of his work,
[7] and has been compared to
Bob Dylan and related artists.
[8]
He prefers immediacy over perfection and continually constructs verses rather than repeat hooks or write them down, feeling that his songs are never completed.
[9]
Oberst has written poetry and many short stories in addition to songs, but has not published any due to lack of devotion and confidence, preferring to stick to his songwriting abilities.
[10]
He was recently named the best songwriter of 2008 by Rolling Stone magazine.
[11]
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 founded the
Team Love record label to "do different things, or smaller things, that we couldn't get everyone to be into at the same time" at Saddle Creek.
[12] such as
Tilly and the Wall,
Willy Mason, 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's penchant for bands like
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."
[13]
Some of his biggest influences and favorite songwriters are local musicians
David Dondero and
Simon Joyner.
[14] 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 and
Townes Van Zandt.
[15] He covered Neil Young's "
Out on the Weekend", collaborating with
Mike Mogis,
Jim James and
M. Ward in concert. 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".
[16] A live cover of Smith's "The Biggest Lie" is featured on
Motion Sickness
.
Personal beliefs
Oberst used to be a
vegan (he is now a
pescetarian) and has publicly supported
PETA.
[17]
On January 1, 2008, Oberst performed at a rally in Omaha, Nebraska for
2008 presidential candidate Barack Obama.
[18]
On February 7, 2008, Bright Eyes played at an Obama rally in Omaha, Nebraska.
[19]
Discography
As Conor Oberst
:
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
Guest work
- Criteria - En Garde
(2003)
- Cursive - The Ugly Organ
(2003)
- Street to nowhere - Tipsy
(2006)
- 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)
References
- Lazy-I Interview: Bright Eyes (December 1998) Retrieved on January 4, 2008.
- Aversion.com - Clear Channel Ties Cancel Bright Eyes Gig. Retrieved on January 4, 2008.
- Waiting For ‘Free Life’
- Bright Eyes' Oberst Forms Band With M. Ward?
- Indie rock's Conor Oberst still bright at 400 Bar
- http://www.nme.com/news/bright-eyes/45304
- Bright Eyes in the Big City, Sporting a Prada Suit and a Hot Album
- Bright Eyes: New Ideas from a 'New Dylan'
- Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst races to release his every thought
- Bright Eyes: Up Saddle Creek and around the corner
- Best Songwriter: Conor Oberst : Rolling Stone
- A Musical Vision Comes Into Focus
- RollingStone.com - Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes on the Cure's Standing on a Beach. Retrieved on January 4, 2008.
- Comes With A Smile - Interview: Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst) by Mariko Sakamoto Retrieved on January 4, 2008.
- Title Unavailable
- Singer Elliott Smith Dead in Apparent Suicide Retrieved on May 30, 2009.
- Conor Oberst — Exclusive Interview
- Bright Eyes man supports US presidential hopeful
- Obama: Rockin' in the USA