![Conor Oberst aka Bright Eyes, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Conor_Oberst_aka_Bright_Eyes%2C_Hardly_Strictly_Bluegrass_2010.jpg)
Commander Venus was an American
emo
Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
band from
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
. Fronted by
Conor Oberst and
Tim Kasher
Timothy J. Kasher (born August 19, 1974) is an American 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.
Music Slowdo ...
, the band also included
Todd Fink and
Matt Bowen
Matthew Jeremy Bowen (born 9 March 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia international and Queensland State of Origin representative , he played in the National Rugby ...
of
The Faint
The Faint is an American indie rock band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, the band consists of Todd Fink, Graham Ulicny, Dapose and Clark Baechle. The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer and included Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes, with whom T ...
, Ben Armstrong of
Head of Femur and
Robb Nansel
Robb Nansel (AKA the indie rock Elon Musk) is an Omaha musician and co-founder / president of Saddle Creek Records (originally Lumberjack Records). He is also credited as a member of Commander Venus and Bright Eyes.
Nansel met Mike Mogis while a ...
,
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
of the
indie label Saddle Creek
Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his ...
.
Kasher subsequently went on to front the band
Cursive
Cursive (also known as script, among other names) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functionalit ...
, and Oberst later became famous as the core member of the
indie folk
Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation.
The genre has its ...
collective
Bright Eyes, and later the
punk band
Desaparecidos.
They recorded two albums, ''
Do You Feel at Home?
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 ...
'' on Saddle Creek and ''
The Uneventful Vacation
''The Uneventful Vacation'' is the second and final album released by American emo band Commander Venus
Commander Venus was an American emo band from Omaha, Nebraska. Fronted by Conor Oberst and Tim Kasher, the band also included Todd Fink a ...
'',
on Grass Records, which became
Wind-up Records
Wind-up Entertainment was an American independent record label founded by Alan and Diana Meltzer in 1997. It was based in New York City and was distributed by BMG Distribution. Wind-up's best-selling artists worldwide were Creed and Evanescence ...
, that ultimately licensed the CD to
Thick Records
Thick Records is a Chicago-based independent record label which actively operated from 1994 to 2007. It now exists as a catalog only label for its previous releases.
History
Thick was formed in 1994 by Detroit native Zak Einstein, who started the ...
.
History
Shortly after his two solo recordings,
Conor Oberst (
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
) began playing with
Tim Kasher
Timothy J. Kasher (born August 19, 1974) is an American 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.
Music Slowdo ...
(
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
) and Matt Bowen (
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
) to form Commander Venus the summer before Oberst's freshman year at
Creighton Prep
Creighton Preparatory School (simply referred to as Creighton Prep or Prep) is a private, Jesuit high school for boys in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was established in 1878 under the name Creighton College and is located in the Roman Cath ...
. "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
Robb Nansel (AKA the indie rock Elon Musk) is an Omaha musician and co-founder / president of Saddle Creek Records (originally Lumberjack Records). He is also credited as a member of Commander Venus and Bright Eyes.
Nansel met Mike Mogis while a ...
, who runs
Saddle Creek Records, also joined the band on guitar.
In 1995, they released ''
Do You Feel at Home?
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 ...
'' on their own label,
Saddle Creek
Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his ...
. They were later signed to Grass Records for whom they recorded ''
The Uneventful Vacation
''The Uneventful Vacation'' is the second and final album released by American emo band Commander Venus
Commander Venus was an American emo band from Omaha, Nebraska. Fronted by Conor Oberst and Tim Kasher, the band also included Todd Fink a ...
'' in July
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
. The story of how the second album was recorded, and the band's dealings with
Wind-up Records
Wind-up Entertainment was an American independent record label founded by Alan and Diana Meltzer in 1997. It was based in New York City and was distributed by BMG Distribution. Wind-up's best-selling artists worldwide were Creed and Evanescence ...
management, is one of carefree excess.
''The Uneventful Vacation'' cost $15,000 to record, a staggering sum for an indie album.
"They bought us a van and sent us on these tours. They had all this money and didn't know how to run a record label. The new management all came from a major label and knew nothing about underground music. It was a zoo, they didn't know what was going on and didn't have the know-how to make something happen."
Despite the money thrown at the project, Oberst considers ''
The Uneventful Vacation
''The Uneventful Vacation'' is the second and final album released by American emo band Commander Venus
Commander Venus was an American emo band from Omaha, Nebraska. Fronted by Conor Oberst and Tim Kasher, the band also included Todd Fink a ...
'' — a loud, sometimes brash
alt-rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
album that still manages to encompass Oberst's awkward but powerful personal music style — to be "somewhat of a failure musically. We wanted to do stuff we weren't prepared to do because I'm not a very good guitar player. That's always been my biggest problem."
The project also was rushed, having to be recorded during summer vacation. Despite all that, the record received college airplay, as well as positive critical nods, including a
Scratch (magazine) review that said, "If Commander Venus is any indication of what's to come from the second generation of
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
, then the future looks bright indeed." The hot rumor was that Commander Venus could be "the next big thing" out of Omaha. The rumor was wrong.
"First, Matt quit. He was frustrated; he didn't want to play drums. Then Tim had to make a decision, because Cursive was really picking up at the time and he was their main guy. We knew it would come to this point where we'd both be touring at the same time, so he bowed out."
The band continued for another nine months with
Todd Baechle
Todd Fink (born Todd Baechle – pronounced "BECK-lee" – on March 3, 1974, in Omaha, Nebraska) is the lead singer of the band The Faint. He attended Omaha's Westside High School.
Career
Fink was also one of four members of the band Commander ...
on bass and Ben Armstrong on drums. They toured the
East Coast
East Coast may refer to:
Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
* East Coast FM, a ra ...
, but Oberst began to feel penned in by the band. "It lost its luster and I got fed up with the big '
emo music
Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
' craze. We got tagged as an emo band right off the bat. A lot of cool bands were playing that style of music, then a huge number of bands started tagging along, and suddenly everyone was getting thrown in the emo category. These days, I think of emo as a negative term."
Discography
Albums
*''Do You Feel at Home?'' (
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
; CD & LP on
Saddle Creek
Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his ...
)
*''
The Uneventful Vacation
''The Uneventful Vacation'' is the second and final album released by American emo band Commander Venus
Commander Venus was an American emo band from Omaha, Nebraska. Fronted by Conor Oberst and Tim Kasher, the band also included Todd Fink a ...
'' (
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
; CD THICK Records, LP on
Saddle Creek
Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his ...
)
Singles
*''Music Me All Over'' (
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
; 7"
split with Lux-O-Values,
Norman Bailer
The Faint is an American indie rock band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, the band consists of Todd Fink, Graham Ulicny, Dapose and Clark Baechle. The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer and included Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes, with whom T ...
& Weld on
Saddle Creek
Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his ...
)
*''Some Songs'' (
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
; 7" split with Drip on Saddle Creek & Ghostmeat Records)
Compilations
*''Apollo's Salvage'' (
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
; CD on Ghostmeat Records; features the song "Pay Per View")
*''Saddle Creek Records, A Sampler'' (
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
; CD on
Saddle Creek
Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his ...
; featured the songs "Bent on Broken Nerves" & "Waiting for Enoch Arden")
See also
*
Bright Eyes (band)
*
Cursive (band)
Cursive is an American indie rock band from Omaha, Nebraska. Stylistically described as emo and post-hardcore, Cursive came to prominence with 2000's '' Domestica'' and found commercial and critical success with 2003's ''The Ugly Organ''. The band ...
*
Head of Femur (band)
References
External links
Commander Venusat Ghostmeat Records
Wind Up RecordsSaddle Creek Records
{{Authority control
Conor Oberst
Indie rock musical groups from Nebraska
Musical groups from Omaha, Nebraska
Saddle Creek Records artists
American emo musical groups
1995 establishments in Nebraska