Cursive is an emo/indie rock band from Omaha, Nebraska, on Saddle Creek Records.
History
The band was formed in 1995 by Tim Kasher, Matt Maginn, Steve Pedersen (all formerly of Slowdown Virginia), and drummer Clint Schnase. In 1997, they released Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes. After a few years of touring, the band broke up in 1998.[1] They "posthumously" released The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song in the fall of that year. A year later, in the summer of 1999, the band re-formed. Pedersen had started law school[1] and later formed White Octave, so Ted Stevens (formerly of Lullaby for the Working Class) stepped in and joined the band. In 2000, their album Domestica, a concept album, gained them much attention from fans and critics.
Cursive added Gretta Cohn (on cello) in 2001; the strings added complementary sounds to that summer's Burst and Bloom. In 2002, the band toured on the Take Action! Tour.
Saddle Creek Records released The Ugly Organ in 2003. Music magazine Rolling Stone gave the album a 4-star rating,[2] while alternative music magazine Alternative Press rated the album a perfect 5 out of 5.[3] In 2004, The Cure selected Cursive to tour with them on their Curiosa tour, alongside Interpol, The Rapture, Mogwai, Scarling, and The Cooper Temple Clause. Afterwards, the band went on hiatus, with no specified return date.[4]
The label put out a compilation album of unreleased songs and B-sides, The Difference Between Houses and Homes, on August 9, 2005. In mid-2005, Gretta left the band to pursue other musical opportunities,[5] and has since formed the Brooklyn, NY-based band Twin Thousands. Instead of replacing her, the band remained four-piece.
After Cursive's hiatus, Saddle Creek announced that Kasher had temporarily stopped his work on his side project, The Good Life, to start recording an album with Cursive. The new album, Happy Hollow (named for an area of Omaha around Happy Hollow Boulevard, running parallel to Saddle Creek Road, [6] and perhaps a comment on midwestern city life), was released on August 22, 2006. Its first single was Dorothy at Forty, released on July 11, 2006. With this album, Kasher turned his focus away from self-reflective lyrics to concentrate on what he thought were bad politics, empty suburban lives, and religious hypocrisycitation needed. Music Magazines Spin, URB, Time Out New York, and Blender gave the record a 4 star rating, and Rolling Stone gave the album a 3.5-star ratingcitation needed, while alternative music magazine Alternative Press rated the album a perfect 5 out of 5,[7] saying “Cursive haven't just redefined their sound—they've transcended it.” Happy Hollow features a five-piece horn section, a concept first introduced on the songs "Art Is Hard" and "A Gentleman Caller" on The Ugly Organ.
In October following the release, the band revealed plans to bring audience participation to its catalog, offering fans a chance to remix its song "Bad Sects" through a competition on the website [1]; the finalist is scheduled to appear as a B-side on an upcoming Cursive single.[8]
Band Members
Cursive at Lollapalooza 2006
- Tim Kasher: lead vocals, guitar, piano (1995 - present)
- Matt Maginn: bass guitar (1995 - present)
- Ted Stevens: guitar, vocals (1999 - present)
- Cornbread Compton: drums, percussion (2007 - present)
Touring Members
- Patrick Newbery: trumpet, synthesizer
- Nick Broste: tenor trombone
- Nate Lepine: synthesizer, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
Former Members
Songs
Discography
Albums
Singles & EPs
Splits
Various Artists Compilations
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- song: "The Radiator Hums"
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- song: "Tides Rush In"
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- song: "Fairytales Tell Tales"
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- songs: "The Martyr," "Nonsense"
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- song: "The Recluse"
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- song: "Gentleman Caller"
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- song: "Frankly, Mr. Shankly"
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- song: "Ten Percent to the Ten Percent"
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- song: "Pivotal (demo)"
Videography
Shortform
- "Bloody Murderer" (2003, directed by Todd G. Bieber)
- "Some Red Handed Sleight of Hand" (2003, Jun Kawaguchi)
- "Art is Hard" (2003, Travis John Dopp)
- "The Recluse" (2004, Mike Malone)
- "A Disruption in the Normal Swing of Things" (2005, Rob Walters)
- "Dorothy at Forty" (2006, Michael Grodner)
- "Big Bang" (2007, Eric David Johnson)
- "Bad Sects" (2007, Nik Fackler)
Longform
References
- ^ a b Jason Kulbel & Rob Walters (directors). (2005). Spend an Evening with Saddle Creek [documentary video]. Plexifilm.
- ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (2003-04-03). "The Ugly Organ : Review". Rolling Stone (919). Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
- ^ "The Ugly Organ : Review" (2003-04-01). Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
- ^ "Saddle Creek Records" (Web). saddle-creek.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-27.
- ^ "Cellist Gretta Cohn leaves Cursive" (Web). punknews.org (2005-08-24). Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
- ^ "Cursive: Happy Hollow" (Web). screenpointblank.com (2006-08-30). Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
- ^ Karan, Tim (2006-12-05). "The Da Vinci Code for Indie Rockers". Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
- ^ "Bad Sects Remix Contest" (Web). badsects.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
External links
Interviews
See also
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