Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes is the band of American singer-songwriter and musician Conor Oberst, whose knack for social commentary and philosophy have led to comparisons with Bob Dylan, although his darker themes of depression, anxiety, and alcoholism are much more reminiscent of Leonard Cohen and Simon Joyner.

While Bright Eyes remains signed to the independent label Saddle Creek, the band enjoys mainstream popularity that rivals that of their major label contemporaries: in 2004, the singles "Lua" and "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)" took the top two spots of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Sales chart within two weeks of their simultaneous release.

History

Early years

Bright Eyes started as a side project of Conor Oberst's while he was the frontman for the indie rock outfit Commander Venus. Though the band remained his primary focus between the years 1995 and 1997 , Oberst continued to write and record acoustic solo material onto his father's four-track reel-to-reel in his parents' basement. Of the 70 songs reportedly recorded, two found their way onto the first official Bright Eyes release, an untitled 7" split with the band Squad Car 96.

By the time Commander Venus disbanded in 1997, Bright Eyes had become Oberst's main focus. In 1998, he released another 20 of the songs he had been stockpiling as the first official Bright Eyes album, A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997. The album saw Oberst beginning to experiment with drum machines, keyboards and other instruments. The sound of the album ranges from bleating vocals, which at the beginning were criticized as sounding like an inauthentic David Dondero, to acoustic guitar songs and techno-style synthesizer instrumentals. Critical reaction was mixed, with All Music Guide saying that many of "the songs disintegrate as his vocals are reduced to the unintelligible babbling of a child. Any balance the music maintained up to that point, however fragile, is lost and so, more than likely, is the listener." ^*

Saddle Creek put forth Letting Off the Happiness on November 2 1998, an eleven track piece that boasted a much more focused and clear sound than the previous album. According to the Saddle Creek press release, it features members of Lullaby for the Working Class, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Of Montreal. Park Ave. bandmate Neely Jenkins contributed some vocals as well. It was predominantly recorded in the Oberst family basement in Omaha by Mike Mogis on an analog eight track reel to reel; some work also done at keyboardist Andy Lemaster's Athens, Georgia studio.[http://cwas.hinah.com/interview/?id=30 Although almost all of the tracks feature a full band, "June on the West Coast" is performed with only acoustic guitar and vocals, showcasing how much Oberst had matured as a musician, singer and writer during the time since his previous records. "Padraic My Prince" gives a dramatic (but later revealed to be fictional) account of Conor's younger brother drowning in the bath. The closing track, "Tereza and Tomas" borrows from Milan Kundera's novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

2000 saw the release of Fevers and Mirrors, and in 2002 came Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground. The group soon upgraded from playing small house shows to large venues and even several prestigious festivals.

Recent years

In 2004, Oberst founded Team Love, a record label with distribution from Saddle Creek. Among its first releases have been albums by Tilly and the Wall, David Dondero and Jenny Lewis. The label also re-pressed the Park Ave. album, When Jamie Moved to London...We Broke Up.

During the 2004 election season, Bright Eyes toured with Bruce Springsteen and R.E.M. on the MoveOn.org "Vote for Change" tour, further pushing him into the public eye. He sang numerous duets with the likes of Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.

In early November 2004, two Bright Eyes singles, "Lua" and "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)", reached the two top spots on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales, a remarkable feat for a musician on an independent label. This was the first time this had happened on the list in seven years.

January 25, 2005 saw the release of two distinctly different Bright Eyes albums: the folky, analog sounding I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and the electronic/computer sounding Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. Both albums were met with success and generally good reviews, and an extensive world tour followed. After releasing three albums in 2005, he has stated that he does not want to release an album in 2006.

On May 5, 2005 Bright Eyes appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and performed the protest song "When the President Talks to God", a scathing rebuke of the Bush administration. A 7" vinyl single of the song was soon after sold at concerts and it was offered for download free of charge on iTunes.

On November 9, 2005, Bright Eyes cancelled their November 12 show in St. Louis upon discovering that the venue was associated with Clear Channel, which they have been actively protesting since 2004.

Bright Eyes won Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "When the President Talks to God" at the PLUG Independent Music Awards and a Special Recognition Award for the video for "First Day of My Life" at the 17th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.

Bright Eyes received a pop-culture honor on May 20, 2006 in being mentioned in an episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Kevin Spacey. The show was making fun of Neil Young's not-so-subtle dislike of George W. Bush, specifically on his album Living With War. Young was joined by Dixie Chicks and "indie sensation Bright Eyes," both of whom have been very public in their criticism of Bush. Conor Oberst was played by Andy Samberg and Neil Young was played by Spacey.

Bright Eyes plans to release a new studio album on Saddle Creek in spring 2007. About 25-30 tracks have been recorded in Portland, Oregon and New York City, with another session planned in Omaha, Nebraska. Contributors include Gillian Welch, Janet Weiss and M. Ward.

A compilation of rare tracks between 1998-2005 called "Noise Floor" is set to be released October 24, 2006.

Band

Current members

Band members as of June 18, 2006.

Daniel McCarthy - bass
Mike Mogis - banjo, mandolin, pedal steel guitar
Conor Oberst - vocals, guitar, keyboards
Anton Patzner - violin
Maria Taylor - drums
Nate Walcott - accordion, trumpet

Past members and contributors

Shane Aspegren, Clark Baechle, Todd Baechle-Fink, Jeremy Barnes, Kevin Barnes, Rob Bass, Karen Becker, Jake Bellows, Eric Bemberger, Jason Boesel, Chris Brooks, Donna Carnes, Gretta Cohn, Sean Cole, Britt Daniel, Stefanie Drootin, Sabrina Duim, Julee Dunekacke, Aaron Druery, Jim Eno, Orenda Fink, Margret Fish, Jason Flatowicz, Matt Focht, Emmylou Harris, Jesse Harris, Jim James, Neely Jenkins, Simon Joyner, Tim Kasher, Thomas Kluge, Joe Knapp, Tiffany Kowalski, Jiha Lee, Andy LeMaster, Andy Leverett, Clay Leverett, Jenny Lewis, Tim Luntzel, Matt Maginn, Daniel McCarthy, Alex McManus, A.J. Mogis, Stella Mogis, Katie Muth, Robb Nansel, Matt Oberst, Anton Patzner, Steve Pedersen, Kimberly Salistean, Clint Schnase, Casey Scott, Blake Sennett, Ted Stevens, Mike Sweeney, Jeff Tafolla, Jimmy Tamborello, Maria Taylor, M. Ward, Janet Weiss, Gillian Welch, Nick White, Nick Zinner

Discography

Image:BrightEyes Songs.jpg|

A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997
January, 1998
Image:Lettingoffthehappiness brighteyes.jpg|Letting Off the Happiness
November 2, 1998
Image:Feversandmirrors brighteyes.jpg|Fevers and Mirrors
May 29, 2000
Image:Lifted brighteyes.jpg|Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground
August 13, 2002
Image:A Christmas Album (Bright Eyes Album).jpg|A Christmas Album
2002
Image:Brighteyes.imwideawakeitsmorning.albumcover.jpg|I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
January 25, 2005
Image:Brighteyes.digitalashinadigitalurn.albumcover.jpg|Digital Ash in a Digital Urn
January 25, 2005
Image:Motion sickness cover.jpg|Motion Sickness: Live Recordings
December 1, 2005

External links

Saddle Creek · Record label responsible for releasing a significant amount of albums by the band.
- Saddle Creek Records · Bright Eyes · Official Bright Eyes webpage, run by Saddle Creek Records.
The Story Is In The Soil · fansite linked to on the Saddle Creek Records website.
Bright Eyes Lyrics
ContrastandCompare.com · fansite
Live concert January 29 2005 on NPR's All Songs Considered, also two songs and interview. (RealPlayer, Windows Media Player)
Lazy-i Interview: December 1998
Lazy-i Interview: May 2000
Lazy-i Interview: September 2002
Lazy-i Interview: Extra Innings
Lazy-i Interview: January 2005
Fabchannel.com - Watch a free video stream of the 2005 Paradiso concert
Fabchannel.com - Watch a free video stream of the 2003 Paradiso concert
Fabchannel.com - Watch a free video stream of the 2002 Paradiso concert

References

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