Cursive is an indie rock band from Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The band records for the label Saddle Creek Records, which is one of the Saddle Creek flagship artists. 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. 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 reformed. Pedersen had started law school so Ted Stevens (formerly of Lullaby for the Working Class) stepped in and joined the band. In 2000, their album, Domestica, a concept album written like a one-act play documenting the lies, hate and deceit associated with a divorce, gained them much attention from fans and critics alike and they toured with At the Drive-In.

Cursive added Gretta Cohn in 2001 on cello. The strings added complimentary 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, a series of internal monologues that reflects insecurities and self-doubt amidst the turmoil of life on an ever-turning emotional carousel. The music magazine, Rolling Stone, gave the album a 4-star rating, while alternative music magazine Alternative Press rated the album a perfect 5 out of 5. In 2004 The Cure selected Cursive to tour with them on their Curiosa tour. Afterwards the band went on hiatus with no specified return date.

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. Instead of replacing her, the band remained a 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, and, perhaps, a comment on midwestern city life), was released August 22, 2006. Its first single was "Dorothy At Forty," released on July 11th, 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 hypocrisy. 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 rating, while alternative music magazine Alternative Press rated the album a perfect 5 out of 5 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 "Gentleman Caller" on "The Ugly Organ"

The 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. The finalist is scheduled to appear as a B-side on an upcoming Cursive single. Cursive released their latest album, "Mama, I'm Swollen", on March 10th, 2009.

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.

Cymbals Eat Guitars are an indie rock band from Staten Island, New York, United States, who formed in 2005. They consist of Joseph D'Agostino (vocals, guitar), Matthew Whipple (bass, vocals), Brian Hamilton (keyboards, vocals) and Matthew Miller (drums).

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.

Conduits - facebook
http://www.facebook.com/ConduitsMusic

Conduits, an Omaha band consisting of members of The Good Life, Eagle Seagull, Son Ambulance, Neva Dinova, Cursive, and The Golden Age, was formed in late 2009. Built from an equal love of drone, shoegaze, post rock, early synth, and the 1970?s, their sound exists in a world bigger than the sum of its parts: chiming guitars, steady drum beats, analog synths, proggy basslines, and beautiful female vocals that are strong enough to not get lost in the swirling soundscapes.

Though they hail from a town famous for producing singer-songwriters, Conduits' music wouldn't feel right played on an acoustic guitar. These guys know that a perfectly placed drum hit, a thunderous synth bass crescendo, or a squalling guitar can sometimes be just as crushing as any lyric or chord progression. They draw as much from Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine as they do from Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin, and probably land somewhere in the middle.

The music scribes and bloggers that have already caught on to the band Conduits have all enjoyed bandying about the word "shoegaze" like a ball of yarn when talking about the band. It's an understandable and easy shorthand for a group that prefers darker, dreamier sounds carried to the apex by a female vocalist who sounds haunted and enraptured. And it's a descriptor that this Omaha-based sextet wouldn't necessarily mind as they do list Jason Spaceman (Spiritualized, Spacemen 3), Beth Gibbons (Portishead), and Slowdive among their varied musical inspirations.

Truth be told, though, shoegaze only scratches the surface of what's behind the music of Conduits. These aren't affected youth staring at their guitar pedals and hoping that the audience in front of them would just go away. This is music that pulses and crackles with energy and incident. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Let's talk about how this all started.

The original Conduits demos were the creation of JJ Idt and Nate Mickish, two guitarists already busy in the Omaha music scene with their anxious pop and rock outfits. Working together, the pair found much more to express than just inner angst. They were aiming for soundscapes that embraced drones, psychedelia, and a fervent rhythmic punch. And the more they played the more they heard a female voice filling in the empty spaces in these songs.

Enter Jenna Morrison. Best known for her work as a member of indie rockers Son, Ambulance, Morrison brought that rare combination of attainability and remoteness (think: Gibbons, Hope Sandoval, Trish Keenan, Sandy Denny) to her vocal performances. It was the perfect element to help spark these already tempestuous creations into full-blown blazes.

The band - rounded out by bassist Mike Overfield, keyboardist Patrick Newbery, and drummer Roger Lewis - has taken off like a shot since those first demos. They've secured a number of amazing support slots in their hometown, sharing the stage with acts like The Hold Steady and The Appleseed Cast, as well as doing a short, well-received jaunt opening for Bright Eyes.
Now, Conduits is looking to take on the rest of the U.S. and beyond with the release of their debut self-titled album. The eight-song dreamscape flows with a cinematic ambition. Songs like "Top of the Hill" and "Limbs and Leaves" provide the soundtrack for slow motion dance scenes, while "Last Dirge" and "Misery Train" are all fast edits and racing hearts.

The point here is for you to stop starting at your own feet, and cast your eyes towards Conduits. Enjoy the spectacle. Get caught in the whirlwind of sound and ideas. Move with them.

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.