Conor Mullen Oberst is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos, the Faint, Commander Venus, Park Ave., Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Monsters of Folk, and Better Oblivion Community Center.
Oberst was named the Best Songwriter of 2008 by Rolling Stone magazine.
real name: Conor Mullen Oberst
labels: Saddle Creek Records, Team Love Records, Epitaph Records, Nonesuch Records, Merge Records, Wichita Recordings
genres: alternative rock, indie rock, indie folk, emo
plays: guitar, voice, bass guitar, piano, keyboard instrument, drum, percussion instrument, musical keyboard
member of: Better Oblivion Community Center, Bright Eyes, The Faint, Commander Venus, Park Ave., Monsters of Folk, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Desaparecidos
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Conor Mullen Oberst was born on February 15, 1980, the youngest of three boys, and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, to Matthew Ryan Oberst Sr., an information manager for Mutual of Omaha, and Nancy Oberst, an elementary education director for Omaha Public Schools. Oberst had two older brothers, Matthew Ryan Oberst Jr. and Justin H. Oberst. Matthew was a teacher and part-time musician until his death in 2016, and helped finance one of Oberst's self-released independent albums. Matt was also in the indie band Sorry About Dresden, which Conor played in from time to time. Conor has been writing and releasing music from a very young age, releasing his first solo album when he was 13.
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. 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.
Oberst was drawn to music at a very early age, due in part to his brother Matt's penchant for bands like The Smiths, R.E.M., Fugazi, and The Cure. He has cited The Cure's 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."
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