Editing Tim Kasher

{{short description|American musician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist 
| background  = solo_singer
| instrument = Vocals, [[accordion]], guitar, organ, keyboard, [[vuvuzela]], bass
| name            = Tim Kasher
| image           = Tim_Kasher_in_the_crowd_during_Big_Bang_at_the_Concert_for_Equality.JPG
| caption         = Tim Kasher performing in the crowd with [[Cursive (band)|Cursive]] at the Concert for Equality
| birth_date      = {{Birth date and age|1974|8|19}}
|birth_place      = [[Omaha, Nebraska|Omaha]], [[Nebraska]], US
| genre           = [[Indie rock]], [[emo]], [[post-hardcore]], [[alternative rock]], [[folk rock]]
| associated_acts = [[Cursive (band)|Cursive]], [[The Good Life (band)|the Good Life]], [[Slowdown Virginia]], [[Commander Venus]]
| label           = [[Saddle Creek Records|Saddle Creek]]
| years_active    = 1993–present
}}

'''Timothy J. Kasher''' (born August 19, 1974) is an American musician from [[Omaha, Nebraska]], and is the frontman of [[indie rock]] groups [[Cursive (band)|Cursive]] and [[The Good Life (band)|the Good Life]],<ref name="Ambrose, Anthony">{{cite web |url = http://intunemusiconline.com/2010/12/04/minus-the-bear-tim-kasher-twin-tigers-nyc-1242010/ |title = inTuneMusic Online: Minus the Bear / Tim Kasher / Twin Tigers @ NYC 12/4/2010 |access-date = 2011-03-05 |author = Ambrose, Anthony |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130103131713/http://intunemusiconline.com/2010/12/04/minus-the-bear-tim-kasher-twin-tigers-nyc-1242010/ |archive-date = January 3, 2013 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> both of which are on the Omaha-based record label [[Saddle Creek Records]].

== Music ==
=== Slowdown Virginia ===
{{Main|Slowdown Virginia}}
Slowdown Virginia was formed in Omaha in 1993 by Kasher with [[Matt Maginn]], [[Criteria (band)|Steve Pedersen]], and Casey Caniglia after the dissolution of a previous band called The March Hares. With a sound described as a [[Heartland rock|heartland]] [[Pavement (band)|Pavement]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = SPIN|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=N0HASap-qBoC&q=Tim%2520Kasher%2520slowdown%2520virginia&pg=PA81|publisher = SPIN Media LLC|date = 2003-07-01|first = SPIN Media|last = LLC}}</ref> and into the [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]],<ref name=":1">{{cite web|title = Ultimate Cult Heroes {{!}} NME.COM|url = https://www.nme.com/list/ultimate-cult-heroes/216779/page/7|website = Nme.com|access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref> Slowdown Virginia recorded and released one album, ''[[Dead Space (album)|Dead Space]]'', on Lumberjack Records, with the help of funding from friends.<ref name=":1" /> The band was short lived, breaking up in 1995, but it inspired other bands to form in Omaha like [[The Faint]] and [[Bright Eyes (band)|Bright Eyes]],<ref name=":0" /> the formation of Saddle Creek Records out of Lumberjack Records,<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url = http://saddle-creek.com/timkasher/review/2858/|title = The Game of Monogamy|last = Wolgamott|first = L. Kent|date = November 11, 2010|newspaper = Lincoln Journal Star|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151126111836/http://saddle-creek.com/timkasher/review/2858/|archive-date = November 26, 2015|url-status = dead}}</ref> and the name of Omaha's indie music venue, [[Slowdown (venue)|Slowdown]].<ref name=":2" />

=== Cursive ===
{{Main|Cursive (band)}}
Kasher, Maginn, and Pedersen formed a new band, [[Cursive (band)|Cursive]], in 1995, adding [[Clint Schnase]] to the band. The bands released two albums, described as full of emotion and distortion,<ref>{{cite web|title = Cursive - Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes (album review ) {{!}} Sputnikmusic|url = https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/11734/Cursive-Such-Blinding-Stars-for-Starving-Eyes/|website=Sputnikmusic.com|access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite web|title = Cursive - The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song|url = https://www.punknews.org/review/10652/cursive-the-storms-of-early-summer-semantics-of-song|website=Punknews.org| date=July 6, 2006 |access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref> before disbanding in 1998 as Kasher moved to [[Portland, Oregon]], after getting married.<ref name=":4">{{cite web|title = Cursive: Brutal Truths from the Ugly Organ|url = http://www.playbackstl.com/play-by-play/music-profile-play-by-play/cursive-brutal-truths-from-the-ugly-organ/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160422155326/http://www.playbackstl.com/play-by-play/music-profile-play-by-play/cursive-brutal-truths-from-the-ugly-organ/|url-status = usurped|archive-date = April 22, 2016|website=Playbackstl.com|access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref> Kasher also spent some of this time playing guitar in Commander Venus, recording and releasing two albums. Pedersen left Omaha to study law at [[Duke University]] in [[North Carolina]]<ref>{{cite web|title = Former lawyer sets Criteria for success<br>Stephen Pedersen leaves a bills-paying corporate job to focus on his rock band.|url = http://newsok.com/article/2908066|website = NewsOK.com|access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref> shortly afterward.

Kasher's marriage and time away from Omaha did not last long; he returned within eighteen months of leaving Cursive and Omaha. With Pedersen away, Kasher recruited [[Ted Stevens (musician)|Ted Stevens]] to join the previous other band members. The re-formed Cursive soon recorded and released their third album, ''Domestica,'' at Presto! Studios in Omaha, using the stock room of the USA Baby store where Kasher worked as the band's practice space.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5">{{cite web|title = Lazyeye Interview: Cursive - Domestica|url = http://www.timmcmahan.com/cursive2.htm|website=Timmcmahan.com|access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref> ''Domestica'' showed this version of Cursive to have a tight-knit, hard-rock sound with the addition of Stevens as well as Kasher's newfound focus on introspective, storytelling focused lyrics.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> Cursive added cellist [[Gretta Cohn]] for the next several releases and the band, and Kasher's writing, found critical success with 2003's ''[[The Ugly Organ]]'',<ref name=":6">{{cite web|title = Cursive: The Ugly Organ (Reissue)|url = https://www.popmatters.com/review/190378-cursive-the-ugly-organ-reissue/|website = PopMatters| date=February 16, 2015 |access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref> a "gale force" of "personal indigence."<ref name=":6" />

Cohn departed Cursive in 2005,<ref>{{cite web|title = Cellist Gretta Cohn leaves Cursive|url = https://www.punknews.org/article/13564/cellist-gretta-cohn-leaves-cursive|website=Punknews.org| date=August 24, 2005 |access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref> and the band continued on without a cellist. Cursive has subsequently recorded and released three more studio albums, also concept albums<ref name=":9">{{cite web|title = Cursive: I Am Gemini|url = https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16291-i-am-gemini/|website = Pitchfork|access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref> - a style that Kasher began loosely with ''The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song''<ref name=":3" /> and developed full-blown with ''Domestica''.<ref name=":5" /> Cursive's last release was ''[[Vitriola]]'' in 2018.

=== The Good Life ===
{{Main|The Good Life (band)}}
[[The Good Life (band)|The Good Life]] was originally planned to be a solo project. Kasher wanted to experiment with different types of lyrics and melodies.<ref name=":7">{{cite web|title = Feels Like The First Time: Cursive's Tim Kasher reconvenes the Good Life|url = http://substreammagazine.com/2015/11/feels-like-the-first-time-cursives-tim-kasher-reconvenes-the-good-life/|website = Substream Magazine|access-date = 2015-11-26|archive-date = November 26, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151126173018/http://substreammagazine.com/2015/11/feels-like-the-first-time-cursives-tim-kasher-reconvenes-the-good-life/|url-status = dead}}</ref> He released ''[[Novena on a Nocturn]]'' under the name the Good Life on [[Better Looking Records]] in 2000, five months after Cursive's ''Domestica''.<ref name=":7" /> ''Novena on a Nocturn'' touched on the same themes of ''Domestica'', mainly ones of divorce and loss, and was noted in reviews for Kashers intense focus on his lyrics and personal storytelling.<ref>{{cite web|title = The Good Life: Novena on a Nocturn|url = https://www.popmatters.com/review/goodlife-novena/|website = PopMatters|access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = The Good Life - Novena On A Nocturn|url = https://www.punknews.org/review/51/the-good-life-novena-on-a-nocturn|website=Punknews.org| date=March 9, 2001 |access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref> 2002's ''[[Black Out (The Good Life album)|Black Out]]'' was also a mostly solo effort with friends assisting in the recording, and was released on Saddle Creek Records. As with ''Novena'', the album was noted for its focus on melodies and lyrics, with Dan Ocean of ''Punk News'' describing the sound as "a slower paced Cursive with some electronica and an abundance of hooks."<ref>{{cite web|title = The Good Life - Black Out|url = https://www.punknews.org/review/2093/the-good-life-black-out|website=Punknews.org| date=July 15, 2003 |access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref>

After using the Good Life as essentially a side project, Kasher decided to make the Good Life a full-fledged band.<ref name=":7" /> Kasher recruited [[Ryan Fox (musician)|Ryan Fox]], Roger Lewis, and [[Stefanie Drootin|Stefanie Drootin-Senseney]] and released ''[[Album of the Year (The Good Life album)|Album of the Year]]'' in 2004.<ref name=":7" /> Despite his intention to make the Good Life a band in its own right, Kasher still retained most creative control over the band for much of ''Album of the Year''<ref name=":7" /> and similarly for 2007's ''[[Help Wanted Nights]]'', described by ''[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]]''<nowiki/>'s Eric Harvey as "two consecutive concept albums dealing with boozers and their second homes."<ref>{{cite web|title = The Good Life: Help Wanted Nights|url = https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10648-help-wanted-nights/|website = Pitchfork|access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref>

The Good Life took a break after 2007. Kasher released two albums with Cursive and two solo albums before reconvening the Good Life in late 2013. This time Kasher approached the Good Life with recording the album as a band, with all members contributing to the process of writing the songs.<ref name=":7" /> The result was the rock-oriented ''[[Everybody's Coming Down]]'', released in September 2015.

=== Solo work ===
His first solo album, ''[[The Game of Monogamy]]'', was released to mixed reviews<ref>{{cite web|title = The Game of Monogamy by Tim Kasher|url = https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-game-of-monogamy/tim-kasher|website = Metacritic|access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref> on October 5, 2010, on [[Saddle Creek|Saddle Creek Records]]. Written after Kasher moved from Los Angeles to Montana, Kasher's first truly solo work was noted for its lyricism and instrumentation but also for again repeating on the themes of a broken romance that dominated early releases by the Good Life and Cursive's ''Domestica''.<ref>{{cite web|title = Tim Kasher: The Game of Monogamy|url = https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14685-the-game-of-monogamy/|website = Pitchfork|access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Album Review: Tim Kasher - The Game of Monogamy|url = http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/09/album-review-tim-kasher-the-game-of-monogamy/|website = Consequence of Sound| date=September 24, 2010 |access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref> Chris Parker from ''Alternative Press'' called the album "overture to middle age and the declining allure of the bars and hook-ups scene."<ref name=":8">{{cite web|title = Tim Kasher - Bigamy: More Songs From The Monogamy Sessions EP - Reviews - Alternative Press|url = http://www.altpress.com/reviews/entry/tim_kasher_bigamy_more_songs_from_the_monogamy_sessions_ep|website = Alternative Press|access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref> The follow-up EP, ''[[Bigamy: More Songs from the Monogamy Sessions]]'', was released in August 2011. ''Bigamy'' continues the same themes as ''Monogamy'' with seven additional songs.<ref name=":8" />

''[[Adult Film (album)|Adult Film]]'', Kasher's second solo album, was released on Saddle Creek Records in 2013. Featuring a more reserved vocal style and stripped-down instrumentation as compared to ''The Game of Monogamy'', ''Adult Film''<nowiki/>'s topic touch on mistrust, anxiety, and the fears of adult life.<ref>{{cite web|title = Album Review: Tim Kasher - Adult Film|url = http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/10/album-review-tim-kasher-adult-film/|website = Consequence of Sound| date=October 16, 2013 |access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Adult Film|url = http://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/tim_kasher_adult_film_album|website=Undertheradarmag.com|access-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref>

Kasher's fourth solo album, "Middling Age", was released in April 2022.<ref>{{cite web|title = On Middling Age, Tim Kasher Doesn't Always Want To Be A 47-Year-Old Rocker|url = https://www.spin.com/2022/04/tim-kasher-middling-age-interview/|website=spin.com| date=April 15, 2022 |access-date = 2022-04-22}}</ref>

== Musical style and influences ==
''Pitchfork''<nowiki/>'s Taylor Clark once described Kasher's singing as "perhaps the worst great voice in indie rock," noting his lack of ease in singing with a range and a deficiency in enunciation.<ref>{{cite web|title = Cursive: Cursive's Domestica|url = https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1700-cursives-domestica/|website = Pitchfork|access-date = 2015-11-27}}</ref> His voice is commonly recognized as a signature part of Cursive's sound.<ref>{{cite web|title = Iowa City Weekender: June 20–23 - Little Village|url = http://littlevillagemag.com/iowa-city-weekender-june-20-23/|website = Little Village| date=June 20, 2013 |access-date = 2015-11-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Interview with Tim Kasher: Following Sound|url = http://www.theaquarian.com/2013/03/13/interview-with-tim-kasher-following-sound/|website = The Aquarian Weekly|access-date = 2015-11-27}}</ref> Kasher's songwriting receives similar attention, particularly 2003's ''The Ugly Organ'', which took an introspective meta view on the songwriting process itself.<ref name=":6" /> For his part, Kasher has said that a lot of the inspiration for grand visions for his solo albums came from [[David Bowie]].{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} Kasher cites Bowie for helping him to "wake me up to, well, you can do whatever you want. I mean, you’re doing a solo record. You can go in absolutely any direction."{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} Even prior to this, Kasher's writing for albums moved more and more towards a screenplay style of writing, to the point of the lyric sheet for ''I Am Gemini'' being described by one reviewer as "a full-blown ''[[libretto]]''."<ref name=":9" />

== Personal life ==
{{BLP sources section|date=October 2019}}
In 2007, Kasher moved from [[Omaha]] to [[Los Angeles]], [[California]]. While also working on new music with both Cursive and the Good Life, he took up writing [[screenplays]]. In late 2009, he relocated to [[Montana]] to focus more explicitly on his writing. He is currently again living in Los Angeles.<ref name="riyl.podbean.com">{{cite web|url=https://riyl.podbean.com/e/episode-221-tim-kasher-of-cursive-the-good-life/ |title=Episode 221: Tim Kasher (of Cursive, The Good Life) |website=Riyl.podbean.com |access-date=2020-03-12}}</ref>

He has an undergraduate degree in English, with a minor in Philosophy. He has stated that if he was not pursuing music full-time, he would have become an English professor, teaching writing or literature.

He is the youngest of six children, with four older sisters and one older brother.

In 2015, Kasher married his long-term girlfriend Gwynedd Stuart, the managing editor at ''[[Sporked]]''.<ref name="sporked.com/author">{{cite web|url=https://sporked.com/author/gwyneddstuart/ |website=sporked.com |access-date=2025-01-02 |title=Gwynedd Stuart }}</ref>

In 2017, a feature film ''No Resolution'' — written and directed by Kasher starring Maura Kidwell and Layne Manzer — was released. In an interview with ''[[The Reader (newspaper)|The Reader]]'', Kasher said an earlier version premiered at the [[Omaha]] Film Festival a year prior in 2016.<ref name="thereader.com">{{cite web|url=https://thereader.com/culture/movies/tim-kasher-debuts-first-feature-film-no-resolution |title=Tim Kasher debuts first feature film, No Resolution  |website=Thereader.com |date=August 30, 2017 |access-date=2022-01-30}}</ref>

==Discography==
{{For|his work with Cursive and the Good Life|Cursive discography|The Good Life (band)#Discography}}

===Solo albums===
*''[[The Game of Monogamy]]'' (2010, [[Saddle Creek Records|Saddle Creek]])
*''[[Bigamy: More Songs from the Monogamy Sessions]]'' (2011, [[Saddle Creek Records|Saddle Creek]])
* ''[[Adult Film (album)|Adult Film]]'' (2013, [[Saddle Creek Records|Saddle Creek]])
* ''No Resolution'' (2017, 15 Passenger)
* ''Middling Age'' (2022, 15 Passenger)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/cursive-tim-kasher-i-dont-think-about-you-1310442/|title=Cursive's Tim Kasher Previews Solo Album With 'I Don't Think About You'|first=Emily|last=Zemler|website=Rollingstone.com|date=February 21, 2022|access-date=April 18, 2022}}</ref>

===Other work===
*[[Commander Venus]] – ''[[Do You Feel at Home?]]'' (1995, [[Saddle Creek]])
*[[Commander Venus]] – ''[[The Uneventful Vacation]]'' (1997, [[Thick Records]])
*[[Bright Eyes (band)|Bright Eyes]] – ''[[Every Day and Every Night]]'' (1999, [[Saddle Creek]])
*[[Bright Eyes (band)|Bright Eyes]] – ''[[Fevers and Mirrors]]'' (2000, [[Saddle Creek]])
*[[Bright Eyes (band)|Bright Eyes]] – ''[[Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground]]'' (2002, [[Saddle Creek]])
*[[Bright Eyes (band)|Bright Eyes]] – ''[[Noise Floor (Rarities: 1998-2005)|Noise Floor]]'' (2006, [[Saddle Creek]])
*[[Head of Femur (band)|Head of Femur]] – ''[[Ringodom or Proctor]]'' (2003, [[Greyday Productions]])
*[[Rilo Kiley]] – ''[[The Execution of All Things]]'' (2003, [[Saddle Creek Records]])
*[[Planes Mistaken for Stars]] – ''[[Up in Them Guts]]'' (2004, [[No Idea Records]])
*[[Son, Ambulance]] – ''Key'' (2004, [[Saddle Creek]])
*[[Statistics (band)|Statistics]] – ''[[Leave Your Name]]'' (2004, [[Jade Tree Records]])
*An Iris Pattern -''Sod is Gold'' (2006)
*[[McCarthy Trenching]] – ''[[McCarthy Trenching]]'' (2006, [[Team Love|Team Love Records]])
*[[Thursday (band)|Thursday]] – ''[[Kill the House Lights]]'' (2007, [[Victory Records]])

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Cursive (band)}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasher, Tim}}
[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:American male singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American rock singers]]
[[Category:American rock songwriters]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska]]
[[Category:Saddle Creek Records artists]]
[[Category:Cursive (band) members]]
[[Category:Commander Venus members]]
[[Category:21st-century American accordionists]]
[[Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Nebraska]]