Desaparecidos (band)
Desaparecidos was an
American indie/
punk rock side project headed by singer/guitarist
Conor Oberst, the frontman of the
indie band
Bright Eyes. They have also been hailed as the "
Saddle Creek supergroup". Hailing from
Omaha,
Nebraska, Desaparecidos' lyrics were political in nature, and are about the state of affairs in
America.
The band was been both lauded and criticized for its intentionally raw sound following the release of
Read Music/Speak Spanish. In sharp contrast to
Bright Eyes' confessional, even sometimes mournful vocals,
Conor Oberst's vocals in Desaparecidos' songs were much more characteristic of punk rock. Though his wavery voice was still present, he snarled in "Happiest Place On Earth" that "there's not enough to fatten the cows and feed all of us. It's just a rationing of luck." In "Mañana", he shouted, "We will spread, we will cover the earth / Like air and water / ...If we're stopped, we'll just start again." The focus of the album- that today's bigger/better/best society is never satiated- is neatly summed up by "Greater Omaha", in which Oberst mused, "One more mouthful, and they will be happy then."
"
Desaparecidos" means literally "the ones who disappeared" in
Spanish, and is a reference to people who were arrested by various
South American military governments and then vanished without a trace. From
1976 to
1983 in
Argentina, for example, thousands of dissidents vanished without a trace under
Dirty War driven by the military
junta that was in power.
The band broke up in
2003. Rumors state Oberst believed the band was getting huge, especially after getting attention from the
Jimmy Eat World tour and being featured on an
MTV You Hear it First piece. Oberst continued to record with
Bright Eyes, while the other members of Desaparecidos went on to form other projects. Matt Baum was in
The '89 Cubs, but now currently drums for
Race for Titles;
Denver Dalley is in
Statistics and
Intramural; and
Landon Hedges is currently in
Little Brazil.
*
Conor Oberst - vocals, guitar
*
Landon Hedges - bass guitar, vocals (later replaced by
Casey Scott)
*
Matt Baum - drums
*
Denver Dalley - guitar
*
Ian McElroy - keyboards
Albums
*
Read Music/Speak Spanish (
2002 ·
Saddle Creek Records)
Singles & EPs
*
The Happiest Place on Earth (
2001 ·
Saddle Creek Records)
Compilations
*
Saddle Creek 50 (
2002 ·
Saddle Creek Records) ::songs: "Man and Wife, the Latter (Damaged Goods)," "Popn' Off at the F"
*
Liberation: Songs to Benefit PETA (
2003 ·
Fat Wreck Chords) ::song: "Man and Wife, the Latter (Damaged Goods)"
*They opened up for
Jimmy Eat World for one of their tours.
*All members make an appearance in
Emogame 2, and
Conor Oberst is a playable character. His special attack is called "The Disappeared."
*
The '89 Cubs*
Bright Eyes*
Little Brazil*
Statistics*
Saddle Creek RecordsInterviews
*
Lazy-i Interview: April 2001*
Lazy-i Interview: January 2002*
Lazy-i Interview: August 2002
