Okkervil River is an
indie rockIndie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band from
Austin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. Formed in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author
Tatyana TolstayaTatyana Nikitichna Tolstaya is a Russian writer, TV host, publicist, novelist, and essayist from the Tolstoy family.- Family :She was born into a family of rich literary tradition. Her paternal grandfather was Aleksei Nikolaevich Tolstoi, an important Russian-Soviet writer known as 'the Red...
. They self-released their first album,
Stars Too Small to Use, which led them to the
South by SouthwestSouth by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
music festival. After recording their first album in a garage, they signed with
JagjaguwarJagjaguwar is an indie rock record label based in Bloomington, Indiana.-History:In 1996, in Charlottesville, Virginia, friends of Darius Van Arman who performed in a band under the moniker The Curious Digit had just recorded a new album, but they were signed to no label...
. Okkervil River continued by releasing four more albums, including the critically lauded concept album
Black Sheep BoyBlack Sheep Boy is Okkervil River's third album, released on April 5, 2005. The title is inspired by the song "Black Sheep Boy" by '60s folk singer, Tim Hardin, and the album, which is loosely based around Hardin's struggle with heroin addiction, opens with Okkervil River's cover of the song...
.
After a period of touring for
Black Sheep Boy, Okkervil River followed up with
The Stage NamesThe Stage Names is the fourth full-length studio album by American indie rock band Okkervil River, released on August 7, 2007. The album was recorded in Austin, Texas, with longtime Okkervil producer Brian Beattie, and with mixing from Spoon drummer and producer Jim Eno. Like other Okkervil River...
.