caption current_members years_active label article_title background genre image origin name
steve right -rrb- of criteria perform at omaha 's sokol underground pedersen in 2006 . -lrb- left -rrb- and aaron druery -lrb- steve pedersen aaron druery a.j. mogis mike sweeney 2003 & ndash ; present saddle creek criteria -lrb- band -rrb-
 group_or_band indie rock criteria.jpg omaha , nebraska , united states criteria
criteria -lrb- band -rrb-

criteria is an indie rock band from omaha , nebraska , formed in 2003 when ex-cursive founding member steve pedersen returned to his hometown after graduating from the duke university school of law .
he spent six months in a friend 's basement where he wrote all ten songs for his new project 's debut album .
he recruited the help of some old friends , a.j. mogis -lrb- of presto !
recording studios and lullaby for the working class -rrb- on bass guitar , aaron druery on guitar , and mike sweeney of beep beep on drums .
their first album , `` en garde '' , was released on his previous band 's label , initial records .
steve pedersen eventually got a day job as a lawyer , making it hard for the band to go on tour to promote their new album .
initial records went bankrupt about a year after , leaving criteria without a label .
saddle creek records took their longtime friend in and put out three releases in 2005 .
the first was a re-release of the overlooked and underrated `` en garde '' , their new single , `` prevent the world , '' and their second full-length , `` when we break '' .
after being moved into saddle creek , pedersen quit his day job to spend full-time making music and touring .
criteria has performed with bands such as cursive , the fall of troy , thunderbirds are now !
, statistics , poison the well , rahim -lrb- band -rrb- , and minus the bear .
the band performed at the maha musical festival on august 17 , 2013 in omaha , nebraska .
criteria 's most recent performance took place on december 12 , 2013 at the waiting room lounge in omaha , during which pedersen mentioned the band was working on a new album .
