Steve Pedersen

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Steve Pederson is an American guitarist from Omaha, Nebraska. He left Cursive in 1998 to attend law school at Duke University in North Carolina, after graduating from Creighton University with a degree in political science. At Duke, he started the band The White Octave, which released two albums and appeared on a few samplers. When Pedersen graduated, he returned to Omaha, Nebraska, started Criteria, and began working at Kutak Rock LLP.

With the help of some friends, he wrote ten songs in a friend's basement, where he also lived for a short while. Their debut album, En Garde was released on Initial Records. En Garde became a very underrated album, probably due to lack of promotion. Pedersen soon found a job and became a lawyer. Even with a new job, he still found time to play a few shows here and there.

After Initial Records disbanded, Criteria needed to find a new record label. Hometown friends Saddle Creek Records took them in and re-released En Garde in 2005, as well as a new album, When We Break. Since then, Pedersen quit his day job to focus full-time on his music.