Biography

Waldorf began his music industry career as a student at the University of Georgia

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

, where he was music director of WUOG, the student radio station. During that time, he lived at the Athens, Georgia

Athens, Georgia

Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...

, home known as the Landfill, where he often booked local indie rock

Indie rock

Indie 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...

 musicians such as Neutral Milk Hotel

Neutral Milk Hotel

Neutral Milk Hotel was an American indie rock band formed by singer, guitarist and songwriter Jeff Mangum in the early 1990s. The band was noted for its experimental sound, obscure lyrics and eclectic instrumentation....

 and Olivia Tremor Control (members of the Elephant 6 collective), as well as out-of-town touring bands, to play live shows.

After moving to Brooklyn, New York, from Athens in 1998, Waldorf worked at the record store Other Music

Other Music

Other Music is a music retail store that sells CDs and records through their website as well as a brick-and-mortar store in Manhattan. It specializes in the sale of closely curated underground, rare and experimental music....

. In 1999, Waldorf became founding label manager of independent record label Misra; as the public face of the label, which was under other ownership, he headed its operations and A&R

A&R

Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...

 until 2006. Waldorf moved the label from Brooklyn to Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas

Austin 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...

, in 2003, where in 2005 he also began to book live music part time at the rock club Emo's

Emo's

Emo's is a prominent nightclub located in Austin, Texas. Emo's got its start as a Houston punk club in 1989, with the Austin location opening in 1992. The Houston location closed its doors in September 2001....

.

In 2007 Waldorf left Misra and Emo's to become the president of Dead Oceans, an independent record label

Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 founded in partnership with the owners of labels Secretly Canadian

Secretly Canadian

Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. It was started in 1996 by Chris and Ben Swanson, Eric Weddle, and Jonathan Cargill. Their first release was a re-issue of an album by June Panic...

 and Jagjaguwar

Jagjaguwar

Jagjaguwar 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...

of Bloomington, Indiana.