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Don Caballero | |
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   American Don line-up; From left to right: Eric Emm, Damon Che, Ian Williams | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Don Cab, The Don |
| Origin | Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania |
| Genres | |
| Years active |
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| Labels | |
| Spinoffs | |
| Past members |
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| Website | Don Caballero's official Facebook |
Don Caballero (often shortened by members as 'Don Cab') was an Americanmath rock band fromPittsburgh,Pennsylvania.[2]
Although the band has had numerous lineup changes with co-founderDamon Che (drums and percussion) being the only constant member, the band's classic lineup consisted of Che,Ian Williams (guitar), Pat Morris (bass guitar), and Mike Banfield (guitar).
Formed in 1991 as a trio, the band released two singles in 1992. Williams joined the band the same year during the production of their debut albumFor Respect which was released in 1993 to positive reviews. Morris shortly left after the album's release and was replaced by bassists Matt Jencik, George Draguns from 1993 to 1996 respectively. In 1995, the band under the lineup of Jencik, Williams, Banfield, and Che released their second albumDon Caballero 2 to critical acclaim. After the release ofDon Caballero 2, the group went on hiatus for two years.
The core lineup reformed in 1997 to releaseWhat Burns Never Returns to further critical acclaim. The following year, Morris departed again and was replaced by bassist Eric Emm. Banfield soon followed in 1999 and the band became a trio for the second time since its original inception. In 2000, Don Caballero released their fourth albumAmerican Don which featured a less aggressive sound than their previous albums.American Don received critical acclaim with critics considering it to be among their best work.[3] The band split the same year due to tensions between Williams and Che.[4][5] In 2003, Che reformed the band with guitarists Jeff Ellsworth and Gene Doyle along with bassist Jason Jouver. They releasedWorld Class Listening Problem in 2006 andPunkgasm in 2008 both to mixed reviews. In 2009, the band disbanded for the final time.
Considered pioneers of the 90's undergroundmath rock movement along with bandsSlint,Chavez, andShellac, they developed acult following during their career and are considered to be widely influential.[6][7][8]
The group's original lineup consisted of Damon Che (drums), Mike Banfield (guitars), and Pat Morris (bass guitar).[9] Its members originally intended to draft a singer to join the group.[10] However, their early rehearsals generated such interest that the trio was offered paying gigs and decided to remain instrumental.[11]
The group took its name from the character Guy Caballero, portrayed byJoe Flaherty, on the sketch comedy showSecond City Television.[12] InSCTV's parody of the filmThe Godfather,Guy Caballero is called "Don Caballero".[13]
Che's energetic and unconventional style of drumming was often praised, and earned him the informal title of "The Octopus" due to the wild flailing of his arms while playing.[14] Critic Steve Huey wrote that "it was Che's manic explosions and stop-on-a-dime shifts intime signature that mapped out the trail his bandmates followed."[15]
A recording session withSteve Albini and a deal with the prestigiousChicago-based label Touch and Go Records yielded yet another single and then finally their debut album, 1993'sFor Respect.
In the fall of 1993 bass player Pat Morris left Don Caballero to form the band Six Horse with Louisville transplant Shannon Burns and Blunderbuss drummer Bill Baxter. Throughout 1994 and 1995 a number of Pittsburgh-area musicians filled the bass slot in Don Caballero including Len Jarabeck, Dave Reid, Matt Jencik, and George Draguns.
In 1995 the band released its second LPDon Caballero 2. The liner notes of the album's promotional CD stated that "Don Caballero is rock not jazz. Don Caballero is free of solos."
In the wake of Don Caballero's second full-length, Che and Williams expanded their respective musical palettes: Che withSpeaking Canaries (featuring bassistKarl Hendricks and drummer Noah Leger) and Williams withStorm & Stress, anexperimental rock trio featuring bassist Eric Emm (Tanlines) and drummer Kevin Shea.
In 1997 the group reconvened after an almost two-year hiatus, with original bassist Pat Morris back in the fold. In the following year the band released the follow-up toDon Caballero 2,What Burns Never Returns.
In the fall of 1998 Pat Morris left the band once again and was replaced by Storm & Stress bassist Eric Emm. The band set out on a number of successful U.S. and European tours and finally released a collection of its singles and compilation tracks calledSingles Breaking Up (Vol. 1). During this period, Mike Banfield retired from the group; formerBitch Magnet guitarist Jon Fine briefly filled in and allowed Don Caballero to complete its touring obligations in support ofWhat Burns....
The band, once again a trio and now based out ofChicago, toured extensively throughout 1999 and 2000, including a performance in Toronto,[16] playing a set of almost all-new material. To fill the void left by Banfield, Williams and Emm played throughAkai Headrush pedals that allowed them toloop and layer their parts. These nine new songs were committed to tape bySteve Albini at hisElectrical Audio recording studio and released in the fall of 2000 asAmerican Don.
While touring in support ofAmerican Don in November 2000, tensions between Williams and Che mounted and fatigue took their toll on the members of Don Caballero and they decided to break up after the tour was completed. The band never made it to what would have been its final show inDetroit on November 21, however, as its van hit a patch of ice onInterstate 75, spun out of control and crashed into asemi truck.[17] The entire tour was documented by musician Fred Weaver, opening act for the band, in his article "The Dark Final Days of Don Caballero" for Chunklet magazine.
Throughout 2001 and 2002, the former members of Don Caballero embarked on a variety of new musical projects:Damon Che withBellini,Ian Williams withBattles and Eric Emm with Good Morning.
Che reformed Don Caballero in 2003 with an entirely new lineup consisting of members of Pittsburgh's Creta Bourzia. The new members were Jeff Ellsworth on guitar, Gene Doyle on guitar, and Jason Jouver on bass. (Mike Banfield and Pat Morris were invited to participate but both declined).[18]
The new Don Caballero signed with theheavy metal labelRelapse Records in 2005 and released the albumWorld Class Listening Problem in early 2006. The group toured in support of the album throughout 2006 and 2007, playing its first shows in the United Kingdom and Japan.
Jeff Ellsworth left Don Caballero in 2006 and the remaining trio debuted several new songs (or "New Shapes" as they called them) in 2007, some of which featured vocals courtesy of Damon Che. The group recorded this new set of music at Rust Belt Recorders inRoyal Oak, Michigan in early 2008 and released it asPunkgasm on August 19, 2008. The record contained some ideas taken from the Speaking Canaries sessions. Doyle sang on one of the tracks, Che sang on "Dirty Looks", while the title track "Punkgasm" featured Che on guitar and Doyle on drums. The album is the only of Don Caballero's to feature vocals.
Don Caballero has not released new music since 2009, but it has released three albums of archival recordings:Gang Banged With a Headache, and Live[19] (recorded live 2003; released 2012);Five Pairs of Crazy Pants. Wear 'Em: Early Caballero (the band's earliest studio recordings from 1991; released 2014); andLook at Them Ellie Mae Wrists Go!: Live Early Caballero (the band's second live show, recorded 1992; released 2014).
In a 2014 interview withNoisey: Music by Vice, Damon Che indicated that Don Caballero technically still existed as a part-time band, and mulled over the possibility of limited touring and a series of 12-inch vinyl singles in the future. However, in a 2017 appearance onThe Trap Set podcast, Che spoke of Don Caballero entirely in the past tense and indicated that the group "stopped playing" after a final show in Spain in 2009.[20]
In 2021, an official Don CaballeroYouTube channel was created, featuring new videos of Damon Che playing drum covers of the band's discography. This coincided with Che starting aGoFundMe to help pay for the costs of digitizing all of the Don Caballero master tapes, which he had been in possession of for more than 30 years, before they started todegrade.[21] The GoFundMe page has now finished its donation mark, and Che has made a video thanking the donators with one part of the video saying that new material will hopefully come out.[22]
In 2024, Che recorded and released an album withEl Ten Eleven bassist Kristian Dunn under the band nameYesness onJoyful Noise Recordings:See You At The Solipsist Convention.[23][24]
Don Caballero was generally regarded as amath rock band that was heavily influenced byjazz andjazz fusion. They are said to have expanded upon the works of influences such asBastro,Bitch Magnet, andSlint. The band utilized time signature changes, dynamic shifts, and dissonant and complex guitar interplay. None of Don Caballero's music was improvised; on the contrary, the group's compositions were "carefully" crafted.[25]
Tomas Haake fromMeshuggah andDave Konopka fromBattles have both namedWhat Burns Never Returns as one of their favorite albums, and guitaristMarnie Stern has cited a video of a Don Caballero performance as the inspiration behind her extensive usage of two-handed tapping.[26] The track "Chief Sitting Duck" from the albumFor Respect was featured in the second season intro for the reality showBuzzkill onMTV and the programIcon featured their music more than three years after their 2000 breakup.
Final lineup
Former touring members
| Former members
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Songs from all of Don Caballero's EPs (with the exception of theChunklet and Joyful Noise singles) are collected onSingles Breaking Up (Vol. 1), released in 1999. Both songs from theChunklet 7-inch were later included onLook At Them Ellie Mae Wrists Go! in 2014.
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