Caustic Casanova
Encyclopedia
Caustic Casanova is an American rock
band, from Washington, DC, formed in 2005. The band self-released their first album, entitled Old Habits Die Hard, in May 2005, after playing one show at the College of William and Mary
in Williamsburg
, Virginia
, where the three members attended college. Old Habits Die Hard was followed by Caustic Casanova's Official Moustache of Portuguese Cricket in March 2006, often referred to as simply "Official Moustache" by fans. Both Old Habits Die Hard and Official Moustache were released as homemade CD-R's, quickly sold out, and have been out of print ever since. The band's first studio EP Dichotomies was released in May 2006. Production was limited to a few hundred copies, though the record is widely available online. In April 2008, after a hiatus of nearly a year and a half, the band released Imminent Eminence, a sprawling, 14 song, 72 minute album on their own Mad Love Records imprint. The record has earned generally positive reviews from the indie rock
press.
The group is now primarily based in Washington, DC. As of September 2010, the band is currently in the studio recording a follow up record to Imminent Eminence with record producer/indie rock musician J. Robbins
at his Magpie Cage Studios in Baltimore, Maryland.
In February 2011 Caustic Casanova announced that their new album will be called "Someday You Will Be Proven Correct" and that it will be released in fall 2011.
and blues
, early 1990s alternative rock
and stoner rock
, shoegaze, and post-rock
, often combining these influences in a single track. Their lyrics range widely as well - the band has written deeply personal lyrics about love, loss and the personal anxieties of modern existence, but has also covered odd topics like Irish Mythology
and Venetian
Painter Titian
, to name a few. The band is known for their signature heavy riffs, musicianship, extensive use of effects pedals, lengthy songs, and live improvisation.
All three members have at one point or another contributed keyboards. Zaenker has occasionally sung backing vocals, and Beringer has contributed harmonica
. Wollitz has occasionally contributed acoustic guitar
.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band, from Washington, DC, formed in 2005. The band self-released their first album, entitled Old Habits Die Hard, in May 2005, after playing one show at the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
in Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, where the three members attended college. Old Habits Die Hard was followed by Caustic Casanova's Official Moustache of Portuguese Cricket in March 2006, often referred to as simply "Official Moustache" by fans. Both Old Habits Die Hard and Official Moustache were released as homemade CD-R's, quickly sold out, and have been out of print ever since. The band's first studio EP Dichotomies was released in May 2006. Production was limited to a few hundred copies, though the record is widely available online. In April 2008, after a hiatus of nearly a year and a half, the band released Imminent Eminence, a sprawling, 14 song, 72 minute album on their own Mad Love Records imprint. The record has earned generally positive reviews from the 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...
press.
The group is now primarily based in Washington, DC. As of September 2010, the band is currently in the studio recording a follow up record to Imminent Eminence with record producer/indie rock musician J. Robbins
J. Robbins
James Robbins is an American rock music artist. He began his career as a bassist for Government Issue, and has also led four of his own bands: Jawbox, Rollkicker Laydown, Burning Airlines, and Channels. He was a touring bassist for Scream and played bass on the debut 7" from Jack Potential, which...
at his Magpie Cage Studios in Baltimore, Maryland.
In February 2011 Caustic Casanova announced that their new album will be called "Someday You Will Be Proven Correct" and that it will be released in fall 2011.
Musical style
In nearly every review of Caustic Casanova's music the band's extremely diverse musical style is emphasized, usually as a positive, but occasionally as a negative. Their catalogue includes everything from sludgy, lengthy metal dirges to sunny indie pop. The band draws heavily on classic rockClassic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, early 1990s alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
and stoner rock
Stoner rock
Stoner rock or stoner metal is a subgenre of heavy metal, combining elements of psychedelic rock, blues rock, traditional heavy metal and doom metal. Stoner rock is typically slow-to-mid tempo and features a bass-heavy sound, melodic vocals, and 'retro' production...
, shoegaze, and post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
, often combining these influences in a single track. Their lyrics range widely as well - the band has written deeply personal lyrics about love, loss and the personal anxieties of modern existence, but has also covered odd topics like Irish Mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
and Venetian
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
Painter Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
, to name a few. The band is known for their signature heavy riffs, musicianship, extensive use of effects pedals, lengthy songs, and live improvisation.
Members
- Michael Wollitz – guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, vocals - Francis Beringer - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Stefanie Zaenker – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
All three members have at one point or another contributed keyboards. Zaenker has occasionally sung backing vocals, and Beringer has contributed harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
. Wollitz has occasionally contributed acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
.
Discography
- Old Habits Die Hard (2005) (CD-R, currently out of print)
- Caustic Casanova's Official Moustache of Portuguese Cricket (2006) (CD-R, currently out of print)
- Dichotomies (2006) (EP)
- Imminent Eminence (2008)
- Someday You Will Be Proven Correct (2011)