Calabrese (band)
Encyclopedia
Calabrese is an American horror punk
band that was based out of Phoenix, Arizona
in 2003. The band includes brothers Bobby Calabrese on guitar
and vocals, Jimmy Calabrese on bass and vocals, and Davey Calabrese on Drums. Calabrese is their actual surname. Self described as The Misfits meets Ramones meets The Damned, Calabrese combines Gothabilly looks and B movie drive-in lyrics with a deathrock
sound. Calabrese has been described as "melodic, hook-laden, catchy, fun, horror-themed Rock with a Punk attitude." They have cited other bands such as Samhain
, Danzig
, White Zombie
/Rob Zombie
, Type O Negative
, Black Flag
, and Johnny Cash
as influences.
in a large family of Italian American
heritage. Jimmy Calabrese, the oldest of the trio, developed a fascination with horror and fictional monsters at an early age through a friend. Jimmy recalled in his blog of how after the violent suicide of a local boy, paranormal activity was witnessed and investigated by him and a group of friends via the use of a ouija board
. Afterward, their house was supposedly haunted, plagued by a foul smell, and had a demonic figure appear in a door. The hauntings reportedly stopped after the family moved to Arizona.
Through Jimmy, Bobby was introduced to horror and sci-fi themed music. The two brothers both played bass and were separately active in a handful of local bands. In 2002, after completing film school at Columbia College
, Jimmy decided the two should form their own band. Bobby switched to electric guitar and the two recruited the then sixteen year old Davey Calabrese, their youngest brother, to play drums—a frustrating task due to his inexperience the brothers would recall. Because of Davey's age, their father had to attend shows which would eventually lead him to operate the merchandise table.
In 2003 the band self-released the now out of print six song EP Midnight Spookshow to positive reviews from underground and indie publications from around the world. Midnight Spookshow, was entitled from a song of the same title that appears on the album. Michigan-area artist Tony O'Farell was hired to do the artwork because of his pulp-comics influence. Aaron Carey (pipelineaudio) recorded both the Midnight Spookshow and 13 Halloweens albums at Studio Z in Phoenix Arizona. Both albums were mastered by Andrew Davenport at Edgeworth Studios, New Zealand, making this a truly international affair from the start. Of the songwriting Jimmy claimed, "Midnight Spookshow" was one of our first songs that we re-wrote the chorus at least 3 times. All the lyrics on that song are from 1950s spookshow taglines. These are all actual ballyhoo lines assorted in an entertaining fashion. The album blends traditional three chord punk rock music à la The Misfits with audio samplings from old B movies, a habit Calabrese has become known for. The lyrics for one song on the album, Blood in my Eyes were notably written by their sister who was inspired by the movie Carrie.
13 Halloweens, a thirteen tracked album, brought back rerecorded versions of most songs from their previous release, with some new songs and generally sped up tempos, with one exception being the slower paced Eyes Down, an intentionally sorrowful song with a slower arrangement. New subject matters included alienation, zombies, resurrections, shrunken heads, automobiles and poltergeists. Though retaining their original punk rock sound, 13 Halloweens displayed a foray into a more professional quality for the band that includes catchy melodies, AFI
-like wails, and heavier bass and drums. Canadian artist Andrew Barr was hired for the album's artwork. A music video for "Backseat of my Hearse" was directed by local filmmaker J.D. Smith.
One year later the band released their second full length album, The Traveling Vampire Show, named through another contest by fan Regina Gottlieb of Illinois. The album features the artwork of Tom Bagley and Andrew Barr. The Traveling Vampire Show continued the sound of 13 Halloweens in many ways and explored in more detail the topics of ghosts, vampirism, and the occult. Two music videos for Voices of the Dead and Vampires Don't Exist were directed by comic book writer and film director Brian Pulido
. Voices of the Dead was shot at Collins College Studio in Tempe, AZ and premiered on March 1, 2007 at Chandler Cinemas after a live performance by the band. The video for Vampires Don't Exist was used to promote Pulido's latest movie, The Graves
.
In keeping true to tradition, the band held another contest to title their upcoming album which was won by fan Bianca Vargas. October 31, 2009, Halloween night, the band announced their new album would be titled Calabrese III: They Call Us Death. In an interview, Jimmy claims that the new album's material is mostly written by Bobby. In the same interview, Bobby claims that Calabrese III will contain more experimental guitar sounds, largely abandoning three chord progressions. Furthermore the album will contain darker lyrics and more daring imagery. The album was released on March 20, 2010 through itunes and cdbaby.com.
In March 2010, two days before departing on their east coast tour in support of the 'They Call Us Death' lp, Jimmy's left hand was broken in an accident and Kelly Carcinogen was asked to fill in on bass. There were ten dates total, including the Horror Hound Weekend in Indianapolis, IN. Jimmy was still able to play bass with his hand in a cast during encores. His hand healed completely shortly after the tour ended.
The band is currently plans to begin shooting a new music video in May or June 2010, according to band member's facebook posts.
of The Death Riders (and bassist for Rob Zombie
and Ozzy Osbourne
) stated, "I think Calabrese is one of the top Horror Rock bands I have heard."
Fangoria
has given good remarks about them, stating, "In reality, their unique ability to take burning hard edged rock guitar with crisp clean drums and snares along with darker crooning voodoo vocals sets them apart from any current punk act."
Rue Morgue, has said, "simply too good for fans of B-horror rock 'n' roll to pass up."
Brent E. Kick (Author of The Ultimate Musician's Reference Handbook) writes, "The band successfully rides big choruses, chanted backing vocals and thundering percussion seemingly without effort. This formula is never more evident than on the EP's closer, "Blood In My Eyes". While the band doesn't bring anything dramatically new to the table, few do. There is something instantly familiar and reassuring about the album that will certainly delight fans of the Misfits, Ramones and Ghoulies."
Prick Magazine says, "The foremost point about Calabrese and their Horror Rock, which seems a catch-all description of anything Punka-Gotha-Rockabilly these days, is that they nip at you ferociously and incessantly, having the finest American punk traditions etched into their very bowels."
Horror punk
Horror punk is a music genre that mixes Gothic and punk rock sounds with morbid imagery and lyrics, which are often influenced by horror films...
band that was based out of Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
in 2003. The band includes brothers Bobby Calabrese on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and vocals, Jimmy Calabrese on bass and vocals, and Davey Calabrese on Drums. Calabrese is their actual surname. Self described as The Misfits meets Ramones meets The Damned, Calabrese combines Gothabilly looks and B movie drive-in lyrics with a deathrock
Deathrock
Deathrock is a term used to identify a sub-genre of punk rock incorporating horror elements and spooky atmospherics, that emerged on the West Coast of the United States in 1979.-Characteristics:...
sound. Calabrese has been described as "melodic, hook-laden, catchy, fun, horror-themed Rock with a Punk attitude." They have cited other bands such as Samhain
Samhain (band)
Samhain was an American rock band formed by singer Glenn Danzig in 1983, immediately following his departure from the Misfits. Samhain played in more of a deathrock and heavy metal-infused style of horror punk than Danzig's previous band. By 1987 Samhain's membership evolved into a new band,...
, Danzig
Danzig (band)
Danzig is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1987 in Lodi, New Jersey. The band serves as a musical outlet for the singer/songwriter Glenn Danzig. Danzig can be seen as the third stage in Glenn Danzig's musical career, preceded by the horror punk bands The Misfits and Samhain...
, White Zombie
White Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
/Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
, Type O Negative
Type O Negative
Type O Negative was a gothic metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. The band also incorporated elements of doom metal and thrash metal. Their dramatic lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four"...
, Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
, and Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
as influences.
Beginning and Midnight Spookshow
The three brothers were originally raised in the rural town of Antioch, IllinoisAntioch, Illinois
Antioch is a village in the Antioch Township of Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,430 at the 2010 census. Antioch is part of the Chicago metropolitan area.- Prior to incorporation :...
in a large family of Italian American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
heritage. Jimmy Calabrese, the oldest of the trio, developed a fascination with horror and fictional monsters at an early age through a friend. Jimmy recalled in his blog of how after the violent suicide of a local boy, paranormal activity was witnessed and investigated by him and a group of friends via the use of a ouija board
Ouija Board
Ouija Board is a Thoroughbred mare racehorse owned by Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby and trained by Ed Dunlop. In a career spanning four seasons, she won 10 of her 22 races, 7 of them Group 1s, including the Epsom Oaks in 2004 and the Hong Kong Vase in 2005...
. Afterward, their house was supposedly haunted, plagued by a foul smell, and had a demonic figure appear in a door. The hauntings reportedly stopped after the family moved to Arizona.
Through Jimmy, Bobby was introduced to horror and sci-fi themed music. The two brothers both played bass and were separately active in a handful of local bands. In 2002, after completing film school at Columbia College
Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is one of the largest art colleges in the United States with nearly 12,000 students pursuing degrees within 120 undergraduate and graduate programs...
, Jimmy decided the two should form their own band. Bobby switched to electric guitar and the two recruited the then sixteen year old Davey Calabrese, their youngest brother, to play drums—a frustrating task due to his inexperience the brothers would recall. Because of Davey's age, their father had to attend shows which would eventually lead him to operate the merchandise table.
In 2003 the band self-released the now out of print six song EP Midnight Spookshow to positive reviews from underground and indie publications from around the world. Midnight Spookshow, was entitled from a song of the same title that appears on the album. Michigan-area artist Tony O'Farell was hired to do the artwork because of his pulp-comics influence. Aaron Carey (pipelineaudio) recorded both the Midnight Spookshow and 13 Halloweens albums at Studio Z in Phoenix Arizona. Both albums were mastered by Andrew Davenport at Edgeworth Studios, New Zealand, making this a truly international affair from the start. Of the songwriting Jimmy claimed, "Midnight Spookshow" was one of our first songs that we re-wrote the chorus at least 3 times. All the lyrics on that song are from 1950s spookshow taglines. These are all actual ballyhoo lines assorted in an entertaining fashion. The album blends traditional three chord punk rock music à la The Misfits with audio samplings from old B movies, a habit Calabrese has become known for. The lyrics for one song on the album, Blood in my Eyes were notably written by their sister who was inspired by the movie Carrie.
13 Halloweens, Traveling Vampire Show
Subsequently the band was approached by several indie labels, including an exclusive deal with Antidote Records. The band declined the offers and instead decided to again self-release their first full length album through their recently created record label, Spookshow Records. For the title, the band held a contest to name their next album. The winning title was 13 Halloweens, sent in by Tempe fan Kurt Havelock under the name Nil Failstorm, who would later become known for turning himself in on charges of a planned Super Bowl massacre. The album was released in 2005.13 Halloweens, a thirteen tracked album, brought back rerecorded versions of most songs from their previous release, with some new songs and generally sped up tempos, with one exception being the slower paced Eyes Down, an intentionally sorrowful song with a slower arrangement. New subject matters included alienation, zombies, resurrections, shrunken heads, automobiles and poltergeists. Though retaining their original punk rock sound, 13 Halloweens displayed a foray into a more professional quality for the band that includes catchy melodies, AFI
AFI (band)
AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...
-like wails, and heavier bass and drums. Canadian artist Andrew Barr was hired for the album's artwork. A music video for "Backseat of my Hearse" was directed by local filmmaker J.D. Smith.
One year later the band released their second full length album, The Traveling Vampire Show, named through another contest by fan Regina Gottlieb of Illinois. The album features the artwork of Tom Bagley and Andrew Barr. The Traveling Vampire Show continued the sound of 13 Halloweens in many ways and explored in more detail the topics of ghosts, vampirism, and the occult. Two music videos for Voices of the Dead and Vampires Don't Exist were directed by comic book writer and film director Brian Pulido
Brian Pulido
Brian Pulido is a creator, writer and producer of comic books and films.-Early life:Growing up in Long Branch, New Jersey, Pulido first developed an interest in the horror genre after the release of Night of the Living Dead when he was a child.-Comic book career:Pulido has created, written or...
. Voices of the Dead was shot at Collins College Studio in Tempe, AZ and premiered on March 1, 2007 at Chandler Cinemas after a live performance by the band. The video for Vampires Don't Exist was used to promote Pulido's latest movie, The Graves
The Graves (film)
The Graves is a 2009 horror film. Described as a "supernatural survival shocker," it is written and directed by veteran comic book creator Brian Pulido and produced by Mischief Maker Studios, and Ronalds Brothers Productions.- Plot :...
.
Recent activity
After performing at their first European premiere at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen festival in Leipzig, Germany with Shadow Reichenstein and Blitzkid, Calabrese returned home to record new tracks for their long planned album.In keeping true to tradition, the band held another contest to title their upcoming album which was won by fan Bianca Vargas. October 31, 2009, Halloween night, the band announced their new album would be titled Calabrese III: They Call Us Death. In an interview, Jimmy claims that the new album's material is mostly written by Bobby. In the same interview, Bobby claims that Calabrese III will contain more experimental guitar sounds, largely abandoning three chord progressions. Furthermore the album will contain darker lyrics and more daring imagery. The album was released on March 20, 2010 through itunes and cdbaby.com.
In March 2010, two days before departing on their east coast tour in support of the 'They Call Us Death' lp, Jimmy's left hand was broken in an accident and Kelly Carcinogen was asked to fill in on bass. There were ten dates total, including the Horror Hound Weekend in Indianapolis, IN. Jimmy was still able to play bass with his hand in a cast during encores. His hand healed completely shortly after the tour ended.
The band is currently plans to begin shooting a new music video in May or June 2010, according to band member's facebook posts.
Notable reviews
BlaskoRob Nicholson (musician)
Rob "Blasko" Nicholson is a Heavy metal bassist who was born on November 24, 1969. His influences include the metal bands Iron Maiden, Motörhead, and Corrosion of Conformity...
of The Death Riders (and bassist for Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
and Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
) stated, "I think Calabrese is one of the top Horror Rock bands I have heard."
Fangoria
Fangoria
Fangoria is an American magazine devoted to horror and exploitation films, which has a number of associated brands:* Fangoria Comics* Fangoria Films* Fangoria RadioFangoria may also refer to:* Fangoria , a Spanish electro pop band...
has given good remarks about them, stating, "In reality, their unique ability to take burning hard edged rock guitar with crisp clean drums and snares along with darker crooning voodoo vocals sets them apart from any current punk act."
Rue Morgue, has said, "simply too good for fans of B-horror rock 'n' roll to pass up."
Brent E. Kick (Author of The Ultimate Musician's Reference Handbook) writes, "The band successfully rides big choruses, chanted backing vocals and thundering percussion seemingly without effort. This formula is never more evident than on the EP's closer, "Blood In My Eyes". While the band doesn't bring anything dramatically new to the table, few do. There is something instantly familiar and reassuring about the album that will certainly delight fans of the Misfits, Ramones and Ghoulies."
Prick Magazine says, "The foremost point about Calabrese and their Horror Rock, which seems a catch-all description of anything Punka-Gotha-Rockabilly these days, is that they nip at you ferociously and incessantly, having the finest American punk traditions etched into their very bowels."
Discography
- Midnight Spookshow EP (2003)
- 13 Halloweens (2005)
- The Traveling Vampire Show (2007)
- Calabrese III: They Call Us Death (2010)
Music compilations
- Hellnight-O-Rama 2
- HorrorPunk Compilation Volume 2: The Resurrection
- P.A.I.N. Soundtrack Vol. 1
- Too Much Horror Business 1977-1983: A Tribute to the Misfits 1977-1983 - "Night of the Living Dead"
- AZPunk.Comp V2 (2003)
- AZPunk.Comp V3 (2004)
- Horror of it All Vol. 1 (2005)
- This Is HorrorPunk Vol. 2 (2005)
- Ghouls Gone Wild (2006)
- Horror of it All Vol. 2 (2006)
- The Morgue The Merrier (2006)
- Rebels Of Rock N Roll #1 (2008)
- Horror High Presents Prom Queen Massacre (2006)
Movie soundtracks
- Horror Film: The Movie
- Zombie Punks from Beyond the Grave
- Prison-A-Go-Go!Prison-A-Go-Go!Prison-A-Go-Go! is an American movie first released in October 2003 by WorldWide International Picture Studios, known for producing low budget B-movies with campy concepts. The film premiered at the Deep Ellum Film Festival in 2003 and went on to win several awards. The film was directed by Barak...
(2003) - Chainsaw Sally (2004)
- Hoodoo for VoodooHoodoo for VoodooHoodoo For Voodoo is a 2007 Horror Comedy film from Abyssmal Entertainment and Writer/Director Steven Shea.- Cast :*Brunhilda Zekthi as Danielle*Chris McDaniel as Squid*Sacha Crutchfield as Asia*Garrett Harrison as Blake*Aaliyah Madyun as Sasha...
(2006) - No. My Other Possessed-Zombie Girlfriend. (2006)
- Blood on the HighwayBlood on the HighwayBlood on the Highway is an American comedy-horror film that was first released in March of 2008 by BOH Productions. The film premiered at the AFI Dallas Film Festival on March 28, 2008...
(2008) - Cabras (2009-Unreleased)
- The GravesThe Graves (film)The Graves is a 2009 horror film. Described as a "supernatural survival shocker," it is written and directed by veteran comic book creator Brian Pulido and produced by Mischief Maker Studios, and Ronalds Brothers Productions.- Plot :...
(2010)