Don Caballero

History

The group's original lineup consisted of Damon Che (drums), Mike Banfield (guitars), and Pat Morris (bass guitar). The members of Don Caballero originally intended to draft a singer and a second guitarist to join the group. However, their early rehearsals generated such interest that the trio was offered paying gigs and decided to remain instrumental.

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. Critic Steve Huey wrote that "it was Che's manic explosions and stop-on-a-dime shifts in time signature that mapped out the trail his bandmates followed."

The three-piece Don Caballero issued two singles for the Pittsburgh-based labels Pop Bus and Broken Giraffe in 1992 before Ian Williams joined as a second guitarist. A recording session with Steve Albini and a deal with the prestigious Chicago based label Touch and Go Records yielded yet another single and then finally their debut album, 1993's For 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 they released their second LP Don Caballero 2 whose liner notes stated that "Don Caballero is rock not jazz, Don Caballero is free from solos."

In the wake of Don Caballero's second full-length, Che and Williams expanded their respective musical palettes: Che with Speaking Canaries (featuring bassist Karl Hendricks and drummer Noah Leger) and Williams with Storm & Stress, an experimental 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 to Don 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 their singles and compilation tracks called Singles Breaking Up (Vol. 1). During this period, Mike Banfield retired from the group; former Bitch Magnet guitarist Jon Fine briefly filled in and allowed Don Caballero to complete its touring obligations in support of What Burns....

The band, once again a trio and now based out of Chicago, Illinois, toured extensively throughout 1999 and 2000, playing a set of almost all-new material. To fill the void left by Banfield, Williams and Emm played through Akai headrush pedals that allowed them to loop and layer their parts. These nine new songs were committed to tape by Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio recording studio and released in the fall of 2000 as American Don.

While touring in support of American Don in November 2000, personality issues and fatigue took their toll on the members of Don Caballero and they decided to break up after the tour was done. The band never made it to what would have been their final show in Detroit, however, as their van hit a patch of ice on Interstate 75 (I-75), spun out of control and crashed into a semi truck.

Throughout 2001 and 2002, the former members of Don Caballero embarked on a variety of new musical projects: Damon Che with Bellini, Ian Williams with Battles and Eric Emm with Good Morning.

Don Caballero reformed

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).

The new Don Caballero signed with the heavy metal label Relapse Records in 2005 and released the album World Class Listening Problem in early 2006. The group toured in support of the album throughout 2006 and 2007, playing its first shows in the UK and Japan.

The remaining Don Caballero 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 in Royal Oak, Michigan in early 2008 and released it as Punkgasm 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.

Don Caballero have not performed live or released new music since 2009, but they have released three albums of archival recordings: Gang Banged With a Headache, and Live (recorded live 2003; released 2012); Five Pairs of Crazy Pants. Wear 'Em: Early Caballero (the band's earliest studio recordings from 1991; released 2014); and Look At Them Ellie Mae Wrists Go!: Live Early Caballero (the band's second live show, recorded 1992; released 2014).

In a 2014 interview with Noisey: Music by Vice, Damon Che indicated that Don Caballero technically still exists as a part-time band, and mulled over the possibility of limited touring and a series of 12" vinyl singles in the future.

Legacy

Tomas Haake and Dave Konopka have both named What Burns Never Returns as one of their favorite albums, and guitarist Marnie Stern has cited a video of a Don Caballero performance as the inspiration behind her extensive usage of two-handed tapping. The track "Chief Sitting Duck" from the album For Respect was featured in the second season intro for the reality show Buzzkill on MTV and the program Icon featured their music more than three years after their 2000 breakup.

Albums

EPs

Songs from all of Don Caballero's EPs (with the exception of the Chunklet and Joyful Noise singles) are collected on the CD Singles Breaking Up (Vol. 1), released in 1999. Both songs from the Chunklet 7" were later included on Look At Them Ellie Mae Wrists Go! in 2014.

Live albums