Don Caballero (often shortened by members as 'Don Cab') was an American

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instru ...

band from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Although the band has had numerous lineup changes with co-founder

Damon Che Damon Che (born Damon Che Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a rock drummer and guitarist. He has contributed to indie rock and progressive rock through his work with math rock pioneers Don Caballero since 1991. His style is heavily influ ...

(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 album ''

For Respect ''For Respect'' is the debut album by Don Caballero, a Pittsburgh-based math rock band. ''For Respect'' was released on Touch and Go Records in 1993. Though Ian Williams is credited on guitar for this album, he only joined the band shortly bef ...

'' 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 album ''

Don Caballero 2 ''Don Caballero 2'' is the second studio album by American math rock band Don Caballero. It was released in 1995 on Touch and Go Records. The album is the group's longest, clocking in at almost one hour in length. Critical reception Ira Robbins ...

'' to critical acclaim. After the release of ''Don Caballero 2'', the group went on hiatus for two years. The core lineup reformed in 1997 to release ''

What Burns Never Returns ''What Burns Never Returns'' is the third album by American math rock band Don Caballero. ''What Burns Never Returns'' was released on Touch and Go Records in 1998 and was a reunion of sorts for the band—it was their first album after a two-year ...

'' 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 album ''

American Don } ''American Don'' is the fourth studio album by American math rock band Don Caballero, released on Touch and Go in 2000. It was recorded by Steve Albini. It is the final album to feature bassist Eric Emm and guitarist Ian Williams. Background ...

'' 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. The band split the same year due to tensions between Williams and Che. In 2003, Che reformed the band with guitarists Jeff Ellsworth and Gene Doyle along with bassist Jason Jouver. They released ''

World Class Listening Problem ''World Class Listening Problem'' is the fifth full-length studio album by math rock band Don Caballero. Damon Che is the only member of the original lineup appearing on this record.https://www.facebook.com/DonCaballero/info Track listing P ...

'' in 2006 and ''

Punkgasm ''Punkgasm'' is the sixth and final studio album by American math rock band Don Caballero. It was released in 2008. It is the only album by the band to feature vocals. Track listing Personnel Don Caballero *Damon Che Damon Che (born Damon ...

'' in 2008 both to mixed reviews, respectively. In 2009, the band disbanded for the final time. Considered pioneers of the 90's underground

math rock Math rock is a style of progressive and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush as well as 20th-century minimal music composers such as Steve Reich. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (includi ...

movement along with bands

Slint Slint was an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986. The band consisted of guitarist and vocalist Brian McMahan, guitarist David Pajo, drummer and vocalist Britt Walford, Todd Brashear (bassist on ''Spiderland''), and Etha ...

, Chavez, and

Shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and ...

, they developed a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

during their career and are considered to be widely influential.

History

The group's original lineup consisted of Damon Che (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

), Mike Banfield (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s), and Pat Morris (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

). Its members originally intended to draft a singer to join the group. However, their early rehearsals generated such interest that the trio was offered paying gigs and decided to remain instrumental. The group took its name from the character Guy Caballero, portrayed by

Joe Flaherty Joseph Flaherty (born June 21, 1941) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy '' SCTV'' from 1976 to 1984 (on which he also served as a writer), and as Harold Weir on ''Freaks and G ...

, on the sketch comedy show ''

Second City Television ''Second City Television'', commonly shortened to ''SCTV'' and later known as ''SCTV Network'' and ''SCTV Channel'', is a Canadian television sketch comedy show that ran intermittently between 1976 and 1984. It was created as an offshoot from To ...

''. In '' SCTV's'' parody of the film ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...

'',

Guy Caballero Guy Caballero is a fictional character on the television series '' SCTV'' played by Joe Flaherty. President and owner of the fictional SCTV network, Caballero usually appeared on the series to introduce various network programs, although he also ...

is called "Don Caballero". 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 The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

that mapped out the trail his bandmates followed." A recording session with

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...

and a deal with the prestigious

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based label Touch and Go Records yielded yet another single and then finally their debut album, 1993's ''

''. 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 The blunderbuss is a firearm with a short, large caliber barrel which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity or caliber. The blunderbuss is commonly consid ...

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 LP ''

''. 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 with

Speaking Canaries The Speaking Canaries (sometimes "Thee Speaking Canaries" or "The(e) Speaking Canaries") are an indie rock group from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are known for being Don Caballero drummer Damon Che's "other band", and for their unabashed ...

(featuring bassist Karl Hendricks and drummer Noah Leger) and Williams with

Storm & Stress Storm & Stress (alternately styled as Storm&Stress or Stormandstress) were an American experimental rock band formed in Pittsburgh and later based in Chicago. The band's name is derived from the German literary movement Sturm und Drang. Storm & S ...

, an

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

trio featuring bassist Eric Emm (

Tanlines Tanlines is an American electronic music and indie rock duo from Brooklyn, New York composed of percussionist Jesse Cohen and guitarist and vocalist Eric Emm. Their influence is drawn from various genres including pop, indie, dance and world musi ...

) 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'', ''

''. 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 called '' Singles Breaking Up (Vol. 1)''. During this period, Mike Banfield retired from the group; former

Bitch Magnet Bitch Magnet was an American post-hardcore band who formed in 1986 at Oberlin College in Ohio and later moved to North Carolina, United States. They released their first record in 1988. All of the band's albums were released on Communion Records ...

guitarist Jon Fine briefly filled in and allowed Don Caballero to complete its touring obligations in support of ''What Burns...''.

1999–2000: Tensions, final years, Williams' departure

''American Don''

The band, once again a trio and now based out of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, toured extensively throughout 1999 and 2000, including a performance in Toronto, playing a set of almost all-new material. To fill the void left by Banfield, Williams and Emm played through

Akai Akai ( ja, 赤井, ) is a Hong Kong manufacturer of consumer electronics. It was founded as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan, in 1946. Grande Holdings in Hong Kong purchased the Akai brand, and now distributes various electronic produc ...

Headrush pedals that allowed them to

loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...

and layer their parts. These nine new songs were committed to tape by

at his

Electrical Audio Electrical Audio is a recording studio, recording facility founded in Chicago, Illinois by musician and recording engineer Steve Albini in 1997. Hundreds of independent music projects have been recorded there. Unlike most producers, Albini refuses ...

recording studio and released in the fall of 2000 as ''

''.

Van accident and dissolution

While touring in support of ''

'' 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 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

on November 21, however, as its van hit a patch of ice on

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

, spun out of control and crashed into a

semi truck A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...

. 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:

with Bellini, Ian Williams with

Battles A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and Eric Emm with Good Morning.

2003–2009: New lineup

''World Class Listening Problem''

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 Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label was ...

in 2005 and released the album ''

'' 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.

''Punkgasm''

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 in

Royal Oak The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. C ...

, Michigan in early 2008 and released it as ''

'' 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.

Current status

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'' (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 existed as a part-time band, and mulled over the possibility of limited touring and a series of 12" vinyl singles in the future. However, in a 2017 appearance on ''The 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. In 2021, an official Don Caballero

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel was created, featuring new videos of Damon Che playing drum covers of the band's discography. This coincided with Che starting a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...

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 to

degrade Degradation may refer to: Science * Degradation (geology), lowering of a fluvial surface by erosion * Degradation (telecommunications), of an electronic signal * Biodegradation of organic substances by living organisms * Environmental degradation ...

. 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.

Legacy

Tomas Haake Tomas Haake (born 13 July 1971) is a Swedish musician and the drummer of the extreme metal band Meshuggah. Known for his polymeters and technical ability, Haake was named the fifth best "Modern Metal" drummer by MetalSucks.net in 2012. In the Ju ...

from

Meshuggah Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer Tomas ...

and

Dave Konopka Dave Konopka is an American musician who is best known as the former bassist and guitarist in the experimental rock band Battles. A graphic design major at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, he also designed the band's record covers a ...

from

have both named ''

'' as one of their favorite albums, and guitarist

Marnie Stern Marnie Stern (born March 18, 1976) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and guitarist. She has garnered acclaim for her technical skill and tapping style of guitar play. Stern is also a current member of The 8G Band from the show ''Late Ni ...

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 Buzzkill may refer to: * ''Buzzkill'' (TV series) * "Buzzkill" (''CSI: NY'' episode) * "Buzzkill" (song), by Luke Bryan *"Buzz-Kill", a song by Dune Rats from ''The Kids Will Know It's Bullshit'' *''Buzzkill'', a 2008 film by Second City See also ...

'' on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and the program ''Icon'' featured their music more than three years after their 2000 breakup.

Band members

Final lineup * Damon Che Fitzgerald – drums, vocals (1991–2009) *Gene Doyle – guitar (2003–2009) *Jason Jouver – bass guitar (2003–2009) Former touring members *Leonard "Len" Jarabeck – bass guitar (1993) *Dave Reid – bass guitar (1993) *Jon Fine – guitar (1999) Former members *Mike Banfield – guitar (1991–1999) *Pat Morris – bass guitar (1991–1993, 1997–1998) * Ian Williams – guitar (1992–2000) *Matt Jencik – bass guitar (1993–1996) *George Draguns – bass guitar (1993, 1994, 1995) *Eric Emm – bass guitar (1998–2000) *Jeff Ellsworth – guitar (2003–2006)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (1993) *''

'' (1995) *''

'' (1998) *''

'' (2000) *''

'' (2006) *''

'' (2008)

Compilations

* '' Singles Breaking Up (Vol. 1)'' (1999)

Singles & EPs

*"Lucky Father Brown" / "Belted Sweater" / "Shoeshine" 7" on Pop Bus (1992) *"Unresolved Karma" / "Puddin' In My Eye" 7" on Broken Giraffe (1992) *"Andandandandandandandand" / "First Hits" 7" on Third Gear (1993) *"Our Caballero" / "My Ten-Year-Old Lady is Giving It Away" 7" on Touch and Go (1993) *''Our Caballero'' 12"/CD EP on City Slang (1993) *"If You've Read Dr. Adder, Then You Know What I Want" 7" EP track on Coat-Tail (1995) *"Waltor (live)" / "Shuman Center 91 (live)" 7" free with ''

Chunklet In computer science, constrained clustering is a class of semi-supervised learning algorithms. Typically, constrained clustering incorporates either a set of must-link constraints, cannot-link constraints, or both, with a data clustering Cluster ...

'' No. 11 (1996) *"Trey Dog's Acid" / "Room Temperature Lounge" 7" on Touch and Go (1998) *"Got A Mile, Got A Mile, Got An Inch (live)" flexi 7" on Joyful Noise (2016) Songs from all of Don Caballero's EPs (with the exception of the ''Chunklet'' and Joyful Noise singles) are collected on '' 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

*''Gang Banged With a Headache, and Live'' (2012; recorded 2003) *''Five Pairs of Crazy Pants, Wear ‘Em: Early Don Caballero'' (2014; recorded 1991) *''Look at Them Ellie Mae Wrists Go!: Live Early Caballero'' (2014; recorded 1992) bonus download

References

External links

Joyful Noise Recordings: Don CaballeroSouthern Records: Don Caballero
*

Don Caballero Don Caballero (often shortened by members as 'Don Cab') was an American instrumental rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Although the band has had numerous lineup changes with co-founder Damon Che (drums and percussion) being the only cons ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Don Fanallero: a Don Caballero fan siteTouch and Go Records: Don Caballero labelInterview (2008)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Don Caballero American post-rock groups Indie rock musical groups from Pennsylvania Math rock groups Musical groups from Pittsburgh Relapse Records artists Touch and Go Records artists Post-progressive musicians Instrumental rock musical groups