Saetia (pronounced ''SAY-shuh'') is a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

-based

screamo Screamo (also referred to as skramz) is an aggressive subgenre of emo that emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes "willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics".Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". ''Denver Westword'', June 20, 2002Access date: ...

band. Their name originates from a misspelling of the

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

track "Saeta", from his album ''

Sketches of Spain ''Sketches of Spain'' is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City. An extended version of the second movement of Joaquín Rodrigo's ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' (1939) ...

''. While relatively unknown during their initial existence, the band is now seen as one of the most critically lauded bands of the late-1990s screamo scene. Stewart Mason of

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 ...

described their music as an "essential document" for fans of screamo.

History

1997–1999: Formation, ''Saetia'' and breakup

Saetia initially formed in February 1997 when each of its members were attending

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. The band had numerous members throughout its existence, with frequent changes in membership. The band's first bass player, Alex Madara, was affected by a severe allergic reaction which placed him into a coma for eight days, finally resulting in his death on December 14, 1998. Their drummer, Greg Drudy, was the original drummer of the band

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

prior to their current popularity. He operated the record label

Level Plane Level Plane was an American independent record label based in New York City that was founded in early 1997 by Greg Drudy for the release of Saetia's first 7". Drudy ran the label until it ceased to exist in 2009. It released records in a variety ...

, which was initially started so Saetia could release a

7-inch In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

single to sell at shows. Other members of the band continued their musical careers in numerous outfits, some of them joining screamo bands such as

Off Minor Off Minor were an American post-hardcore band from New York City, United States. They formed in 1999 with Jamie Behar, Matt Smith, and Steven Roche, all former Saetia members. However, Smith later left and was replaced by Steven's brother Kevin ...

Hot Cross Hot Cross was a post-hardcore band from Philadelphia. They were signed to Hope Division Records and Equal Vision Records. The band was composed of former members of such bands as Saetia (vocalist Billy Werner and drummer Greg Drudy, who was als ...

and The Fiction, as well as the bands Errortype: Eleven and Instruction. The group would eventually break up in October 1999. Saetia's final, posthumous single, "Eronel" (also a title of a

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

composition) was released under the Witching Hour label in 2000. The single contains three songs recorded by Steve Roche and mixed by Pat Kenneally. In 2001, Level Plane issued '' A Retrospective'', a discography album that compiles every recording the band has made, including recordings taken from one of the last shows the band played at ABC No Rio.

2016: Posthumous releases

In 2016, Secret Voice, the label of

Touché Amoré Touché Amoré is an American post-hardcore band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2007. The band consists of vocalist Jeremy Bolm, guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt, bassist Tyler Kirby, and drummer Elliot Babin. Among other ...

vocalist

Jeremy Bolm Jeremy Bolm is an American vocalist, record label owner, music producer and writer. In his music career, he is most known for being the full-time vocalist of the post-hardcore band Touché Amoré. He has also performed with the part-time bands Thr ...

, released ''Collected'', a two-disc, 180 gram vinyl set that includes every studio recording by the group. The tracks from the ABC No Rio also saw their own release in the form of a cassette titled ''Live At ABC No Rio Spring 1999'', which was also released in 2016 through Secret Voice.

2022: Reunion

In April 2022, Saetia, consisting of Billy Werner, Jamie Behar, Adam Marino, Colin Bartoldus, and Steve Roche, announced via Instagram that they rehearsed for the first time in 24 years. In November 2022, they played live at four locations in New York and Pennsylvania. https://www.jambase.com/band/saetia/tour-history

Band members

Billy Werner Billy Werner is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and DJ. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the post-hardcore bands Saetia and Hot Cross. Background Raised in Queens, New York, Werner earned an undergraduate degree at New York Un ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

on all *

Greg Drudy Greg Drudy is an American musician, primarily known for playing drums in several indie rock and screamo bands in the 1990s and 2000s. Career Drudy started his career on drums practicing with the defunct band Quid Pro Quo in a Tampa warehouse nex ...

–

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 ...

on all *Jamie Behar –

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 ...

on all *Adam Marino – guitar on ''Demo'', ''Saetia'' 7", ''Saetia'' LP/CD *Alex Madara (deceased) – bass on ''Demo'', ''Saetia'' 7" *Colin Bartoldus – bass on ''Saetia'' LP/CD, guitar on ''Eronel'' 7" *Steve Roche – bass on ''Eronel'' 7", guitar at final live performance before disbandment, drums for reunion *Matt Smith – bass at final live performance before disbandment

Discography

Studio albums

Singles and EPs

Compilation albums

External links

Band Profile at Level Plane RecordsHome page at Level Plane RecordsWhere to see what venues Saetia will be playing in November, 2022
*

References

{{Authority control American post-hardcore musical groups Musical groups from New York City American screamo musical groups Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups disestablished in 1999 Level Plane Records artists