Hello ESO-keteers and Phantomaniacs!
It’s time for the next thrilling installment of the Needless Things Podcast!
I discovered one of my favorite bands on the planet at Dragon*Con (still with an asterisk then) 2009.
This is when the bands were still at the Hyatt. I walked down the stairs into whichever level they were in (the one where they keep the Art Show and the Comics & Pop Art folks) and saw a table covered with awesome horror graphics and a big sign that said “Calabrese”. There were tons of t-shirts and other merchandise and three greaser-looking dudes in leather jackets and/or work shirts.
This was something different from the normal Dragon Con band. These guys weren’t techno-industrial Goths or medieval bards or Voltaire (yes, I know I forgot kilt-wearing Victorian rappers; steampunk wasn’t quite a monster at that point). While I can dig all of that stuff to a certain extent, these Calabrese dudes looked like a band I could really get into. Not since the Misfits in 1997 had I seen a band at Dragon Con that was truly in my musical wheelhouse.
Much to my surprise, one of the guys came out from behind the table and started talking to me (I later found out it was Bobby). He was amazingly friendly and enthusiastic – no rock star attitude at all. He told me about the band’s music and invited me to come see them play on Sunday night. Unfortunately I was not the Dragon Con fiend then that I am now and I did not have a room for Sunday night. So I missed the show. But I didn’t forget the table or the enthusiastic dude I had met.
A month or so later I was (legally) downloading music for my annual Halloween playlist. Upon entering “Spook” as a keyword I discovered a song called “Midnight Spookshow” by a band called Calabrese. Cool. I could finally see what those rockers from Dragon Con sounded like. I downloaded the song and as soon as it was done hit “Play”.
I was floored. And dismayed. The song was absolutely amazing – an immediate favorite. A revelation. Ten seconds in I was kicking myself for not going back down and seeing Calabrese play. Hoping for another opportunity I looked up their website and was dismayed to see that they were located out on the West Coast and apparently did not play out on the East Coast. So I wouldn’t be seeing them anytime soon. But I did order every CD they had available, as well as a t-shirt. I was a hardcore fan with just the one song.
I’ve followed the band since then and not only got to see them live at last year’s Dragon*Con, I also got to do a Q&A with Bobby Calabrese for my coverage on Needless Things. This year, they are back again with an all-new album – Born With A Scorpion’s Touch – on the way. Before you visit their merch table in the Marriot and see them LIVE in the Marriot Atrium Ballroom at 1:30 Monday morning, check out my interview with Bobby and Jimmy in:
Needless Things Podcast Episode 9: Calabrese
“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com
“Midnight Spookshow”, “Born With A Scorpion’s Touch”, and by Calabrese
-Phantom
