Interview
Don Caballero
by Ed Waters
It takes a little prodding but
the last moment in getting the elusive interview was finally at
hand. Three albums into their career and still going strong,
nothing deters even the most enigmatic member of Don Caballero.
Rumors of their untimely demise were highly exaggerated as the
group so flagrantly displays their sonic muscle on their
expecting audience. They bounce around stranding together
disjointed notes & rhythms into something collectively
recognizable.
The members of Don Caballero, Damon Che, Ian Williams, Mike and their bassist, seem restless and my presence goes unnoticed until I ask, "Can we get started?" I feel the eyes upon me, each one burning a hole deeper then the last. "Yeah, I guess we can," says the lanky and downright friendly Ian Williams. "Fine," I think to myself and plop down in an old chair that somewhat becomes my life vest. Not only are the band members sitting around me but friends of theirs crowd around oblivious to my presence just like the band’s earlier attention focused on my tiny frame (yeah, right).
I ask a question, no one seems to hear me; story of my life. This time I ask the same question with more of a commanding effort. "Hello? Anybody listening to me?" I ask. Everyone just looks at me, at least I have their attention now. There seems to be a contradiction with titles on the most recent recording, What Burns Never Returns. I’ve seen it written up titled as 3, a more confused audience I don’t think they could find. Drummer Damon Che agrees he has seen numerous record reviews titles as such but can only come to the conclusion since it is their third full-length peoples perception see it as such. It’s the obvious link of course but who am I to say anything. There is tension here, I don’t know if it’s the norm for the group when the are on tour or maybe it’s my spine tingling that feels twisted with an Adam’s apple sitting at the very top of it all. Something feels wrong, horribly wrong.
So begins the procession I have dubbed "Idiotic Questioning." The terminology gets blurred but some might be bold enough (like myself) to dub Don Caballero the epitome of what has come to be known as "math rock." By the way their faces wince & frown, this is probably not the first time they’ve heard this spoken in unison with their moniker. Ian laughs it off as a friend sitting nearby points his finger at him, "It was you who made that up!" I let out a giggle and I notice I’m the only one laughing along with this character. Jokingly, Ian says, "I’ll come clean, it was me. I can admit it." Damon focuses on me adding, "For some reason we’ve been tagged with it, but we only do what comes naturally." I thought that was all that was going to be said before Mike chimes in, "It’s over used and tiring, people have nothing new to say." Was that a shot at my expense? Uh, yeah it was. Next question? I didn’t know how it would be handled; sometimes you think there is something formulaic by the approach to their constructions. An organic process I’m not sure. Should I ask? Ok. I don’t even get a response nor did I expect one.
By all the staring I received all I could think was, "Beat me over the head why don’t you." Maybe I should have worded my next question with a little more depth to it. Think about it, Don Caballero is a hard act to follow. How can any other group possibly compare? I thought it might be a good time to find out if there have been any other groups that have ever been intimidated by the sonic prowess they possess. Was this a mistake? Yeah, I think so. Mike simply laughs, Ian smiles and Damon groans trying really hard to be cordial. "It there are any groups that have been ‘intimidated’ by us we wouldn’t know it," he says. "I don’t think they would even say anything." At the time this did sound like a good subject to hit upon. I knew it was a mistake as soon as the words rolled off my tongue. Hah! This is a great lead into my next question I guess, I didn’t get the answer I thought I would.
If you look back at the history of Don Caballero, there have always been three core members, the shifting bass slot seems to change often. Always wondered how many bass players the group has gone through. My curiosity my downfall. Damon looks at me with an intensity in his eyes and simply says, "We really don’t like to talk about that anymore," period. That was almost too easy, I still wanted to know. It must have hindered the group in one way or another by not having the same bassist play on all their recordings. Mike laughs yet again and I can read his thoughts. He’s thinking "It’s unimaginable how this guy just doesn’t listen. Didn’t he hear when Damon said we don’t want to talk about it?" I bet none of you knew I have Extra Sensory Perception. It’s my gift and my curse. I’m just like that kid on the X-Files. What actually comes out past Mikes lips though is, "Not having the same bass player in the group for all three records has never ‘hindered’ the group. Whenever we’ve recorded there has always been someone playing bass, it hasn’t been a problem." Good enough for me, it wasn’t so tough to tackle.
Is there something I forgot to mention? Yes, the group does have a fourth member in tow, I was unable to get his name, and he sat quietly as the banter between the rest of us continued. If there is ever a need for another bassist (let’s hope not) I don’t know if anyone will ever remember this one. Description: Black mane, dark, standing about 5’9" or 5’10". He seemed genuinely nice and polite though all I did was shake his hand, as I was subliminally berated. Ah, the things I do to meet some folks. Well it doesn’t matter, I’m still a fan.