Calabrese - The Official Blog

WE ARE CALABRESE!

2017-01-14T15:38:00.001-07:00

We are FIRE…we are EVIL…we are DEMON…we are CALABRESE! Six albums in and still going strong. Have some FREE music on us!

Download it and share to help spread the word!

►Download: www.CalabreseRock.com/FreeDownloads
►Subscribe: www.smarturl.it/CalabreseYoutube

Calabrese: The Comic Book #1

2017-01-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

Introducing the return of the face melting first issue of the Calabrese comic book! Newly “remastered” with an introduction by the band, new photo of Calabrese from the "They Call Us Death" era, and a variant cover featuring the Calabrese Brothers in full throttle, vampire action!

►►Available at: www.CalabreseStore.com

CALABRESE - Drift into Dust [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

2016-12-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

The song “Drift Into Dust” is about loneliness and depravity. It’s about death and love. We know you’ve seen the original version, but we wanted to give it a fresh spin with a black and white, desolate feel. This new cut is to highlight the bleakness and dark atmosphere of the last track on our sixth album, “Lust For Sacrilege.” We hope you dig it.

Limited Edition Calabrese Coffin Skateboard Decks

2016-11-07T02:17:00.000-07:00

A video posted by CALABRESE (@calabrese666) on Nov 4, 2016 at 1:08pm PDT

Get ready to shred with the living dead with our new Calabrese Coffin Decks! Limited to this specific electric-green variant, these decks look great cruising down rat-filled alleyways or simply hanging from your bedroom wall. Get one now!

►►Only available at: www.CalabreseStore.com

Calabrese Rosary Beads and Sword Necklaces

2016-08-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

A video posted by CALABRESE (@calabrese666) on Jul 24, 2016 at 6:03pm PDT

Straight from "The Dark Is Who I Am / Drift Into Dust" music video, comes Calabrese Rosary Beads and Sword Necklaces. Each rosary includes a Calabrese Lyric/Prayer card and a one way ticket to eternal damnation. Lust for Calabrese, lust for sacrilege.

Available at: www.CalabreseStore.com

CALABRESE - The Dark Is Who I Am / Drift Into Dust [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

2016-08-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

Check out our special, two-part music video for "The Dark Is Who I Am" and "Drift Into Dust." This was directed by our very own Davey Calabrese, with cinematography by Andy Hartmark. These two songs perfectly encapsulate what this album is all about, and represents our beginning and our end for "Lust For Sacrilege." Thank you for the journey...we'll see you on the other side. Enjoy!

LIMITED EDITION SPIRIT BOARDS

2016-03-14T01:43:00.000-07:00

A video posted by CALABRESE (@calabrese666) on Mar 11, 2016 at 2:39pm PST

Limited Edition Calabrese Spirit Boards are all unique.

No two are identical!

►►Get 'em here: www.CalabreseStore.com

CALABRESE "Lust For Sacrilege Winter Tour 2016"

2016-02-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

We wanted to let everyone know that we'll be taking a break from extensive touring this year. Give or take a few shows here and there, we'll be taking it easy for a while. In the meantime, we'll be focusing on other aspects of Calabrese. Even though the call of the road is strong, we'll still be writing and recording new music for the 7th record. So come see us on our upcoming tour and have a good time with us before we go into rock and roll hibernation. We'll see you soon!

CALABRESE "Lust For Sacrilege Winter Tour 2016"
►► Pre-Sale Tickets: http://www.bandsintown.com/Calabrese

Thu, Feb 11 - Fullerton, CA @ Slide Bar
Fri, Feb 12 - Bakersfield, CA @ Jerry’s Pizza & Pub
Sat, Feb 13 - Colton, CA @ The Hub Bar
Sun, Feb 14 - San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge
Wed, Feb 17 - Portland, OR @ Ash St Saloon
Thu, Feb 18 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
Fri, Feb 19 - Wenatchee, WA@ Wally’s House of Booze
Sat, Feb 20 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Club X
Thu, Feb 25 - San Diego, CA @ Til-Two Club
Fri, Feb 26 - Las Vegas, NV @ Dive Bar
Sat, Feb 27 - Rosemead, CA @ Spike’s Bar & Billiards
Fri, Mar 18 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge

Lust For Sacrilege Promo Photos

2016-01-05T19:14:00.001-07:00

Hi Res Calabrese Promo Photo — Photo Credit- Andy Hartmark

Hi Res Calabrese Promo Photo — Photo Credit- Ashes Wednesday

Hi Res Calabrese Promo Photo — Photo Credit- Andy Hartmark

"Wanted Man" [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

2015-11-13T16:48:00.001-07:00

Bobby: “A lot of our songs are influenced by loneliness, depravity and just not giving a shit. ‘Wanted Man’ is no exception. We filmed in our most natural habitat, which is a dirty desert in the hot Arizona sun. No one around, no civilization in sight, completely lone wolf. ‘Wanted Man’ is the perfect representation of Calabrese in style and in sound.”

"Lust For Sacrilege" Fall Tour 2015

2015-09-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

Come see us on our “Lust For Sacrilege Fall Tour 2015” featuring shows with Mondo Generator, The Membranes and DOYLE (Ex-Misfits). The last leg of the tour, we will join DOYLE on his “Abominator Tour 2015” for 10 shows of pure chaos!

Please share this with your friends to spread the word. See you soon!

Pre-Sale Tickets: http://www.Bandsintown.com/Calabrese

Listen to this spotify playlist to get yourself pumped up for the Abominator/Lust For Sacrilege Fall 2015 tours! Listen here: smarturl.it/CalaDoyleSpotify

Official Calabrese Lyrics Page

2015-09-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

You’ve asked, we’ve answered!

Check out www.CalabreseRock.com/lyrics for the official word on every misheard and unknown lyric on all six albums and the EP.

Reverend Guitars

2015-09-19T07:35:00.001-07:00

Reverend Guitars is now a part of the family! Bobby Calabrese officially shreds on a Reverend Sensei RA, a great addition to his arsenal.

Check out Reverend Guitars: www.ReverendGuitars.com

"GIMME WAR" [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

2015-07-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

Bobby: “Gimme War’ is all out, loud and heavy. Very bare bones, but that’s the way I like it. This is the song that wakes you up in the morning when all you have to drink is decaf. We filmed in a junkyard during one of the hottest days of the summer, which I think helped the intensity of the video. We even did it in a single take. How can ya beat that? Crank your speakers to 11 and get fucking wild!”

CALABRESE "Lust For Sacrilege" Official Album Stream

2015-03-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

(The Dark is Who I Am)
We wrote this one in the studio, it's one of quickest songs we've ever written and one of the coolest songs to date. We wrote it with Bog Hoag, producer madman, who laid down some really great synths and shaped it into the song it is. Heavily influenced by Goblin and Giallo soundtracks from the 70's and 80's.

(Down in Misery)
Understanding who you are is the smartest move you can make. It's freeing. It's not giving a shit. This song is kind of our "anti-hero song," it's about being a miserable person and liking it. Getting down into your own misery. Why not? No one likes you for who you are and what you do, but so what? Who cares? I think if you know, deep down, that you're a miserable person, it's almost like you aren't miserable anymore. It's accepting yourself on your own terms. Why be something you're not?

(Teenage Crimewave)
This song was originally intended for "Born With a Scorpion's Touch," so it has more of a garage-y, punk tone to it, which fit perfectly at the time. It eventually made it's way to the new record, which I think breaks it up a bit. Influenced by madmen, weirdos and crime spree thrill seekers. It's a bloodbath in the concrete jungle.

(Flesh and Blood)
A love song, plain and simple. Down to the core it's very animalistic, violent and strange.

(Lust For Sacrilege)
I wanted a song that could capture the entire mood of the album. Heavy drums, large choruses and an emphasis on evil. This is what we're about. It's about falling in love with death and destruction. It's about knowing who you are and your burning lust for sacrilege.

(Wanted Man)
Another lone-wolf song, we wrote this really quick and easily. It came out natural and really to the point. A lot of our songs are influenced by loneliness, depravity and just not giving a shit.

(Serpentflame)
I love New Orleans. Who doesn't dig New Orleans? We wanted a song that could capture the murky, creepy atmosphere of the city. It's about evil women, voodoo and death. It's got a very Cult-like vibe to it, which I think is great. The Cult are fantastic. Crank this jam to 11.

(Gimme War)
GIMME WAR is all out, loud and heavy. Very bare bones, but that's the way I like it. This is the song that wakes you up in the morning when all you have to drink is decaf. The solo is very Greg Ginn, whom I think is the coolest punk guitarists of all time. Dissonant chords and bizarre timing, it's total genius and totally shitty at the same time. Nothing gets better than that. All hail Black Flag.

(New York Ripper)
I love the chugging riff to this one. It's heavy and melodic and sucks you in from the start of the distorted drums. The song is pretty self-explanatory. "Her dead body broken in the river." Pretty heavy stuff.

(Lords of the Wasteland)
We live in a desert, lots of dirt, dead plants and empty spaces. We're heavily influenced by the landscape in which we live, so a lot of our songs tend to reflect that. A lot of post-apocalyptic films and books definitely help. Everyone gets the feeling of living in a nowhere town, a black hole in the middle of a dead civilization. This song is for all you wastelanders.

(Drift Into Dust)
A lot of our songs tend to revolve around serial killers, I have no idea why but it always manifests it's way into our music. This song is no exception. It's Roy Orbison meets Chris Isaak meets Elvis Presley. It's about love and death and everything that leads up to it.

Purchase LUST FOR SACRILEGE:
(iTunes): https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/calabrese/id261384
(Physical): http://www.spookshowrecordsstore.com

The Traveling Vampire Show - A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir

2014-06-03T23:58:00.000-07:00

Since we had such a fun time remembering our first album, 13 HALLOWEENS, I thought we’d keep the trend going and bring you an insiders look at our second album from way back in 2006. So once again, hit play on your CD player and join us as we take a look back at THE TRAVELING VAMPIRE SHOW!

In 2006, we hit the studio hard and heavy with our follow up CD, THE TRAVELING VAMPIRE SHOW. The guitars, even though they are heavy metal-ish, still had a punk feel and the drums, even though they were triggered, don’t sound overbearing. Bobby also added a lot of little guitar over dub solo parts that really spiced up the album. THE TRAVELING VAMPIRE SHOW was our biggest sounding album to date and had a more "produced" feeling. It truly felt as if magic happened in the studio that time around. Bobby mentioned, he could die happy since we, at least, had such a great album under our belts!

Bobby about to rock the mic!

We wanted this album to sound different than 13 HALLOWEENS and since we recorded the MIDNIGHT SPOOKSHOW EP and 13 HALLOWEENS CD with Aaron Carey, we decided to find a new engineer and studio. The place that we kept hearing about at the time was Mind's Eye Studio ran by Larry Elyea, AKA Larry Love. I believe this location was the first for Mind's Eye. The studio was built into half of a residential house. You would pull into a normal looking middle class neighborhood, but hiding within the normal facade was the musician’s playground, Mind's Eye. I believe they converted the garage into the studio.

Larry using that newfangled Pro Tools.

The process for recording was the same as the first record. We recorded master tracks for the drums while Bobby and I played scratch tracks. After the drums were finished, I laid down the bass line and then Bobby put down the guitar tracks. The last piece of the puzzle was the vocals, which always feel rushed since they are the last to be recorded. Since this was a digital studio, we were able to record on the weekends for about a month. The benefit to having the breaks in-between meant we didn't get burnt out nor did we get ear fatigue. We were able to listen to the music and our performances with fresh ears each time we started recording again.

The isolation room.

While on tour last January in Reno Nevada, we stopped at a random Starbucks before a show and shot the shit about what we could remember about THE TRAVELING VAMPIRE SHOW.

“So, guys, what do you remember about the studio?” I asked.

Davey was the first to respond. “Clean, nicely decorated, and they had a nice couch. I know, 'cause I slept on it."

Davey sitting on the comfy couch.

Bobby chimed in. “It was tiny. I remember Larry loved big dogs and he let them roam around in the studio and it was very scary cause they were big and I hated it and he didn’t care. Ha! The studio was connected to his house so the dogs would pop into the sound studio and I’d be like ‘Oh my God!’ or they would be there in his house when you had to take a leak. Oh man!”

Jimmy laying down the bass.

I reminded them that the studio was basically two rooms. One room had the control center and the other held the isolation booth.

Davey adding more cowbell to the mix.

“I thought Mind’s Eye was cool,” Bobby recalled. "The number one reason we wanted to record with Larry cause what he was doing sounded really cool. At the time, AFI’s SING THE SORROW just came out and we thought Larry could make us sound like that. It didn’t, but it sounded really good. Ha! Larry had me use Krank amps and those amps were kinda big at the time and they were really expensive but now they're really cheap 'cause no one wants them. Ha! It sounded really good, though. More of a metal type guitar sound, but I thought it sounded pretty neat.”

Davey-tude.

“The drums were easier to record this time around since we’d been in a studio a few times before.” Davey, now buzzing from his coffee, quickly said. “No click track on this album, it was really hard to do since we never practiced to a click.”

I leaned forward in my chair. “Since we were old pros at this studio thing, this time we came prepared, we brought comics (for the boring parts), drinks, snacks and packed our lunch. We learned it wasted a lot of time making the drive to pick up food, not to mention trying to decide where to eat!”

Comics!

“Concerning the bass,” I said. “It was run direct into the board. Nothing too fancy was added to the bass sound. We just found a nice beefy tone and stuck with it for the whole album.”

Just call me the "Bass Line Killer".

“I’m not sure if we kept any guitar scratch tracks,” Bobby said sipping his coffee. “Probably not, we had multiple guitar tracks, at least two and the most four. Larry did help with some of the solo parts, like with INSIDE THIS COFFIN. I had a little end lead and he said it wasn't ‘creepy enough’ so he re-wrote the guitar part I had. The funny thing is, I can’t even remember the original way I played it.”

Bobby strums the studio guitar.

“I do remember we doubled the guitars on the bridges which makes the album sound bigger and heavier.” I said pulling my chair closer to the group. “Larry had a few tricks up his sleeve for guitar that helped,” Bobby recalled. “I think he made fun of me and my singing to make me sing better...he’d call me ‘marble mouth’ so I had to keep doing the singing over and over again to get it to sound better. He made fun of me but it worked. He would stop the track and try and guess what I was saying and then laugh at me because it sounded completely different than what I was singing.”

A fresh faced Bobby.

I laughed at the memory of Larry hassling Bobby. “Luckily, I learned how to pronunciate when I sang in my band during high school, 'cause they were really on me about pronunciation. I think being in grade school and high school choir also helped me with that as well. Also, with the vocals, we doubled each of our voice so it was in a sense tripled on the choruses so it gave a huge gang-vocal feel.

Perfect pitch!

During the mixing of the album we had time to kill so we cut out “back patches” from botched shirts that our old t- shirt printers screwed up. It was a pain in the ass to hand cut all those shirts with scissors, but we didn’t know what else to do. We didn’t want to trash them.

Making lemons out of shit shirts!

A lot of song titles came from book titles that Bobby and I were reading at the time. We were obsessed with the horror author Richard Laymon. The songs, although they were named after his books, were not so much about the books but more about the imagery and the “aroma” of his twisted tales. We've made it a fact to never have any blatant horror movie lyrics. It seems too boring to title the song after a movie and then just sing about the story line. “It’s hard to tell if we matured from the first album cause I don’t remember any of it.” Bobby recalls. “I don’t remember practicing it or writing it. I don’t remember a single damn thing. The only thing I remember is that I wanted to do the classic thing of watching a horror movie with a guitar and have it magically write a song, like DANZIG would be sitting in his NJ basement writing HORROR HOTEL. I was watching the movie THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS and I wrote the little riff and chorus for VAMPIRES DON’T EXIST, so it actually worked! But it never worked again, 'cause it’s too forced, too fake.”

For this album, unlike 13 HALLOWEENS, we chose not to include the lyrics because we wanted to add some mystery. What we remembered about the MISFITS was that all the copied tapes that were passed around of their music never had any lyrics. This was back in high school before the internet, and so much time and speculation was spent trying to figure out what the lyrics actually were. We hoped people would do the same thing with our music and they did!

“The demo of the songs for THE TRAVELING VAMPIRE SHOW was done on a 4 track cassette recorder,” Bobby remembered. “We posted some of those demos on a secret Myspace page for the bare-bones fan club. It was hard at the time to send demos out so we put a few demo songs on Myspace and gave the members the special link. The demos are still up there if you can find it. People said the demos sounded like AFI so I was super stoked. It would be interesting to hear those again.”

The process on how we find samples for songs has pretty much been the same from the start. Before we go into the studio, we record a demo of the songs on a 4 or 8 track recorder and then we find movies that fall into the Public Domain category. We would sit and watch all these crappy movies, or just listen to the movie while we did other things. We would listen for an actor to say something cool/emotional/creepy or a sound that jumped out at us. Once we had the samples, we then start pasting them into the demo versions of the songs to see if they can enhance the music or the meaning of the song. We've also combined several different samples to make a "new" sample. The process is pretty "trial and error" but it's really fun when the samples and music blend together for the perfect fit.

“Tom Bagely created the album artwork,” Bobby said. “We liked his work that he did for FORBIDDEN DIMENSION and for the stuff he did for the Canadian pop punk band CHIXDIGGIT! When we originally contacted him to create the album art, he couldn’t do it, but then at the last minute he was able to do it for us!”

Bagely's rough sketch.

I should mention that our long time pal, Andrew Barr, drew the inside panels, the cd disk art and did the art design for the layout.

Barr's first idea for the CD insert.

We thought it would be fun to have a giveaway for the pre-orders, so we bought shrunken heads that we signed and shipped out with every order. It turned out to be a pretty cool idea that people liked.

I can't believe we still have one sitting at Calabrese Manor!

During the Traveling Vampire Show era, back in 2006-2007 we used to have some really amazing Phoenix Halloween shows. Our buddy, Kelly Carcinogen, who was on the road with us remembers his first CALABRESE show which was a Halloween show. It was one week before he moved to Arizona from Alaska in October 2006.

Bobby Halloween 2006.

“HOUR OF THE WOLF, a phenomenal hardcore band from Prescott AZ played first,” Kelly remembers. “They dressed up like lumber jacks with fake beards and flannel shirts and they did a great cover of HORROR BUSINESS. It was awesome.”

Jimmy Halloween 2006

“Then ZOMBEAST played and had blood covering all over themselves. The bass player Brian had a bass string wrapped around him like Eerie Von. That was really cool. But when CALABESE played, it was really awesome, it was my first show. You had the green lights, and throughout the set you would throw out handfuls of hard candy into the audience. I got hit in the face a couple times by the candy. Ha! You guys had a fake skeleton at the end of the show that Davey tossed out into the crowd. People were grabbing it and it tearing it apart. People were running around with skeleton arms and parts. It was awesome!“

Davey Halloween 2006

Bobby finishing his coffee, sits up with a memory. “During the Halloween show, this dude wanted to film it, I’m not really sure why, but it was cool. I think Youtube was just starting to get big back then. I don’t know what he was planning on doing with that, but he recorded it. He did put up the cover of Halloween on Youtube. We recently saw him at the Salt Lake City show and I asked why he never put the rest of the show on the internet and he said he got lazy. He said it was still on his computer and he still needs to find it. I told him it would be cool to see it.“

“We gave away 100 dollar gift certificates to Inkbomb Tattoo,” Davey recalls. “Also horror movie DVDs and other stuff for a raffle. We went all out and made it a big Halloween show!"

For this last section of the blog, I listened to each song and will share with you all my thoughts and memories. You, too, can play along at home and listen to each song while you read. Sometimes when we play a song, I get the impression of a color. If I had to describe this album as a color, I'd say it had a blue/purple aura to it.

Animated banner from back when people did this kinda thing.

1. Death Eternal

This was a great time for the band and this album captured a part of that. People started coming out to shows and following us around and sang our songs. We were actually growing a fan base. This song always rocks the house. This gave the kids a chance to mosh, jump off the stage and go insane.

2. Voices of the Dead

This song has touched a lot of people. I've been told how it has personally got people through tough times. To me, that's the most rewarding, to hear how our music has touched another person and has helped them. We shot a music video for this song which was also a huge success for us. I wrote about the music video on this part of the blog HERE. I have so many good feelings when I hear this song. I can see countless faces singing this song with us at shows. It's always been a great way to close a show.

3. Vampires Don't Exist

I remember hearing this song when it was done in the studio and loving it. I just knew it was going to be a hit and it was.

4. Inside This Coffin

In the first verse I was trying to build a CALABRESE Army by turning the youth of America against their parents and to follow us. I love singing those lines at shows.

5. Night In The Lonesome October

This song reminds me of playing shows in Hollywood for some reason. We always got good support in California

6. Come Alive

I love hearing this song cause I wrote this back in an apartment I was living in with my sister in Illinois. This was before the band was even an idea. Back then the beginning sample was from the movie Young Frankenstein. This was the same apartment I would have dreams about playing bass for the MISFITS. This was also the time when I first heard Michael Graves sing for the MISFITS and I was so disappointed that I gave away my copy of the CD to Bobby. I thought that should be me singing on for the MISFITS (I have now made my piece with Michael's vocal style and now enjoy it). I'm much more happier that I created something new with my brothers instead.

7. Children Of The Night

This is another song that's a good example of our evolution of song writing. We started off with four chord songs with catchy “whoa” choruses (mostly because I was the main riff writer) but once Bobby started mastering the guitar, he was able to create some bad ass guitar riffs which has taken us to a new level.

8. Saturday Night Of The Living Dead

A classic Calabrese song if there ever was one. It has a killer intro sample, the theremin in the bridge, along with a group chant and a great pun in the chorus! All in one song!

9. The Young Princes Of Darkness

We named this song after our pals in ZOMBEAST. They had a band before ZOMBEAST called THE YOUNG PRINCESS OF DARKNESS. ZOMBEAST was the next coming of DANZIG and we knew they were going to be huge, but like a nuclear reaction the band became too powerful and exploded. I remember coming up with some of the lyrics for the chorus on the drive back from Flagstaff after a show with ZOMBEAST.

Even more animation!

10. Darkness, Tell Us

It was bound to happen, a song about Oujia boards. I think it was in Denver that a fan gave us a homemade Ouija board. We have the best fans ever!

11. Your Ghost

Another song that has touched our fans. Kids that were in high school when this album came out are now telling us how this song got them through tough times. When I hear this song, I can remember sitting in my bedroom writing the lyrics and at one point I left the room to do something else when inspiration struck and I instantly ran back in to try out a line for the verse, "She's into the paranormal, black cats and the occult."

12. The House Of Mysterious Secrets

"We'll just drink you blood" is one of the lines that fans love to scream. What a great song to end the album. I wrote some of these lyrics while in a different band back in Illinois. The lyrics represent the situation of those times.

Tour poster.

It seemed like we really captured some magic with THE TRAVELING VAMPIRE SHOW, it felt good, it sounds really good and it holds up to the test of time. It was really awesome.

13 Halloweens - A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir

2013-12-23T23:15:00.000-07:00

While trying to think about a topic to blog about, I thought it would be fun to listen to each song from our first album, "13 Halloweens" and write down all the thoughts and memories that would come to me. As a way to kill time on our drive to our Las Vegas, I also played the CD for Bobby and Davey to see what they remembered as well. So hit play on your CD player and join us as we go back to the future where it all began!

When you hear "13 Halloweens," you probably think that’s exactly how we wanted it to sound -- dual rectifier guitars, triggered drums, massive wall of vocals, etc., but in actuality, we just showed up and the project took off on its own. The studio had better equipment than we did so we just used what we had access to. We had an idea of what we wanted but we didn't know how to achieve it or how to properly explain it. Having said all that, I love how our first full length album eventually turned out and it was mostly due to the engineer, Aaron Cary. We just showed up and he turned the knobs. I know when we went into the studio we wanted a more raw sound like the early Misfits recordings but I remember Aaron explaining that they got that sound 'cause that’s all they could afford. I also think Aaron didn’t want to put his name on a crappy sounding recording! Either way, he did a great job capturing "the sound of Calabrese" at that time period. On a side note, I feel our album "Dayglo Necros" is closer to our original vision as to what we wanted our sound to be.

We recorded this at Studio Z in 2004 and the place was a house converted into a studio which was managed by Jimmy Z (a totally cool guy who used to party with the band Korn and loved to mention it whenever we saw him) and ran by Aaron. I think we went to check out the studio once Aaron e-mailed us after finding our 4 track demo we posted on the internet. He had the same influences we did so we knew it would be a good match. Plus, the place was affordable. Every time we enter a studio we get to learn all the tips and tricks the engineer has picked up from all the other musicians they've met. I love the studio not only for the recording process but for all the great stuff you learn and great people you meet.

We never took any photos during our time recording "13 Halloweens," or if we did we don’t know where they are. I do remember there used to be some weirdo crackheads who lived next door and they would wander over sniffing around. They were constantly fixing their cars and since Aaron was a gear head he’d talk to them about how to fix their shit. Since the studio was all digital we were able to record and mix the album over many weekends since Davey was still in school and Bobby and I were working. I also remember we held a contest to name the CD, and while we were sitting in the studio we read all the title submissions. The best title by far was the one we went with -- "13 Halloweens" by our first fan, Nil Failstorm. He came to our very first show at the Modified Arts after seeing a flyer we left somewhere. He was the only person at the show that wasn't a friend or immediate family. He was literally our first fan!

Nil with a homemade Calabrese shirt!

After playing the CD for Bobby while driving he looked off into the Nevada sunset deep in thought. “I remember it was very, very boring during editing process. Now in the studio the time flies by. I remember Davey would sleep the entire time on the ratty old couch cause he hated it. I remember never wanting to be there during the editing too. I just wanted to go home. It was our first time in the studio so I didn’t have any suggestions. I was like ‘whatever, it all sounds good to me, I guess’. But now in the studio we get so nitpicky we can spend a month in there. Vocals were very hard to record. I probably still don’t know how to sing but back then I extra-extra didn’t know how to sing. Singing was very hard for me and my voice was always blowing out. I didn’t know how to sing in key, I didn’t understand that. Aaron would play back a portion of the song over, and over, and over and I still couldn’t sing it correctly. I couldn’t understand why I was not in key. I don’t know how you pick up how to sing in key but I guess you do. I was very nervous singing.”

Bobby adjusted himself in the passenger seat and continued. “It was the first time someone telling me what would sound cool on guitar at certain parts, I was probably pissed about it because I didn’t like people telling me what to do. But it sounds fine. It was my second time in the studio, and the studio was kinda like you would think it would be from the movies. It was definitely skuzzier but what it had was a Hollywood type scum, like porno magazines, marijuana roaches on the floor, empty beer cans. It was actually kinda dirty, which was pretty cool at the time as long as everything got done, but wow it was real life in old Studio Z! I remember that Aaron Carey loved soda or Mountain Dew cause he would suck on a 2 liter all day long and would smoke the entire time. And he really liked Hawaiian BBQ, he’s Hawaiian so that probably explains why he wore sandals all the time.”

After 13 Halloweens came out we won some local punk awards. It was like we received instant acceptance from the cool kids, something I never felt before with any other band I was in.

Best Album from the Ska Punk Awards, I believe.

Davey laughing at the cobwebbed memories, spoke up from the back bench seat. “After the recording of '13 Halloweens,' Bobby just graduated from high school and I was still in high school and I was very proud of the band. It turned out that my school was putting on a battle of the bands, so I was like ‘let's be a part of this.' So I went to the person in charge of putting on the show and she said ‘no, you can’t do it’. I was like ‘why not?’ ‘Well two of the members are not part of the school.' I was like ‘one of the members just graduated and I’m here. What’s the problem?’ ‘We’ll you just can’t do it.' I was really mad. The day of the battle, I finally convinced them to let us play but not as contestants but more as guest players. So we got to play the show and we sold our 2 t-shirts on a little table. I really wanted to show off at high school. I wanted to let people know who they were walking near. Everyone wants to show off when they are in high school.”

The infamous battle of the bands!

Davey and his buddy made a poster for the show. I still have that poster hanging in my garage!

I also remember at that battle of the bands show we needed to borrow someone’s PA. They forgot to mention to Davey that each band had to bring their own PA. So I asked one of the kids in another band if we could borrow theirs and he said “Umm, no it’s my dad's and he’s not here.” Luckily, a different band let us use their PA. And as it turned out the same kid who rejected our request ran up to me and asked if he could borrow a cable and with a smirk I said “Sorry man, it’s my dad’s and he’s not here.” In your face!

No wonder Davey wanted to show off at school.

Davey also reminded us that around this time we played a show at the Phoenix YMCA on the floor of the gym. “It might have been another battle of the bands or just some weird random show. I just remember waiting for us to play and I had my sticks in my hand clicking them on the basketball court wood floor and a friend or someone said ‘Don’t do that, everyone can hear that, you don’t want someone to do that when you’re playing, do you?’ I guess the clicks were really loud bouncing off the walls. I also remember at this time I was wearing a lot of wife beaters and sweat bands – we really didn’t have our look down then.”

Davey trying out his wife beater and sweat band combo.

The random YMCA show.

I remember at that YMCA show it was our first time we had people standing in front of us to watch us play.  It felt really cool to have people standing that close to us when we played.

I have to admit I thought I’d remember a lot more about these songs especially stuff that has happened at shows but after many years of playing these songs all the shows start to melt together like a gooey pizza topping -- delicious but hard to pick apart.

1. Zombie I   - When this song first came out, girls would ask what the line, “But the pressure was too much, and the girl she gave it up” meant. What also comes to mind was playing in a basement on Halloween with our friends and when we would play the opening sample people would scream.

Davey remembered that we brought in a big old box TV and a VCR to capture the movie sample clips. We plugged the VCR directly into the board and Aaron hit record on the studio console.

2. Resurrection   - Now listening to the bass intro sounds it sounds so weak I think we just plugged it direct into the board but at the time it sounded great. The guitars were played through a dual rectifier giving the album a “metal” sound and we really layered the vocals for the chorus (we really liked that).

3. Death of Me   - Reminds me that we took out some business size ads in Rue Morgue and local music magazines, which seemed to help get the word out about the band. Our super fan, Kristen Symons, was the first to get some of the lyrics from this song tattooed. I was blown away that she did that!

4. One of Us   - I remember listening back to this song and being amazed that Davey could play the kick drum so fast. It sounds like a real punk song! My favorite line “I pull the wings off little souls, only I say only goes.”

5. Midnight Spookshow   - Still one of the fan favorites! So many great times playing this song live. I like how Bobby and I help sing the end of each other lines in the verse. The album was mastered in New Zealand at Edgewood Studios and I thought that was cool because Peter Jackson is from New Zealand and he made "Bad Taste" and "Dead Alive" (my favorite splatter comedies!).

6. Backseat of My Hearse   - One of my favorite surf riffs. People at shows always scream out the lines “like a horror movie on a Friday night” and “why do you act like everybody.” I remember that the mastering had a hard time getting the album to sound good he kept adding too much high end and mids. We mastered it as least 3 or 4 times 'til we got it right.

Outside of Jugheads, one of the few bars that would let Davey play since he was so young!

7. Eyes Down - I love how we matched the movie sample to the guitars on the intro. It was all by accident but it somehow fit so perfectly. A match made in hell? Bobby was having a real hard time singing the chorus on this song for some reason. “Anything can happen and it probably has” always gets a great response live, people love to scream that with me. I love it. This song was originally going to be played really slow like a Type-O-Negative song, but we’ve always had the need for speed. It was so easy to write these songs 'cause everything was still new and open...we had a TON of spooky word combination we never used yet. I remember playing this song at some show in Texas and some drunk lady was rubbing her beer bottle against my strings from the stage as we played, and she spilled beer all over me. I appreciated the enthusiasm but not getting my bass and shoes soaked in Lone Star beer.

8. Shrunken Head Kids - While in the studio the intern (a man who looked like he was 40 years old) said he took the songs with him over the weekend and listened to Shrunken Head Kids on his buddy’s boat. He swore the chorus to this song was “drunk and reckless.” Yes, sir, you are correct. For you, in the chorus we sing “drunk and reckless.” Davey used a tambourine in the bridge on this song, cause we used a lot of different techniques on the album to get different sounds when they were starting out. After that Davey didn’t have much use for the tambourine so he set it aside and completely forgot he had it. It got buried in a corner under a pile of fan mail. And years later when we were writing the song “Evil Inside” (from our new album Born With A Scorpion’s Touch) which has a very bare-bones drum beat with just the kick and the snare it sounded kinda empty and he rediscovered his tambourine - the same exact one - from this "13 Halloweens" album. It was just sitting in a corner for years waiting.

9. Evening - Still one of my favorite songs, I really like my bass line and how the guitars play off the riff. But I’m still fuming that in one of our first reviews someone said this song was a “fumble” on the record. How dare he use a football analogy to review our music!

10. Blood In my Eyes - Gotta love the tambourine at the start. I thought this was a pretty “rock 'n' roll” song. It’s so simple and catchy I can’t believe I wrote the main riff on a broken mini ukulele guitar.

Bobby mastering the deathrock look.

11. Every Day's a Funeral - All I can say is that the sample we used at the start of the song is a classic fit.

12. Crizila - We recorded Aaron’s muscle car in the front of the studio trying to get the sound of tires squealing. It was on gravel and the wheels shot a rock into the studio's window breaking it. He quickly parked his car, put a piece of cardboard in front of the window to hide the broken glass and we never talked about it again. Especially not to Jimmy Z the owner! In the end, we just used a combination of car sounds found on the internet and a sound effect from a movie instead.

13. Phantasmagoria – We thought this song would be the “big hit” off the record but it didn’t take off quite like we expected. In one of the first reviews of the album they mentioned my controversial line, “through the Ouija board you said you were family, so I slit my writs to follow you” – we were shocking!

One of our first promo photos.

Born With A Scorpion's Touch -- Lyrics

2013-11-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

For those who bought our new CD on iTunes, or accidentally found a copy of it on the Internet, I present to you...the lyrics for BORN WITH A SCORPION'S TOUCH.

Enjoy!

1. American Rebel Death Riders

We Are Death Riders

2. Born With A Scorpion's Touch

Oh, when you're in the light
You look an animal caged tight, dead life
I feel the end I feel the one
I feel the hammer crush down your world
I'm going down down down, oh yeah

Killer heart in the wasteland
Diamond eyes, I'm a maelstrom
You're the only one to love
It's the only way to know
I'm born with a scorpion's touch

True danger of females
The jealous whip of a devils tail
Emerald's kiss on a broken heart
She was violent from the start
A hellcat in a mini skirt

I'm born with an endless love
Killer heart in the wasteland
I'm born with a scorpion
Killer heart in the wasteland

3. I Wanna Be A Vigilante

Do you think
You got what it takes
To attract the dirty rats?
All the dirty rats

Payback
Dark figure in black
Well, you're never coming back
Well, Never coming back

There's a hunger under dark streetlights
One hundred bullets settle scores, alright
Wanna be a vigilante tonight

4. At Night I Am The Warmest

Tempting the devil's heart, know your plan
To hold back the surge of hell's living dead
Through my eyes I see the world
Different than yours
Different than anybody else
No one else

Wandering alone, yeah
At night, vision's so blurry
With the heat steam of your body
Sweat drips like kamikaze
And at night I am the warmest
And at night I know the best place
To keep you under starlight
To keep you gone

Their bodies burned with a ghostly fire
Lost island South Pacific desire
Grass skirt and hula girls, yeah
Cannibals of holocaust
Shameful lust in paradise on holiday
Sun and vice

Deep rivers, dark jungles in the rain
Prowl mountain tops, primitives designed to win the game

5. Loner At Heart

I'm ship wrecked but still fighting
A lousy life of dirty death
Cutthroat companions
Hard bullets and soft flesh

And I know
Whoa
I'm a loner at heart

I'm a loner and leave it up to me
Just an outlaw murder spree
We'll I'd do it all again
And you know

I don't care for nothin'
I don't care for you
Black sails come rippin'
Total destruction

6. Mindwarp

Death comes in many forms
Through one door they found our world
Oh, no
The laughing chatterin' begins
The choir of madness sings
Whoa

Laughing 'til I'm screaming at the world
Falling to my hands
Shotgun blasts to end the psycho scene
Falling to my hands

All of my friends our dead
Severed limbs spray the walls with red
Oh, yeah
I'm gonna spit blood right in your face
I'm gonna kill you right in this place

SATAN IS HERE

7. Danger

Living like a rat, yeah
Pumping like a heart
Wading through the blood, yeah
Hunger in the dark
Well, a mind bred for hate
Ain't a law left to break

Well, I know my drive to hell
So endless
Dead to my revenge
So many
Engines, destruction
Power through me
Oh, I love it so
Scared

40 thousand volts of
An electric eel
A wounded animal
In a tight dress and heels

Fleshpot for the damned
Streets of slaughtered lambs

8. Ride With The Living Dead

It’s a riot in the burlesque tent
Jaded women and degenerate men
Untamed passion of the trailer park
Rocket city and a lustful heart
The grinning death hunts tonight

Riding with the living
Yeah, riding with the living
Forever coming fire
Riding with the living
Riding with the living dead
It's only warm to those who were born
On the left hand black of life, oh yeah

Death is such a funny lie
Dear friends, all you gotta do is die
Well, over cliffs and under cars
Drown in lakes, buried under stars
New dead voices, face and heart

9. Only The Dead Know My Name

There is a place on Earth
Where the ghosts of men break through
Pistol on a hip
Another night with the outlaw blues
Wet blood smacks head to hand
Burning days in the savage land
Bright lights dance a waltz above
Human head in a box of love

Only the dead know my name
Down among ember and flame
Only my love burns away
As my life fades into hell

The bite marks on her neck
The blood that I taste
The chainsaw in my hands
The fear in their face
A mask that hides me from the night
A reflection of the pain
Creatures pulse inside my chest
Black blood in my veins

I'll tear you apart
As your bones break under mine
Pull you down
Under

Skeletons rot
In a crypt with unlocked doors
Beautiful death
No more

10. I Ride Alone

Re-seal the tomb
Dynamite will hide it from the Reich
Cold Nazi doom
Through the hours of time I fight alone
Unknown

When the lights go out
Do you know just what to do?
While her lifeless eyes
Still staring back at you

Lost, Egyptian sun
Cursed temple ruins
African queen

Well, I ride alone
I need no one
I ride alone
Into the sun

Thunderbolts above
Die young, go big or just go home
Rip up my bastard life
Burnt alive in a gauntlet of fire
Of fire

11. There Is An Evil Inside

Well, I got no where to go
Heel spurs on a bathroom floor
Bloodstains mark a map of gold
Killer wolf in human form

Well, evil prevails
On the night you left your home
And I'll take you away
Alone

Heartache on my trail
Gonna find my misery
Bad luck on my mind
Always trouble what I find
Cold and holding a dark hate in your heart
Spirit of evil, controlled by no one
And I'll smash in your teeth in
Your mouth will explode
With the blood and the want
And the hunger I love

Notes from the Road - Three Nights with Strung Out

2013-10-24T23:43:00.000-07:00

Looking through my files on the computer I came across some old photos back in January 2009 when we played three shows with Strung Out. I had a good laugh and thought I would share some of those memories.

Strung Out - Halloween 2009

We first met Strung Out when we played a Halloween show with them at the Clubhouse in Tempe AZ in 2009. I hit it off with Jordan, the drummer, we bonded over our large merch display and they ended up leaving the show with some of our shirts and hoodies.

We then got the call from Strung Out's Booking Agent offering us some shows in January, so we jumped at the offer. Lesson learned - be nice to the headlining band.

The first night we played at the Boardwalk in Orangevale CA.

It had a small merch area that we had to stuff our self into along with Strung Out. The Strung Out Merch Guy was a friend of the band and worked for tips and was really cool.

The Venue/Promoter gave the bands spaghetti and salad for dinner, a perfect pre-show energy booster. Out of respect, we waited till Strung Out completed the sound check, and started eating before we attacked the food.

The place was pretty cool, it had signed guitars on the ceiling, and a long boardwalk out front like Cracker Barrel.

The Promoter tried to stiff us on our guarantee. I told the promoter, "That's fine if you don't want to give us what we're owed, cause all we have to hold against you is your reputation. I'll just tell the Booking Agent you didn't want to pay us what you had on contract." He gave us the money. I learned that night, threats of violence are not the answer, cause long term the only thing that counts is your reputation. Eventually, the shady characters will quickly get weeded out (hopefully sooner than later).

The place was packed, and the crowd rocked. The crowd was filled with more "normies" than we normally attract, so it was cool that we could open some "mind balls".

The second night was at Club Underground in Reno Nevada.

I remember that night well, because after the show we slept in a casino parking. It was cold, but free!

The Underground is a large warehouse type venue, great for displaying the merch table.

Jake checks the sound from the floor

Another kick ass show!

The bathrooms got trashed by the end of the night.

Dear God, what did they do in here?!

The third night was at Slims in San Francisco CA, and it was by far my favorite venue.

By this time, we played San Francisco a few times but never at a venue like this! Rock star treatment with each band getting their own dressing room. Private bathrooms, which you can now see why it's such a big deal after the abuse the Underground bathroom got.

Hey, it's me!

The public bathroom at Slims was less than desirable. To take a dump you had to do it behind a curtain, and I thought the pressure to perform on stage was rough!

Slims info sheet Pro-fess-ional!

You mean to tell me we get to know what's going on?

I took this picture because at the time the stain on the stage curtains looked like something mind blowing!

I just can't remember what it was. Kinda looks like a wolf now, but I know it was something cooler than that!

The crowd was filled with a lot of what looked like "extreme sports" looking dudes. They looked like the kinda of guys that ride motor cross on surfboards. Not our normal crowd but they dug our music. This was also the first time I noticed the beard to shaved face ratio was rather high. This was back in 2010 before the current "bearded trend", but I remember telling someone about all the short haired dudes with beards - it seemed really weird at the time!

Chris says "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii"!

A shot from the balcony.

By the end of the three day tour, I fell in love with the guys from Strung Out. They had a great attitude, gave an energetic performance, and actually loved what they were doing. They have the kinda positive mental attitude I strive for. I just wish we got to play more shows with them. Hopefully in the future.

The Uncanny Art of Bobby Calabrese

2012-01-24T19:38:00.001-07:00

Back when we first started the band we needed artwork but we didn’t know who to turn to. I remember seeing Bobby’s doodle drawings and thought they would be great to use for the band. So I took his notebooks full of doodles from high school and scanned them into my computer. I didn’t know what I was doing so I would line trace the images then color them with the paint bucket tool. I remember it would take hours to convert them into full color but it was fun. I still have a box full of Bobby doodles that I thought would be great to color for the band. I didn’t get much done before we ended up meeting artists online, like Big Tony O'Farrell and Andrew Barr, to fuel our horror rock image.

I asked Bobby what he remembered about his early doodle drawings.

“I suppose I was out of high school when I did those drawings, and if so, I was around 17 or 18. The only thing I can remember is wanting to raise the level of awesomeness with the band. At the time, we didn't have shit for art, so I took it upon myself to doodle around and see what I could come up with. In high school, I was way into comic books and the idea of writing/drawing my very own series was a huge goal for me. Looking back, i wish I kept up with it because by now I bet I'd be damn good! Or completely delusional with crappy art. Who knows?

So we started the band. It was a great opportunity to blend two loves, music and notebook doodling, and I think it turned out pretty well. Obviously, everything was colored in on Paintshop by you, Jimmy, making my quick and sloppy drawings into pretty cool and slightly disturbing art pieces!

I had a weird style. I drew a lot of inspiration for indie comics because the art seemed do-able and the story lines clicked with me. Nothing was too over the top and there was no way I was gonna start drawing like the top dogs! (big boobs and burly muscles are, like, super hard to draw) So I picked my style, which seemed to be a mix between big heads and vague, dead eyes. I liked it 'cause it purposely sloppy and somewhat appealing. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a certain "charm" I was going for, like Charlie Brown with seven fingers. (I had a hard time drawing hands)

I still draw this way -- a goofy mummy and an alien with a jet pack are in my Top Go-To Doodles. I like to draw people with ripped up limbs, too, but there's only so much of that before people start questioning your sanity. Also, I remember thinking these were great! As soon as we started hiring people to whip up Calabrese art I kinda backed off a bit. If you want the best, you go to the best. You DON'T go to the 18 year old hunched over a stack of paper in a poorly lit room drawing zombies in red Chuck Taylors. Ha!”

Notes from the Road - Hollywood, CA @ The Knitting Factory.

2011-08-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

We played a lot of great shows at the Knitting Factory before they closed and I have a lot of fond memories.

The first time we played the Knitting Factory in Hollywood was with Order Of The Fly, Murder Land and Back to Zero. It was our first taste of Hollywood. There’s something seedy and desperate behind the façade of the golden stars, plastic movie attractions and gift shops. Most noticeable when we leave the venue at two in the morning when the streets are littered with drunks, homeless, taxies and cop cars.

The Knitting Factory had 3 stages, a small bar room stage, a medium open floor stage, and a large stage that had a balcony. When we started playing there we played the medium stage (we never played the small girly stage). After playing several shows for Church Of The 8th Day promotions we worked our way into headlining the medium stage, our first time headlining in LA.

Backstage.

In 2008 we headlined the Knitting Factory for the first time, and it was one of my favorite shows. They gave us the VIP room upstairs with waters and pizza. And we played with some of our favorite bands Zombeast, Order Of The Fly, and Murderland. I think on the main stage they had some private rap party and on the mini-stage Peachcake played, another band from AZ whom we played with before at a VFW hall.

Zombeast!

The magical backstage.

Order Of The Fly

There have been several festivals where we got to rock on the main stage with bands like 13 Step Rebels, Koffin Kats, Rezurex, and Frenzy.

Logistically it was a pain in the ass to load in when we played the main stage cause we had to unhook the trailer in the small back parking lot then park the van in the underground parking garage, then walk all the gear and merch down the cramped back service hallways about 200 feet. No big deal for most bands, but when we’ve got 12 totes of merchandise it sucks.

Down that hallway I’ve seen fist fights, wasted drunk chicks, instruments get stolen and Nick 13 hanging out, just what you would expect.

A view from the stage.

When we played the medium stage we parked in the loading zone at the side of the venue. It was a perfect spot until we got a ticket for being parked in a loading zone.

I’ve seen many people get stupid drunk and kicked out of the Knitting Factory not sure if it’s - A. that’s just Hollywood. B. the venue gave off a stupid vibe. C. the other venues we play don’t care about retarded drunks.

Across the street at a booze shop.

Also across the street.

Notes from the Road – Brookdale, CA @ The Haunted Brookdale Lodge

2011-03-03T13:30:00.003-07:00

“BLOOD FEST II - The 2nd annual Blood Fest at the Haunted Brookdale Lodge! Including Live performances by STELLAR CORPSES, CALABRESE, TELL TALE HEARTBREAKERS, HERE KITTY KITTY and round two of The BIKINI BLOODBATH WRESTLING TOURNAMENT!!! Enter now for you chance at the $100 grand prize!! Must be 18 to wrestle. Show is all ages.”

I can’t believe it was November of 2009 that we played at the Brookdale Lodge, it seems like just a few months ago! I remember this show more for the location than anything else. They say the lodge was a vacation spot for Al Capone and the other mobsters of the 1920’s. The place was aging but it still held it’s charm.

Heading out to the lodge we foolishly followed the diabolical directions of the Garmin GPS. It took us through tiny twisting mountain roads with oncoming traffic passing us within inches. To make matters worse, a convoy of cars built up behind us 'cause I had to slowly maneuver the terror-roads.

Brookdale Lodge, a river runs through it – a river of death!

I waited for Frodo to come running through the doorway!

The room we played in did not have central heating, instead, it was solely heated by this fireplace. Did I mention it was a cold November night?

Davey sat next to the fire most of the night and talked with a guy who was the son of a Preacher who performed exorcisms, you know, a typical Calabrese fan. The guy also told Davey about the Lizard People who lived within the hollow Earth. Did I mention by the end of the night Dave’s pal spilled his beer all over the merch table? But he was a nice guy and bought one of the posters he ruined.

In the room next to us, a local paranormal group had set up cameras and sound recording equipment. They said they were trying to capture the presence of the dead, but I think they were actually trying to bootleg the show.

Did I accidently capture a picture of a ghost?

I was talking with the Paranormal group and they said they’ve made contact with a little dead girl who haunts the hotel. Fun!

I had a good time creeping around the lodge.

It’s in a book...the place must be haunted!

Here’s Dan from Stellar Corpses setting up the inflatable pool for the bikini jello wrestling contest.Good job, Dan!

A fan presented Bobby with a homemade “I’m in Twilight” t-shirt.

Lasers!

Stellar Corpses rockin it.

Our buddies Stellar Corpses tried to outdo us with their merch. Nice selection, guys.

We still win!

They Call Us Death -- Lyrics

2010-12-02T08:05:00.001-07:00

Here are the lyrics to our new album, for those who bought it on iTunes, or accidentally found a copy of it on the internet.

Enjoy!

They Call Us Death
In the dust there's a flame that burns
Pack of wolves watch the meat in turns
Because the pain that you alone will feel
Will never seem as real
As the night you went and died

Where in the world has a fool like you to run
When the sun
Burns beyond the veil of days
She broke her vows
She lost her life
In the end they call us death

When the stars in the sky they bleed
All my life they have lied to me
The hearts of men possessed by sin
Revenge it pulls me in
When the devil calls me home

---------------------------------

Black Anathema
This place is cold and lonely
You better start to worry
There’s no ever leaving here
The spell is all around us
Making my world feel worthless
A ghost imprinted in the air

When you lie, you will live no more
I know your secrets
I know your weakness
When you sin, you will give me more
I know your secrets
I know your weakness

You dreams are dead and broken
Everyone has forgotten
Who you are what you have to say
It's too late to pray
It's too late to change
Your world is burning down
You'll fade away

---------------------------------

Deep In The Red
Bleed, all over me
Bleed the heat inside your skin
Bleed the hate you keep within
Well, the pain that chokes the world
Is the serpent crawling through your veins
In your heart, it’ll stop
To take on you

Deep in the red
There’s nothing but a pulsing death
Taking all your life, baby
Everything you know
Will soon be mine right through your eyes
Move slow, holy blood

Screams in the dark
Crippled inside
When you fall you fall apart
In the darkness in the world
In the cold Antarctic of your heart
You cry blood
And leave me screaming

---------------------------------

Near Twilight
Oh, my baby believes that demons are real
But only I know the way
Why you walk in fear and hide?
Failed to open up your eyes to see
Trust in me
In me

Oh the twilight, its killing me
Oh my body, it burns and bleeds

The things that we do they seem rather strange to you
Cause we believe in worlds you cannot see
When the devil calls you will hear your name
And know that you are just like one of us
You can’t deny your desires

---------------------------------

Blood of the Wolf
You wanted power they gave us pain
They don’t care if you live or die just as long as you do what they say
Do you ever question what you believe?
Is there a God above or are we alone?

You better move it when we move into shape and start to change
Blood of the wolf
Heart pumpin’ death, black death into our teenaged veins
Blood of the wolf

Steel coffin holds me down
Blood in me is the blood in the ground
And it feels just like I’m on my way
Born in dirt with nothing left
'Cause my bones are breaking and I don’t give a shit
It’s the power of death

---------------------------------

Within the Abyss
See, I see the end
You wanna be, just where I stand
I walk through flames, where the damned fall in place
Oh, baby, so strange

Whoa-oh
From beyond our time and space
Whoa-oh
To destroy the lives of man
Lightning strikes the womb and no child will be born alive
Whoa-oh
As is in hell

When you're alone, that's when I'll whisper my venom
What makes you feel strange, is why we are the same
Fall toward the Abyss within

---------------------------------

Venomwolf
My body is a wasteland
The heat is all I wanted
Like a four crowned burning pain in my chest
My veins, they're screaming
Like a ghost in its death
And it goes...

A weaker man
Might burn in hell, for the venom
Drink your death
Blacken the blood
Feel the power
Destroy the world
Eternity turns

What lies beneath, you don’t want to see
Faceless creatures with a secret name
A chill in your mind that will make you a sinner
A crooked spine of evil charm

---------------------------------

Summon the Beyond
In the hour of fire, left hands grab
All that I have left is all I've planned
Because the blood that I'll use tonight
Is the blood that I know is mine
And the heart knows just how to melt
When it's outside beyond your chest in hell

We summon the ancients
We offer our sins
Phantoms of madness
Perversions within
Invoking those who were never born
To bring hell crashing down on you

It’s your choice to take the knife
One decision brings the afterlife
When you see all the hate it brings
The eyes empty, call to me
Temptations of the ecstasy
Your life is dead
A fantasy

---------------------------------

Violet Hellfire
We stand at the edge of time and live to walk away
Exploding worlds, violent stars, chaos gods
We call to them
Chaos rules again
Chaos rules

When the Unknown grows in force
Flesh and blood and broken bones
A silent whisper from beyond
Spirit of darkness lets me know that...

Whoa-oh
Violet Hellfire comes
Whoa-oh
This hell…is our home
Buried in the wall of bedroom where I used to live
The memories they haunt me still of what I did, of who I am
My live is a lie, my life is…

---------------------------------

The Machine of Instant Death
I feel the ashes
Of everything I’ve known , through the madness
With the hellhound wolf’s disease
Feeds the bodies hot in heat
Into the ether
Into the unknown
Alone

Oh, this shadowed life I roam
Is the only life I know
You see me as the end
Well, I am
Sweat burns the flesh
Hot machine of instant death
Bright lights are only a dream

You seem like nothing
Invisible to me
You hold it all back
Biting your tongue
And tasting the blood
The nameless horror
That they call love

---------------------------------

Endless Night
There's a darkness in the world
I feel its pull
In the beating heart that kicks out dirt
You'll find me there
'Cause the only death I like
Is the death buzz of the night
When your knife plants a kiss through my heart, you're alive

I know you don't belong
I know you wanted more
It's all a lie, you know
Paranoia's cold shadow
In this endless night
You will do just what you're told
Don't look back you're alone

Possessed with a spirit I brought forth
Down deep with the vultures and the worms
A quicksand of serpents remind me
My bones and the dirt are the same

---------------------------------

Loveless God
I have seen the end of time
It makes it’s way
To the forefront of my mind
Breathe in, taste the dirt
What you want is dead and gone
There’s no return
Holy death, holy design
I am the dead

After what we did last night
We can never go home
When you’re all alone
We will always know

With you tarot cards you told me
Things I tried to hide away from the world
They spoke of secrets and lies
Skeletons of despair and crime

-------------------------------

Notes from the Road – Corona CA @ Showcase Theatre

2010-10-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

The “legendary” Showcase Theatre, which closed down in 2008, was our first California show. We opened for our pals Order of the Fly who helped us book the show.

When we first played the Showcase Theatre I experienced a flashback. When my family moved to Arizona from Illinois my older sister Gina and I drove out to California. California is the Mecca for any Midwesterner growing up in cornfields and snow. The years of television and movie propaganda made one think the only place to be is California. So the first chance we got, we drove out to Hollywood. We did the usual tourist things, but we also wanted to see the real Hollywood. So drove around trying to get lost. Eventually we found a random place to walk around, and as we passed a restaurant guess who we saw going in for a bite? It was the Lord Almighty himself, Glen Danzig. Like giddy school girls bumping into the Jonas Brothers at the mall, we didn’t know what to do. I managed to pull it together and yell out “Hey Glenn, can we get your picture.” Then he turned around, smiled and my sister took the picture.

Anyway, that night we decided to go see a punk show. We found a weekly flyer and picked out a venue at random, The Showcase Theatre. I can’t remember who was playing or if I even liked the show. I do remember sitting on the staircase that led to the merch tables and wrote in my journal. “Dear Diary, wow I can’t believe I’m at an actual punk show in California. I hope that one I’ll be on this very same stage and fuck up.”

I remember when we opened for Three Bad Jacks, we did a podcast interview after the show in our van. While we were recording, we heard yelling going on outside. We made a joke and thought nothing of it. It turned out that someone stole a guitar from the Three Bad Jacks. It was one of Elvis’s $1200 guitars that someone snagged from the stage as they were unloading the gear. The thief ran out to his car and people chased him down the street. All that excitement and we missed i t!

Eventually we headlined at the Showcase. It had been our first California headlining show, and I was in disbelief that all these people came out to see us. Then I felt the pressure, cause all these people came out to see us! I can’t mess up. So of course, when we played Your Ghost my mind went blank and I couldn’t remember how to play the opening bass riff. The goddamn riff I wrote! I repeat that riff a few times during the song, so I tried to recover each time I played it and failed. It was the longest 2 minutes of my life. Afterwards I tried tuning my bass and Bobby kept yelling at me “It’s not your tuning! You’re just playing it wrong!” Thanks for pointing that out.

I have a lot of great memories at the Showcase. Jose the owner of the venue is a great guy and always took care of the bands. He had plans to open a new venue, so I hope when the economy turns around he will be able to do that.

At the Showcase we’ve played with; Koffin Kats, Three Bad Jacks, Zombeast, Order Of The Fly, Chop Tops, The Returners, 12 Step Rebels, More Than Never, Summers End and many others I can’t recall.

The Graves / Vampires Don’t Exist Music Video

2010-07-28T11:21:00.003-07:00

With our new music video scheduled for September (with Brian Pulido again) I thought it fitting to recap our last music video for the movie, The Graves. The song we chose for the movie is a fan favorite, "Vampires Don’t Exist." The video is a cross promotional vehicle for Calabrese and the movie. The scenes for the music video we shot were also used in the movie. We are featured at the beginning of the movie. We play Calabrese, the band that the heroines come to see before they get into trouble!

It was awesome seeing ourselves on the big screen at the cast and crew screening. I think it’s a natural progression for Calabrese to be projected ten feet tall. If you have not seen the movie, I’d suggest renting it or picking up a copy to add to your Calabrese Collection. We’d be happy to sign the DVD. The extras on the DVD have a performance only version of the video.

When we first arrived at the movie location, I didn’t know what to expect for an indie horror film, but when I saw the 3 RVs and 2 trucks unloading equipment and people, I was very impressed.

From what we’ve learned about making movies and videos, there’s a lot of hurry up and wait. We arrived at 4pm at the venue The Sets, as instructed, and I don’t think we shot our scene 'til around 8pm. The assistant director (I think that’s who it was) told us set up our instruments on the stage right away. So we hurried up, got everything into position, including the banner, then the lighting guys did their thing. We were excited, we were ready to rock...but we had to wait.

While we waited, a line of extras started forming outside the venue. The movie held an open casting call and a lot of Calabrese fans and the curious showed up!

I was told that this day was the last day of shooting and everyone was in a good mood. I guess out in the desert, where they shot most of the film, was pretty rough and the cast and crew were happy to get back civilization.

After what seemed like hours, the crew’s walkie talkies started buzzing. Like General Patton about to arrive, the director, Brian Pulido, was coming and everyone was getting ready. I believe they just shot the scene at Atomic Comics. Then they arrived, Brian, Adam (the Cinematographer) and the actresses. The set came alive, down time was over. Brian said hello to the crew while checking the location for the next scene. The actresses were whisked away into one of the trailer for a costume change. While they were getting their hair and makeup done they listened to "Vampires Don’t Exist." They had to familiarizing themselves with the song to join us on stage to sing.

When they were ready for us, all we had to do was perform along to the song while they blasted it through the PA. To the camera, Brian would introduce the band then we’d do our thing. I took some shots from the stage during the down times. I believe we performed about 5 times while they shot the scene with several different cameras and POVs. Then we were done.

They had snack table all day and a nice spread of food to feed the cast and crew after they finished shooting our scene. After dinner, they shot the final bar scenes around midnight.

We only met Claire Grant and Jillian Murray, unfortunately, Tony Todd and Bill Moseley were not in our scene. My biggest regret from the movie was that I didn’t get killed nor was I scripted to kill anyone. My cinematic vision had been squashed!

We got to see a screening of the movie before everyone else, see this blog post. Then the movie had limited theater run during the After Dark 4 Horror Fest. I didn’t get to see it with an audience but I heard reports that at least in one theater, the audience cheered when they saw Calabrese on screen. Fuck yeah!

We are eternally grateful to Brian Pulido for writing us into the script and getting us some screen time.

Overall it was a great experience. We had fun on a professional movie shoot, we have another promotional music video, and we are now officially a part of horror movie history!