2008 Woodie Awards
Instrumental collarboration creates 'epic post-rock sound'
Phil Graybiel
Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: Entertainment
What is A Caesar Holiday? If you said a collaboration of five musicians from Indianapolis experimental rock bands like Richard Cranium and Lafcadio, who was once called Coitus, you might be right.
But what is A Caesar Holiday really? Some might say it is a statement about the arrogance and the fall of the Roman Empire, or the sadistic pleasure people get out of hurting others. On the other hand, it might just be a delicious salad made with romaine lettuce, onions, crispy croutons, Parmesan cheese and an anchovy-based dressing.
A Caesar Holiday is mostly an instrumental band that mixes heavy guitar and drums with soothing violin parts to create what the band describes as an "epic post-rock sound." They have some vocals but prefer to let the music set the mood and give meaning to the music instead of the lyrics.
"The violin in our band is the lead melody and is like the vocal hook," says Daniel Sansone, who plays bass for the band, "It's a dynamic instrument and has a soft touch to it that is reminiscent of the dynamics of a person who sings."
The band released a new recording this February that was recorded in 2006 at Russian Recording in Nashville, Ind. by Mike Bridavsky, who has also recorded other independent local bands like Everthus, the Deadbeats and Abner Trio. They recorded the entire album live, over five days except for the violin, for which they had to do separate tracks.
"It's just a tricky instrument to record and we ended up recording it acoustically instead of electrically. It just sounds better," says violinist Lauren Eison.
Ben Masbaum is the primary songwriter in the band. He also plays guitar and sings minimal vocals when needed. When writing songs, Masbaum starts with an idea then Sansone and drummer Zach Peterson write the bass and drum parts. After they have the structure of the song, it is then shown to the rest of the band.
Since forming in 2005, they started as a three-piece band with the rest coming together through a variety of circumstances. Masbaum and Zach Peterson are part of the experimental metal band Lafcadio, and have been playing in bands together all their lives. They joke they were destined to play music together because their parents were friends since high school.
But what is A Caesar Holiday really? Some might say it is a statement about the arrogance and the fall of the Roman Empire, or the sadistic pleasure people get out of hurting others. On the other hand, it might just be a delicious salad made with romaine lettuce, onions, crispy croutons, Parmesan cheese and an anchovy-based dressing.
A Caesar Holiday is mostly an instrumental band that mixes heavy guitar and drums with soothing violin parts to create what the band describes as an "epic post-rock sound." They have some vocals but prefer to let the music set the mood and give meaning to the music instead of the lyrics.
"The violin in our band is the lead melody and is like the vocal hook," says Daniel Sansone, who plays bass for the band, "It's a dynamic instrument and has a soft touch to it that is reminiscent of the dynamics of a person who sings."
The band released a new recording this February that was recorded in 2006 at Russian Recording in Nashville, Ind. by Mike Bridavsky, who has also recorded other independent local bands like Everthus, the Deadbeats and Abner Trio. They recorded the entire album live, over five days except for the violin, for which they had to do separate tracks.
"It's just a tricky instrument to record and we ended up recording it acoustically instead of electrically. It just sounds better," says violinist Lauren Eison.
Ben Masbaum is the primary songwriter in the band. He also plays guitar and sings minimal vocals when needed. When writing songs, Masbaum starts with an idea then Sansone and drummer Zach Peterson write the bass and drum parts. After they have the structure of the song, it is then shown to the rest of the band.
Since forming in 2005, they started as a three-piece band with the rest coming together through a variety of circumstances. Masbaum and Zach Peterson are part of the experimental metal band Lafcadio, and have been playing in bands together all their lives. They joke they were destined to play music together because their parents were friends since high school.
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