Making a difference in BVDs
Article by Dan Eldridge
Resonance, 11/01/2000
Throwing temper tantrums, playing in his underwear--Damon Che's not quite the artist one expects to find in the indie rock world of shy shoegazers. Still, he's earned his place in the pantheon, creating four of the most mind-bending instrumental prog-rock records of the past ten years with his band Don Caballero.
"That's what gets me up in the morning," Che says during a pre-show sound check on a stage somewhere in Western Pennsylvania. "Trying to make a difference, trying to make things better. I can't emphasize more how key that is."
Of course, working to save the world from boring beats and cliched chord progressions aren't the only things that keep this trio's gears well-greased. Sure, they set the stage ablaze with drum rolls quicker than the speed of light and digital guitar loops whose sonic improvisations wrap around each other like vines on a tree. But over the years, Don Cab has earned a bit of a reputation as a math-rock bully--a band who likes poking fun at their contemporaries whose work falls a bit short of par.
Che, of course, begs to differ. "The only way we'd make fun is by doing something more challenging than anything that's run of the mill or humdrum," he says. "We don't do it out of spite or malice. We're not making fun of anybody, you know?"
Maybe, maybe not. After all, this is the same band whose name comes from an obscure SCTV episode, and whose current album lays claim to such obviously sarcastic song titles as "A Lot of People Tell Me I Have a Fake British Accent" and "Let's Face It Pal, You Didn't Need That Eye Surgery." As serious as they appear during live shows, it's quite clear that they're as well-versed in the finer points of urban irony as those very same hipsters they claim to be reforming.
Of course, when you're talking indie rock, the merits and maladies of cynicism can easily be debated to death. So, getting back to the important questions, why exactly does drum-monster Damon Che play in his underwear?
"Actually," he says, sounding more than a little annoyed, "during these last couple of tours, I've been wearing workout pants in an effort to get people to stop asking that question."
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