Jimmy and Bobby Calabrese

Posted on Jul 25, 2006

by AvNatten

In the stark Arizona heat a band called Calabrese has emerged from the desert. Fusing punk, rock, and a good dose of spookiness makes their songs best enjoyable on the darkest of nights. I had an interesting chat about the band, what inspires them most, and ghost hunting with brothers in blood Bobby and Jimmy Calabrese and they let us take a trip into their world of horror.

Hello! How are things going in Arizona?

Bobby: Hot as hell!
 
Please introduce yourself and tell us what role you play in Calabrese!

Bobby: I'm Bobby Calabrese, and I play guitar and spit up blood.

Jimmy: I'm Jimmy Calabrese, and I'm the oldest brother and I play bass and sing (tag team style) with Bobby.
 
Please tell us a bit about your bandmates and the roles they fill within Calabrese!

Jimmy: There is also Davey Calabrese, our little bro who plays drums.
 
What is the story behind the name Calabrese? What does it mean and what significance does it have to you?

Bobby: It means evil, seduction and murder! Good thing it's our last name, too!
 
How and why was the band formed?

Bobby: I still remember distinctly when Jimmy came to me four or five years ago, and said, "Hey, let's start a band!" This is when mp3.com was big, and whenever we went on there to search for other bands, we came across dudes in their work clothes, with absolutely no style or sense of musicianship. We wanted to counteract that, to break it down and make THEE world's greatest horror rock band!
 
What were your intentions back then as the band's formation occurred, do you still have the same goals and ideas today?

Bobby: Most definitely. It's all about making the best energy-fueled, death rock and roll we can, and to allow an alternative to the current music scene. We are the other scene, the REAL scene. Join us!

Is there any sibling rivalry between the bandmembers? Was it a natural choice for the 3 of you to decide to create music together instead of going elsewhere to find the musicians to fill your ranks?

Bobby: We definitely go through the "I wanna kill you!" phases, but in the end, it's always going to work out better. You can stomp on each other's feelings without second thought, which is a whole lot easier when you're family!
 
Besides the 3 of you being brothers, your sister has penned some lyrics for you, how did all of you end up being fans of horror?

Jimmy: Genetics I guess.
 
What would you like to see happen in the future for Calabrese?

Bobby: World domination! But more realistically, just to work with Rob Zombie, whether it be onstage or off. He could direct a music video for us and I could literally just say my life was complete at that point!
 
How would you describe Calabrese's sound to someone who has never heard the band before?

Bobby: Murderous, hypnotic rock and roll. The soundtrack of going to a carnival and being drugged, only to find yourself on the floor in the hall of mirrors!

Jimmy: Spooky Horror Punk. If you like the Misfits, Ramones and AFI, we welcome you.

What inspired you to play horror rock?

Bobby: I think it was just a natural progression of things. We all grew up loving horror flicks, and The Misfits were the band that we all dug… so why not? It's been a blast ever since.

Jimmy: The Misfits, I've been obsessed with them ever since a friend of mine introduced me to them back in high school.

Who writes the lyrics and from where do you draw the inspiration from for your lyrics?

Bobby: We draw inspiration from film, books, comics, everything weird and bizarre.

Jimmy: Both Bobby and I write our own lyrics for the verses we sing and we usually collaborate on the chorus. The songs are a patch work of monster movie imagery and emotional abuse.

You do not base songs upon the typical movies and monsters that most bands do, was this one of your intentions from the beginning and why did you choose to go this route?

Bobby: I think it's too easy just to say, "Oh, this next song is going to be about this movie, and the title of the song will be the title of the movie!" Okay, I'll admit, it's cool if you don't do it too often, but sometimes it can be overkill. So we try to keep everything vague and mysterious, and easy for the listener to draw their own ideas and interpretations from our lyrics.
 
You released "13 Halloweens" on Spookshow Records, will you please tell us a bit about the label how you came to be signed with them?

Jimmy: Spookshow Records is our own Label, we are DIY all the way.
 
Do you feel "13 Halloweens" is your most accomplished effort to date? Is there anything about the album you would go back and change if you could?

Bobby: Nothing too wild and crazy… but there's a few things I'd wanna change that I'm sure nobody but myself cares about!
 
Your image is not as elaborate as some horror bands, why did you choose to keep your look so simple?

Bobby: White face-makeup clogs our pores! No, I kid. But we don't do the whole "dress-up" thing because it's quite the fine line between looking totally rad and looking like a jack-ass! We just don't know how to walk it, and besides, we don't need any of that, only true rock and rollers exclusively wear leather jackets. And this is some serious shit coming from us, since we live in the desert!
 
Can you pick out a couple of your favorite songs you have done and explain to us why you like them and what they mean to you?

Bobby: I really like 'Midnight Spookshow' because it was one the first songs we've written, and is still fun to play today. The way it was written and sung was the beginning of our musical route, where we just looked at one another and went, "Oh, this is what we'll be doing."
 
You have been featured on various compilations including "This Is Horror Punk" and "The Morgue The Merrier", has taking part in these releases helped the band to secure new fans and have you seen a positive outcome from participating in these albums?

Jimmy: We figure the more we can get our name out the better. I still believe in compilations, I've discovered a lot of great bands from comps so we try and put ourselves out there for other to discover.

The track 'Blood In My Eyes' was featured in the Chainsaw Sally film, how did you feel when you found out your song would play during the end credits?

Jimmy: It was an even better feeling when the movie Prison A GO GO used our song 'Midnight Spookshow' in the opening credits.
 
Besides having songs on soundtracks have you as a band been in any films? Is that something you would like to do in the future?

Bobby: Oh, definitely. That would be awesome. I'm not saying I’m a world class thespian or anything, but has that stopped Bruce Campbell?! Never! I just think it would be great to just say that I've acted in a film. Throw it on the ol' resume.
 
Have you or any of the other band members been in any other bands in the past or are you participating in any at the moment?

Jimmy: Nothing interesting enough to mention. The other bands were good testing grounds for learning about songwriting and musicianship.
 
What bands/musicians have had the biggest impact on you?

Bobby: First and foremost, our saviour, the Holy Trinity, Misfits/Samhain/Danzig. Whithout Glenn, we'd be nothin'! Also, Type-O-Negative, Elvis Presley, Man Or Astroman?, White Zombie, The Ramones, AFI.

Jimmy: Ditto.
 
Can you give us the titles to a few of you all time favorite albums?

Bobby: I've often said that I could live off of Danzig's "Lucifuge" and "How The Gods Kill", which is two albums I can't ever get enough of, despite years and years of listening to it. Can't forget about the Misfits' "Walk Among Us" and Man Or Astroman?'s "Destroy All Astromen", either.

Jimmy: "Walk Among Us", "Danzig II: Lucifuge" and "Hellbilly Deluxe".
 
What steps do you take to make yourself stand out in the world of horror rock?

Bobby: It's all about the music. We pour everything we can into song writing, and make sure it's the most important aspect of what we're doing. Sure, you can get away with average songs, but to truly make a wave in any scene, you gotta have the tunes to back you up!

How were you first introduced to punk? Does it still mean the same to you as it did back then?

Bobby: Punk to me, at least, is energy, power and a will to do things your way. In my eyes, it's still the same as it is today, and I'm pretty sure that if Jimmy never introduced me to Black Flag, The Ramones and The Dead Kennedys, I'd be off in the Appalachian Mountains hunting for yeti, or something equally as bizarre!

Jimmy: Somewhere back in 8th grade I first heard punk. Back then I just thought it was gritty and energetic music, I didn't know it was called punk. I still feel the same way, punk is more of a feeling or attitude it's not necessarily a specific sound.
 
If you could create your own dream band who would be in it?

Bobby: Danzig on vocals, me and Jimmy on vocals, too, while we play guitar and bass, and hey, Davey Calabrese on drums! Pretty much Danzig meets Calabrese. Oh, that would be awesome!
 
Jimmy is interested in ghost hunting, what about ghosts appeals to him? Has he seen anything really freaky?

Jimmy: Like Zombies, Ghosts are the most likely "monsters" to really exist. I don't know what fascinates/terrifies me so much about ghosts. I guess it's all the questions that arise if ghosts really do exist. Why do the spirits still hang around? If you believe in a heaven or hell then how could a ghost exist outside of those realms? Could ghosts actually be people from another dimension? Could they just be imprints of past events like grooves on a record? Can you really talk to the dead? Can or will they share information? Or are they just a figment of our imagination? Through parapsychology hopefully we can answer a few of these questions.
 
Do the rest of you have any spooky hobbies other than the band as well?

Bobby: We all love comic books and video games…not sure how spooky that is, but that's all we do in our free time!

Jimmy: Davey paints portraits of horror icons like Elvira and the Creature.
 
What are a few of your favorite horror movies and why?

Jimmy: Dellamorte Dellamore is a great movie, to me I think this pretty movie sums up what Calabrese is all about. Also Dead Alive, I love the mix of comedy and over the top gore. Evil Dead, which is a classic which has that same mix I love. Fright Night, has a great scenario, the effects are out of date of I'll take stop motion over CGI anytime.

Bobby: Splatter comedies are gold to us, like Dead Alive and the Evil Dead trilogy. Big fans of Italian horror, too, like Argento, Fulci and Bava. Argento is definitely one of my favourites, and really, any director big on featuring a killer with black gloves, a woman having her throat slit (no offense, ladies, this is purely for cinematic reasons!) and a musical score by Goblin is a-okay by me!
 
Thank you for your time, is there anything else you would like to add?

Bobby: If any independent horror movie makers or video game artists need a soundtrack for their film/video game, let us know!

Jimmy: Support the HorrorPunk scene, it's so easy to make an impact. You can help support the bands by buying merch, booking shows, promoting the bands with websites and flyers or start your own band!
Also sign up for the Calabrese Mailing list to get the latest updates on contests and merchandise. www.CalabreseRock.com Thanks to the fans for keeping Calabrese and the HorrorPunk scene alive!

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