Utter Trash--Calo

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An interview with Vince of Calo

By Mike Salamone

Utter Trash: How did the band come together, and what does Calo mean?
Vince: Dave and I the drummer got together in high school, but we grew apart for a couple of yrs. Dave and his brother Mike got together and were playing bass and drums together. Eventually we all got back together and made a band called Dillema of Determination. We later called the band Reason, and then finally changed to Calo. Calo is Mike and Dave’s last name. It was my idea, they were kind of against it. It’s nice because it is short, easy to remember and means nothing but a last name.

UT: What are your influences musical or otherwise?
Vince: Influences musically is a very wide variety of things...Earlier on for me it was heavy metal and punk like Metallica, Slayer, D.R.I, Nuclear Assault, Bad Religion, Tool, Sepultura, and all the stuff that goes along with that. Mike and Dave were more into Primus, Rush, Iron maiden, things of that sort. I think it is also safe to add things like Mr. Bungle, Faith no more, a lot of the classics, along with jazz like Miles, Flecktones, anything that sounds new and interesting. As far as other influences, I can speak for myself and say a lot of my own poetry and artwork influence me to express them in a different medium.

UT: Have you performed live yet? How was the crowd’s reaction to you?
Vince: We have played many times under the different names we have had. We just played last Saturday at Peabody's. The response is usually pretty good. We always have new entries on our mailing list and a lot of hits on the website the day after a show. You name, it we’ve played there...Grog shop, Hi Fi, Phantasy, Symposium, Hard rock, etc. We have been told that the live show is a lot better than the recordings. All we can say is that the live shows are a lot more fun than recording.

UT: Any plans for an official release? Will you shop it around to different labels?
Vince: We are currently working on a new recording with 10 songs. We will shop It around as much as we can with our limited knowledge in the business. Everything is self recorded and self produced. We have a studio in my basement where we record a lot of our friend’s bands. When the 10 song recording is complete, we’ll probably make a few hundred copies and just hand them out with a t-shirt or something, just to get the name out there. People like free stuff.

UT: Your song "controlled" has some very powerful political lyrics. How do you feel about the state of politics today?
Vince: The song "Controlled" was the first song of the new batch that we wrote. Up to that point my lyrics were more personal, only for me. But with that song I was looking for a more universal kinda thing that was still personal. So it was me looking at the state of the country and the world for that matter, and just realizing that everything that is fed to us is basically a way for people in power to control us into living within the guidelines of society. The state of politics today is in sad shape. However, I believe it always has been and always will be corrupt because most of the public are happy with not seeing the whole picture. Only a select few see what’s actually going on, and unfortunately the people in power have the ability to feed propaganda to the masses and tell them that these select few are the radicals, the secularists, the un-patriotic, and so on. I do believe religion is a tool used to rule. Just look at how the Bush administration divided the country on issues that drew a clear line between people. Now everyone feels compelled to believe all of what is on one side of that line. I was raised a catholic and was devout til about age 22. I think the reason I call myself agnostic now is there is way too much corruption and hypocrisy in organized religion. Pretty much all major religions, but that’s a different issue. I think we all know what is morally correct…well, most of us. We don’t need people telling us. So to get back to the question...I think the government is doing very well, actually. They have a majority of the people believing what they are saying.

UT: If George Bush, Jr. was a song, what song would he be?
Vince: This question is easy. The first thing that pops into my head, without any thought whatsoever, is the song "War" by Edwin Star or Bruce Springsteen, whichever you please. I am sure if I thought about this question I could come up with some other witty and intellectual example. However I believe I will go with my first impulse. Hey, he is the war president after all. I bet that would be a lot of people's choice.

UT: How would you describe Calo's music for those interested in checking you out?
Vince: Different than any other band around, yet simplistic in many ways. Straight to the point and very intense.

UT: What are the goals of the band?
Vince: To be rock stars, but to be more elaborate and not so superficial. We want to be the band that always pushes the envelope musically and lyrically. We want to get people active in the things that are important, to open up and think outside the box.

UT: Anything else to add? How can people get a hold of you?
Vince: People can check out our website www.calomusic.com...I post all the info for the band there. I also write a viewpoint on different issues called Vince’s Views. It’s in the language section of the website. I encourage people to check it out and tell me what they think about any of the issues. I like to hear different views.