Caveat Interview

For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Brandon- Describing Caveat has always proven to be difficult. We seem to cross genres a lot. We have doom metal influences as well as crust punk influences. There are also a fair amount of harmonies and clean, atmospheric parts.
Bones- Zakk and I have played together for, shit, almost 9 years now?  Every band I have every been in, Zakk has also been in at some point.  I think that comes through in the music a bit, we both have the same mindset for a lot of things, and we know how to compliment each other’s writing and playing style.  Brandon is great, he fills in the blanks and apparently can read my mind.  Like when we are hashing out a riff, and I can hear the lead part in my head, he just starts playing what I’m hearing without me saying a thing.  It’s awesome.

So far you have released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Brandon- Our musical sound on “Kobayashi Maru” varies between heavy doom to atmospheric interludes. In between those manic comparisons, there are crusty-type passages and brooding moody parts.
Bones- I think that EP is pretty damn well rounded.  Kobayashi Maru was the first song we wrote when we started out (I think), and I still love that song.  Jump forward to Doge, and you get a flavor of some of the growth on our idea of song structure.  Or something.

What are some of the lyric topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Brandon- I don’t really know a lot of the lyrics but I do know a lot of them are about Star Trek and Ron Swanson.
Bones- Start Trek.  Space.  Weed.  Mostly Star Trek.

What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Caveat'?
Brandon- The story behind our name is this: We were sitting at a local watering hole in Eau Claire called The Joynt before practice. We had a show booked down the street at the House Of Rock and their booker wanted a name to put on flyers. It took quite a while to decide but eventually we decided on Caveat. We then proceeded to text-bomb the booker with the results of our discussion.
Bones- I don’t know that it really means anything other than the definition of the word.  I’m not one to attach meaning where it doesn’t actually exist.  We embrace a fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants mentality with pretty much everything, and I think this was just the name that sounded best when we hit the deadline. But if you want, it can mean something about the duality of existence and shit.

What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Brandon- As far as I’m concerned, our best shows seem to have happened at The Mousetrap in Eau Claire. It’s primarily a hippie bar and rarely has metal show but when it does, the place is packed and the vibe is electric. And loud. Our stage performance has a fair amount of energy. It’s not like we cause moshpits or anything. We are definitely getting more and more comfortable with our performance on stage.
Bones- We always have a blast playing with Morality Crisis.  Those dudes are super fun.  And Tyranny Is Tyranny, shows with them are always fun.  I like small venues with a small stage or none at all.  Gets everyone in nice and close.  Appleton is always fun too, that town has such a great scene. I’m boring as fuck on stage.  We keep it simple, quick, and straightforward.  Jimmy (original bass player) has the best stage presence.  He brought some much needed energy when he was in the band, and he takes that to all of his projects.

Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Brandon- I would personally like to tour, but our bass player, Zak, has a kid and a family life now so it’s hard to plan stuff like that. Obviously we would be interested in touring but there is a huge money liability there. I am currently in college and thus a poor college kid. Hopefully we can figure something out in the next year. As far as show plans, we just plan on playing quality shows locally and regionally. We currently only have one show booked in Appleton, WI at a festival with some legendary crust bands. That should be a good time. Appleton is always a sweet party. Appleton was actually where Caveat’s first ever show took place.
Bones- I think we all want to tour, but life gets in the way.  I’ve toured a bunch with Dresden, but I didn’t have to handle any of the logistics (credit to Bitty).  That shit takes a lot of time and effort, and honestly I just don’t have the time right now.  It’s a shitty excuse on my part. We pretty much always have a show on the horizon, but that’s Brandon’s department so I will let him handle that one.

On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of underground metal?
Brandon- Worldwide? Sheesh, I don’t know. I guess I have found our music on Russian torrent sites, so that’s cool. There were a few thumbs up icons along with it so I assume that’s a good thing. We have been contacted by a few zines in Europe too that really want to work with us, so we will see how that goes.
Bones- Worldwide?  I’m not sure that we have had exposure beyond the midwest, but I like to pretend that there is some niche, in some bumfuck town, in some country that is spelled with all consonants, where on Tuesday nights a bunch of guys get together to play D&D while listening to music, and on one out of every 10 of these Tuesday D&D gaming nights, one of our songs comes on, and then they press skip on their playlist and the next song is “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout Love” by Van Halen, and they all perk up a little bit.

What is going on with some of the other musical projects or bands these days that some of the band members are a part off?
Brandon- Currently, I am the only one in a different band. I am also in a black metal band from Eau Claire named Infernal Altar. We just recorded our first demo. It is fun to be involved in other stuff. On the side, I also do some sort of a “solo” thing. I expect that will be out sometime next year if time allows.
Bones- I guess I’m still technically in Dresden.  We haven’t played together since our last tour (like 2 years ago?), but the rest of Dresden is in Wartorn and In Defence, so they got their plates full.  There are a lot of projects I’d like to start, but I spend a lot of time doing motorcycle trips in the summer, so once again, life gets in the way.


When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Brandon- I can’t say for sure when or if a full length would ever happen. We do have a few new songs though, so anything’s possible. We are always writing.
Bones- We’ve been cranking out songs pretty frequently, I could see a full length by the end of the summer.  Well, written at least.  I personally despise recording.  It’s tedious, and I tend to hold myself to high standards which somehow fall by the wayside during recording, only to have myself less than thrilled with my parts after the fact.  Ask anyone that’s been in a band with me, I am a nitpicky asshole.  Musically we will probably stay on the same non-defined path that we’ve always been on.  But we are starting to experiment with more tempo changes, and that seems to be working well.

What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Brandon- For me personally, Mastodon, Baroness, Kylesa, The Sword, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Tragedy, Morne, Pallbearer, Sleep, High On Fire, etc. have had a huge influence on how I play guitar. I think a decent amount of those bands influenced parts of our songs in some way. As far as what I am listening to right now, it varies. I don’t listen to metal or music, for that matter, a lot anymore. I’m a huge fan of Pallbearer, The Atlas Moth, Neurosis, Isis, Sleep, and my favorite bands are Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. So chances are, if I am listening to metal, I am listening to one of those bands.
Bones- Major all time bands that still hold a top slot on my list would be Perth Express, early Metallica, High On Fire, Tragedy, Kvelertak. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Budgie, Bolt Thrower, Sleep, Blue Oyster Cult, Dream Theater.  Just kidding on that last one, I don’t listen to Dream Theater.


What are some of your non-musical interests?
Brandon- Some things I like to do that aren’t related directly to music are traveling. That’s why I think touring would be an amazing experience for me. Even if I just travel to a new city, no matter how big or small, I will enjoy it. There’s just something peaceful about the open road.
Bones- You know, American stuff: drinking, shooting guns, freedom.  Actually those first two are true.  I spend a lot of time riding and working on motorcycles.  My buddy and I have a lot of camping rides planned this summer.  That, and I’m building a dirty ass chopper from the ground up out of an old 1973 Honda CB750.

Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Brandon- Thanks for the interview. I’m more or less a boring guy so I don’t have much else to say, I guess.
Bones- “With the joy of responsibility comes the burden of obligation.” -Hank Hill