Lengthy interview of Caustic Casanova by Dan Kadison

Imagine the musical intensity of Rated R paired with the girl-boy harmonies of Surfer Rosa. Neil Peart-inspired drum fills (but in a good way, yo!), driving fuzz bass and lilting vocal melodies rumble-tumble forward, like a barreling freight train verging on derailment. Yes, Caustic Casanova play proper rock ’n’ roll, then. And it’s hard to believe only three people (and that delay peddle [sic]) can create such ruckus. Hailing from DC’s mighty post-punk scene, and with songs like “I Hate Everyone I Want to Like” and “Short Commute, Live Forever,” Pavement and The Dismemberment Plan are reference points. And just like them, CC’s lyrics betray a sharp, sardonic wit…At least they know how to drown out their ugly neighbor, Hair Fuhrer. With Dayak and Carbon Canyon on Monday, Oct. 9. Club Congress, 311 E. Congress. Doors: 7 p.m. Free. 21+

The Washington, D.C. based heavy rock band Caustic Casanova is set to open their Fall tour in Dayton on Saturday 9/30 at Blind Bob’s alongside tour mates Irata and like-minded locals Close The Hatch and Floodwalker.

The trio consists of guitarist Andrew Yonki, vocalist/bassist Francis Beringer and drummer Stefanie Zaenker and they create an abrasive, sludgy and psychedelic brand of punk and hardcore-inspired noise-rock that recalls the Melvins, whom they cover on their most recent release, Pantheon Vol.2, a 2-song 7”. The second in the “Pantheon” series of 7 inches was recorded by the legendary J. Robbins and features an original song on the A side – a re-imagining of a 2006 Caustic Casanova song, “Lord Pinto” – as well as artwork paying tribute to the band being covered, in this case the Melvins and their 1991 classic, “Cow”. To make it their own, the band added in warped theremin to flesh out the original’s thunderous drum-heavy ending.

Stream Pantheon Vol. 2 here then get your faces melted at Blind Bob’s on Saturday!

At one time, the nation’s capital was a hot bed for ground breaking bands like Bad Brains, Fugazi, Minor Threat, Slant 6, and my personal favorite—Jawbox. Although D.C. isn’t what it used to be, there are still bands to come out of the streets and garages that will catch your ear.

In 2005, Stefanie Zaenker (drums, vocals) and Francis Beringer (bass, vocals) came together at the College of William and Mary to form Caustic Casanova and the band had quite a run recording singles and Eps in addition to touring. When original guitarist left the band, the band continued as a duo until eventually finding Andrew Yonki to fill the guitar spot.

That was four years ago and since then the band has forged a heavier, more experimental direction, which has been displayed in their explosive live sets, on a full-length album (‘Breaks’) and a 7-inch (‘Pantheon: Vol 1’).

Caustic Casanova recently released another 7-inch ‘Pantheon: Vol 2’ with the driving original “Lord Pinto.” The track gives you nearly a minute of fuzzed-out feedback over a rolling bass line before kicking into a driving rhythm wall of sound. The guitar tone is brilliant as the drums crash and wail in the background for nearly five minutes. On the flip side, the band pays tribute to one of their favorite bands— Melvins with a cover of “Cow.” The song is a bombastic blast of guitar, bass and drums with vocal freak-outs. The song is a thing of beauty, I am sure the Melvins would be proud of.

I can’t say if Caustic Casanova will have the lasting impression as the other D.C. legends, but they certainly have their shit together with a killer sound.

Washington DC’s Caustic Casanova is hard rock, but with an arty, literary twist: part sludgy stoner metal, part Talking Heads. See them alongside local headbangers Dayak and Carbon Canyon!

One new song and a Melvins cover is about all the excuse Caustic Casanova need to hit the road on a tour that will take the Washington D.C. natives through the Midwest and out along the West Coast starting at the end of this month. The new 7″ is titled Pantheon Vol. 2, and like its predecessor and the band’s 2015 debut long-player, Breaks (review here), it arrives via Retro Futurist Records. Caustic Casanova, whose injury-plagued story you can read below, have spent significant time on tour to back that J. Robbins-produced outing, and as we look ahead toward 2018 one can’t help but wonder if they won’t sooner or later settle into a recording process for a follow-up. Haven’t heard anything in that regard, but it’s worth keeping an eye out.

Is it me, or do these folk sound like they are having way too much fun? This be Caustic Casanova of whom I’m disappointed to admit, haven’t yet bothered our listening space thus far. This one comes ripped from a forthcoming 7-inch set entitled ‘pantheon vol. 2’ – a cover of the Melvins’ ‘cow’ no less, all grizzled, goofed out and gouged with the kind of bonged n’ stoned fuzz flippancy as to suggest that to many repeat listens might well cause an intensified happening of rapid beard and hair growth all brought on by its whacked out high school dropout fried beatnik boogie.

DC’s own ultra-heavies Caustic Casanova just released the radical 7″ Pantheon: Vol 2 via Retro Futurist Records that brings about some lead-weight riffs to rock your weekend/work-week proper. “Lord Pinto” on the a-side dazzles with cathartic rhythms & progressions to bring down the house, followed by a cover version of the Melvins’ “Cow” that maintains the chorus cadre of big ripping riffs that are guaranteed to whisk you away to awesome places in the mind & heart. Catch them on a self-booked tour happening throughout this fall.

New Noise Magazine is pleased to be bringing forth the Caustic Casanova cover of “Cow,” originally by the Melvins. With plenty of bombastic energy, Caustic Casanova take the song and spin it perfectly into another captured performance of the noisy track. Here, the band took the infamous drum solo and added their distorted guitars into a menacing beatdown, also adding a swirling guitar solo into the mix, giving the song a more frantic pace. Listen to the cover below, and be sure to tune into your punk aesthetic while doing so.

Openers Caustic Casanova wasted no time in tearing into my skull, with an instrumental sound laden with sludge and abrasive guitar screeching. They’re a three-piece band (guitar, bass and drums) from Washington D.C featuring dual vocals by bassist Francis Beringer and drummer Stefanie Zaenker. The quirky, ironic lyrics along with the near schizophrenic tempo changes and guitar phrasings of Andrew Yonki (great moustache!) reminded me of the Dead Kennedys. They were undoubtedly the most unique band of the night, and for every heavy stoner rock song segment they would unleash, there seemed to be a counterpoint moment of odd, trippy psychedelic-infused beauty. Keep an eye out for some new material in the very near future! And final applause to Francis Beringer for his wicked cool NBA jam t-shirt. Very badass.