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This has nothing to do with ability. Whether or not you appreciate his style, the fellow can play. This is stricktly regarding the "personality" of Damon Che.

"Stricktly"? Jeez. Let's try "strictly". That feels better.

I know a lot of people consider him to be rude, but I think his between-song banter is always entertaining and creative. I've never met the chap though. He does look kinda surly I guess, but I've heard he's a nice guy.

But man can he play...

I've heard and read plenty of horror stories, but he's been nothing but friendly in the interactions I've had with him.

can you really separate the personality from the music? isn't one's music more or less an expression of one's personality? i'm trying to think of cases where this breaks down... but in general, aren't personality and style analogous?

I chatted with him after the first set of the ill-fated Bellini tour. He was a nice guy to me, so I was surprised to hear the stories about the end of his tenure with the band a few weeks later.

I suppose I should hunt down the Chunklet with the end-of-Don-Cab stories, and I've heard that he and Ian were pretty much cobra and mongoose, but he seemed like a straight-up good dude when I talked to him. (On reflection, he did seem a bit frustrated by the situation surrounding the show--a late start with a million opening bands so that much of the audience was gone by the time Bellini went on. But he wasn't taking it out on anyone.)

toomanyhelicopters wrote:can you really separate the personality from the music?

yes

isn't one's music more or less an expression of one's personality?

yes, but in an entirely different sense

in general, aren't personality and style analogous?

no

Thee Speaking Canaries are also a great band. I've professed my love for Don Caballero enough on this board. I've never talked to him in person. Don Caballero now is still pretty good and worth seeing; don't listen to the h8ers. Contrary to Stewie's experience, I've found his stage banter to be erratic and puzzling. He looks like he's in intense pain when he drums. And Thee Speaking Canaries are awesome.

I go with Not Crap even though I don't really know him.

I saw them two times. The first time was the quartet for What Burns. The second was the Headrushallero trio. I have a headrush and have used it, but this trio mastered that fuckin' pedal in terms of making sure the loops were perfectly in time. No easy task.Great fricken stuff. Damon answered my questions honestly and seammed ok, Ian was kind of unpleasant, and the other guitar player w/ the glasses who looked kind of out of place was really quite nice, but a bit shy. The bass player always dissapeared immediatly.

The band that has a bad rap as unpleasent/fucked up fellows who are actually pretty darn nice guys is US Maple.

I think that Damon is just I guy who takes actions rather than talking shit. Don Caballero was hisbaby. I've heard more than once that he and Ian didn't get along, so why be in a band when you're not enjoying it? As much time as a band spends together, I probably would have taken similar actions in the same case.

His between song banter is priceless. When I saw him in Austin, he was talking and some guy told him to shut the fuck up and play, and he responded: "Oh...I see how it is. Well, I think that I can talk for another 15 minutes or so..." and he went on for about 5-7 min. about some dream he had the night before where his legs were toothpicks and his feet were bricks, and it was quite entertaining. At the end of the show, I told him that he was a badass, and said, "No.....you're the badass" which I thought was nice.

I think just by watching him set up his drums, and the way that he plays that he has a one-of-a-kind personality, and there's nothing wrong with it.