Whoops! As we were sorting through the shiny plastic discs on our floor, we noticed that we had one left over from 1994 that we needed to get back to... We posted a tape with a few tracks from this CD a few years ago, which might be why we were slow to get back to this. Also, lazy. Anyways, here's the whole shebang, In his 1994 year-end review of all things music in Calgary , James Muretich called Calliope "psychedelic hard-popsters," which is not a bad summation. It's better than our description of the band as an awkward step between Smash LA and Zuckerbaby . Actually, anything's better than that description, so we'll look to a full article from Mr. Muretich for more: [center][img width=218]//7ca49eb9f67ba1319ef136f9d52cd8b8.cdn.bubble.io/f1733779333494x919748360578620500/richtext_content.jpeg[/img] [/center] [center][img width=314]//7ca49eb9f67ba1319ef136f9d52cd8b8.cdn.bubble.io/f1733779348933x487695369435420500/richtext_content.jpeg[/img][/center] [center][/center] [b]Calliope put own twist on music[/b] By James Muretich Calgary Herald (Sept 15, 1994) Looking like Beat poets marooned at a Hamburg party with John Lennon in the late '50s, drawing inspiration from everything from Lord Byron to Jimi Hendrix and Jellyfish, the rock group Calliope is a peculiar amalgamation of words and sounds that is an integral part of Calgary's burgeoning rock scene and yet not part of it. It is why a Warner Music rep from the Holy See of Toronto will be checking out their gig at the Night Gallery Cabaret tonight. It is why, love 'em or hate 'em. Calliope's mix of funk, rock, psychedelia and pop vocals on its just-released debut disc doesn't fit into any neatly labelled category. "We've encountered a lot of problems because we're not quite like anybody else but, in some ways, that's worked out to our benefit because it's hard to categorize what we do," says guitarist Reed Shimozawa while quaffing a beer at the Night Gallery. "I don't think we're doing anything to change the way people think about music," says singer Andrew Eichhorn. "It's just our own little twist on music." In many respects, that twist on things is what defines much of what's happening in the city's underground scene these days with bands releasing new CDs with astonishing regularity. "There's a lot of individuality here. The city's isolation from other major centres can be a very positive thing," says Eichhorn. "I see a band like Red Autumn Fall and totally respect them and enjoy their music. And then you look at the punk scene with Field Day and the El Caminos. It's great to see everybody. doing their own thing and not melting. into just one pot where it's like the Calgary sound or something. The scene here is quite diverse and I think that's because everybody has stuck it out. For get about going to Vancouver or Toronto. Stay here. Be comfortable. That's how you get things done, with a clear head space," says Eichhorn. "If you're constantly chasing the trend all the time then how are you going to find your own thing" adds Shimozawa. Calliope's "thing" is reflected, in many respects, by Eichhorn's lyrics. Like the music, there is a strong psychedelic element reflecting his interest in '60s music, Bowie's cut-up technique and - naturally? the classic Romantic poets. It is at times child-like ("It's sugar time ice cream number nine/ sorry you couldn't stay for the groovy beat parade") while, at other times, it sketches emotional states imaginatively ("My head's a stone's throw away from nowhere... violent forgiveness shows its face again"). "A lot of my inspiration comes from Romantic poets, like Shelley and Byron. That might sound pretentious but their lifestyle was very much the modern day rocker, live fast, die young. They didn't care about making a living. They wanted to create and leave their mark," says Eichhorn. "What really got me, though, was their poetry, what they had to say. It's the same for a lot of the dead rockers. I try to look at them, take what's good and not make the same mistakes." And for Calliope (which, incidentally, refers to the muse of epic poetry), it has been a steady musical evolution over the last two years. The same goes for their short-haired, beads and black clothing look. "When people are hanging around together all the time, things tend to rub off on one another. It is kind of surprising when people come up to us and go: You guys have a look. And we look at ourselves and go, yeah, I guess we do," says Shimozawa. "Kind of Route 66," says Eichhorn, laughing. And with their blend of hard work and personal chemistry, the road stretches out ahead for Calliope. "I don't think we have any conscious goals other than wanting to get our music out to as many people as possible," says Eichhorn.
