Because rock and roll can mean so many different things to so many different people, the concept has almost become a parody of itself.
So just what is rock? Nickelback's calculated hits 'ripping up the charts?' Spandex and cucumbers? A steady liquid diet of Jim Beam?
You almost have to wonder if rock and roll really means anything anymore, until you hear it, blaring loud and true out of some crusty bar: The madman's drumbeats, the electric guitar's fuzz and crunch and the singer's wail.
Fashionable haircuts be damned – this sound will never die as long as there's someone willing to play it like it is and Casanatra is such a band. A myriad of sounds and influences give them a harder, grungier edge, but Casanatra is a true-blue, down and dirty, real deal rock and roll band.
A power trio in the truest sense, Casanatra came together in early 2002 when three orphaned musicians found each other: Lance Reed, former Gracepoint drummer, Dennis Asher, Cold Cranking Amps guitarist/lead vocalist and Jer Fink, Dropnickel/Remover guitarist/vocalist.
"We'd all played in rival bands for years, but secretly lusted after one another," Asher said. "When all of our projects broke up the same summer, we decided it was fate. So we bought some beer and started writing songs."
Similar influences and legitimate experiences made this go-around work, but the indisputable talent of this trio is what keeps the energy continuously pinging from each corner of the triangle.
"We've all had some sort of formal music education, but we try to overcome it with pure rock moxy," Asher said.
Reed plays drums like an animal, one who's happy to love his drum kit until the last person leaves.
"I think playing along with Led Zeppelin records ended up being a huge reason I play the way I do," Reed explained. "The records would skip a lot and I'd always be adjusting my playing to match it. What I didn't know at the time was, I was playing some really outlandish time signatures and rhythms because of it."
Fink's smooth vocals and driven, spasmodic guitar keeps a tight churn on Asher's vocals, which local critics declare one the best voices in the Twin Cities.
In February 2006, "Black Days: The Midwest Movement Tribute To Soundgarden" through Midwest Movement/Tribute Sounds was released, on which Casanatra did an exemplary version of "Rusty Cage." Asher's pipes were compared to Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell's long before the release and very few can credibly shoulder a comparison to one of rock's all-time greatest frontmen.
The band has found a home at Fink's old stomping grounds, Blue Worm Records. On local music, Reed said: "There are some sweet bands out there and some of the best are on Blue Worm Records."
"I think we have more good bands than people to see them," Asher said. "It would be great if FM radio would support local bands more."
Casanatra is gearing up for the release of their third album and a U.S. tour in support of "Primo Impacto," a dark, crisp collection of catchy riffs and sludgy blues sound. Yet the band maintains a solid approach to what they do.
"Success would be to make a living putting out music that doesn't bow to commercial trends," Asher said. "I know, good luck! But songwriting is the most important thing because your songs are your legacy, your diary."
"It's also important to eat," Fink said. "Fuck day jobs. Our music will stay true to ourselves. There's nothing else we want to do."
"If I'm not having fun, color me done." Reed said. "It took a long time for us to get out "Primo Impacto" and because it did, we've got a backlog of about 25 songs."
"We've been writing all spring," Asher added. "So we'll be ready to do the next record in the fall. Could be a double album Ted Nugent-style ... without the loin cloth."
www.casanatra.com
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