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 | Bandits of the Acoustic RevolutionA Call to Arms2002 Self-Released 
  Review by: Brian See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 Published on July 8th 2003
Ska with acoustic guitars. Doesn't get more punk than that. With a lineup that has enough people to sport an NBA roster (though talent my lack), it includes Tomas Kalnoky, someone many ska fans will recognize as the former vocalist for Catch-22. The band includes everything from chick celloist Marcy Ciuffedra to Shane Thomson, in charge of the congas. Yes, the congas. Although one inventive ska band with the word bandits in it is probably one enough, this five-song EP is a great introduction to the group. The CD (up for download here) even encompasses a cover (can we call it a cover?) of "Dear Sergio", identical to the original sans plugged-in six strings. An upright bassist, and violinist also adds to the orgy of strings used. It creates a Victorian medieval times-era sound, if you will. It's a fun, laid-back approach to the horn-indulged genre which proves there are still bands that couldn't care less what the flavor of the week is. There are parts of songs which make you feel like you're listening to the background music of some Italian restaurant (like the jazzy outro of "It's a Wonderful Life"), to the catchy rambled vocals in the first thirty seconds of "Here's to Life." With Streetlight Manifesto's recent signing to Victory Records, look for former Catch-22 members to be raping the genre in the months to come. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
this has nothing to do with the CD but i was wondering if there was any way or any website I could get tabs for they'll provide the paint... this has nothing to do with the CD but i was wondering if there was any way or any website I could get tabs for they'll provide the paint... i saw streetlight in june (2005) and tomas told the crowd that new music is on the way for botar and for streetlight. my guess is that since the keasbey nights cd got pushed back to january 2006, that the botar cd will be oout before that. possibly by christmas Is there any more BOTAR music or is this EP it? and when i said i wish it was longer, i meant i wish the cd was longer, not that i wish was looking for them for longer than i was "BOTAR's official site's mp3s are down, so. BOTAR's official site's mp3s are down, so. "hey can you do anything other than just bash it...like maybe try a little review. stick with being mr. flavor of the week b/c you cant review other good music if it strays from that" "Ska with acoustic guitars. Doesn't get more punk than that. " www.acousticbandits.com Everyone knows where I can d/load songs of this cd?? BOTAR KICKS ASS DIPSHIT...lets see you put together a "string orgy" and make it sound that goddamn good hey can you do anything other than just bash it...like maybe try a little review. stick with being mr. flavor of the week b/c you cant review other good music if it strays from that "Ska with acoustic guitars. Doesn't get more punk than that. " The mp3 is good. The clips are good. The RX Bandits cant compare. Sorry to you my jaded friend. A new mp3 was released from the Streetlight album coming out in august... it's very familiar to those that listen to BOTAR... :) http://www.winosarecool.com/botar/ - streetlight manifesto mp3 is there yeah man! rx bandits are definitely WAY better than catch 22, streetlight manifesto, and botar. combined even. douche. "Anyone know where can get some Streetlight Manifesto MP3's? I really wanna hear them..." pretty great cd.. however, Rx Bandits are still better than all three of these bands. Sorry. Anyone know where can get some Streetlight Manifesto MP3's? I really wanna hear them... I might seem stupid for saying this, but Tomas Kalnoky reminds me a hell of alot like Jesse Michaels..... i still care about catch 22. i think the two bands are not mutually exclusive. i think that botar, streetlight manifesto, and catch 22 each rock for their own reasons. If you think BOTAR sucks, then you must not have liked a little album called "Keasbey Nights" very much, as the song writing and spirit of that album can be felt all over these songs. catch 22 SHOULD have broken up long ago.no one cares about them now.the way I see it streetlight manifesto is more catch 22 than catch 22 currently is. if tom was c22 then they would have broken up long ago. Im sorry. I was always under the impression that if you wrote all the music for something it was yours. I guess some of us have the business sense of Mr. Tommy Mottola, because that was something a man in a suit with a big wallet would say. Catch 22 deserves dick shit, as their newer material shows, Tom was Catch 22. Streetlgiht Manifesto and this band is where it is at now. Ska needs innovation, not leaches sucking up the the leftovers of what was once a respectable reputation. ps - isnt any song written as band a band song? so if he wrote anything as/for c22 it should stay there. that dude does sound like he is or was in c22. Tom did a shitty thing to them and to rip them apart is gay. wow this is really good I cannot get enough of these guys. Best band ever. Seriously, these guys rock. This review is forever tainted by your mindless bickering... Im sorry, maybe we just dont see the flaws in this review that you do. We cant ALL be writers for the school paper, now can we? How can I tell what this guy's point is when he doesn't know how to communicate effectively? what the fuck.. you just went off for no reason... shouldn't your sarcasm sensor have went off? I don't give a shit about being punk rock, because I'm obviously not. I'm myself. I wrote an engaging review while yours came out lacking. Deal with it. writing CD reviews for school newspapers are punk rock. i wrote reviews for 'all killer no filler' and 'international superhits' "back in the day" for my school newspaper. I loved this album. People should stop calling it "ska", though, because that's a pretty big stretch. I think calling it a fusion of punk and neo-classical with hints of ska is best. But in actuality there are tons of influences in BOTAR's music that it's damn near impossible to give them a label - just leave those for the soup cans. they're all the same. does anyone have an original copy of this? i heard each cd cover was hand made by the band, were they all different? tomas could eat aborted fetus's for all i care, the only thing that matters is the music. keasbey was amazing, this is, and streetlight will be, the man knows how to right tunes. as for catch 22 keasbey was amazing and the next album and ep acctualy were pretty good (not as good, but buyable good for catch 22 good), jeff davidson was a good singer, but know that even hes gone, and yes the fat man sings, they have problems and need to finish the band. fuck i mean they opened for MEST. nuff said. Gotta watch your back with everyone man..... all I can speak of though is my direct dealings with him, and they have been nothing but good.... I doubt he's saying shitty things about me behind my back, I doubt he says shit about me at all... but if he is, then so be it.... "You sound like you are in Catch 22.. maybe you are that fat fuck that sings now instead of playing horns... word to the wise... play the horn motherfucker.. " I have talked to the guys in Catch22 numerous times. They are all great guys. I've seen them in every incarnation since Keaseby Nights came out, and I have to say that they've kept it consistent. They manage to play the old songs with just as much piss & vinegar as before. oh good god..just when i was trying to convince people that ska was cool again this comes out..ACOUSTIC SKA...fucking brilliant! :D I highly doubt thats someone from Catch 22, it's probably one of the many people here that try to get a rise from others. Either way, I think Catch 22 is great just like Streetlight Manifesto is great. Any business between those two bands is personal though, most people outside those two bands probably won't ever know the whole story between them wow, both of you guys please. I don't think Tom is a cocksucker. And that "horn player" i have met before as well. I hate talking to people in bands and hate talking about talking to people in bands but i might as well back up my defence. He's a nice person. He can't sing yeah, but come on, "fat fuck"? have some respect, both of you. Am I the only one to find it fucked up how Tomas can quit a band that was just getting started and disappear for a few years, then resurface and rerecord ALL OLD c22 songs and release them and geta double ammount of royalties- BOTAR. Streetlight Manifesto is just a recording of old catch 22 songs they wrote together. But lets have tomas get big off of c22 HARD YEARS OF TOURING. Tomas couldnt handle the road and the way he goes thorugh ideas, both bands will no longer be in a year. You guys seem to love tomas for some reason and you dont even know what kind of person he is. He is one of the biggest cock suckers i have ever met in my life. He is really talented, sure id give him that but he is not a nice person This just in. BOTAR, Streetlight Manifesto, and Catch 22 all rock. :oD You can like them all, they aren't exclusive of each other! BOTAR is a pretty catchy band. it's like along the a lines of The New Pornographers: good ol fashion pop folk rock. their song on "underground screams" is my only fav song from the comp. Am I the only one to find it fucked up how Tomas can quit a band that was just getting started and disappear for a few years, then resurface and rerecord ALL OLD c22 songs and release them and geta double ammount of royalties- BOTAR. Streetlight Manifesto is just a recording of old catch 22 songs they wrote together. But lets have tomas get big off of c22 HARD YEARS OF TOURING. Tomas couldnt handle the road and the way he goes thorugh ideas, both bands will no longer be in a year. You guys seem to love tomas for some reason and you dont even know what kind of person he is. He is one of the biggest cock suckers i have ever met in my life. He is really talented, sure id give him that but he is not a nice person. "However, inagreendase should stop writing it's going to continue to be this bad." I was SOOOO waiting for this album, and I snatched a copy at the first opportunity. It is just... Amazing. Tomas is, as I believe, one of the greatest leaders in the third-wave ska scene and I hope he will never stop making music, especially music this beautiful. Though, I am not sure if I am looking forward to another Bandits release, or the Serenade album, with greater anticipation. Oh well, it's nice to have a few great things to look forward to. I'm glad inagreendase reviewed this because otherwise I probably wouldn't have heard about it. However, inagreendase should stop writing it's going to continue to be this bad. I'm not trying to be mean, but the reviews are shit. the extra verse in dear sergio is great. he totally rips apart catch 22. this is a brilliant cd, ive been saying that for a good year. the streelight cd will be the best "ska" cd to be released in quite sometime. where do u get this in nyc? is it hard to find? This is the best thing I have heard in a long, long time. I love it. This needs more fucking love. the only cd i listen to with the Jazz equalizer on you know what, maybe this album's so good it deserved 2 positive reviews...okay, in truth i'm sure adam didn't know/remember that a review was posted a year and few months ago. I think the only reason there's no [2] here is because EP is in the title, and there was no EP in the title for the last review. stupid, i know, but it probably would've automatically registered had I put just the title of "A Call to Arms." on the other hand, since there hasn't been a whole lot of BOTAR news lately, it could've been posted on purpose just to shamelessly promote/remind us all how good this band is I reviewed it too, and my review was also shitty..... hehehe... didn't include alot of stuff I wanted to.. p.s. sorry for the shitty review, i think there was a lot more that could've been said. 3 stars are present because the folk parts didn't completely keep my attention intact the "talent lacking" comment meant like i dont think they're good enough to play in the NBA. This band rocks my socks. Although I'm looking forward to the Streetlight cd a bit more, I really enjoy listening to this one "I remember reading an interview from Tomas where he said Streetlight's first CD is basically Keasbey Nights 2. He wrote KN2 but then the band broke up, and this is it." Wasn't Streetlight Manifesto originally going to be called Keasby Nights? or the album was going to be called Keasby Nights part 2 or something?? wasnt there a full length planned, like 100 songs of revolution or something i heard. "ANOTHER Thing about the Streetlight album... it's NOT going to be just like Keasby nights at ALL from what I've heard... it's not going to be just fast ska punk, but a more ecclectic mix.. a good source told me this.." Shouldn't this have a [2], it is the second review for this cd. ANOTHER Thing about the Streetlight album... it's NOT going to be just like Keasby nights at ALL from what I've heard... it's not going to be just fast ska punk, but a more ecclectic mix.. a good source told me this.. Also, the "cover" of Dear Sergio is *not* the same, there is an additional verse on it. http://www.winosarecool.com/botar (my site on them. Interview with Tomas, and some other members of BOTAR, some other shit) three stars? you're a fool. this review doesn't even make sense half the time. "although talent my lack" is "one enough" example. anyway, this is a really great band. definitely not like anything i've ever heard before. Great Album, learn how to review tard. i dont consider this ska music. It leans more toward the folk side of things than anything. A really good disc though, waiting on the multiple full lengths. Astounding. This deserves a 5. It's incredible. Plus free. I love this lil ep. I downloaded this awhile back thinking it would be a neat gimmick to hear accoustic ska. It ended up being a hell of a lot better than I expected and certainly more than just a novelty. i love the album, and proud to own an original copy. But Sergio is not a carbon copy, theres an entire extra verse. Also i bet when the reviewer says "rambled vocals" he's talking about "They Provide The Paint.." because the first few lines of Heres to Life is quite decpherable (sp). I'm anticipating a new release from this band more than Streetlight because i already know what Streetlight has in store for us (Keasbey pt 2). While the acoustic bandits are a suprise every song. BOTAR are probably one of the more inventive bands recently and it'll be nice when they finally release a full length.....however long that'll take. This is a good album. I love Thomas's vocals...Catch-22 was all downhill after he left |
