Calliope

Progressive rock italian progressive rock Psychedelic Rock Progressive italian

There are several bands named Calliope. 1) Formed in February 1994 in East Lansing Michigan, CALLIOPE were borne from the remnants of the popular Sixth With Violet. Andy Dryer, Jason Lantrip and Eric Merckling, three fifths of Sixth With (the other two went on to form the ethereal Michigan space rock outfit Fibre Forms and then Kiln) recruited drummer Matt Ellison (who went to high school with Lantrip) and Calliope was set. The band signed with THICK Records soon after their inception and entered the infamous Chicago Trax studio for a weekend bender. The resulting self titled debut was released in April 1995, to critical acclaim with positive reviews abound. A Taste For Killing, a swirling space-y song was picked up by Coca-Cola for a commercial to run in support of the 1996 Summer Olympics. Lantrip later remixed Train Of Thought from the record with a trip-hop flavor, at home (on 4 track cassette) for a 7" release. This was the beginning of Calliope's home studio Trash180, and their foray into experimental post-rock territory (self actualization?) Inspired by the free form leanings of bands like Tortoise, Stereolab, and 5ive Style, Calliope recruited Casey Rice to record their next record, and entered Chicago's Idful Studios in December '96. The resulting I can See You With My Eyes Closed took their sound to the next level adding slight electronic elements with samples, Marimba, and Moog to their already ethereal sound. Rice encouraged less structure and more experimentati...