Black Kaspar
|
| |||
| Record Labels: | Gubbey Records, Adept Recordings Loin Seepage Humanhood Recordings Doodlehound | ||
| Started By: | Bill Zink | ||
| Years Active: | 2007 - Present | ||
| Based In: | Louisville | ||
| First Show | June 16 2011 at Derby City Espresso | ||
| Last show: | N/A | ||
| Number of Members: | Varying | ||
Black Kaspar are an experimental band from Louisville, Kentucky.
Active since 2007 as a side project for Bill Zink (The Belgian Waffles!, Hoosier Pete), Black Kaspar became a project for freeform noise with elements of jazz, krautrock, noise and drone/doom. Despite a prolific output the band only performs live on sporadic occasions.
Biography
After the dissolution of underground jazz/noise legends The Belgian Waffles! in 2006, Bill Zink would start Black Kaspar in 2007 as a means to produce experimental music and noise. Some raw materials would be recorded but ultimately not published or fully formed for some time.
In 2011 Zink would work with the Sick City Four (Three of the members past bandmates in TBW!) and start producing more music. Black Kaspar would perform live for the first time on 16 June 2011 at Derby City Espresso in Louisville. More releases would follow along with sporadic live shows including an appearance at the 2012 edition of Cropped Out. In 2014 the band would release their album Schizo-Tech on Loin Seepage along with a single 37-minute song in The Tower the next year.
After a live performance in 2015 alongside Insect Policy (That notably got the band banned from Zanzabar) the band would go somewhat dormant for a time until 2016 with new drummer Jeff Komara in the fold, producing new studio material and the sound adding elements of krautrock and drone. In November 2016 it was announced that Heather and Dan would be moving to Indianapolis while the remaining members intend to keep the band going as a power trio. Also announced was a new album entitled Year of the Centipede on Gubbey Records in March 2017, with a release party at Kaiju alongside Insect Policy. A host of live performances as a trio (Zink, C. Willems, Komara) or as a quartet (Zink, C. Willems, Komara, Manley) would follow.
On 22 November 2017 it was announced that Black Kaspar would be taking a hiatus after their live performance in February 2018, with a host of studio recordings set to be released during the hiatus. The band's final performance to date was on 23 February 2018 at The Cure Lounge with Dirtbag, Blind Scryer and Doodlehound, with the lineup being Zink on guitar and electronics, Brian Manley on guitar, Chris Willems on guitar, Matthew Whittaker on bass and upright bass and Jeff Komara on drums.
In 2019 it would be announced that several new Black Kaspar releases would be in the works and a new live lineup had been composed, comprising of the duo of Zink and Chris Willems. On 16 April 2019 this duo lineup would release the band's third studio album entitled Line of Flight. A fourth studio album, Wage, would see release in September 2019. Another new album saw release digitally in Darkness Be My Consolation on 8 November 2019. Recorded on All Saints Day on 1 November 2019, Darkness Be My Consolation is a representation of a haunted aspect of Black Kaspar, inspired by Halloween and it's surrounding holidays.
On 23 April Black Kaspar would announce a return show at Planet of the Tapes on 24 August 2023, coinciding with Doodlehound's fifteenth anniversary. The band would announce that they were in their final stages along with announcing the lineup for the show. Performing alongside them would be Tender Mercy and Everyone Lives Everyone Wins, a drone/experimental band from Lexington.
Members
Most Recent Lineup
- Bill Zink - Guitar, Synth (2007 - Present)
- Matthew Whittaker - Bass, Upright Bass (Late 2000s, 2018, 2013)
- Brian Manley - Bass, Guitar (2016 - 2018, 2023)
- Jeff Komara - Drums (2016 - 2018, 2023)
- Dustin Marcum - Synthesizers (2023)
- Tony Woollard - Horns, Voice (2023)
Past Members
- Dan Willems - Bass, Guitar, Synth (2011 - 2016)
- Heather Floyd - Trumpet, Synth (2011 - 2016)
- Chris Willems - Guitar (2011 - 2021)
- Bart Galloway - Drums (2011 - 2014)
Releases
Studio Albums
- Schizo-Tech (2014, Loin Seepage)
- Year Of The Centipede (2017, Gubbey Records)
- Line of Flight (2019, Humanhood Recordings)
- Wage (2019, Self-Released)
- Darkness Be My Consolation (2019, Self-Released)
- Old Time Religion (2020, Self-Released)
Extended Plays
- The Rocker EP (2011)
- The Null Set EP (2011)
- The Expression Machine EP (2012)
- The Death March EP (2014)
- The Tower EP (2014)
- The Hamm's EP (2020)
Other Releases
- Ruins (2016)
- Science Fiction (2016; Recorded 2012)
- Dark November Mixtape (2017; Recorded 2016)
- Radiate (2017)
Compilations
- Head Cleaner: A Louisville Music Compilation vol 1 & 2 Double Cassette/Digital, 2013
- Head Cleaner: A Louisville Music Compilation vol 3, 4, 5 & 6 Triple Cassette/Digital, 2014
- Head Cleaner: A Louisville Music Compilation vol 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 Triple Cassette/Digital, 2015
- Positively Lost: The Art of Doodlehound CD, 2018
- Doodlehound XV: A Kentucky Compilation CD, 2023