Biography

Calibretto 13's vocalist, guitarist and main songwriter Joseph Whitehead used to sing for change on the streets of his hometown Kokomo. "One day I plan to go back to that," Joe says. But in the meantime, he plans to keep making music with his band Calibretto 13, the members of which - Chris Thomas on drums and Aaron Richardson on bass - he met during his busking days.

"I met Aaron through church and Chris through my wife, " Joes says. "I used to be in a band called Barnboy with Aaron. We broke up. I then started a band with Chris, called Roaster. We too broke up. Later I got ahold of Aaron and we started Blacksheep. Not able to find a drummer, we asked Chris. Now we call ourselves Calibretto 13."

Calibretto 13 gets its name from a giant robot character featured in the independent comic book "Battle Chasers." "Aaron thought it up, and I said okay," Joe announces. "Chris at that time had never read 'Battle Chasers.' I don't really know why we added a 13, nor do I know why Aaron picked Calibretto in the first place."

As you can probably tell from Joe's deadpan approach to answering questions, Calibretto 13 is a band that doesn't take itself too seriously - eve if it's creating heartrending, passionate songs about serious topics from unique points of view. Calibretto 13's stripped-down, acoustic-based (but still often aggressive) punk/folk maniacally careens through hopeful sincerity and sardonic witticism, throwing out infectious hooks and rant-a-long choruses in the process.

"Adventures in Tokyo," their second full-length album for Tooth & Nail Records, seems to feature a more mature and direct side to the band than they had shown on their debut "Enter The Danger Brigade." "It's different," Joe simply states.

But fans may note that while there's still the satire and pop culture references found in their earlier, more smirk-filled work; "Adventures In Tokyo" raises the stakes by including deeper spiritual declarations and more pronounced topical concerns. The album runs the emotional gamut, from the nerve-wracking yet rallying protest anthem "Why Can't I Be On MTV?" to the personal questioning of "Father" ("I got a tattoo and my dad was mad at me," Joe explains, "later I moved in with my sister and I missed him"), from the joyously rocking love declaration "Proposal" to the heartbreaking "I'll Talk To You Tomorrow" wherein Joe expresses deep remorse ("it's a sad song about a person, maybe like me, putting off the chance to share Jesus with another person. I never do and the person dies.").

Appropriately, the music Calibreto 13 creates goes from delicate and plaintive to explosive and dance-inducing in a quick heartbeat. Rarely are acoustic guitars, bass, and drums used so expressively. The greater sonic depth of "Adventures In Tokyo" might be the result of the album's producer, Aaron Sprinkle. Noted for the strong rocking but artful palette he brought to his own solo work, and with Poor Old Lu (his first band), Rose Blossom Punch and Sherri Youngward, Sprinkle has again worked wonders in the studio.

"It was great working with him," Joes says. "He had great ideas, we knew of his band, and were familiar with some of his other projects."

"Adventures In Tokyo" will be in stores everywhere on March 12, 2002.