Saetia
Encyclopedia
Saetia was a New York City
-based screamo
/post-hardcore
band. Their name originates from a misspelling of the Miles Davis
track "Saeta
", from his album Sketches of Spain
, which, in turn, was named after the saeta
, a religious tradition of flamenco
music. (This is similar to fellow screamo band Joshua Fit For Battle, whose name was a corruption of the traditional American spiritual song "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
"; other members of Saetia later formed Off Minor, which is the title of a Thelonious Monk
composition.)
Saetia had numerous members throughout its existence, with frequent changes in membership. The band's first bass player, Alex Madara, was affected by a severe allergic reaction which placed him into a coma for eight days, finally resulting in his death on 1998-12-14.
Their drummer, Greg Drudy, was the original drummer of the band Interpol
prior to their current popularity. He currently runs the record label Level Plane
. Other members of the band continued their musical careers in numerous outfits, some of them joining screamo bands such as Off Minor
, Hot Cross
, Iselia, and The Fiction, as well as the nu-metal band Instruction
.
Saetia's final, posthumous single, "Eronel" (also a title of a Thelonious Monk
composition) was released under the Witching Hour label in 2000. The single contains three songs recorded by Steve Roche and mixed by Pat Kenneally.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based screamo
Screamo
Screamo, though used loosely to generally describe music that features screamed vocals, is actually a musical subgenre of hardcore punk which predominantly evolved from emo, among other genres, in the early 1990s...
/post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
band. Their name originates from a misspelling of the Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
track "Saeta
Saeta
-Culture:* Saeta , uniformes deportivos* Saeta , traditional Andalusian music* Saeta , indie slowcore chamber-pop band* Saetia, indie screamo band* Saeta , a piece of music by Howard Haigh...
", from his album Sketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City....
, which, in turn, was named after the saeta
Saeta (flamenco)
The Saeta is a revered Spanish religious song, whose form and style have evolved over many centuries. They evoke strong emotion and are sung most often during public processions.-Performance:...
, a religious tradition of flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
music. (This is similar to fellow screamo band Joshua Fit For Battle, whose name was a corruption of the traditional American spiritual song "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
"Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" is a well-known negro spiritual.The song is believed to have been composed by slaves in the first half of the nineteenth century. Some references suggest that it was copyrighted by Jay Roberts in 1865...
"; other members of Saetia later formed Off Minor, which is the title of a Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
composition.)
Saetia had numerous members throughout its existence, with frequent changes in membership. The band's first bass player, Alex Madara, was affected by a severe allergic reaction which placed him into a coma for eight days, finally resulting in his death on 1998-12-14.
Their drummer, Greg Drudy, was the original drummer of the band Interpol
Interpol (band)
Interpol is an American indie rock and post-punk revival band from New York City. Formed in 1997, the band's original line-up consisted of Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Greg Drudy . Drudy left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Sam Fogarino...
prior to their current popularity. He currently runs the record label Level Plane
Level Plane
Level Plane was a record label based in New York City, that tended to aim towards traditional emo and screamo artists.Level Plane was founded in early 1997 by Greg Drudy in order to put a label and an address on the back of Saetia's first 7"...
. Other members of the band continued their musical careers in numerous outfits, some of them joining screamo bands such as Off Minor
Off Minor
Off Minor are a Hardcore/Emo band from New York City. They formed in 1999 with Jamie Behar, Matt Smith, and Steven Roche, all former Saetia members. However, Smith later left and was replaced by Steven's brother Kevin on bass...
, Hot Cross
Hot Cross
Hot Cross was a hardcore band from Philadelphia. They were signed to Hope Division Records / Equal Vision Records. The band was composed of former members of such bands as Saetia , Off Minor , You and I , Neil...
, Iselia, and The Fiction, as well as the nu-metal band Instruction
Instruction (band)
Instruction were an alternative rock band that formed in 2002 in Brooklyn, New York. The band consisted of lead vocalist Arthur Shepherd, bassist Adam Marino, lead guitarist Tom Capone and drummer Ti Kreck.-Band history:...
.
Saetia's final, posthumous single, "Eronel" (also a title of a Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
composition) was released under the Witching Hour label in 2000. The single contains three songs recorded by Steve Roche and mixed by Pat Kenneally.
Band members
- Billy WernerBilly WernerBilly Werner was the lead singer for Hot Cross. Previously he was the lead singer/songwriter for Saetia throughout the band's lifespan.-Background:...
– vocals on all - Greg DrudyGreg DrudyGreg Drudy started his career on drums practicing with the defunct band Quid Pro Quo in a Tampa warehouse next door to fellow warehouse owners Cannibal Corpse and Brutality. Drudy was the drummer for the bands Southpaw and Saetia, and was the original drummer for the band Interpol. He left Interpol...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
on all - Jamie Behar – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
on all - Adam Marino – guitar on Demo, Saetia 7", Saetia LP/CD
- Alex Madara – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
on Demo, Saetia 7" - Colin Bartoldus – bass on Saetia LP/CD, guitar on Eronel 7"
- Steve Roche – bass on Eronel 7"
- Matt Smith – bass at final live performance
Discography
- Demo (1997), Level Plane - cassetteCompact CassetteThe Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
- Saetia (1997), Level Plane - 7"
- Saetia (1998), Mountain Co-op - LP/CD
- ABC No Rio Benefit (1999), Level Plane - CD
- Eronel (2000), Witching Hour - 7"
- A Retrospective (2001), Level Plane - CD