Caustic Method

Last November, moments before he got his ass kicked, UFC superstar Randy Couture gave Rochester-based metal band Caustic its biggest plug ever. Right before he touched gloves with opponent Brock Lesnar for the main event at UFC 91, Couture marched to the ring as Caustic's song "Medicate" played — in front of an estimated 3.3 million viewers.

Caustic has spent the past nine years making a name for itself locally and in places like Syracuse, Auburn and Watertown. Yet having "Medicate" played during such a high-profile event has been the high point of a successful year-and-a-half. "Medicate" was also used as entrance music by WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) champion Mike Brown during his November fight against Urijah Faber, which wound up being the WEC's biggest pay-per-view event ever. On top of that, Caustic has opened shows locally for Disturbed, Sevendust and, most recently, Korn.

"Things really seem to be coming together," says guitarist Al Dettori of Auburn. "We've done bigger shows in terms of size, but name-wise and karma-wise, we're all huge fans of those bands, especially Korn."

Detorri and his bandmates — singer Matt Bagarozzo of Rochester, bassist "Donny D" Weissinger of Rochester, and drummer Nick Wisner of Watertown — hope the newfound exposure will help push the band to new heights, both musically and commercially.

The guys are currently working on material for a new album, the follow-up to 12 Step Suicide released last August. Early signs point to a more radio-friendly Caustic. The band has progressed from delivering a heavy, high-energy chugging sound to one that incorporates harmonies and is technically proficient.

And with that more marketable sound, the band hopes it won't have to pay for the release of its new album. Caustic still is at a point where the band members fund everything out of their own pockets, but Detorri says he'd like to land a distribution deal before the new album's release.

"That's gonna be the real tipping point, if we can land distribution," he says. "The music has really been progressing. We're each playing off of each other really well, which is a product of the chemistry we all have."

Caustic has landed opening slots on the East Coast portion of a tour by national shock-metal band Mushroomhead. Caustic will also have shows in Watertown, Auburn and Syracuse in June and July before heading back to Rochester in late August. - Rochester Metromix Magazine

Caustic will open the K-Rockathon after winning the K-Rock/Molson Band Search at Club Tundra on July 14. "As of tonight we're no longer a Watertown band we're a Central New York band," said singer Matt Bagarozzo, whose North Country act edged out close to 40 bands in the eight-week competition, including runners-up, local power-twang trio Bufftones, in second; prog-funkers Wagner, formerly known as This, in third; and stoner-soul quintet Stone Soul Foundation in fourth.
Caustic's set was a hella tight exercise in Godsmack-esque pomp and low tuning, proffering shiny takes on "Six Feet Under," "The Path" and fan favorite "Paralyzed." The group's intimidating stage presence, not to mention Pat Griffin's drum disembowelment, should go over well at the ninth annual K-Rockathon, Friday, July 30, at Weedsport Speedway, off Thruway exit 40, Weedsport.
Also on the bill: Hoobastank, Cypress Hill, Fuel, Sevendust, Nonpoint, Skindred, Travesty Theory and Wetwerks. - Syracuse New Times

Hoedown at the K-Rock Corral
Caustic opens for Cypress Hill and Fuel, among other K-Rockathon headliners at Weedsport Speedway on Friday, July 30, which is pretty good company for any band. But they're just as grateful for their support. "All my friends are right here in front of me," Matt Bagarozzo sang in "Paralyzed," part of their set when they won the Molson Road to the K-Rockathon contest at Club Tundra, July 14.
Some in the thick crowd were wearing Caustic logo Ts and some drove from the North Country, on a freakin' weeknight, to see them play their asses off and walk away with $1,000 cash and the coveted opening slot. All that love helps a band's skin, but Bagarozzo admits to some butterflies over this gig. "It'll probably be the biggest crowd we've played for, so with that comes a certain fresh rush," he says. "I think the whole contest is something, to me, because I've been in a lot of major cities and a lot of local radio and bars don't get involved in the local scene like Syracuse."
Before Caustic, Bagarozzo spent years behind the curtain in Boston designing graphics, manning mixing boards and the like. He still hangs on to that life, designing recording studios for clients that currently include drummer Butch Trucks of the Allman Brothers. But the pull to make music, and not just work for musicians, led him out of Beantown. "I had to come to grips with which part of the puzzle I wanted to be in," he says. "I wanted to just take off and go somewhere where I could take my time and write without worrying about how it came out."
He wound up in Watertown in 1998, and culled a few lineups of Caustic until it gelled with the current one of himself, drummer Pat Griffin, guitarist David Fuller and bassist Steve Morley in 2003. That year they took third in the Road to the K-Rockathon; this year they were sharper and more honed, outscoring The Bufftones, Wagner and Stone Soul Foundation. "The chemistry really seemed to gel this time--the song writing is gelling, the fanbase is growing," he says. "I think with anything like this, you have to get better every year."
They hope to release their first full-length, From Zero to Hate, at the end of August and then shop it around. Meanwhile, Bagarazzo says they might debut their new tune "Write This Wrong" during their 1:20 p.m. set at the K-Rockathon. Expect the same brand of madness that won them the band search: choppy, propulsive rhythms, low-tuned riff work a la Sevendust and Machine Head and Bagarozzo's furious, shouted/sung vocals. "I think we finally got a recognizable sound--I'd hope we don't teeter in any direction toward anybody," he says.
As for the future, they'll invest their $1,000 purse back into the band by way of merchandise and press kits, and seal up whatever musical loose ends they have in case more opportunities come knockin'. "The live show should seal the deal once they've sniffed around. If anybody's interested {in a band} you can listen to their record, and then you go see them and you'll be either psyched or let down. I want to the be the band that people get more psyched about when they see live."
Also on the bill for the ninth annual K-Rockathon at Weedsport Speedway, off Thruway exit 40, Weedsport, are post-grungies Hoobastank, veteran ganja-tweeked rappers Cypress Hill, alterna-metal acts Fuel, Sevendust and Nonpoint, rap-rockers Skindred, Mississippi angst-rockers Travisty Theory and Albany industrial-rappers Wetwerks. Doors open at noon, with $30 tickets available through Ticketmaster, 472-0700, or at Media Play in Mattydale and DeWitt; the Last Unicorn in Utica and the Stage Door in Watertown. Visit www.krockathon.com or call 472-9111 for more information.
--Nathan Turk
- Syracuse New Times