Caspian

Caspian is a US post-rock and instrumental rock group from Beverly, Massachusetts, active from 2003. The band forms loosely in autumn 2003 and plays its first concert at The Pickled Onion in Beverly on 26 August 2004, before settling on the name Caspian and developing its early material.

Early releases and line-up changes

The group signs to Dopamine Records in January 2005 and releases its debut EP, You Are the Conductor, in November 2005. It follows with its first Northeast tour in January 2006, then a first full US tour in April and May of that year. In September 2006 the band issues a hand-pressed limited tour EP.

Caspian records its debut album, The Four Trees, in August 2006 at New Alliance Audio with Ethan Dussault and releases it on Dopamine Records in 2007. The album is later re-released in Europe by Make My Day Records in 2008 and is named the No. 1 album of 2007 by The Silent Ballet. Later in 2008 the band records a split 7-inch with Massachusetts group Constants.

After founding guitarist Calvin Joss can no longer continue touring, Erin Burke-Moran joins first as a touring replacement and then becomes a full-time member. Jonny Ashburn and Jon McMahan later assist on tour, and the group operates as a five-piece during the Tertia era.

Tertia and touring

Caspian releases Tertia in Europe in August 2009 and in the US in September 2009. The album is recorded at New Alliance Audio with Ethan Dussault. The band supports it with two major European tours, a two-month North American tour, and shows with Red Sparowes, Fang Island, and God Is an Astronaut. In July 2010 it plays its first shows in China, including dates in Hong Kong and Guangzhou as part of the Qiangyuan Music Festival.

By 2010 the band plays close to 150 concerts across 33 countries on three continents. Its final concert of that year takes place at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as part of the “Last Night on Earth” series.

Waking Season and later activity

In 2011 the band spends much of its time writing and recording its third full-length album, performs at SXSW in Austin, and plays an eight-date European tour that includes Russia, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, and a headline set at Dunk! Festival in Zottegem, Belgium. It later plays hometown shows in Northampton and Allston, Massachusetts, including the first performance of “Loft” in Boston in over four years.

Caspian announces Waking Season in 2012 and releases it later that year. Deluxe editions include a music box and an invitation for fans to submit material that may form the basis of a future track. Before the album’s US release, the band tours with Minus the Bear and Cursive, then continues in Europe. In 2013 it tours North America again with Native and Junius on selected dates.

Style and membership

The band is identified with instrumental, instrumental rock, post-metal, and post-rock. Its members are Chris Friedrich, Philip Jamieson, Calvin Joss, Joe Vickers, Erin Burke-Moran, Jonny Ashburn, Jani Zubkovs, and Justin Forrest.