Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution

The Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution, or BOTAR, is a musical collective of a varying and undefinable genre which includes influences from ska, punk, classical and eastern-European style music. It is composed of former

The Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution, or BOTAR, is a musical collective of a varying and undefinable genre which includes influences from ska, punk, classical and eastern-European style music. It is composed of former Catch 22 members Tomas Kalnoky and Jamie Egan, in addition to Nick Afflitto, Marcy Ciuffreda, Rachel Goldstein, Layton Hayes, John Paul Jones, Achilles Kalnoky, Paul Lowndes, Chris Paszik, Mark Rendeiro, Dan Ross, Pete Sibilia, Shane Thomson, and Natalia Ushak. Unlike other quasi-similiar bands of today, which combine primarily ska and punk, BOTAR uniquely blends in a bit of classical music, taking the form of an entirely acoustic ensemble.

They self-released their first recording, an EP entitled A Call to Arms in late 2001. Among its five songs was a new arrangement of the Catch 22 song "Dear Sergio", originally written by Tomas Kalnoky, which included a new verse and a minor renaming to "Dear Sergio:". They quickly sold out of their self-produced album, deciding to then offer it on their homepage for free. However, due to bandwidth limits, it was removed. The album is currently hosted on another website, whose URL can be found below. The record is now back in print in a more mass produced format, available at your local Streetlight Manifesto show.