BARATRO
1. Welcome to All the Cores and More! Would you please introduce yourself and what you do in the band?
Hey thanks! My name is Dave Curran, I play bass and do vocals.
2. Baratro is not your first rodeo! Would you be so kind as to provide the readers who may not be familiar with you and your work pre-Baratro a brief Spark Notes version?
There have been quite a few rodeos! I was in a band called Unsane for roughly 25 years. During that time, the band split up a couple of times and got back together. During those breaks, getting together with some friends, the inevitable ‘We should start a band’ conversation arose.
In 1999 Players Club (J.J. Paradise Players Club) was formed. I played bass in this formation as well. We put out 2 EPs and 2 albums in the span of 6 years or so. Toured America a bunch but were never able to go anywhere else unfortunately. Fun times!
Then, in 2008, came Pigs. Still with my buddy Jim Paradise from Players Club. We started out as a 2 piece; him on drums and I played guitar for this project. After a few trials we joined forces with Andrew Schneider who played bass. We released an EP and 2 albums, between 2008 and 2013. Touring opportunities in the States were scarce for us at the time, but we were able to tour Europe twice during those years. Also fun times!
And now with Baratro. That’s as brief as I can make it!
I’m thankful and lucky to have played with such talented people throughout the years.
3. Prior to the rodeos, I’m curious about what started you down the “rabbit hole” of alternative/underground music in the first place. What did that journey of discovery look/sound like?
I started playing guitar when I was 10 years old. My father handed me his old warped acoustic guitar and would teach me simple blues riffs. I could barely squeeze the strings to the frets but I was hooked. To have something in your hand to make sounds with was amazing to me. When I got a copy of Back in Black (AC/DC) about a year later, I wanted to be Angus Young so bad… I mowed lawns all summer to finally buy my first electric guitar: a black and white Univox strat copy. My father rigged up some cabling so I could play through the stereo (no amp at the time) and gifted me a distortion pedal. The rest, as you may have guessed, is history.
As far as getting to the alternative/underground part:
I learned every song on Back in Black, The Wall by Pink Floyd and Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden. I felt I was ready for the Sex Pistols, the Ramones and the Stooges. From that transition I realized that delivering the musical goods comes in many different forms. You just have to deliver the goods…
4. How about the Baratro backstory? How did the band come together and what was the vision for it at the outset?
Baratro came about at the beginning of 2019. I head left Unsane in 2018 and was having a chat with Federico, a friend from Milan, about starting a new project. I had already written some songs that never made it to record in my previous bands, and after Luca joined us, we started getting those songs together in addition to writing new material. It was an immediate brotherhood. We got the best 7 tracks together, self-recorded / mixed / mastered and released our first EP and started playing shows within about 6 months. We did get to play around for a short time, but then COVID happened and we all know the deal with that...
We didn’t have any particular vision honestly. We just wanted to get out there and play. It’s still how we feel.
Before the release of our first full length (Sweet Smell of Unrest) in early 2023, we asked our friend Matteo if he would play cello on our last track. He killed it, to say the least. We had an instant bond with him as well during the practice sessions and recording. We soon started writing songs with him and became the unit we are today. I can’t imagine writing music without him.
5. It seems to me that the ethos of punk rock is more essential today than ever. Can you tell us about how this informs the music and work of Baratro?
Agreed! That ethos seems somewhat subjective depending on who you talk to unfortunately. In its pure form it is a valuable asset to society, but as we’ve seen, it can also get you killed. This informs our music, our thoughts, and our actions; as it does for most conscientious people. We all know and feel the situation we are in daily; we just get to scream about it in our songs.
6. What can you tell us thematically and contents-wise about the new LP No Comply, released May 8th via Supernatural Cat?
We befriended an organization called the Gaza Skate Team (@gaza_skate_team) sometime in 2025. They were gracious enough to let us use one of their photos for our new album cover (No Comply). They do a ton of charitable work for kids and their community as a whole against immeasurable odds. We wanted to do something that could help support them, even in a small way. For the sake of brevity, we’re donating proceeds of various merch sales to the cause. As should anyone interested: see link above ^^^.
And to answer your question, the theme is that. Wrongs must be righted. Somehow.
7. What was the writing and recording process for the record like?
After all of us doing this for such a long time, the recording process becomes pretty organic. It’s part of the deal. I used to be so nervous while recording until I realized it’s just like practice with more microphones. Once you relax, it becomes fun and you waste less time. Which gives you more time to experiment and try new ideas.
The song writing has also been really fluid. Even when we have to practice a set for an upcoming show, we inevitably slip into some jam thing and record it on the fly and revisit it to complete a song.
8. How did the relationship with Supernatural Cat form?
We’re all fans of Ufomammut. I’d heard of them through the Neurosis guys and saw them a few times and really dug their music. Luca, our drummer, set up a video meeting with Urlo after they were interested in the new songs and it all went from there.
9. Talk to us about the record’s music videos.
The first one we made was for a song called “120 on 280.” The new record features a bunch of guest musicians, and this particular song features Eugene Robinson (Oxbow, Buñuel), a friend of ours [you can read my interview with Eugene here]. Part of our accord was we’d make a video for this song. So, we planned it in two sessions where we could do shots without him, as he lives in Spain, and shots with him when he had a planned trip to Italy. It’s a story about a sad sac mafia crew double crossing their boss. We all got to dress up funny and have a few laughs!
The other video was a quicky live thing played in our friend Giacomo’s studio. He’s a super pro director guy and made it look like we knew what we were doing ha!
10. What do you have lined up for the rest of the year?
Record release May 8th, first show May 9th and shows to follow. A few festivals with shows in between then short break this summer. Various European dates this fall. More to come!
11. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions! Any last words for the readers?
Don’t eat the brown acid.