Cutting into cabaret

The Cesarians front man Charlie Finke has been around long enough to know just how superficial the music industry can be. As former lead singer of psycho blues outfit Penthouse, which enjoyed a modicum of success in the '90s with brusque albums like Gutter Erotica and My Idle Hands, Finke has shrugged off his early Jesus Lizard and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion influences to focus on something completely different: a rock 'n' roll rebirth through the mind of German expressionist artist George Grosz and 1930s Berlin cabaret.

Wanting to escape the madness of inner-city London life, Finke started his latest project, The Cesarians, in the most unlikely of places, on a barge he shares with his wife, Justine Armatage, former violinist for the band Gretchen Hofner and now playing keyboard with The Cesarians. The couple decided that guitars were passé and instead their music would be made with what they've described as "junk-shop instruments of Old Europe." With this in mind, they recruited a clarinetist, a trombonist and tenor horn player from neighboring barges. Drummer Jan Noble is the only band member from dry land.

"Grosz is certainly calling to us," Finke tells The Prague Post. "But I don't know if he would like our postmodern 'this is not' outlook; he's been dead too long." 

Apart from being disheartened with the so-called contemporary music scene, Finke confides that The Cesarians came about as a result of his somewhat turbulent relationship with Justine. She used to rib him about how useless his band was, and in return, he failed to give her much attention, and she eventually left him for a woman.

Turning to booze for comfort, Finke poured his emotions onto paper in a most scholarly fashion and eventually got back together with Justine, who was apparently Finke's perfect musical match. Short on money and with no record deal in sight, it was nothing short of a miracle that the couple managed to draft former Blondie and Ramones producer Craig Leon for their 2007 self-titled album.

With a distinctive decadent cabaret feel that's both edgy and grotesque, aiming for the intensity of Jacques Brell and Kurt Weill, Cesarians 1 is one of the more unusual records to appear in recent years. Tracks like "Woman" and "QMSD" are particular standouts, with Finke declaring that he would like to be a woman in the former and giving a nod to Nick Cave in the latter. 

"I went to see Nirvana at Reading in 1991 but was blown away by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds instead," Finke admits. "Justine has also been a huge fan since The Birthday Party days." And regarding his motivation for bellowing the line "I want to be a woman" on the eponymous track, Finke curiously answers, "Exactly so that you would ask me this question!"   

"Flesh for Grass" is another odd track and probably the biggest crowd-pleaser on the album. According to Finke, "It's about the human condition. It describes a world in turmoil, genesis, conflict, 9/11 - everything juxtaposed with a pastoral nuclear ambition."

Asked to go into further detail about the inner demons that crowd his songs, Finke demurs. "This is far too complicated to get into here. I suggest we share a few schnapps and I'll tell you everything." 

There's no real need for any of that, as Finke's pain is pretty evident every time he takes the stage, particularly when he's throwing himself about in his smart suit inches away from the ice-cool Armatage.

"The truth is, because I'm troubled and tormented, I am the difficult one. It is forever an epiphany for me to work with Justine."

Finke says The Cesarians' debut in Prague is long overdue and that the band is "thrilled to play Palác Akropolis. Without doubt, Prague is the most romantic European city beyond Paris and Berlin, above London and Naples. Its bitter history punctuated with poetry and politics (our drummer has an affinity with Prague, having been nicknamed Jan Palach). This is the source of all we drink from: Na zdraví!"

James Scanlon can be reached at
features@praguepost.com