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-similar 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. It was available on blank">http://www.acousticbandits.com/, but the files appear to have been taken down. The EP has since been re-released in CD format.
The Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution can be considered only a smaller side project, as it has taken a back seat to Tomas Kalnoky's main focus, _Streetlight Manifesto. A few of BOTAR's members belong to Streetlight Manifesto. As of late 2003, BOTAR has been placed on hiatus while Streetlight Manifesto tours, but there are plans for future recordings. Both bands are members of The RISC Group.
They have two LPs that have been in the works since 2001: 99 Songs of the Revolution and an as yet untitled album. 99 Songs is to be a wide-ranging collection of covers while the untitled is original material.
Tomas said, in an October 8th, 2006 interview, that 30 songs are written and expected to be released by BOTAR. That interview with TopWelt! can be found here
On March 1st the revamped website went online with a link to the original EP on iTunes and a site called Pentimento Music Company. This new site is set up in the same style the RISC Group's current site in that it is a logo over a minimalistic background.
According to an update on March 16th, the next album would hopefully be released around the time of or after Streetlight Manifesto's next release, which was released November 13th, 2007. However, the update also states, "But we're dealing with you-know-who here so expect it sometime before the end of our current decade." The update also contained a recruitment statement for musicians of certain instruments who live in the Los Angeles area. In order to form a West Coast Division, the band wants skilled musicians for recording and hopefully touring. Also in the update was information about Pentimento Music Company, stating that it is a small label that will be releasing the group's future albums and that its website is soon to be running. The update also stated that both BOTAR and Streetlight Manifesto have recruited people to start helping with updates to the websites.
