Jasin Cadic + the End at the Gramercy Theatre

Jasin Cadic

New Jersey-born Jasin Cadic has been the lead singer in several industrial and hard rock bands, including Handful of Dust, Starkiller and Panzie. In late 2018, Cadic began to crystallize a concept he had in the back of his head for many years. Instead of performing with yet another hard rock or industrial band, he formed a band very unlike the others, which would play diverse arrangements with piano, horns and a female background vocalist. Jasin Cadic + the End consists of vocalist Cadic, guitarists Andee Black Sugar and Kelsey Warren, pianist Drew Blood, bassist Steve Perlmutter, drummer Jordan Cannata, vocalist Emma Craig, trombonist Seth Weaver, trumpet player Christian Mehler, and saxophonist Kushal Talele.

A month after assembling the 10-piece band, Jasin Cadic + the End debuted at the Gramercy Theatre, opening for Cadic's friend Tommy London. No new material was yet written for Cadic's performance. Instead, the set was comprised of songs from Cadic's previous bands, including Starkiller's "You Are a Witness" and "As the Sky Is Falling" as well as Panzie's "Clown," along with a collection of covers, including David Bowie's "Fame," Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning," and Rage against the Machine's "Sleep Now in the Fire." Unlike Panzie, this performance required no corpse make-up, costumes or stage props, but at times Cadic's persona and the strength of Cadic's caustic vocal delivery recalled his trademark harrowing dynamic. Pastiche background videos and Cadic's own lighting set-up added to the jittery tension. Other songs, like the cover of Placebo's "Broken Promise," lent Cadic to melodic crooning, as the large band provided thick and full accompaniment. Jasin Cadic + the End is young, and its musical identity will define itself in time, but this was an ambitious and successful start to Cadic's new musical investment.