The O-town Scene

March 24, 2011

The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY

Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/27737

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 8 of 32

Music People Casting Curses Casting Curses is a home- grown-hardcore band courtesy of SUNY Oneonta, the members have graduated and gone, but they’re making a triumphant return Friday, March 25, at the General Clinton Pub. The band — Brian Kraus, Dave Aigen, Nick Lovallo, Mike Contributed O-TOWN SCENE: How has Casting Curses developed over the years? BRIAN KRAUS: Casting Curses formed in early 2007 at SUNY Oneonta. The early days consisted of late-night classroom practices and local shows. We recorded a demo on campus before experiencing some major changes in sound and membership. The regrouped band put out two EPs, booked short tours and made a few memorable trips to Canada. There were a few more depar- tures along the way and a revolving door of friends filling in for us on the road. After graduating, we took about six months off and finally pulled it together to record “Cold All Over Again.” Panic Records (Set Your Goals, Make Do And Mend, Man Overboard) ap- proached us about releasing it, so that was a no brainer. We solidified our lineup this year with the permanent additions of Mike Brown and Jeff Rendano. OS: What was it like starting up while at SUNY Oneonta and balancing the band with academia? BK: College was actually the most conve- nient time to be a band. Weeknights gave us time to practice. Weekends gave us time to play. Breaks gave us time to tour. The only time worlds collided was when we played in Burlington, Vt. That was a bad idea from the start — most of us had finals at 9 a.m. the next morning. We skipped every gas station in town after the show because I insisted on filling up at a place we saw driving in that was 10 cents cheaper. When we got there it was closed, so we kept trucking and ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere. We went door to door in the dark for help until we met a retired state trooper who was able to fix our predicament. It was getting light out by the time we got back to Oneonta. OS: Where did the members disperse to/what are you all doing now that you’ve graduated? BK: Everyone is back at home (Syracuse, Long Island and Orange County) working one or more jobs since graduating. Most likely we’re trying to sell you something, whether it be a gym membership, polo shirt or a hot dog. OS: What is it like being in “a long distance relationship in band form” (panicrecords.net)? BK: That means we see each other less often than we’d like to. We won’t break up with each other for hanging out with other dudes, though. It’s just a logistics nightmare of mak- ing plans together and driving hours to meet up every month. We do our best to maintain some level of activity. OS: New York has a long history of hardcore bands — what sets Casting Curses apart from the rest? BK: We try to avoid songwriting cliches that tend to make heavy bands sound generic and boring. We found you get what you pay for, and went to pro studios for the most recent re- leases — More Sound Studio in Syracuse and Nada in Newburgh. It definitely helped us get the label’s attention. Also, 4/5 of the band doesn’t have tattoos — we fight hardcore stereotypes, as well. OS: What’s it like to be back playing in Oneonta? BK: We love coming back. It still feels like home after all these years. If only our good cousins in Athletics (Oneonta alums on Deep Elm Records) could be here to rock it with us. OS: What’s in store for the future? BK: We’re releasing an EP called “Dirt Road” any week now. That has a new song and a Stone Temple Pilots cover on it. We rented a lake house to finish writing our full-length album at this summer. There are no plans to tour at the moment, but we’re playing weekends regularly again. Shout outs to professors Frye, Verdon, Brown and Jeff Rendano — will be the headliners of a 9 p.m. show also featuring Cave, Gal- leries, Lie Captive and I Was a Hero. Brian Kraus talked with the O-Town Scene about the band’s background and prog- ress, as well as a misadven- ture or two. Contributed Welch, Cunningham, Arakaki and Foley- Reynolds! _ Billy Brennan March 24, 2011 O-Town Scene 9

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of The O-town Scene - March 24, 2011