Castlestone Radio - Playing the Best of Everything 24/7

Mr. Castlestone, Your Favorite Wampire

INTERVIEW
with

Swayze

How long have you been in the music industry?

We have played as a band since 2001. But have individually been playing music for the majority of our lives.

What inspired you to create your type of music?

I don't really know how to answer this question. The style usually creates itself, I don't think much thought was put into the type of music that was going come out of it.

Who are your musical influences?

Individually they are ridiculously broad; we have a lot of different styles between us that get melded together. We pull a lot from other music, art, personality, life in general. Obviously everything that we have ever heard, seen, liked or disliked serves as an influence. I think that it's impossible to really nail it down.

What type of practice schedule do you have?

As of late, we have none. We all live in different states, when we can, we get together and play. When we all lived in Gainesville, we were playing steadily and usually practiced once or twice before shows. It was a very laid back schedule.

What is your favorite gift ever given to you by a fan?

A friend made us a stained glass window. And gave Jesse (lead singer) a shovel. It's my favorite because we thought that she might be out to kill him...and that's funny. He's still alive and she is a still a good fan. The shovel was never used.

What are your plans tours and festivals wise this year?

We'll be happy to play together a few times. Outside of that, there are no plans. We enjoy just playing music and making what we can. We've been less than ambitious as to making careers of it.

Are you planning on expanding your tours to the US this year?

See above. We're always up for one. We just never seem to put it together ourselves.

How valuable do you feel internet radio will be to the future of new artists?

I personally think online radio is great, and we've had good luck with it. It's a great way to find new music and to get your shit out there without the bureaucracy surrounding most FM stations.

What is the craziest thing some one has done to meet you?

I don't think that people really want to meet us. We're down to earth people, there is no reason anyone would have to "do" anything crazy to meet us. Jesse and I are suckers for ice-cream, so that's an option for anyone that wants to meet us.

Do you feel a Street Team is vital to the expansion of new artist fan base?

It can be, if the Street Team actually does what they are supposed to.

What would you consider your fan base to be?

I have no way to answer this question. I think that this interview is geared for bands that are a little bigger than us.

How is your album doing so far?

Our albums always did pretty well in Gainesville, and during our small mini-tours that would be had during our peak. By well, I mean breaking even, maybe even have enough to get shirts made.

Do you notice a difference in the audiences based on the countries?

Yes, definitely. From my personal experience, the general US public has much less appreciation for music and the required ability that is needed to make it. There are definitely a lot of subgroups of Americans that actively listen and seek out new music, and they are greatly appreciated, but even within that, music is often confused with fashion and lifestyle. That is not to say that this is absent outside of the US, but it seems the general consensus is more open and appreciative to musicians and different style of music. I think that this goes for most Art in general.

What's your favorite country to tour in?

Antarctica. The penguins love us....

Have you listened to Castlestone Radio? What do you think about its variety?

I haven't listened to it, but I will definitely be checking it out now.

Could you imagine yourself doing anything other than what your doing now career wise?

If so, what would that be?

Unfortunately/Fortunately, I'm one of those people that is doing it kind of all at the same time. I know that some of the other members would like to be playing music full time, and I would be happy to do that for some time with them. But I think that it's the matter of risk holding that situation from going forward.

What inspired themes of your music?

See inspiration above.

What process do you use to create a new song?

Jesse typically has the skeleton for the song, and we all contribute our piece. It works well, we all know what the others strengths and weaknesses are and have a good set of checks and balances going, and rarely have to use them. We get along very well musically, not much is ever needed to be said.

Who would you like to tour with?

Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, and million other people if only to watch their set every night.

What would be your dream tour?

The invention of the teleport. I hate being in the car, love going places, seeing new things, meeting new people...the process of getting there sucks. Going to Europe and Asia would be amazing.