Casey delighted old and new fans alike as they made their return to the spiritual home of rock. After years away they received a warm welcome back to Donnington park. Aggy Gillon sat down with singer Tom where they discussed the eclectic influences that have formed Casey into what they are today. We also touch on what it’s like to be an introverted frontman and how they have grown as a band and individuals since their formation in 2014.
How do you feel your set went today?
It was a lot of fun, yeah. We had some technical difficulties but it’s part of the course for any event like this. On the whole it was a really great crowd and we are very thankful for people spending their time and their afternoon coming to watch us.
Have you played Download before?
We have. I want to say 2016 or 2017? We played on the Dogtooth stage but we haven’t been back since then. To come back now and be greeted with such a warm reception and have such a good show, it’s a lot of fun.
You guys formed in 2014, how would you describe the evolution of Casey from then until now?
Ooh…I definitely think we started out more of a purist melodic hardcore band. I think that would be the best way to describe it. Initially Casey was just me and Liam and that’s where a lot of that came from because those were the sort of bands that we enjoyed. As more members have joined, Adam, Max and Toby, they added their own influences in. Toby doesn’t really listen to any of that kind of music so for him to join and introduce us to a broader spectrum of influence. It has definitely moved into the sort of alt rock direction. There are so few bands that sit solely within a single genre. As time has gone on a diversification of your sound can be a natural thing for a lot of bands. I like to think we are heading in that direction where we can pull influence from very different spaces and incorporate it in our music.
What would you say were your personal influences?
For me, I liisten to a lot of beat poetry and rap. As a lyrical influence I’m very much drawn to artists from a lyrical perspective foremost and musically secondly. I still listen to alot of alternative music. I listen to our friends in Gatherers. I genuinely love their music. I listen to that a lot. My musical influences are maybe not as wide as the others I guess. Toby for example loves The Jonas Brothers. Drawing influences from very classic pop ideologies, fundamentals and music theory and stuff. He’s really great with that kind of thing.
Did you guys have a vision of what you wanted Casey to be? Of course you have all brought your own ideas but did you have an idea originally?
The core ethos to Casey was we wanted it to be an authentic representation of who we were as individuals. We had no interest at any point in pandering to a particular sound or to please anyone outside of the band. We sat on the core beliefs that we as five individuals were happy and comfortable with the music we were making and the shows that we were playing and that was good enough for us. It didn’t really matter whether we were playing to ten people or a thousand or whatever. For the sound as well we wanted the right music that we as people enjoyed and whatever form that took we didn’t feel like we were bound to a particular niche.
What does it mean to you guys to be playing the 20th anniversary of Download?
It’s the spiritual home of rock, right? It’s a festival that we have all grown up admiring and seeing the evolution of overtime. I’m personally not a big festival goer as I have a lot of health issues. Sleeping outside is not great for me. It is amazing to be fortunate enough to come and perform and like I said to come and have such a warm reception. We know that we are something of an outlier I guess in terms of the lineup. There are a few bands we feel we are similar to.. There is a lot of old school metal and rock and then there are a lot of newer artists coming through as well that are in that metal and rock demographic. It’s not a festival we ever expect to be asked to do and to be offered. It’s an incredible event.
I know you say you aren’t a big festival goer but will you be sticking around to watch some bands?
We will stick around to watch some bands. We have been here since nine this morning. We managed to catch Polaris, Static Dress, Stray From The Path, Lake Malice. We just watched some of Alexis on Fire. Might go and watch Disturbed. We then have to head off as we have to go to South Wales. A few of us are camping. Adam is an enormous Metallica fan so he’s sticking around to watch them.
Have you got any more shows coming up?
We are doing a few festivals over the summer. Our next series of Casey shows will be September, October. We are doing a lot of headline shows in the States. Super looking forward to those. After that we will be doing more shows early next year but haven’t been announced just yet.
What are your favourite shows to play? Do you prefer festivals or more intimate ones?
Definitely more intimate shows for sure. I’m quite an introverted person at the best of times. I find large groups of people to be intimidating, not great for being a frontman of a band. The shows we played in January are the perfect examples. They were big enough that it feels well produced and we have accomplished something but still small enough so it has a very communal vibe.
Any new releases coming?
Oh, we are not allowed to talk about that. We are writing new music though. So it is coming, I’m just not allowed to say when. We put out two new singles, one last December and one in January. We have two records, all of it is on Spotify check it out.
What is the future for Casey?
We are in a position where its very much take it as it comes. We made a big thing talking about this as the band was returning. Between the point of departure and the point of return we have definitely very much reached different places in our personal lives.
Liam and Max have two children. Some of us have mortgages to pay. A few of us have career type jobs. We have to be far more mindful of the balance of what we are available to do. We are very fortunate that it’s something we have the option to do and we’ll just take it as it comes.
Have you got anything you would like to say to your fans that came to see you today?
We feel incredibly grateful that people took the time out to give us 30 minutes of their afternoon. It was a really fun show and thank you very much.
Interview and photo by Aggy Gillon