Casiotone for the Painfully Alone Interview

I caught up with Owen Ashworth, also known as Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, after one of his shows at SXSW. He played at one of the fantastic Todd P parties put on at Ms. Bea's. If you're unfamiliar with his music, the band name gives you a pretty good idea of what you're in for. He's been making lo-fi melancholy songs with a keyboard for about 12 years now out of San Francisco.

KP: So this was your first time at SXSW?
OA: Yeah, this is the first time.

KP: Did you like playing at the shows here?
OA: The shows are really fun. It's so...I get really stressy really easily. And the parking and the loading in and out just made me super crazy. This was the best of all of the shows, this was so much fun.




KP: The Todd P showcase?
OA: Yeah, absolutely. We had an official showcase last night and also there are so many bands playing everywhere that I don't think anything can sound that good because there's so much bleed and, I don't know, it just doesn't feel like the best environment for music. But this was great. I mean I felt like everyone here was...it felt less like an industry thing and more like just people who were excited. Like really enthusiastic. So this was super fun.

KP: What are some of the other bands you've been excited about who are playing at SXSW?
OA: The Parenthetical Girls and No Kids are also on Tomlab and we played at the same showcase last night and I really love them. I really was happy to see them. My friends the Donkeys played earlier today and I saw them and they were great. There's this woman named Dri. She's amazing, she's so great. She's playing tonight, we're going to go try and see her. I haven't seen...I saw Mirah for like a minute and then had to go load the car. I haven't seen a ton of stuff. Best Friends Forever were cool, but it's just been the logistics. It takes a long time to set up for a show.

KP: How did you like playing at a big festival like this compared to a show on tour?
OA: I would generally rather just play like a normal small show, because it's easier. But you know I totally see the purpose of it - it's totally exciting I feel like when people who have the stamina for that much music can come and get excited and see like 40 bands in a weekend. It feels like a special thing. When I was a teenager I went to Lollapalooza and that was, I mean I didn't get to go to concerts very often, and that was so exciting. There was so much music. I remember I only knew a couple of the bands playing. I knew Nick Cave and I was walking by one of the smaller stages and I saw Stereolab playing, but I didn't know them. I just saw this band playing one chord for three minutes and I was so confused - I had never seen anyone do that before. And then years later I heard one of their records and really liked it. I was really glad that I was exposed to that maybe before I was ready for it. But I think it's great to be able to see a lot of kinds of music happen. It's totally valuable, but I don't know, I just think especially because I tour and I'm at so many shows. I mean I go to shows more nights than I don't in my life. Because of that I really have a hard time concentrating on more than a couple bands at a time. I love going to see one or two bands that I really like and that's enough for the night for me usually. My ears start to hurt otherwise.

KP: What are you working on with Casiotone? What are your future plans?
OA: Well right now I just finished this record and there's going to be a lot of touring through the summer. I'm going to Europe with a full band for April, May and then I'll be touring in the US in June, July, August. And I'm getting married in the Fall, so I'm going to take a little time off to do that. And then I'm probably going to make another record in the Fall. Another tour in the Fall, but I'm gonna try and record another record. It's like half done.

KP: Awesome. Thank you.
OA: Sure thing. What was the radio station?

KP: It's KVCU in Boulder, CO.
OA: Oh yeah, that's where my Dad lives. I'm gonna be out there in end of July/early August.

Keep your ears tuned to 1190 for some brand new Casiotone records soon!