Gavin Castleton is a musician/songwriter/producer from
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
. Originally known for his work with
Gruvis Malt as keyboardist and singer, Castleton has released nine full-length albums and seven EPs as a solo artist. He has also released two full-length albums with action-adventure rock trio
Ebu Gogo and two records with Orlando-based drum 'n bass hip-hop group One Drop. Castleton currently resides in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
.
History
Castleton is a founding member of Rhode Island band
Gruvis Malt, with whom he has released five full-length albums as well as a number of various independently-released EPs.
2006–2009
From 2006 to 2008 he recorded and toured in Ebu Gogo, releasing two full-length albums, ''Chase Scenes 1-14'' and ''Worlds''. The band consists of Castleton and two members of
Gruvis Malt, Brendan Bell and Justin Abene, with Jonny Lingo drummer Chase Leonard sometimes sitting in for Bell on drums.
In 2006, Castleton collaborated with playwright Cyrus Leddy to release the bizarre
spoken-word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
album ''Grace Land'' which chronicles the mundane life of Gary Tivoli, a clerk at a
Staples store, including intimate details of his relationship with his girlfriend and his obsession with
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
. Castleton performed the narration, which was adapted from a series of interviews that Leddy conducted with Tivoli.
Castleton has recorded and performed with several bands and musicians, including
One Drop (with whom he recorded the ''Fortnightshift'' EP and One Drop's second full-length album, Of Love and Ambition),
Paranoid Social Club
Paranoid Social Club is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 2002 in Portland, Maine, which plays a fusion of Indie (music), indie and psychedelic rock. Critics have noted of the band: "Dave Gutter's got one of the most versatile, likable ro ...
, Club D'Elf, and
Facing New York
Facing New York is a three-piece progressive indie rock band from the Bay Area, California, formed in January 2004.Mason, StewartFacing New York Biography", Allmusic. Retrieved October 25, 2018 The band is signed to Nice Life Recording Company a ...
. He performed at the annual
SXSW festival in 2007
and 2009, showcasing the ''Hospital Hymns'' EP and some material from ''Home''.
In late 2007 he released ''A Bullet, A Lever A Key'', the progressive
hip hop EP that tells the story of an ever-deteriorating life in reverse-chronological order, beginning with his suicide in 2054 and ending backstage at a "present day" performance. His blog "The Great Consolidation" features entries from the future that expound on the storyline of ''A Bullet, A Lever, A Key'' and discuss his latest full-length album ''Home'', the tale of a long term love affair interrupted by a zombie apocalypse.
On Halloween 2008 the first single from ''Home'', "Unparallel Rabbits" was released digitally along with b-side, Gruvis Malt's "Since 1968" remixed by The Overclock Orchestra. On January 12, the second single from the album, "Coffeelocks", was released digitally along with b-side, "Shell". It enjoyed much airplay on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic (and lead to a live performance on the show in 2009). On February 13 the full album was released digitally, and on April 7 it was released in stores nationwide.
On October 12, 2009, Five One Inc. released ''The Random Anthems EP'' on iTunes. It contains three songs: Shell 2: Nephew of Shell (the sequel to Shell, produced by Zach Lipkins), Scared Scared Scared (previously released on the Japanese import of ''For the Love of Pete''), and Hope is a Drug (produced by Overclock Orchestra). Hope is a Drug was Today's Top Tune at KCRW, and has enjoyed airplay on specialty radio shows around the country.
In Fall of 2009 he toured with a trio featuring Eduardo Torres on drums and Gray Robertson on bass, playing 67 self-booked shows criss-crossing the US. That tour also included a stint with
Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. The band was formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes and bassist Jesse Lacey in 1999. The band's members currently are Adam Lazzara (lead vocals), John Nolan (lead guitar, keybo ...
,
Anberlin
Anberlin is an American alternative rock band formed in Winter Haven, Florida in 2002. Since the beginning of 2007, the band consists of lead vocalist Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, a ...
, and
Fun
Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "Light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment".
Etymology and usage
The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...
, throughout which Castleton's trio was joined by members of Taking Back Sunday for the majority of his set.
2010–2011
On October 1, 2010, after a Kickstarter campaign, Gavin self-released ''Won Over Frequency'', a collection of unreleased songs featuring Steve Choi, Matthew Fazzi, Keith Brush, Lex Land, Brandon Clemmens, Justin Abene, Steve Geuting, and several local Portland artists. Gavin posted a video of the album artwork-making process on his YouTube channel featuring the work of
Aaron Nagel
Aaron Nagel is an American painter and the original trumpet player for punk rock/ska core act Link 80, born and raised in Berkeley, California.
He later played guitar in the band DESA with other former Link 80 members Ryan Noble, Adam Davis, ...
, Brendan Bell, Justin Muir, and Lorna Carman. In the Fall of 2010 the Castleton Trio toured to the east coast with
Lex Land and Happy Body Slow Brain, who both joined him on stage throughout the show.
2012–2015
During the first half of 2012, Castleton focused mainly on releasing singles. Many were accompanied with a video, and were distributed via his blog, YouTube account, or various other media outlets. Some were related to his Won Over Frequency Kickstarter campaign, and were written to award certain individuals who made donations towards the completion of the album. On September 20, 2012 he performed live on Jimmy Fallon with the rapper
Danny!
Daniel Keith Swain (born August 18, 1983), known mononymously as Danny!, is an American rapper, record producer, singer, and composer.
Swain rose to prominence after his debut performance on '' Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'', where he premiered ...
and backed by
the Roots.
Throughout 2013, Castleton kept a low profile. He performed live at SXSW (South by Southwest) Festival and released various singles in anticipation of his upcoming album.
On April 23, 2014, Castleton released a 16-song "mixtape" called ''#blessed'', available for free download on his bandcamp page with the purchase of any piece of apparel. In May he did a two-week tour around New England with Happy Body Slow Brain to promote the record.
On October 11, 2014, Castleton released ''It Was the Worst of Times, It Was the Worst of Times'', a five-song EP of "simple sad piano songs."
On December 25, 2014, Castleton released "Travelight," a narrative children's album inspired by ''The Little Prince'', that featured songs written over the course of 10 years. It features Seth Castleton (Gavin's cousin) on cello, and Bob Castleton (Gavin's grandfather) as the narrator.
2015–2017
In the fall of 2015, Castleton toured as the keyboardist for
Courtney Marie Andrews
Courtney Marie Andrews (born November 7, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter originally from Phoenix, Arizona. She released her first widely distributed and breakthrough studio album, '' Honest Life'', in 2016. From 2010 to 2011, Andrews was a ...
.
In October 2015, Castleton released the Halloween single "Grady," a "sonic prequel" to The Shining.
In 2016, Castleton joined
The Dear Hunter
The Dear Hunter is an American progressive rock band originating in Providence, Rhode Island. It began as a side project of Casey Crescenzo when he was a member of the Receiving End of Sirens, before becoming his main band in 2006. The band's s ...
on keyboards and backing vocals. The new lineup was premiered abroad, during the band's U.K. tour in March 2016. He released an exclusive 4-song EP called "The Punchline EP" in conjunction with a 2-month major market US tour supporting The Dear Hunter and
Eisley
Eisley is an American rock band from Tyler, Texas, originally consisting of siblings Sherri DuPree, Chauntelle DuPree, Stacy DuPree and Weston DuPree. Remaining recording/touring members are their sister Sherri DuPree-Bemis and their cousin Gar ...
.
From June 8 to July 1, 2017, Castleton combined forces with
Rare Futures to tour the US as the supergroup "FutureCastle," playing songs from both artists' catalogs. On June 2, 2017, they released the FutureCastle EP on limited edition vinyl, featuring four cover songs (including Castleton's arrangements of
Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now" and
Hall and Oates' "Maneater").
2018–present
On October 31, 2018, Castleton posted a lyric video for his Halloween single "I Choose You," inspired by the Teddy Perkins episode of
Donald Glover
Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...
's show
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.
On September 10, 2019, Castleton released Weak Intl., a 5-song micro-EP of "corporate clap-backs," on digital streaming platforms and bandcamp.com. The collection of 1-minute rants were inspired from Castleton's experience working in the tech industry.
On October 16, 2019, Castleton released a #deathed, a compilation of his Halloween singles. He published a lyric video for his 2019 Halloween single, Pelle (a tribute to Ari Aster's horror/break-up film
''Midsommar'').
On Nov 1, 2019, A Bullet, A Lever, A Key and Travelight were released on vinyl. For the month of November, Castleton performed select US dates as both the keyboardist and solo support act for
The Dear Hunter
The Dear Hunter is an American progressive rock band originating in Providence, Rhode Island. It began as a side project of Casey Crescenzo when he was a member of the Receiving End of Sirens, before becoming his main band in 2006. The band's s ...
.
On Dec 3, 2019, Castleton released the Red Poison EP, a collection of 5 songs penned by Castleton's step-daughter, Bloomer, over the course of two years (when she was aged 4 to 6 years old). The songs feature production and vocals by Castleton, as well as Bloomer's mother, Alexis Henry.
On Apr 23, 2020, Castleton released a full-length album, "Here You Go", on bandcamp.com.
On June 12, 2021, Castleton has left The Dear Hunter, citing being at a point in his life that he cannot "
ontributethe appropriate time, energy, and focus" that the "many amazing and ambitious TDH events and releases" would require.
Discography
Solo releases
* ''Dark Age'' (2004)
* ''Hypotenuse'' (2004)
* ''FortNightShift'' (EP) (2005)
* ''Grace Land'' (2006)
* ''Hospital Hymns'' (EP) (2007)
* ''For The Love of Pete'' (2007)
* ''A Bullet, A Lever, A Key'' (EP) (2007)
* ''Window 23 w/ Stateless'' (7") (2008)
* ''Home'' (2009)
* ''Random Anthems EP'' (2009)
* ''Covers'' (compilation) (2009)
* ''Won Over Frequency'' (2010)
* "Covers (extended edition)" (2013)
* "#blessed Mixtape" (2014)
* ''Travelight'' (EP) (2014)
* ''It Was the Worst of Times, It Was the Worst of Times'' (EP) (2014)
* ''The Punchline'' (EP) (2016)
* ''The FutureCastle EP'' w/ Rare Futures (2017)
* ''Weak Intl.'' (Micro-EP) (2019)
* ''#deathed'' (compilation) (2019)
* ''Here You Go'' (2020)
Full discography
A detailed list of every release Castleton has been a part of as either a songwriter, performer, engineer or producer.
References
External links
Gavin Castleton Web SiteGavin Castleton's blog 'The Great Consolidation'Gavin & Friends' Label Site 'Integers Only'Gavin Castleton Interview on ArmedReady.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castleton, Gavin
Musicians from Rhode Island
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Musicians from Providence, Rhode Island