March 16th, 2006
 
Casey Dienel is clever, witty and plays music. 

Not just any old music
mind you. Casey Dienel plays her own music. 
It has a familiarness that will leave you reeling and 
ever so comfortable. Her tunes could easily have 
passed for fantastic music decades ago and it 
almost sounds as if it's from those old periods. 

Whoever said that was a bad thing?

Recently I had the opportunity to do an interview 

via email with her.  
She recently just released  her first album, 
"Wind-Up Canary" on HUSH Records. 
Also as of right now she is currently 
in the begining stages of her tour.

 

I guess we could start with some quintessential
questions first:

Favorite color?
 
A:   kelly green.

Food?

A: aloo gobi. extra spicy. i put cholula hot sauce on everything.


So you have took a break from the New England Conservatory. When do you
plan to go back and what do you plan on finishing there?
          
A:Well, I don't know yet. I am techincally on "inactive status"
and I do love the scholarly life--there's 
a part of me that feels so natural with a
stack of books in front of me, but I don't know 
if I'll return or not. Sometimes I think a
bout going to a traditional university and 
studying literature or French or something of that nature. 
I've always wanted to be a writer.

"...and I realized that I wanted to 
study music, not finesse."


Sources I've already read have said that you had
planned to become an opera singer. 
How did this come about and what made you
realize that it wasn't for you?
         
 A: The bulk of my time at NEC was devoted
to classical composition. I wrote a lot of short
pieces that were "character studies" where the
instruments would mimic different people I made up in
my head. I was opera singer at NEC for a hot minute,
but after about a week I was in one of my lessons
being told to brush my hair and wear high heels, and I
realized that I wanted to study music, not finesse. I
didn't like the voice that came out of my mouth when I
sang Verdi, it didn't sound like it was mine at all.
And I have always been a
pianist/improviser/singer/writer rolled into one. I
never felt like any of those things were separate,
because they all seem to derive from the same place.
So I begged and pleaded and changed my major.
Composition suited me. I just thought a lot. But make
no mistake, I was a terrible, incorrigible student!
Very pig-headed and set in my ways!


Your music is definitely something unique so how did
HUSH hear about you?
            
A: It was an accident. My friend Djim
(the sound engineer) had the same a-dats as Chad
Crouch's best friend. A demo got traded and somehow it
found its way to Chad's desk. I thought it was a joke
when I first recieved his e-mail, and it took me
awhile to think he was serious. I don't know why. I
just never knew anything about labels and how to get
on one. I never envisioned myself a "songwriter" so I
guess that means I never dreamed about what it might
like to be on, say, Merge Records. I didn't send my CD
out, I didn't know how to push my songs. My first demo
I used to give to people for free at my shows. But I
think that people who are meant to find each other
always discover a way. I was very lucky.

"...have some human contact, kiss
someone, change something, smile!"


What inspired you to develop the unique style in
which you write songs, sing
and play them?

A: It's probably a combination of
isolation (in a small town, in a small practice room
amongst many other talented people) and listening. I
am always making things, sometimes without even
meaning to. I think my job is one that requires me to
blend in with people and walk amongst the world as
much as possible. I get my best ideas from listening,
or eavesdropping. I don't feel too unique--but I think
the one thing I learned from all the music I love
(Thelonious Monk, Biff Rose, Bob Dylan, Van Morrisson,
Cohen, Pavement), was that mimicry is no way to grow.
Inspiration to me is when you listen to your hero and
feel even more encouraged to be yourself. When I get
done listening to a Dylan record, I don't think "oh, I
wish I could be like Dylan!" I think "wow, I want to
be myself, too!"


Popular music today seems so prepackaged and sent
out with the sole
intentions of making quick money and never truly
reflect what the artist
feels or if they even cared to begin with.  So how
do you believe that your 
music reflects you?

A. It is disheveled, a little unpolished.
It's not meant to make people feel they need a certain
jacket or haircut to come & experience. It's meant to
make people want to stand up after listening to it and
go out into the world, have some human contact, kiss
someone, change something, smile! Feel enabled. Get
off of the computer for 2 hours! Feel good! I don't
want to write finite songs, with captioning. I want
them to be open, to mean different things to different
people. & I want to contribute to something besides
waste, besides garbage. I think apathy is depressing
and dull!


Obviously people have made a big deal about your age
and what not. Which is
to say you've accomplished some pretty awesome
things but how do you feel
about it?

A: I feel very old sometimes, very
young at other times. I wish it were more common that
young people were working hard and doing things they
really care about--I think there is an army of us out
there, and I would hope in the future that our
generation is remembered for digging their heels in
the dirt. It feels so cool to work, and to be
encouraged, but I think I still have a lot more wick
in me! I don't want to rest too long, I'm very
fidgety.

Your playing for more and more people at more and
more places. How do you go
about setting yourself up for a show?

A: I play with my friends. I tour with my
friends. & I use tours as a good excuse to see old
friends I haven't seen in awhile. I like to mix it up
between clubs and house shows. I love intimate shows
very much, and tend to gravitate towards those. But
this year I've been playing to clubs that are a little
less intimate, and those can be fun, too. It's been
funny to see people at the shows. I still always go
into shows expecting to play to empty rooms.


It may be too soon to ask but what are your plans
after "Wind-Up Canary"?
                
A: Oh, never too soon! Continuation
is awesome! I have a lot of new songs, these ones are
a little more dense, a little more meaty and the forms
are different and there's a lot of language going on.
I try to play them at shows, when I can. I have some
recordings that are stacking up on the shelf, and
those may turn into some kind of EP later this year.
And I want to tour all over! Maybe even some day
outside of the US. I have been to Europe before & I
really do miss it over there. Nothing quite like it. I
especially miss the coffee. terrible habit, but a
girl's gotta have some vices.



Thank you Casey for answering these questions, it
means a lot!

Thank you, Kyle! You are awesome!