Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

A conversation with Owen Ashworth

(June 2009)

Interview by Adam McKibbin

What's in a band name? Quite a bit sometimes. Even if Owen Ashworth didn't intend "Casiotone for the Painfully Alone" to be something he'd be carrying around and talking about for a decade (his first self-release came about a decade ago, prior to a long and ongoing relationship with the well-regarded folks at Tomlab). His music was largely of the DIY electronic variety and, yes, it seemed geared to folks who found themselves in pain and/or all on their own.

2009 isn't a lonely year, though, as it's brought a summer tour and two albums - a compilation (Advance Base Battery Life) and a very satisfying new full-length (Vs. Children) inspired by bank robbers and, as Ashworth explains, the Midwestern landscape that's seen its share of criminals.

Vs. Children (rightfully) has been getting some very favorable press.  Some reviewers have touted the album as a major leap forward; do you agree with that verdict or do you think that underestimates the earlier catalog?

I couldn’t say.  Each record I’ve made has felt like a few steps away from the previous record, but I think it’s up to the critics to decide if that’s progress.

“Optimist vs. The Silent Alarm” ends with the triumphant melody of “When The Saints Go Marching In.”  Was that always part of the grand plan for the song, or was it the sort of thing where you weren’t quite sure how to end the track and then… ah-ha?

I don’t remember when that idea came about.  Hymns are a recurring theme on the album, and using that melody right at the end there seemed like a cute way to recall the lyrics of “Tom Justice, The Choirboy Robber.”  Plus, I thought it sounded good.

Cinema has often come up in your coverage, with people thinking that your music is ripe for soundtracks, or that your writing would lend itself well to longer-form narratives.  I read an interview from several years back where you said you play music, in part, because film was so expensive.  It’s still a more expensive undertaking than playing music, but it’s becoming more and more plausible to be a filmmaker on a shoestring budget.  Long story short: do you see yourself dabbling in other mediums as they become more readily available?

I love movies and I’ve been involved with a few different film projects over the years, but I’m not very interested in making my own films.  I’m perfectly happy making records.

You’ve already got a pair of albums to your credit in 2009.  Even though they are different formats – a compilation and a “proper” new record – was there any concern with putting out two records so closely together – like one could get lost in the shuffle? 

I’d wanted to release Advance Base Battery Life much earlier, but there were all sorts of delays that kept pushing the release back.  I wouldn’t say that it was a good idea to release both albums so close together, but I didn’t want to have to delay Vs. Children because of the various problems with the Advance Base Battery Life release.  Maybe Advance Base Battery Life would have sold better if it was released last year, but in the long run, I don’t think it matters so much.

Colorful song titles seem to always be a staple for you.  Who’s someone else that you think does a good job with titling?

One of my favorite bands is Harvey Milk, and I think that they have some pretty excellent song titles.  “My Father’s Life’s Work” is a personal favorite.

A somewhat related question:  have you ever gotten into a band just based on a title or a cover?  That’s how I originally discovered Dinosaur Jr, actually… bought an album on a whim based on a cover.

I’ve bought lots of records because they had interesting titles or covers.  Titles like “Ethiopiques, Vol 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale, 1969-1974,” “Black Mirror: Reflections in Global Musics 1918-1955” or “American Primitive, Vol 1: Raw Pre-War Gospel (1926-36)” are usually enough to hook me.

I once bought a Jens Lekman CD because I liked the title, and there have been a lot of movies that I’ve been compelled to watch based solely on the title or video box.  I can’t think of any other examples.

For folks who haven’t caught the live show yet and are coming out on this tour, what can they expect?  What’s the transition like between what we hear on the record and what we hear in concert?

For the U.S. summer tour, I’ll be playing solo.  I basically build a fort out of drum machines, samplers, mixers, and keyboards, and those are the things I use to re-create the songs.  I encourage singing along and I try to take requests and questions as much as possible.  I will be working on my audience dialoguing and friendly, comfortable stage banter on this tour.  Expect jokes.

I’ve been in LA for years, but I grew up in Wisconsin and went to school in Madison, so I have to ask: I know you have a studio in Chicago, but what’s up with the multiple Wisconsin references?  Wisconsin is underrepresented in the annals of indie rock and geographical shout-outs in songs.

I only live an hour from the border, and I go up to Milwaukee and Madison pretty often.  The Midwestern landscape was a big influence on Vs. Children, and there were a few different real life Midwestern bank robbers and bank robberies that inspired specific songs on the album.  Vs. Children is very much about the Midwest.