Music & Family

    Something that I have learned as I have grown to be a young man is that regardless of what season of life you are in, your family will always be there with you. Family can be defined in many ways. Technically, family is a group of people who are related by blood. In reality family is much more than that. I have friends that I consider family, I consider my girlfriend family, and as a christian, God says we are all family in his eyes. To be honest I have people in my family that I do not speak with much. I have a better relationship with the staff at Venus Pie than some of my true family members. 

Something else I have learned: Music is a bridge that spans across generations

Have you ever heard the saying "harmony is better in the blood"? Well I truly believe in that statement. I chose my grandfather, Dan Caston, to interview for this blog entry for many reasons. He is like my dad, I go to him for advice all the time. He is a phenomenal musician. He is an even better man. 

Pop took me under his wing when I started playing, teaching me about music, the cultures, theory, the list goes on and on. I started "studying music" in the eighth grade. I remember sitting down at a hot dog place with papa, we were grabbing a bite before praise band practice and some country song was playing on the loud speaker. Out of nowhere he asked me, "what does that progression sound like to you? Pretend that you're in the key of G and listen for the changes." So I did, and it was hit or miss for a while and those random questions went on for months, and they still do, but I finally realized what he was trying to teach me, the number system. I had a very simplistic, but firm, understanding of music theory before coming to study at Converse, but I could not read music, so I had a bit of a learning curve. My roots are different from a classically trained musician, and I have to thank my Papa for that. He set me up for success and I didn't even realize it.

For this interview I will be summarizing my Papa's responses as he, like me, loves to talk and go on and on :)

Question 1: What Was Your Music Life Like as a Child?

    My papa grew up in the 1950s and 60s in a mill village here in Spartanburg. He was an only child, and both of his parents worked very hard, so he learned to have fun and be okay with being alone sometimes. He did all the normal kid stuff, played army in the yard, rode his bike everywhere, and played ball with his friends. His father sang and played harmonica n churches in the area, and papa would tag along with him, singing with his daddy. One day he was eating cereal and at the bottom of the box was a toy, more importantly a toy guitar. He was so intrigued by the little toy. He played it so much that his parents saved up enough money to buy him an acoustic guitar from Sears. At the time it was twenty dollars. Twenty dollars.

"At the time I was also taking piano lessons. My piano teacher came to mama and said, "Danny doesn't need to take from me anymore, he is reading the music and adding other things that are not on the sheet." I was eight or nine at that point in time."

He was playing piano, guitar, and singing. He even had a makeshift set of drums that he banged on. For coming from a family who didn't have much, he was incredibly happy. He was addicted to music. He took his guitar to school and played it at recess, and played whenever and wherever he could. Papa is my hero.

Question 2: Who Inspired You as a Young Musician?

"The Beatles forever changed my life." 

Papa started playing music before the British invasion of the 60s. Before that time he was studying up on hymns, playing music with his daddy all the time. He says he remembers hearing the Beatles for the first time, he was blown away. He saved up enough money to buy "Meet The Beatles." 

"I learned every song on that album, I played along for hours and hours. Day after day, I lived and breathed that music. In our living room we had a record player that sat in a piece of furniture, that is where I listened. But the sound quality back then was nothing compared to what we have now, so I would stick my head in and close off the openings so I could easily hear each harmony that John and Paul were singing." 

His love for The Beatles carried over into my dad, and into me as well. We have spent much time sitting on the porch singing old Beatle tunes and crushed the harmonies. Those are my best memories.

He loves the harmonies in this classic Beatles tune. Give it a listen 

Question 3: What is Your Favorite Concert You Have Attended?

"Well I loved going to see Aerosmith back in the 90s, that was an amazing show! But I think another concert that was life changing was Boston. Me and your grandma saw them in the basement of the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium. It was around the time of their first albums release, so no one really knew who they were, but soon after they were doing stadium tours. So consider myself lucky to have seen them in such a small and personal setting."

A Quick Summary

My papa is one of my musical heroes. He is not normal, his talent is God given and I am so blessed to call him family. I would not be where I am without him and not just musically, but as a young man. He has changed my life is countless ways. I could go on and on about him, his jokes, and musically ability. I love that man with all of me.

Below is a link to a little bit of his music. It is a few of his songs that he has written in his 60 year long music career.  These recordings span from the late 80s up until mid 2000s, so you will hear a good bit of "80s style keyboard patches" and I love them! A majority of the instrumentation you are hearing is him, besides a few guitar solos that were tracked by my uncle who is also a phenomenal musician. Please give it a listen. Dan Caston is a legend.

https://open.spotify.com/album/1TrKdOs1oy92jBRLPv2gZj?si=tiKTHH5XSqmhmYvlX6tlzQ