Blog: The Great Consolidation

I just completed a 60-date tour around the US in a '93 Plymouth Voyager minivan with a very skilled bassist and drummer, a 70 lb doberman/german shepherd (for the first half) and a tour manager in tow. We were homeless for 77 days in all. It was the single most educational experience in all my 11 years of touring and, for almost all intents and purposes, a success. Here are some of the many lessons I learned: THE KEYS TO FAILURE: TOUR EDITION by Gavin Castleton I. BUSINESS [...]

Back in March, whilst touring to Austin, TX and back to attend the annual Ho Yourself Convention, I stopped in Murfreesboro, TN to play a show with Vanilla Ice and give a talk to the Recording Industry Fraternity of Middle Tennessee State University. When we arrived there at 10:30pm on a Sunday night, we were pleasantly surprised by the very warm reception we received from the small and packed room of wonderfully attentive students. Though I'd only been asked to speak for an hour, the speech came to just under three hours, due to the countless anecdotes and [...]

you're a monastery of my socks, an ark of my scent

The tones I hear are immediately alien to me, but like all hack music journalists, I will hereby attempt to describe one sensation with words designed for another: I hear a bed of harmonies, stacked thin and tall like sheets of wax paper, supporting what is clearly a loan "voice" bouncing around on top. The harmonies sustain and bend in tiny steps like an organ of some sort, but taste like a product of the 80's; like the sawtooth waves of a poorly synthesized string patch. The arrangement and melodic structures are just as alien, clearly organized but not [...]

• Gavin Castleton - proofinpolyphony

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I'm happy to announce that KCRW has made my new "Hope is a Drug" single (from the brand new Random Anthems EP ) their Top Tune of the day! Check it out ! Also, take note - most of our remaining dates on this tour have been posted at myspace.com/gavincastleton , and our set times for the Taking Back Sunday tour are posted there as well (since many of the tickets don't reflect the actual door times). Thank you, carry on!

Today is our first show on the Taking Back Sunday, Anberlin, and Fun. Tour! We will be opening this tour so it is IMPERATIVE THAT YOU GET THERE AT DOORS (WHICH APPARENTLY IS OFTEN LISTED INCORRECTLY ON THE TICKETS, SO DO YA HOMEWORK) if you'd like to catch our set, playing a set of songs from several releases. Our set will feature members of Taking Back Sunday on guitars, and my new trio. Thu Oct 22 Xavier University in Cincinatti, OH Fri Oct 23 The LC Pavillion in Columbus, OH Sun Oct 25 Crocodile Cafe in Allentown, [...]

Arright, so just because I'm in the trenches, shoveling our funk mess to the 4 people in each town that can scrape together $5, eating Subway for both meals/day, hitting the blood bank (in the morning) and sperm bank (in the evening) in every town to pay my musicians, doesn't mean I can't drop some newy newness on that bumcrack. My new Random Anthems EP drops TODAY on iTunes! Three, count 'em, THREE new hit songs to flip your flip phone. And then, as if that weren't already a broverload, you can now listen [...]

BEST SHOW: Gallery A.D. in San Jose (honorable mentions to LA, Fremont, and AZ) WORST SHOW: Corvallis, OR (honorable mentions to Seattle, WA, and Stockton, CA) BEST LIVE SET: Horsewolf @ Red devil lounge SF MOST INTERESTING CHORD PROGRESSIONS: Tugboat (Phoenix, AZ) HOTTEST DRIVE: Phoenix to Vegas MOST [...]

here are a few recent press pieces: a review of my Hotel Cafe show on Beatcrave a feature/interview on Purekmagnetik a review in the Bridgewater State College

here are a few recent press pieces: a feature/interview on Purekmagnetik a review in the Bridgewater State College

here are the lyrics to the 1st song from my upcoming Random Anthems EP: you want to quit you wanna give up you've traveled this far but it's never enough you've made a few fans but you can't make rent you think it's deserved 'cause you've given up everything you own and still no throne you watch your friends settle, and your enemies rise every snake in a suit is a break in disguise you hope the band breaks before the band breaks cause hope is in short supply but hope [...]

for other lyrics to Home, get the hard copy . COFFEELOCKS she walked into the shop and the windows broke, the coffee crashing down as this angel spoke. I might've survived if it weren't for her eyes that were eating mine up she wanted a job so I brought her the forms with my eyes held shut. Was this love? I wondered cause I'd never been so absolutely jello-ed by a girl. Was this love? What other reason could there be when such [...]

So the strangest thing has happened... the uber-successful rock group Taking Back Sunday has asked us to come on tour with them for a run of shows in October! We will be joined by Anberlin and Fun.. A few of the guys from TBS will be helping us out on guitars so that we can play the material from Home more accurately. 10/22/09 Cintas Center at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH 10/23/09 The LC Pavillion in Columbus, OH 10/25/09 Crocodile Rock Cafe in Allentown, PA 10/27/09 Pop's in Sauget, IL 10/28/09 House of Blues in Chicago, [...]

We're on day five of the E.I.Y. Fall Tour w/ Gardening, Not Architecture driving to Redding for the show at Downtown Eatery tonight. Things are progressing as one would expect for an independent artist who is touring to support an album about zombies and ladybugs: attendance is low (Seattle's show would've had better attendance if we'd played in a port-a-potty), we are sleep and nutrition deprived (last night we slept on a STRANGEr's hardwood floor that may or may not have had chlamydia on it), and, with the exception of Portland, show payouts and merch sales have been horrible [...]

We're on day five of the E.I.Y. Fall Tour w/ Gardening, Not Architecture driving to Redding for the show at Downtown Eatery tonight. Things are progressing as one would expect for an independent artist who is touring to support an album about zombies and ladybugs: attendance is low (Seattle's show would've had better attendance if we'd played in a port-a-potty), we are sleep and nutrition deprived (last night we slept on a STRANGEr's hardwood floor that may or may not have had chlamydia on it), and, with the exception of Portland, show payouts and merch sales have been horrible [...]

This tour will be sick. 65+ days in almost every major city in America. Berklee non-grad Gray Robertson will be joining me on bass, and Eduardo Torres and Javier Torres will be trading off on drums. We're playing songs from Home as well as some unreleased hits. I'm not even mad if you miss this tour, I just feel bad for you. I've got some new shirts too, one designed by Ebu Gogo graphic designer/drummer Brendan Bell. Peep them:

I've been swamped with tour preparations these last two weeks (and months). Here's what I got done: - finished booking the first half of the E.I.Y. Tour (dates listed below) - printed two new t-shirt designs for the tour, both of which are ill - bought a mini van and got it serviced, registered, and am considering insurance. Tentative name for the vehicle: "Brett Michaels" - finished production on a new EP to be released by Five One in the beginning of October. 3 tracks: Scared Scared Scared (acoustic mix), Shell 2: Nephew of Shell (produced by [...]

I've been swamped with tour preparations these last two weeks (and months). Here's what I got done: - finished booking the first half of the E.I.Y. Tour (dates listed below) - printed two new t-shirt designs for the tour, both of which are ill - bought a mini van and got it serviced, registered, and am considering insurance. Tentative name for the vehicle: "Brett Michaels" - finished production on a new EP to be released by Five One in the beginning of October. 3 tracks: Scared Scared Scared (acoustic mix), Shell 2: Nephew of Shell (produced by [...]

So my big fall US tour with Gardening, Not Architecture is halfway booked, and progressing quickly. Here are the list of dates/towns where we are struggling to secure a show. If you know anyone in those towns that could help, please hit me up (gavin at gavincastleton.com). Sept 21 - Southern CA Sept 22 - Santa Barbara, CA Oct 3 - Seattle, WA Oct 9 - Boseman, MT Oct 10 - Bismarck, ND Oct 11 - Minneapolis, MN Oct 19 - Dallas, TX Oct 20 - Jackson, MS Oct 22 - Atlanta, [...]