Gavin Castleton

Gavin Castleton

Gavin Castleton sitting on stairs in a blue shirt without ear piercings.
Background information
Origin Providence, Rhode Island USA
Years active 1995–present
Labels Five One Inc., Integers Only, Hematoma Support Group
Website www.gavincastleton.com

Gavin Castleton is a musician/songwriter/producer from Providence, Rhode Island. 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 and performs as keyboardist and backing vocalist for The Dear Hunter.

History

Castleton is a founding member of RI band Gruvis Malt, with whom he has released 5 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 album Grace Land[1] 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. 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, Club D'Elf, and Facing New York. He performed at the annual SXSW festival in 2007[2] 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, Anberlin, and Fun, throughout which Castleton's trio was joined by members of TBS for the majority of his set.

2010 - 2011

On October 1, 2010, after a very successful Kickstarter campaign, Gavin self-released Won Over Frequency, a collection of unreleased hit 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 extensive album artwork-making process on his YouTube channel featuring the work of Aaron Nagel, 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 Thursday, July 17, Gavin announced that he was making a return to music full-time in order to complete his next album, Moratorium. He has called this endeavor "the most ambitious and challenging project of my life." On September 19 he performed live on Jimmy Fallon with the rapper Danny! and the Roots.

Throughout 2013, Castleton spent much time out of the spotlight. He performed live at SXSW (South by Southwest) Festival and released various singles in anticipation of his upcoming album.

On April 23rd 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 11th, 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 25th, 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 - Present Day

In the fall of 2015, Castleton toured as the keyboardist for Courtney Marie Andrews.

In 2016, Castleton joined The Dear Hunter 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.

Discography

Solo Releases

Full discography

A detailed list of every release Castleton has been a part of as either a songwriter, performer, engineer or producer.

Date Performer Album Media Role
1993 Subgenius Subgenius cassette "engineering," vocals, keyboards, drums, graphic design
1995 Gruvis Malt Emiquis Squerve Demo cassette keyboards, graphic design
1996 West Coast Groove Satellite West Coast Groove Satellite cassette "engineering," "mixing," all composition, keyboards, vocals, graphic design
West Coast Groove satellite Funkin' Go Nuts cassette "engineering," "mixing," most composition, keyboards, vocals, graphic design
Gruvis Malt Breakfast All Day cassette production, mixing, keyboards, vocals, graphic design
1997 Gruvis Malt Fetus EP cassette production, mixing, keyboards, vocals, graphic design
1998 Gruvis Malt Cromagnetic CD (aside from credits of two cassettes that were reprinted) production, vocals, keyboards, graphic design
1999 Gruvis Malt Sound Soldiers CD production, mixing, keyboards, samples, vocals, graphic design
Flint One Degree EP CD engineering, production, mixing, keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, samples, vocals, graphic design
2000 Gruvis Malt Backout Smiling EP CD keyboards, vocals, graphic design
2001 Locale AM Sounds of Spring CD vocals on track 3
Grüvis Malt 3 Radio hits demo CD engineering, production, mixing, keyboards, vocals, drum sequencing, graphic design
Keith Carini Untitled unreleased engineering, mixing, keyboards
2002 Ethan Principia EP CD vocals
Brandon Clemmens The Inconvincible CD engineering, mixing, "mastering," keyboards, graphic design
Gruvis Malt Promotional Interactive CD #1 CD engineering, mixing, keyboards, vocals, flash programming
Gruvis Malt Promotional Interactive CD #2 CD engineering, mixing, keyboards, vocals, flash programming
Gruvis Malt ...With the Spirit of a Traffic Jam CD engineering, mixing, production, keyboards, vocals, percussion, sequencing, graphic design
2003 Vismal Volume 1: A Correspondence Course in Best Friendship CDR engineering, mixing, "mastering," keyboards, vocals, sequencing, graphic design
Sage Francis Dead Poet Live Album CD keyboards
2004 Gruvis Malt Simon CD keyboards, vocals, graphic design
Gavin Castleton Hypotenuse CD engineering, mixing, production, all composition, keyboards, drums, bass, guitar, cornet, mellophone, vocals, sequencing, graphic design
Gavin Castleton Dark Age CD engineering, mixing, production, all composition, keyboards, drums, bass, guitar, cornet, mellophone, vocals, sequencing, graphic design
2005 Madjkut The Flint CD keys on tracks 7-9
Gavin Castleton / One Drop FortNightShift EP CD engineering, mixing, composition for tracks 1-4, keyboards, vocals, graphic design
Johnny Bass I Wish You Could Love Me MP3 vocals
Monty The Red Shift CD guitar and bass engineering on tracks 2 and 4-8, keyboard production and sequencing on tracks 2, 5, 6, and 8
Jonny Classic & The Classic Johns Your New Favorite Record CD mixing, additional production, violin on track 6, assisted graphic design
Sage Francis Road Tested (2003–2005) CD keyboards
Andrew Brown Communal Abuse remix digital production, additional keyboards
Ryan McCalmon Come Home CD keyboards and additional production/arrangement on track 1, 3, 4, 5
Gruvis Malt Maximum Unicorn CD engineering, production, mixing, keyboards, vocals, string arrangements, sequencing, mellophone, cornet, guitar on track 6
Vismal Volume Zero: Cover Girls CDR mixing, "mastering," sequencing on track 5, production on track 6, vocals on tracks 2 and 5,keyboards on tracks 4, 6, 7, and 10, arrangement on track 1, 4-6, 10
2006 Ebu Gogo Chase Scenes 1-14 CDR keyboards, engineering, mixing (both with Justin Abene)
Gavin Castleton & Cyrus Leddy Grace Land CD vocals, engineering, production, keyboards, guitar (except track 8), sequencing, mixing
2007 Gavin Castleton Hospital Hymns EP CD vocals, engineering, production, keyboards, string arrangements, bass, drums, guitar (except track 2 and 5), sequencing, mixing, graphic design
Gavin Castleton A Bullet, A Lever, A Key EP CD vocals, production, keyboards, composition, additional percussion, sequencing, mixing (with Rob Pemberton), graphic design
Gavin Castleton For the Love of Pete CD vocals, production, keyboards, composition, sequencing, mixing, graphic design (with Jenny Lederer)
2008 One Drop Of Love and Ambition digital additional engineering, production, keyboards, horn and vocal arrangement, sequencing and additional percussion, guitar on track 8 and 10
Ebu Gogo Worlds CD synthesizers
Stateless feat. Gavin Castleton Window 23/The Great White Whale 7" vinyl & digital vocals
Gavin Castleton Unparallel Rabbits / Since 1968 Overclock Orchestra Remix digital vocals, composition, keyboards, sequencing, production, graphic design
2009 Gavin Castleton Coffeelocks / Shell produced by Zach Lipkins" digital vocals, composition, keyboards, sequencing, production
Gavin Castleton Home CD vocals, composition, keyboards, sequencing, production, additional percussion
Gavin Castleton Random Anthems EP digital vocals, composition, keyboards, sequencing, production, guitar
Gavin Castleton Covers CDR vocals, arrangement, keyboards, sequencing, production, guitar, cornet, melophone
2010 Blak Feast for a King digital composition, production, mixing, sequencing, keyboards, guitar
Gavin Castleton Won Over Frequency CD vocals, arrangement, keyboards, sequencing, production
2011 Gavin Castleton Swim Good (Frank Ocean cover) digital production, mixing, sequencing, vocal
Gavin Castleton Diamonds (featuring Lex Land) digital vocals, arrangement, keyboards, sequencing, production
Gavin Castleton Chameleon digital vocals, arrangement, keyboards, sequencing, production
Blue Cranes Oversea Orbits: Observatories REMIXED CD "Maddie Mae" remix
2012 Danny! Payback[3] digital vocals
Gavin Castleton Tangerines digital vocals, arrangement, keyboards, sequencing, production, mixing
2013 Will Star Better Tomorrow (single) digital vocals
Gavin Castleton Falling (Twin Peaks Theme cover feat. Lex Land) digital arrangement, keyboards, sequencing, production, mixing
2014 Gavin Castleton #blessed CD vocals, arrangement, keyboards, sequencing, production, mixing
Gavin Castleton The Middle (Jeffrey Martin cover) digital vocals, arrangement, sequencing, production, mixing
Gavin Castleton It Was the Worst of Times, It Was the Worst of Times EP CD vocals, arrangement, keyboards, sequencing, production, mixing
Gavin Castleton Travelight digital vocals, arrangement, piano, production, mixing
2016 Gavin Castleton The Punchline EP CD vocals, arrangement, keyboards, sequencing, production, mixing
The Dear Hunter Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional CD/digital/vinyl vocals on The Haves Have Naught, piano on Mr. Usher (On His Way to Town), additional synthesis on A Beginning

References

  1. ↑ NPR Music: Gavin Castleton & Cyrus Leddy: 'The Good Night's Sleep'
  2. ↑ south by southwest festivals + conferences
  3. ↑ http://www.okayplayer.com/news/danny-evil-amber-rose-tamblyn-stream.html


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