Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
Hi Randy, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
I’m good! Really happy to have this album out!
Can you talk to us more about your latest single “1 Dollar or 1 Dead Smith”?
I was recalling to my wife an incident that happened in the neighborhood when I was a young kid. She said, “That’s a song if there ever was one”.
Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
Yes. The incident I shared with my wife involved my friend Mark (Smith) and the neighborhood bully, let’s call him “Johnny”. The guys were playing Hot Wheels and “Johnny” accused Mark of breaking one of his cars which wasn’t true. Johnny told Mark he owed him a dollar for the broken car or else Johnny was going to beat him up. Johnny chased Mark across the street and back into his own house where he locked the door. Johnny went home, found a megaphone and made a picket sign that
read, “One $ or One Dead Smith” and proceeded to ride circles in front of Smith’s house chanting “One dollar or one dead Smith”.
How was the filming process and experience behind the video?
It’s a lyric video so I don’t appear in it. Kurt Paulsen (album art director) and I just fed Eric Kriedler (video animator) some images and ideas and ran with it, following the story line.
Why naming the album after this song in particular?
The aforementioned art director Kurt Paulsen turned me onto more music than anyone else when I was a kid. He had a lot to do with what my initial musical influences were. It was his idea to put ‘One Dollar’ first and to use it as the title track. I trust his instincts.
How was the recording and writing process?
The song more or less wrote itself after I told my wife the story…… took about five minutes. I love when that happens! I have a recording studio at home . Most of the album was recorded by me at home (in Seattle) with drum overdubs happening at UpTown Sound in Minneapolis.
Where did you find the inspiration for the songs and lyrics?
Neighborhood bully, I’m sleep deprived half the time, a guy’s T-shirt, strange rules at the family cabin, evil politics, minding your own business, I do like birds, The George Floyd incident, getting effed-over by someone you thought was your friend, life’s ups and downs.
What else is happening next in Randy Casey’s world and where canpeople find more info about your music?
I’m always on the look out for live gigs. I just did some work on a movie soundtrack and I’m presently working on sound bites for a TV show. I’m looking at a move back to Minnesota from Seattle this fall. My music can be found on Spotify, youtube and most other streaming platforms. My website needs some updating but have a look anyway at www.randycasey.com
