No Team In I: NO TEAM IN I EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CAS ONE!

I had the pleasure of geeking out with this dude about music on the most gangster forum possible...facebook chat...and he's got some baller taste in music as evident in this interview. He also happens to be one of the coolest dudes making music and I hope that shows in this interview as well. With the 4th installment of "Musicians on Music" I present CasOne from Indiana...

NT-Who are you? Where do you call home?

CO-My name is Cas One or casOne or CasOne, its spelled all different types of ways and pronounced wrong a lot. I live in Evansville, Indiana I was raised in Kentucky... weird for a rapper huh?
NT-How long have you been making music?
CO-I've been doing music for 14 years, which is a little over half my life...I wasn't that good until recently hah.
NT-What's one of your fondest memories of music as a kid?
CO-I come from a bigger family...I have 5 brothers and sisters. My mom always tells the story where she would put on a Lynard Skynard record and we would all just go ape shit, dancing in the big living room, making up dance moves.
NT-What kind of music was being played in your house growing up?
CO-It was a mash up of music, I remember The Beatles and Michael Jackson getting played a lot. A lot of country also. Like I said , I was born in Kentucky.
NT-What groups or bands are you really digging right now?
CO-Okkervil River is my shit. The XX is very fresh to me to right now, also. Ryan Adams, OutKast, Doomtree, Passion Pit, Jay Electronica, Ratatat, Atmosphere.
NT-What's your cd/record collection like?
CO-It's realllllly diverse. I'm sure I have a ton of stuff that would get made fun of in the blogosphere. I own a tatu record. How does that make you feel? (EDITORS NOTE...No Team In I has no comment on the status of liking nor disliking tatu. lol)
NT-Who were some of your inspirations in your early years? Who, after listening to it really made you decide to make music?
CO-OutKast is a big influence to me. I think Andre' 3000 is the perfect musician. What really got me into trying to rap was The Fugee's The Score and Nas's It Was Written.
NT-What's the hip hop scene in Indiana like?
CO-It's weird, no one really wants to give each other a leg up. There's really not a circuit. Bloomington is a really cool spot to play shows though. I love Bloomington. I can play where I'm from and get 300 people there or 30 people depending on the night. It's weird.
NT-Who do you think is the one producer or Emcee changing the game like he or they see fit, the way they want it without giving a damn?
CO-Andre' 3000 hands down. I mentioned earlier I thought he was the perfect emcee. I don't see him doing what anyone wants him to do. If so we would have never gotten Hey Ya or the love below for that matter.
NT-In your mind is there any one or two records that is absolutely perfect or damn near close?
CO-RadioHead's In Rainbows. That album is perfect to me JUST because of the vibe. P.O.S. Never Better, I know it's early to say that, I still listen to it once a week...He made the record I wanted to make and I hate/love him for it. OutKast ATLiens (I apparently jock the living shit out of Outkast) and The Beatles Abbey Road, There will NEVER be a more memorable record than this to me.
NT-Is there anything about those album(s) that you know they just "got it right"?
CO-I think the big thing for each of those records is they were original, there are not any others like it before or after. ALL very "vibe" oriented and heavy. All thoughtful.
NT-Do you have any "desert island" records to share?
CO-I think the ones I just mentioned.
NT-How did you hook up with Brother Ali for the song "Flashbacks"?
CO-I met Brother Ali when I was like....19 I think. I went to a lot of shows back then, he did a song called picket fences and I got to talk with him after a show about it..It just HIT me like a ton of bricks. I went to a show the next night and he didn't perform it and I was kinda bummed about it. He saw me afterwards and I asked why? and he said to keep his show fresh each night...So he asked for a ride to get some food JUST so he could show me that song on cd,( I made a big stink about it) about 3 months later I went to a show he did in Illinois because I wanted to ask him to do a song with me, I was nervous the whole trip..Back in that day I really looked up to those rhymesayers guys, (still do they paved the way for a lot of people like me) after his set he came out to talk to me for awhile, I asked for a verse and to my surprise he agreed. He had given me his number..Which I am sure he wished he hadn't of by the time the song was recorded. Ali was used to people asking him for verses and never following through I am sure..I called him once a week...I bugged the shit out of him. Finally I hooked up a show in Nashville and got the verse recorded the next day. He did it for free. That was a very big thing for me back then and it still helps me sell records. Ali's the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet, I'm still appreciative to this day...After he did his verse I thanked him and he said "nah man, you MADE that shit happen" and laughed it off. I owe a lot to him.
NT-What equipment are you working with in the studio?
CO-Well, a lot of my stuff you hear is recorded in the same studio that Usher and Mario Winans used. Not because I have the money for that, But because my right hand man and producer works for Big 3 Studios in Florida. I was recording a lot with Nick Gasmena At the Hit Warehouse and he has since moved out to Phoenix, So Im building up my home studio now.
NT-Could you describe your music-making process?
CO-Eric and I take really long to make records. This is a video of some stuff going down...

NT-How have people responded to the music you've have been making?
CO-I get a lot of love. It's surprising,honestly. I take really long to make albums because I want them to sound like ALBUMS. I still have a grip of friends from the success of a record I brought out in 2005 that got re-released on a different label in 2009. I'm extremely lucky for people to still care about me. I promise what I am working on is worth the wait.

NT-Is there any surprises or a record in the works right now?

CO-YES! I'm finishing up a record called "The Monster and The Wishing Well" It's by far my best work ever. Eric and I put our heads together on this and will not settle for a single song on the album to lack anything...I don't want to go back on it in 5 years and wish that a single song sounded differently. I also have the sequel to table scraps coming out in not too long called Second Helpings. Which are all the features, and lost verses I've done that don't fit on a record.

NT-Any emcee's your looking forward to collaborating with in the future?

CO-I have a couple of guest appearances on The Monster. P.O.S. Will be on there along with Intuition.

NT-Are you picky when it comes to working with an artist?

CO-I used to work with just anyone. I still will do a track for anyones project as long as I agree with what the song is about and I have the time for it. For my records, I won't work with an artist JUST because they have a buzz. I want the song to make sense for them to be on. I want it to work and not just be worked on.

NT-Is anyone producing for you in particular right now?

CO-Yes. I work with Eric Hunter. He is a fucking genius and I mean that in every definition of the word. If there was no Eric Hunter there would be no Cas One.

NT-Have you been getting good press recently? Any blogs been a buzz with you lately?

CO-I got a tooooon of press last year when they re-released liberation. I've been laying low lately finishing up the monster..Hopefully we get that momentum back when it's done.

NT-What's the perfect crowd to you?

CO-Intimate and responsive. I want my show to build off the energy of the room. I'm every word of my songs on stage. I love the stage more than studio.

NT-Do you have any shows coming up or tour dates?

CO-I do! Im going to be touring the west coast this Aug/Sep, I'll be in Seattle,Denver,Portland,New Mexico, L.A.,San Diego, San Francisco, Vegas etc etc etc. I am not allowed to announce the dates and venues until July 1st So PLEASE "like" my Facebook or befriend me on myspace so that we can meet each other and hug. I'll be on the road with; Sadistik and Kid Called Computer, Kristoff Krane and Alexipharmic!

NT-What's your take on the internet, has it helped or hurt you in terms of reaching an audience or making your money?

CO-Helped way more than hurt. I see a ton of torrent sites that have my albums out there, I could email em if I wanted to...but why? I don't care about money as much as I care about you all listening to me. It all adds up when I get to hit the road. People usually buy it if they download it. You would not be reading this if internet didn't help me.

NT-Where can people go to hear and buy your music?

CO-You can get it at itunes, amazon, fifth element online...Pretty much all the big ones online.

NT-last question...when you hit the venue, what drink is getting ordered first?

CO-I drink any Dark beer. If it isn't beer I drink Jack and water. Thug life.

NT-Anything else to add for the readers? The haters? Any shout outs?

CO-COME TO A SHOW! Let's be friends. Let's give each other high fives and think about how good music used to be. Shouts to all the people who still care about me and the people that will care about me if they give it a chance!