Power pop punk rocker Castalia formed in 2010 would soon begin writing and recording for various releases including her latest "How's Life". This would lead to her playing showcases as well as touring and writing more music, with more shows and touring possibilities. Frontwomen vocalist Candace O'Neal discussed the way the band creates music, "How's Life" release, and future plans.
1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Castalia, and how long the band has been together.
Candace: I’m Candace, but everyone calls me Ace. I’m the lead singer of Castalia and we have been together for going on three years now.
2. Tell us the brief history of your band.
Candace: Originally formed by Paul (guitarist) and Olsen (drummer). Daniel then joined (guitarist) and they decided to go with a female singer. They asked around and found little ole’ me. A friend of theirs was filling in on bass for a while until we found Josh (aka Joshie). Boom! Castalia was complete.
3. Where is the band based out of, and what is your music scene like there? Are there any bands you could recommend?
Candace: Castalia was born in Nash County. The music scene around there is pretty nonexistent—so no, I can’t help you out there. If you would have asked me this six or seven years ago, I could have given you many awesome bands based out of that area.
4. What type of band are you?
Candace: We consider ourselves a pop-punk band.
5. Why did you want to name the band Castalia? What does it symbolize and represent for the band?
Candace: Funny story- the guys used to write and practice in Castalia, NC. (a really small area in Nash County.) They thought the name would be cool for a band and ran with it. Come to find out- “Castalia,” in Greek mythology, was a fountain that if you drank from it you would have awesome ways with words and writing. It worked out.
6. Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
Candace: We together have so many influences. I think the most mutual influences we have are Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters, Mayday Parade, and Say Anything; but those don’t even begin to scratch the surface of bands that we think rule.
7. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
Candace: Paul and I write all of the lyrics. Generally speaking, I think everyone can relate to every song whether you’re happy, or going through a shitty time, or are just content with where you are. We write songs about everything. You know, human stuff.
8. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
Candace: We write every single one of our songs and it is the most rewarding and fun and annoying process all at the same time. Paul and I write lyrics and the guys together write the music. No special process, we just have fun and write.
9. How about new music? Do you have anything new in the works in terms of a follow-up to "How's Life"?
Candace: I can tell you we are not writing new music right now. As for plans to write a new album- yes, we would love to. Hopefully next year we can start working on it.
10. What are your dreams and goals?
Candace: To play music. That’s all we care about. We want to make music that is relatable, fun, and inspiring to anyone out there who may need it. We love music, and we love this band, and we love making people happy.
11. What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
Candace: We may not be the most organized band on the planet, and we can admit that, but I truly believe we have the potential to do wonderful things if the opportunity were to present itself. By wonderful things I mean, write great music, put on great shows, and build a great fan base. We could do it if and when the time is right.
12. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy “How’s Life?”
Candace: Spotify, iTunes, Google Play… you name it. We are everywhere.
13. What plans do you have for the future?Candace: We are living in the now. We want to write music and play shows, and we will, but when the time is right. Trust me- it’s going to be soon. We will all go super insane if we don’t and nobody wants to see that.
14. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
Candace: How great we are, of course! I’m kidding. I want people to hear the hard work we put into that EP. It is something we are really so proud of, and our music is everything to us. I want people to feel what we felt writing it and I want them to understand how vulnerable we were going into all of this. I want people to let go and just enjoy what we created together- and like it of course.
15. Any final words of wisdom?
Candace: That’s what she said.
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