We asked each member to list two of their greatest influences. All of their responses can be viewed below. Be sure to catch Casxio TOMORROW at our CMJ 2009 Day Party (10/20: Pianos)! Their set will begin at 6PM sharp!
1. Chic – I Want Your Love (Lucas Guerin – Bass/Lead Vocals)
Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers are a disco/R&B duo that cannot be fucked with. It’s almost as though rhythm guitar didn’t exist before Nile Rodgers. The drawn out instrumental dance grooves were made for Bernard Edwards smooth, iconic bass sound to carry. The song ‘I Want Your Love’ inspired a lot of the groove that exists in the Casxio sound. I also love the simplicity in the lyrics. They aren’t just simple, they are innocent and to the point which complements the music.
2. Dr. Dre – Still D.R.E. (Lucas Guerin – Bass/Lead Vocals)
Everyone has their best summer ever and a song to go with it. This song is it for me. The summer of 2000. Beyond the sentimental value it holds for me, this song is the first song I tried to emulate. When I first started writing music in my parents basement I would sit at my KORG Triton keyboard and copy hip hop beats. I guess I would do it as an exercise for ear training to see how close I could get to the original. The piano and strings play a ridiculous hook right off the top and then it doesn’t stop throughout the entire song. And the crazy shit is you’d think it would get obnoxious, but it doesn’t because he throws in those extra little junior hooks every few bars. And of course it’s Dre and Snoop and they don’t get old. Dre is such a bad motherfucker.
Read the remainder of this interview AFTER THE JUMP…
3. Bobby Brown – Every Little… [Music Video] (Eric Saez – Guitar)
It has such an infectious quality to it. I must have started mimicking his moves and voice before I even knew what it was to perform. I love everything about this video, the hook, the incessant hopping dance moves, the biker shorts and suspenders, the shoulder pads, the buzz cut designs, the shamelessness. And especially the giant, white letters spelling out the title of the song. Why doesn’t every music video have that?
4. Radiohead – How To… [6/7/03 Live] (Eric Saez – Guitar)
Radiohead has taught me the power of masterful performance. Seeing this band live is one of the most transcending moments I’ve experienced in my life. The recording of this song can do the trick no matter what sort of mood I’m in, but to witness it live was the closest I’ve felt to seeing the face of God. If song and performance can move me so much, I dream of the day I can be on the flip side of that.
5. Phillip Glass – Witchita Vortex Sutra (Andrea Choe – Keyboards)
Philip Glass is one of founding fathers of the minimalist movement. He knows how to tell a story with layers of simple melodies that break all the rules – playing quietly during some of the most dramatic moments and driving forceful melodies into a repetitive yet forward-moving loop. ‘Wichita Vortex Sutra’ is the song I chose to perform when I completed my classical training, it is the understated journey, the light, the movement that is Glass.
6. U2 – With Or Without You (Andrea Choe – Keyboards)
‘With Or Without You’ was the gateway drug for me. It opened up rock & roll in a way that I had never imagined, touched by the grace of Brian Eno. Simple repetitive chords and ambient swells draw you into and swallow you whole and you still don’t know how it did that. I pick out those simple grooves and latch onto them like my life depends on it.
7. Color Me Badd – I Wanna Sex You Up (Zach Schrock – Drums)
I would dance around the entire house with my friend singing this song while trying to pseudo-serenading the girl who lived across the street. We’d play it over and over. Open all the doors and windows so she could hear us, even though she probably never did. I was 13.
8. Jamiroquai – Alright (Zach Schrock – Drums)
I was pretty much obsessed with the whole album for a long time. Such great grooves, beats, melodies going on. This was one of my favorite songs, it’s just nasty and seductive. I’d drive Angeles Crest highway with the top down blasting it. I was 16.
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MP3: Casxio – Seventeen
