where to start?... all kind of quirky and odd indie stuff, blaxploitation, brazil, midnight cowboy, alien I, lord of the rings I-III, 2001 - a space odyssey, life of brian, fritz the cat, tampopo, man on the moon, dreams (kurosawa), jim jarmush, little big man, last emperor, lost in translation, dr. strangelove, the harder they come, blade runner, american splendor, grave of the fireflies, spirited away, castle in the sky, howl's moving castle, the day the earth stood still, mel brooks stuff, terry gilliam, kubrik, kurosawa, itami juzo, the great dictator and other chaplin stuff, laurel and hardy, planet of the apes, close encounters, jacob's ladder, mephisto, colonel redl, grass, fritz lang's metropolis, the good the bad and the ugly, spike lee, the shining, logan's run, life is beautiful, ferris bueller's day off, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, to kill a mocking bird... i think i could go on for days!!!
MUSIC
how much time do we have?... James Brown, P-Funk, Meshell N'degeOcello, Billy Cobham, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Mozart, Beethoven, Weather Report, Primus, Talking Heads, the one the only the divine Billie Holiday, Bernhard Herman, Strauss, Stravinsky, Miles, Bird, Dizzy, Public Enemy, House Of Pain, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair, Blues Brothers, Einojuhan Rautavaara, R. Strauss, Paul Simon, Chaka Khan, Thelonious Monk, The Beatles, Bob Marley, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Gil Scott-Heron, Hendrix, Kodo, Steve Reich, Stevie Wonder, Isaac Hayes, Morris Day, Earth Wind & Fire, Cameo, The Police, Maurice Ravel, Count Basie, Dennis Chambers, Ohio Players, Herbie Hancock, Fela Kuti, Manu Dibango, Stan Getz, Chick Corea, Paco Delucia, Curtis Mayfield, Modest Mussorgsky, Bela Bartok, Edgar Varese, and so many more...
BOOKS
anything by douglas adams, the autobiography of malcolm x, the invisible man (ellison), ray bradbury, the crucible, divine comedy, tolkien, stanislaw lem, alice in wonderland, maya angelou, mark twain, 1984, lord of the flies, the world according to garp, thomas berger, dostoevsky, don quixote, kafka, kafka, and then some more kafka, and a lot of what my wife calls "boring ass text books," which i, on the other hand, consider to be extremely interesting, and highly enjoyable books on history, religion, philosophy, culture, science, race relations, politics, psychology, and matters of general interest by a myriad of unknown authors with absurd and sometimes hilarious titles such as emotional intelligence, black bourgeoisie, zero - the biography of a dangerous idea, the black panthers speak, pius XII and the second world war, the slave trade, etc.
People who understand the importance of using one's mental faculties to the fullest.
ABOUT ME
"So who is Casual-T?" you ask.
"Casual-T is a lotta things," I reply.
"Oh yeah, like what?" you insist probingly.
"Well now, let's see..."
AS A DRUMMER, playing professionally for 20+ years, I've been involved in a vast number of projects, performing in a wide variety of styles such as Live Hip-Hop, Funk, Soul, Pop, Rock, Orchestral, Opera, Musical, Jazz, Big-Band, etc. I am currently subbing on two very successful Broadway shows, Spring Awakening, which won 8 Tony Awards, including best musical, at the 2007 Tonys, as well as Chicago, which is Broadway's longest running revival, running for 11 years straight, and still going strong. So in case you need someone to lay down some tight beatz, live or in the studio, HOLLA!!
AS A PRODUCER I've been keeping myself busy for the last 10 years or so. I don't really know what style of music I make, and I usually don't try and sound like anybody in particular. Just listen to the trax at www.flatnosemusic.com or www.myspace.com/casualbeatz and if you like 'em tell a friend, and if you don't like 'em tell an enemy. I'm always on the look-out for unique voices, and artists that have something more to say than "ooh baby yeah yeah," so if you think you fit into that category, and you like my trax, let me know and we'll discuss a possible collabo.
AS A COMPOSER I try to utilize the various voices of the symphonic orchestra to the best of my abilities. This is a very interesting and challenging process, which at times is extremely enjoyable and at other times vexing and infuriating. Amongst other things I have scored a number of indie-feature films and shorts...
Frankie's Jewels (2009 feature)
Son of a Hustler (2009 feature)
Fighting Nirvana (2009 feature)
Lawn God (2008 short)
Degradation (2008 short)
Ctrl, Alt, Del - A Love Story (2008 short)
Preston (2008 short)
Designed sound logos for companies such as OCM Productions, and HuddsMusicScene.com, and I just finished a concerto for solo violin and orchestra, which I hope to record live sometime in late 2009. Some of my music can be heard on various shows and programs running on TV stations such as MTV, CBS, ABC, FOX, etc.
For some video as well as audio samples feel free to visit my web site at www.brooklyncomposer.com . Go there, check it out, and let me know what you think. I'm always up for some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh now, 'coz I'm sensitive about my shit
AS AN ENGINEER I ran my own commercial recording studio here in NYC, Manhattan to be exact, for a few years, but eventually had to relocate since rent in Manhattan is nothing if not outrageous. The studio kept me pretty busy for a while, recording, mixing, and mastering anything from voice-over commercials and audio books, to whole albums with bands and such. It's been a fun ride, but I'm glad that I decided to put my own music first again. So for now it's drumming, producing, and composing, and that's about all it is.
Check out the web site, gimme some feedback, and holla if you got something to say!!
"Socially conscious hip-hop artist Casual-T holds down his crew by mixing self-produced bangers with an unlimited arsenal of lyrics gathered from dynamic and dexterous artists and MCs. Fans of the Last Poets will find this immensely listenable."
Saw that you are a musician here in NYC, thought I'd let you know about SonicScoop and a little contest we have going on right now. SonicScoop.com is a website about all things NYC music, audio, and sound production. Right now we're running a contest to win a BURL B1D mic preamp (Valued at $775), which is super useful if you have a studio or record your own work. All you need to do to enter is head over to http://www.sonicscoop.com/contest and enter your name and e-mail address. Contest ends next Wednesday, so don't waste any time entering! Thanks for checking us out, hope to see you around!