Neal Casal | |
|---|---|
 Casal in concert in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1968-11-02)November 2, 1968 |
| Origin | Denville, New Jersey |
| Died | August 26, 2019(2019-08-26) (aged 50) |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1988–2019 |
| Labels | Zoo Records, Fargo Records,Glitterhouse Records |
| Formerly of | Ryan Adams andThe Cardinals,Blackfoot,Beachwood Sparks,Hazy Malaze,Chris Robinson Brotherhood,Hard Working Americans, Circles Around the Sun, GospelbeacH |
| Website | nealcasal.com |
Neal Graeme Casal (November 2, 1968 – August 26, 2019)[1] was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and photographer. First rising to prominence as lead guitar withRickey Medlocke'sBlackfoot from 1988 to 1993, he was also known as a member ofRyan Adams' backing bandthe Cardinals from 2005 until 2009, with whom he recorded three studio albums. He played in several groups, including theChris Robinson Brotherhood,Hard Working Americans, Beachwood Sparks, The Skiffle Players, GospelbeacH[2] andCircles Around the Sun– and released twelve albums as a solo artist.
He released his final solo album,Sweeten the Distance, in 2011.
Born inDenville Township, New Jersey, and raised in nearbyRockaway Township, Casal attendedMorris Knolls High School.[1]
Casal began work on early solo demos from 1990 to 1993 at studios in Los Angeles, New York and New Jersey. During this period he teamed up with his manager Gary Waldman, keyboard player John Ginty and vocalist Angie McKenna. After signing a publishing deal withWarner/Chappell Music, he forged a long standing professional relationship with producer/engineerJim Scott.
In 1994, Casal signed withZoo Entertainment and recorded his debut album at Palacio del Rio,[3] formerly owned byJames Stewart andDean Martin in Santa Ynez, California, with producer Jim Scott. The album featured musicians Don Heffington,Bob Glaub,Greg Leisz.[4] Casal releasedFade Away Diamond Time in September 1994 to critical acclaim and supported the album on a US tour with his band.[5]
Casal parted ways with Zoo Records in 1996 and recorded "Rain, Wind, and Speed" released by Buy or Die Records.[6]
In 1997, Casal signed with theGlitterhouse Records label and went on to release five albums,[7] includingField Recordings andThe Sun Rises Here which also features Greg Leisz, drummerDon Heffington and longtimeBonnie Raitt bassistJames "Hutch" Hutchinson on bass and backing vocals. In 1998, Casal released the self-produced albumBasement Dreams, named Americana Album of the Year inMojo magazine.[8]
During the spring of 1999, Casal teamed up with Six String Drag front manKenny Roby and toured Europe,[9] later that summer recording the live albumBlack River Sides.
Casal released his sixth solo albumAnytime Tomorrow in 2000, produced byJim Scott.Anytime Tomorrow was the last album to be released by Glitterhouse in 2000 and prompted an extensive European tour into early 2001.[10]
In 2002, Casal co-wrote, produced and released the EPRan On Pure Lightning collaborating withShannon McNally and other musicians which includedBenmont Tench,Greg Leisz, bassistJames "Hutch" Hutchinson and Brent Rademaker.[11] Around this time, Casal also started playing with bassist Jeff Hill and drummer Dan Fadel, forming Hazy Malaze.[12]
Railroad Earth's 2002 albumBird in a House featured a cover version of Casal's song "Dandelion Wine".[13]
Shortly after signing to Paris-based Fargo Records in 2003, Fargo released the compilation albumMaybe California resulting in a European tour and Casal's first solo tour of Japan.[14] The following year, Fargo released two compilation albums,Leaving Traces, a selection of Casal's original songs from 1994–2004, andReturn in Kind, a compilation of covers and he began recording his eighth solo album.
Casal joinedRyan Adams and The Cardinals in 2005.[15] In December of that year he embarked on his third Japanese tour, which featured his first photography exhibition and upon his return releasedNo Wish to Reminisce in early 2006. The album, produced by Michael Deming (Beachwood Sparks,Lilys), took his music in a different direction from his previous work, with a more layered, psychedelic production.[16]All Directions, a compilation album of live and unreleased songs, was released in 2007.
In 2009, Casal teamed up with engineer Don Sternecker and recorded and producedRoots and Wings.[17] The album included musiciansJon Graboff, Greg Leisz,Johnathan Rice, Jeff Hill, Dan Fadel and Andy Goessling.
Casal began recording his tenth solo album in March 2010 with producerThom Monahan. While Casal toured Europe, Fargo re-released the albumsBasement Dreams andRain, Wind and Speed.[18]
On March 6 it was announced that Casal had joined theChris Robinson Brotherhood.[19]
Casal's tenth studio album,Sweeten the Distance, was released in November 2011.[20]
In 2013, Casal joinedHard Working Americans alongsideTodd Snider,Dave Schools, Chad Staehly and Duane Trucks. Thesupergroup's debut albumHard Working Americans was recorded atBob Weir'sTRI Studios in 2013 and released on January 21, 2014.
In 2015, Casal along withAdam MacDougall, Dan Horne and Mark Levy recorded five hours of music as Circles Around the Sun that was played as the pre-show and set break music atThe Grateful Dead's Fare Thee Well concerts in Santa Clara and Chicago. These compositions were released later that year as the albumInterludes for the Dead. Circles Around the Sun made its live debut at the 2016 Lockn' Festival at Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, Virginia. In 2018, CATS released their second albumLet It Wander.
In 2016, Casal joined three otherBeachwood Sparks alums, Farmer Dave Scher, Dan Horne, andAaron Sperske, and songwriterCass McCombs to form The Skiffle Players. Their debut albumSkifflin was released that year, followed by thePiffle Sayers EP andSkiff in 2018.[21]
In the summer of 2002, while touring withShannon McNally, Casal formed Hazy Malaze with fellow band members Dan Fadel and Jeff Hill. Their debut albumHazy Malaze was recorded and mixed at Village Recorders in Los Angeles in eleven days.[12] Later that year they toured opening forRobert Randolph and the Family Band and during 2003 continued to tour the US, while beginning work on their second albumBlackout Love.
In 2005, Hazy Malaze released their second albumBlackout Love, supported by a French tour.[22]
In 2009 Hazy Malaze released their third albumConnections.[23]
Casal joinedRyan Adams &The Cardinals in 2005, shortly after the release ofJacksonville City Nights, replacing J.P. Bowerstock, and toured the US in the summer of 2006, followed by a UK and European tour in the autumn.[24]
In 2007, the Ryan Adams albumEasy Tiger was released and went to number seven.[25] onBillboard album chart, resulting in a yearlong world tour and the album's producer, Jamie Candiloro, added to the lineup on piano. Candiloro also produced theFollow the Lights EP, released in October 2007, and reaching number 40 on the US Billboard 200 chart.[26]
In 2008, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals releasedCardinology, recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York and produced by Tom Schick. The album reached number 11 on Billboard album chart[26] and number 14 onRolling Stone's best albums of 2008 list.[27]Rolling Stone magazine also placed "Magick" at No. 13 on the 100 Best Singles of 2008 list.
In January 2009, Adams announced that he was leaving The Cardinals after their final show on March 20, 2009 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. The band has been on indefinite hiatus ever since.[28]
In December 2010, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals released their final albumIII/IV,[29] a compilation of unreleased material. The album was recorded in 2006 during the same sessions that yieldedEasy Tiger.
On April 16Ryan Adams releasedClass Mythology, which is an EP of unreleased tracks recorded with the Cardinals during theCardinology period.[30]
In an interview withAmerican Songwriter Casal described his experience with the group positively. "It really was a great lineup... For a couple years there, man, we were on fire. We really were. We were playing some amazing shows and running through Ryan's entire catalog, just burning those songs to the ground. We really felt confident for awhile [sic]. We had a lot of synergy, we were all really connected, and everyone believed in it. We were firing on all cylinders. It was a great thing to be a part of."[31]
Casal contributed guitar work onTift Merritt's 2005 albumTambourine, featuringMike Campbell, which was nominated for a Country Album of the Year and three Americana Music Awards.[32] Casal played onGin Wigmore's 2009 albumHoly Smoke[33] produced byMike Elizondo, which won four of the sixNew Zealand Music Awards it was nominated for and went Quadruple Platinum.[34]
Willie Nelson's 2007 albumSongbird[35] produced byRyan Adams and released by Lost Highway Records. Adams, along with The Cardinals, performed on the album's eleven tracks, featuring Casal on guitar and piano.Songbird peaked at No. 87 on the Billboard 200 on November 18, 2006.[36]
Other artists who featured Casal as a session musician includeShooter Jennings,Phil Lesh,Lucinda Williams,Vetiver (band),Sera Cahoone,Vision Explored,Minnie Driver,Duncan Sheik, Dr. Zwig,[37]The Jayhawks,Sera Cahoone, andAmanda Shires.[38]
Casal was an avid photographer and provided photos for several albums which he appeared on as a musician. He shot the album cover photos forEasy Tiger andFollow the Lights[39] and provided photos forCardinology,Cardinals III/IV[40] andClass Mythology.[41] In 2010, Abrams Image published thephoto book,Ryan Adams & the Cardinals: A View of Other Windows. The book is a photographic documentary of life playing and touring with the band.[42]
Casal shot the album cover and all photos for the artwork forSarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion's albumBright Examples,[43] the album cover forCourtney Jaye'sThe Exotic Sounds of Courtney Jaye,[44] provided photographs forDanny and the Champions of the World albumStreets of Our Time, the Hard Working Americans record "Rest In Chaos" andTift Merritt'sTambourine.[45]
In January 2008 Casal exhibited his photography at the Bauhaus Gallery in Tokyo.[46] His photographs have appeared in publications such asMojo,Rolling Stone,Spin,Harp,USA Today.[citation needed]
Director Ray Foley made a documentary about Casal's influences and inspirations during the making of his sixth album in 2001 entitledNeal Casal: Anytime Tomorrow.[47]
In 2009, two Hazy Malaze songs were featured onPrivate Practice season three, episode seven "The Hard Part"[48] and Casal's single "The Losing End Again" appeared inFringe season two, episode seventeen "Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.".[49]
Casal wasOwen Wilson andVince Vaughn's voice coach for the 2004 movieStarsky & Hutch and played guitar on Owen Wilson's performance of "Don't Give Up On Us" which was also featured on the soundtrack.
Casal sang the lead vocals on "The Game" on "The Music of Jason Crigler", released on Rudy Records. Casal co-wrote and sang backing vocals on "The Truest Kind",[50] on the albumDanny and The Champions of The World.
In 2011, Casal worked asGarrett Hedlund's guitar instructor for the movieCountry Strong and also appears in the film[51] asGwyneth Paltrow's guitar player.
Casal died by suicide on August 26, 2019, at age 50.[1][52][53]
In 2020, the Neal Casal Music Foundation was founded to honor his memory. In addition to preserving his artistic legacy, the NCMF provides musical instruments and lessons to students in New Jersey and New York state schools an donations to mental health organizations that support musicians in need.[54]
On July 20, 2021,Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal, a 3-CD tribute compilation of cover versions by various performers, was released through the Neal Casal Music Foundation. Contributing artists includedMarcus King,Eric Krasno,Phil Lesh,Susan Tedeschi,Derek Trucks,Jimmy Herring,Oteil Burbridge,Bob Weir,Warren Haynes,Steve Earle,Billy Strings, andThe Allman Betts Band.[55]
On March 4, 2022, the collection was re-released on vinyl as a 5-LP box set.[55]
Studio albums
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