{"id":13456,"date":"2014-08-22T01:00:44","date_gmt":"2014-08-22T05:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=13456"},"modified":"2014-08-25T08:34:36","modified_gmt":"2014-08-25T12:34:36","slug":"content-needed-blowin-wind-with-kyngs-tony-casteneda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=13456","title":{"rendered":"Blowin’ Wind with Kyng’s Tony Casteneda: “We got a ton of advice and to have someone like Dave Mustaine on our side is absolutely amazing. “"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"534717_10151312603110943_2020406867_n\"Kyng is no stranger here at the Great Southern Brainfart. Ever since seeing then blow Black Stone Cherry off the stage in 2011, Kyng has been a favorite band of mine who I have come to not just love as a band but love as people as well. These guys are easily three of the nicest fucking guys on the planet. Now don\u2019t get me wrong, even though I love the, I\u2019d totally call them out for sucking but here\u2019s the thing, they never suck! Makes my life easy huh?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This year saw the much anticipated release of the new Kyng album Burn the Serum. As usual, Kyng is hitting the road like the road dogs they are as they support this amazing album of theirs. This time around they were here in Atlanta supporting Zakk Wylde\u2019s band Black Label Society and bassist Tony Casteneda took time out to talk with me backstage before their awesome set. Tony and I caught up over a couple of cold ones and talked about the new album, life on the road, and why he feels like the band really \u201cgot it right\u201d with Burn The Serum. Enjoy!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Welcome back to Atlanta hombre! Thanks for doing this interview.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks, man. No problem brother. I\u2019m happy to.<\/p>\n

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What is the one question that you get asked so much that if I asked you right now you\u2019d punch me in the face?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not so much what I get asked but what I get told.<\/p>\n

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What is that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Pepe.\u201d [laughs] They always think the dark Mexican guy is Pepe [laughs].<\/p>\n

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THAT\u2019S RACIST! Racial profiling!<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Totally, and I totally call them out on it too [laughs].<\/p>\n

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Man, if it was me I would just play it safe and say, \u201cEddie!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Yeah really. Go for the less obvious!<\/p>\n

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You guys did a great run with Crobot recently as a headliner. Even though it was only a few dates, did you learn any kind of lessons being your first headline tour?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. We learned not to headline [laughs]. We just know that we have very few people who will come out to our shows. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s just promotion or that we\u2019re just not on that level yet. I\u2019m not sure. We don\u2019t know how to promote shows especially on a tour. We play music, that\u2019s what we do. We really learned that we\u2019ve got to hold off on headlining shows at least until we can figure out what markets we\u2019re drawing more in. It\u2019s hard to tell when you\u2019re touring with a band where we\u2019re playing to their fans, not ours. We\u2019d like to think that we\u2019re gaining those fans but when we go back to those places there are just not many people there. It\u2019s kind of weird.<\/p>\n

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It just doesn\u2019t seem to happen like it did back in the day. Back then, it seemed like every time a band revisited a city, their audience got gradually bigger but this just doesn\u2019t happen anymore.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right and it\u2019s frustrating. We fucking travel so much and tour and when we go back to places we think, \u201cWe should have some people here. There was a ton of people here the last time we played with so and so band.\u201d That\u2019s just not the case. What are we doing wrong or is it the promoters that aren\u2019t promoting properly? I don\u2019t think that many promoters should give themselves the title of \u201cpromoter.\u201d If all they\u2019re doing is setting up a show and calling the venue to let them know a band is playing there, how is that promoting it? I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m just a musician and I don\u2019t know how all that works but it is just very frustrating.<\/p>\n

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You also told me that you felt that Trampled Sun missed the mark on the production side. Do you feel like you got it right with this one?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, absolutely. The people we worked with, we had a great, professional studio with no bullshit people. They were close friends of ours but they are now because of the experience. The last one we worked with friends and that didn\u2019t work out so well. With Burn the Serum it was just a much more professional and inspirational experience. Recording at Grandmaster Recordings in Hollywood was just an awesome experience. I mean, that\u2019s where bands like The Black Crowes, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age have recorded. It was just really inspirational to be there and the vibe in there was awesome.<\/p>\n

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What new songs have you been the most excited about adding to the set list?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBurn the Serum\u201d for sure but as you know we\u2019ve been playing that song live since we started touring. Even though it\u2019s a new song on an album it\u2019s not a new song to people like you who have been seeing us since the beginning. We\u2019ve played it so much live that it\u2019s just cool to finally have it on an album.<\/p>\n