Report ID
THE CASKET LOTTERY [BandAttack Featured Band: 11.04]

Genre
Indie Math Rock

Coordinates
Lee's Summit, MO

Soldiers Within Company
Stacy, Nathan JR and Nathan Ellis.

Further Investigation
www.thecasketlottery.com



Coalesce's Nathan Ellis (guitar/vocals) and Stacy Hilt (bass) founded the Casket Lottery in the late 1990's and composed a signature sound around emo-tailored lyrics and technical guitar stylings. They later picked up Nathan RichardsonJR (Drums) just in time for tours with Rainer Maria, Small Brown Bike, Sweep the Leg Johnny, Waxwing and more. The band's label debut, Choose Bronze, on Second Nature Recordings in 1999 was a hit in the indie community. A year later, Moving Mountains was released, showcasing the Casket Lottery's growing technical and diverse sound. The Kansas hometown favorite disbanded in summer of 2004 to the disappointment of many loyal fans and admirerers.



The Casket Lottery has released numerous albums, including their latest Smoke and Mirrors CD. They have also made appearances on several compilation discs and such as well. To list all of these would be extremely tedius and reasonably fruitless for a band that no longer exists. If you are interested in their very impressive discography, please take a stroll to their website and check it out.

Nathan "Junior" Richardson, drummer of The Casket Lottery generously gave us a few moments of his evening to pass down the wisdom he has learned in his time with the band...


You guys were one of the most highly-respected bands in the indie music scene. How did it all start?
I never thought of us as one of the most respected bands in "the indie music scene" cause there are so many other bands who deserve that claim.   Hot Water Music, Sweep the Leg Johnny,Giants Chair, Burning Airlines and Small Brown Bike are just a few of the bands that come to mind when I think of poeple who we as a band and individuals respected and constantly influenced us.  But as far as how it all started.  Me and Nathan met after a party broken up by the cops when I was 15 and he was 18.  He was just in the process of recording "Functioning on Impatience" with Coalesce.  We started getting together and he called Stacy (who played bass in Coalesce before him) to come out and play some of these songs with us.  For a while they where looking for a singer but never found anybody so Nathan and Stacy said"fuck it" and took over the mic's.  After I turned 16 we had are stuff
together a little better and started touring and recording as much as we possibly could.


What was the best part about being in an actively-touring band? Worst?
The best part is meeting so many cool people and making new great friends.  We all have some of the best memorys of our lives from those moments.  The worst is the stress that comes from never escaping the people you are with.  Yes, you love each other very much but, the more you love somebody, the more you can hate them at times.


What was your goal as a band when you set out on your venture? Do you feel you reached that goal?
I can't speak for anybody else but, when I first started it was never about a goal.  I loved music, I loved my drums and I wanted nothing more than just to play music and have fun.  Eventually, I found that I needed to have a real reason to justify in the hard times why I really wanted to do this because, it can be very difficult to keep going at times.  Especially, on the road.  My reason, which I feel very passionatly about, are the times when I thought my world was crumbling and I was in so much pain, music was
the thing that comforted me.  I could put in a record and listen to somebody else talk about there problems and I knew I wasn't the only one who felt that way.  It was always there if nobody else could help me.  I want to be able to give that to somebody else.  I feel like if I'm a part of something that does one little thing for one person than I was oviously put here for a reason.  I hope I've been involved in something that makes people feel good about themselves but I will never stop wanting to do that.


Your songs express unquestionable musical talent. Did you ever feel any pressure to go mainstream? Sign big contracts? etc?
 I never felt pressure to sign a big contract because I was never opposed to the idea and I don't think anybody else in The C.L. was either.  You oviously don't have to go with a major label to be succesful.  Look at Fugazi, Hot Water Music, Death Cab for Cutie and Pedro the Lion just to name a few.  It's a personal choice and it DOES NOT meen that bands who have gone to majors have sold out.  As far as going mainstream.  We always did what we did.  Songs happened and we never planned to do anything.  Some of our songs were pop songs that would make some people puke and others where very mathy, angular songs.  We wrote what we liked and didn't ever worry about going mainstream, or punk, or math, or hardcore, or whatever.


Having been in a band that has experienced the inevitable life cycle of any musical act, what would you say is the most important thing to know and remember during your time as a band?
It definatly teaches you how to handle relationships and always remember that friendship is the most important thing.  That you should always confront people about things before it turns into a huge problem, no matter how big or small.  And how to let things go and remember how much you care about these people that you make music with, live with and experience so many things with.

Looking back, what is the best show you ever played, because we know you remember. Why?
It was never really about the best show we played but how much fun it was.  Like the whole '03 tour with Rocky Votolato and Small Brown Bike when we played a lot of the songs from "The Bike split" and would get on stage together to do those songs.  When Sean Ingram (from Coalesce) got on stage with us and sang In the Meantime by Helmet.  And the first time we played
with bands like Hot Water  Music, Burning Airlines, Sweep the Leg Johnny, Giant Chair.  All these bands that have influenced us so much over the years.  Plus, one show in K.C. at the Huricane when Stacy smashed his bass Coalesce style because if thought his bass was crapping out when it was really his bass head.  That show really sucked actually but it's really funny to look back on.


What kind of music influenced you guys growing up?
Every band I've stated so far plus bands like The Cure, Shudder to Think, Kill Creek, Boys Life, Jawbreaker, Jawbox but of course there are also bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Sound Garden, The Police definatly is a big one, Led Zeplin.  Most of the obvious choices.  But there are so many different bands and styles of music that have deffinatly influenced us as we've gotten older.  I always try and have big ears and see what everything has to offer.

When did you guys break up? And if we may pry so deep, why? Why did you do that to us?
The breakup happend after our last tour on the West Coast in May '04.  I can't really speak for anybody other than myself on the issue of why we broke up.  But for me there were other things I wanted to do with music.  I felt tied to The C.L. as my first priority but we didn't do enough (mainly tour) for me to make that commitment anymore.  Plus, we where pretty insane on the road as far as fights would go at times.  We always made up but that would still be mentally draining.  I had a lot of personal issues with the
band also that where always hanging over my head and I knew I couldn't keep doing the band with those.  Everybody had there own reasons for the breakup and it felt like the right time.

I'm sure fans of your music are waiting patiently to see what is next for The Casket Lottery. Well...?
Probly nothing for us as a band.  Maybe we'll get together and play a show again for fun in the next year or two but that would just be for us to do for fun.  As far as what we our all doing now.  Stacy is married and I don't think he's played with anybody since.  He said he just wanted to take a break for a little bit but, I'm sure that break will be over soon.  Nathan is married and has a beautiful three year old daughter.  He's been playing music with some friends around town but just for fun as far as I know.  I think he has some things in the works so keep a look out for something.  I am the only one who isn't married or has a kid or even a girlfriend so I've been staying pretty busy.  I joined a band called The Appleseed Cast.  And they are not broken up despite what rumors you've heard (look for an E.P. on Second Nature in the Spring or Summer).  I played on a record by The Old Canes which came out in June on Second Nature. Toured for about two and a half months over the summer with a band called Dead Poetic.  Playing some
show with a band called John Nash filling in for my friend Jason.  Brent, who helped out The C.L. with some old songs on the last West Coast tour in May is also in John Nash (keep a look out for them, they're awsome).  And I teach drum lessons in K.C. whenever I'm not on tour.

If you could offer one short and simple piece of advice to aspiring bands out there, please pass your wisdom down.
If you don't do it because you love making music, perfoming and you have an incredible passion for doing something possitive than it's not worth doing.  It's not about money, popularity or girls.  If those are your reasons for doing it than I can promise you that you won't be happy for long.  Being in a band can have it's social advantages and there is nothing wrong with that but, even that thrill can where out and then it just turns into a job.

Thank you, Nathan. I think I speak for many reading this interview when I say The Casket Lottery was a truly unique and truly rocking band and you will be missed. And for future reference, no one will be mad if you guys decide to come back.