Casey Neill
Encyclopedia
Casey Neill is an American
musician. He leads Portland
, Oregon
-based band Casey Neill & The Norway Rats, singing with a raspy vocal quality and playing electric and acoustic guitars. Neill's style, folk-punk, mixes influences from punk, Celtic and folk music, and has been compared to R.E.M.
and The Pogues
.
The Norway Rats include Jenny Conlee
of The Decemberists
on keyboards and accordion, among other established Portland musicians Jesse Emerson, Little Sue, Hanz Araki and Ezra Holbrook of Dr Theopolis
.
with an ethnomusicology education, Neill developed as an artist in the underground music community of the Pacific Northwest, releasing two early cassette releases and then his first CD, Rifraff, in 1995. Two songs from that album, Rifraff and Dancing on The Ruins of Multinational Corporations, became the defacto soundtracks for many Earth First!
and other logging protests during the 1990s, a time of growing tension between environmentalists and the logging communities of the Pacific Northwest. Dancing on the Ruins of Multinational Corporations is still sung by protest communities around the world.
Highly regarded Scottish musician and producer Johnny Cunningham
, one of Neill’s early supporters, produced his albums Skree and Brooklyn Bridge. Cunningham plays fiddle on these albums plus Live on 11th Street, the last live recording of him before his untimely passing in 2003. Besides including some of his current bandmates and Johnny Cunningham, Brooklyn Bridge features cameos from Chris Funk
of the Decemberists, John Wesley Harding
, Erin McKeown
and Phil Cunningham
, Johnny’s brother.
Neill has been included on numerous compilations. One tribute release, Where Have All the Flowers Gone: the Songs of Pete Seeger
(Appleseed Recordings
), won Top Independent Release of 1998 from the American Association of Independent Music
. The compilation includes Neill alongside tracks from Bruce Springsteen
and Billy Bragg
, two artists to whom Neill has been compared.
Compilations (Exclusive Tracks):
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician. He leads Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
-based band Casey Neill & The Norway Rats, singing with a raspy vocal quality and playing electric and acoustic guitars. Neill's style, folk-punk, mixes influences from punk, Celtic and folk music, and has been compared to R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
and The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
.
The Norway Rats include Jenny Conlee
Jenny Conlee
Jenny Conlee is the accordionist, pianist, organist, keyboardist, melodica player, and occasional backup singer and harmonicist for the indie rock quintet The Decemberists, roles she has filled on each of the band's releases.-Portland music:...
of The Decemberists
The Decemberists
The Decemberists are an indie folk rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. The other members of the band are Chris Funk , Jenny Conlee , Nate Query , and John Moen .The band's...
on keyboards and accordion, among other established Portland musicians Jesse Emerson, Little Sue, Hanz Araki and Ezra Holbrook of Dr Theopolis
Dr Theopolis (band)
This is an entry for the rock band. For the Buck Rogers character please see Dr. Theopolis.Dr. Theopolis is a Portland-based soul/funk band named after the character Dr. Theopolis from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century....
.
History
After graduating from The Evergreen State CollegeThe Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College is an accredited public liberal arts college and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. It is located in Olympia, Washington, USA. Founded in 1967, Evergreen was formed to be an experimental and non-traditional college...
with an ethnomusicology education, Neill developed as an artist in the underground music community of the Pacific Northwest, releasing two early cassette releases and then his first CD, Rifraff, in 1995. Two songs from that album, Rifraff and Dancing on The Ruins of Multinational Corporations, became the defacto soundtracks for many Earth First!
Earth First!
Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group that emerged in the Southwestern United States in 1979. It was co-founded on April 4th, 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, and less directly, Bart Koehler and Ron Kezar....
and other logging protests during the 1990s, a time of growing tension between environmentalists and the logging communities of the Pacific Northwest. Dancing on the Ruins of Multinational Corporations is still sung by protest communities around the world.
Highly regarded Scottish musician and producer Johnny Cunningham
Johnny Cunningham
Johnny Cunningham was a Scottish folk musician. He was a founding member of Silly Wizard, as well as a member of Relativity, The Raindogs, and Nightnoise. Throughout his career, Cunningham was also a fiddler, composer and producer. His younger brother, Phil Cunningham, is a multi-instrumentalist...
, one of Neill’s early supporters, produced his albums Skree and Brooklyn Bridge. Cunningham plays fiddle on these albums plus Live on 11th Street, the last live recording of him before his untimely passing in 2003. Besides including some of his current bandmates and Johnny Cunningham, Brooklyn Bridge features cameos from Chris Funk
Chris Funk
Christopher Lyman Funk is a multi-instrumentalist and member of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock band The Decemberists. He is originally from Valparaiso, Indiana where he worked at Front Porch Music which inspired his love of American Folk Music. He plays guitar, pedal steel, piano, violin,...
of the Decemberists, John Wesley Harding
John Wesley Harding
John Wesley Harding may refer to:* John Wesley Harding , a 1967 Bob Dylan album* John Wesley Harding , the title track of this album* John Wesley Harding , English singer...
, Erin McKeown
Erin McKeown
Erin McKeown is an American multi-instrumentalist and folk-rock singer/songwriter.McKeown began her career in the folk scene. She released her first album, Monday Morning Cold, on her own label , travelling throughout New England while still a student at Brown University in order to promote the...
and Phil Cunningham
Phil Cunningham
Phil Cunningham may refer to:*Phil Cunningham , Scottish accordionist with the folk group Silly Wizard*Phil Cunningham , English guitarist, member of New Order, Bad Lieutenant and Marion...
, Johnny’s brother.
Neill has been included on numerous compilations. One tribute release, Where Have All the Flowers Gone: the Songs of Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
(Appleseed Recordings
Appleseed Recordings
Founded in 1997 by activist attorney Jim Musselman, Appleseed Recordings is an idealistic, internationally distributed and independent music label devoted to releasing socially conscious contemporary and traditional folk and roots music by a wide array of established and lesser-known musicians...
), won Top Independent Release of 1998 from the American Association of Independent Music
American Association of Independent Music
The American Association of Independent Music, or A2IM, is a not-for-profit trade organization serving the Independent music community as a unified voice representing a sector that comprises over 30% of the music industry's market share in the United States...
. The compilation includes Neill alongside tracks from Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
and Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
, two artists to whom Neill has been compared.
Discography
- Good Bye to the Rank and File - In Music We Trust Records - 2010
- Brooklyn Bridge - In Music We Trust Records - 2007
- Memory Against Forgetting - Daemon RecordsDaemon RecordsDaemon Records is an Atlanta, Georgia based, not-for-profit independent record label started by musician Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls. The label is run mostly by the musicians who record on it....
- 2005 - Live on 11th Street - self-release - 2004
- Raleigh & Spencer 7” - Broadside Records - 2003
- Portland West - Appleseed Recordings - 2001
- Skree - Appleseed Recordings - 1999
- Casey Neill Appleseed Recordings - 1998
- Riff Raff - Mock Turtle Music - 1996 - out of print
- Pawprints (cassette-only) - 1994 - out of print
- Wooden Shoes (cassette-only) - 1993 - out of print
Compilations (Exclusive Tracks):
- KBOO Pickathon 2003 Live - on "Lucy Campbell and the Jolly Tinker" (reels) with Kevin Burke and "Chinquapin" by Casey Neill with Little Sue
- Hold Me Up To The Light: A Tribute to Peter Wilde (2003) - on "Carnival" by Peter Wilde with Little Sue
- KBOO Pickathon 2001 Live - on "Kitty" by Casey Neill Trio
- Where Have All the Flowers Gone: the Songs of Pete Seeger (1999) - on "Old Father Hudson/My Dirty Stream" by Casey Neill