In the Futureappletree Studio, there’s a switch we can throw that tames all of the lights except for two, that give off a tequila-colored amber glow that were anyone to attempt to describe it to another would absolutely deem it mood lighting. Even we use the term liberally around the studio when these sessions are taking place. We throw on the mood lighting, create an atmosphere that feels like a sad love song or dead-to-the-world barroom. It’s good. That’s the way we like it to feel. Now, here’s the thing. We hit the lights when Owen Ashworth – Mr. Casiotone For The Painfully Alone – and his buddies and backing band The Donkeys stopped by, but it was almost overkill. Ashworth brings his own mood trigger – in the music he plays and in his super hibernating demeanor when he’s playing it – that adds another thick layer to the calming feel of the room. He’s a big lumbering gentleman, with clammy hands and an aloof singing voice that socks you right in the gut with its weighty intentions. His songs speak for all of the meek hearts out there who stand up for themselves, but often only after they’ve been torched by love. These songs come out of the smoldering ashes and carpenter beams, stamp out the blazes left smoking on their elbows and lower back with wet towels and then move on, hopefully to a happier end. Cause that’s the really the point of these songs – the getting up and trying to make a better ending the next time. Ashworth isn’t a glutton for punishment. He doesn’t welcome the feelings of crippling nothingness. He wants friends and companionship and he’s going to try again. That much is obvious. – Sean Moeller

Casiotone No. 1
Jeanne If You're Ever In Portland (Casiotone) [3.90MB] [9920 downloads]


– original version (glaringly without The Donkeys) on “Twinkle Echo”
“Jeanne, there must be more than letters and phone calls/Just say you’ll come see Maine when the snow falls.” As the first song of the day, there was no real indication that we were going to be graced with two beautiful songs that referenced wintertime on this not-terribly chilly spring morning. I love hearing Owen really hiss the line, “Miles and miles,” at the foot-end of the song. Honestly, it was early when this was being recorded. It made it clear that he’s capable of getting in this somber mood from the time his head raises from a pillow, or in this case, someone’s hard floor in Iowa City.

Casiotone No. 2
Tonight Was A Disaster (Casiotone) [2.98MB] [8606 downloads]


– original version (glaringly without The Donkeys) on “Pocket Symphonies For Lonesome Subway Cars”
This was the moment when The Donkeys seemed so ideal for Owen to take on the road with him and the next two songs just emphasized it more. The jangling guitar and the precious piano parts, Owen telling Tony to take it, they would have been sorely missed had they still be at home in San Diego.

Casiotone No. 3 Bobby Malone Moves Home (Casiotone) [2.71MB] [7345 downloads]


– original version (glaringly without The Donkeys) on the brand new Tomlab album “Etiquette”
Along with “I Love Creedence,” tied for the best song on the latest record. I think it’s a song – insert whoever’s name you’d like into the Bobby Malone slot – that anyone who’s had a rough spell away from home would like to hear when they returned. And maybe it was an embarrassing or depressing bit of life that led the person back, but it’s always better to have another – a friend or family – to help you lick your wounds.

Casiotone No. 4
Cold White Christmas (Casiotone) [4.36MB] [7581 downloads]


– original version (glaringly without The Donkeys) on the brand new Tomlab album “Etiquette.”
This is not a Christmas song. It’s a sad reminder that lonesomeness gets even lonelier and more insufferable later in the year when the winter winds start racking the body and the sidewalks. It gets cold in Minnesota, I’m told, and this song seems to make all of the gruesome stories true.