Garrick Wong | Staff Writer | [email protected]

City College musician bridges the gap between folk and electronica

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon once said, “Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die. Music should be able to grow and mature with the artist, and it follows the person until death.”

City College musician Casey Groat admires Simon and, accordingly, shares the musician’s philosophy. As such, Groat says, he and says he wants to expand upon what he knows today, and, in 10 years, hopes to see himself be a producer because he wants to help others succeed.

“I want to help others through making their song ideas become a reality”, says Groat. When I act as a producer, I’m shaping the artist’s creativity in a formidable, successful product.”

Groat, 21-year-old audio production major at City College, says his specialties are the folk and electronic genres, and much of the inspiration for his music comes from his youth and from the world around him.

“As a child I wanted to pursue music because I found learning music myself to be incredibly easy”, says Groat. “In other words, I was really good at it, so it became something I needed in my life.”

Groat says the development of one of his albums,” “Sextext Sanctuary,” was mainly due to the heavy influence of Nintendo games he played as a child. The game series “Zelda” in particular was one of the main inspirations, he says.

“Zelda was one of my favorite game series, and I just wanted to recreate the nostalgic feel from that game.”

Groat says that his passion for music started when he was 12. He found an old keyboard in his attic and started to experiment with the instrument’s old built-in songs. In no time, Groat says he had mastered the keyboard and wanted to learn more aspects of music.

From video games, Groat moved on to being inspired by other musicians.

“[Some] of my biggest inspirations [are] Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel,” says Groat. “They have styles just like no other.”

He says he greatly admires the way that Simon can fingerstyle his guitar.

In addition to other musicians, Groat says that nature also impacts his music.

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Groat’s video was filmed by Jeffrey Fong, a local director of the filming studios, Happa Film and The Film Squad.

Out of all of his performances, Groat says that the most memorable performance was the performance he gave when he was 14.

“We were called High Tides and we played at John F. Kennedy High school around 2009 and it was the biggest show I had at the time.”

He says that even though he was nervous about performing in front of more than 100 people, he felt like the show was a success.

“I gave myself positive feedback while practicing in front of a mirror before the show,” Groat says.

Since then, Groat has pursued his dream to be a songwriter, producer, and to share his love of music.

While Groat finds inspiration in his songs, he says that one of the most important aspects to music is having the correct moment and time to capture the perfect moment.

Erika Christine Health, owner of Erika Christine Photography, is a good friend of Groat as well as a local photographer. She says she believes that photography and music goes hand-in-hand because each medium can help the other bloom. As a result, she and Groat formed a partnership.

“Casey’s acoustic and folk stuff is really soothing and I was shocked when I first heard it,” says Health. “The first time I heard Casey’s electronic songs, I listened to the entire album twice on my way to L.A. He is very talented artist.”

Frank Loret de Mola agree. De Mola, barista at Naked Lounge, saw Groat’s live performance one night when he was working at Naked Lounge.

“I think he wants to leave people with a lasting impression, to inspire others to think about their lives different,” says de Mola. “Great art re-teaches you how to use your senses, how to interpret your surroundings, and Casey’s getting there.”

Groat will perform July 17 at as part of Concerts in the Park, a free outdoor weekly music concert that promotes local bands, artists and DJs Cesar Chavez Park. Listen to Groat’s music on his Facebook page — facebook.com/caseygroatmusic —or on Soundcloud — soundcloud.com/gaiaxis.