Casey Sabol blends his affinity for cutting-edge production with soaring vocal hooks and agile guitar riffs that hark back to late 80s arena rock, all while summoning the symphonic, bombastic forces of modern melodic metal. His lyrics cut through the dogma and call into question the nature of authority. Throughout his career Casey was the lead singer for Grammy-nominated Progressive Metal band Periphery and appeared as a guest feature on songs for Oh Sleeper, Volumes, Endure Studios: For Home, and JIA.
For three years in a row Casey’s song submissions were
selected for inclusion into the annual ASCAP Music Expo, where he spoke on stage with a panel of renowned industry heavyweights. He tells about working with co-writer Jay Denton.
You were the lead singer for Grammy-nominated Progressive Metal band Periphery. Tell us about your background.
I grew up in Pennsylvania and studied as a singer and guitar player from the age of 12, and then I attended Berklee College of Music in 2003. My major was Songwriting. After college I was in Periphery for a little while, and in 2008 I left the band to move to Los Angeles to intern under pop/rock producer John Feldmann. After my internship I went off to produce and mix on my own for a while, but it wasn’t until 2019 that I decided to start releasing original music as a solo artist.
Your lyrics cut through the dogma and call into question the nature of authority. Where do you get your inspiration from?
I find my inspiration for my art in my intellectual endeavors. I’ve always been fascinated by the proverbial “big questions”, and I’ve never been particularly interested in talking about myself much. Those two things combine and you get an artist who’s using his art to spark discussions about things most people are hesitant to bring up at the dinner table with their family! We’ve always been told “don’t talk religion or politics at the dinner table”…and maybe I’m obnoxious, but I’m skeptical of that. It’s as though avoiding important discussions is a good thing…? Hence much of my art is my outlet for addressing topics I feel are important.
Tell us about working next to acclaimed record producer John Feldmann. What did you learn?
My time at John Feldmann’s was definitely very productive for me. What I gained from that experience was an incredible network of amazing, talented friends. People like Brandon Paddock, Kyle Moorman, and Nick Morzov, who spent countless hours in the studio with me teaching me what would become nearly everything I’ve ever had to build upon as a knowledge base for mixing and production. I owe so much of what I am to Feldmann’s willingness to allow me into his community.
Today you have partnered with co-writer Jay Denton. What are you working on?
Jay is an incredible writing partner and we have so much to look forward to together. I’m currently working on my solo artist project as well as a couple other exciting side projects and more developmental-stage stuff for other new artists. All the music I have out right now can be found on all streaming platforms: Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, etc…I’m most active on my instagram @casey.sabol but you can find your way to everything I have to offer at the following link: https://linktr.ee/caseysabol
Why is this partnership so important to you?
My partnership with Jay revived a part of myself that lay dormant for many years. Jay has always pushed me to become a better version of myself, and to always believe that who I uniquely am is what I must embrace without apology or hesitation. I only hope that one day I can provide as much inspiration to him as he has to me!
Tell us about working with the talented Jay Denton.
One of my favorite things about working with Jay is how versatile and adaptive he is. I can bring him into any situation and he’ll quickly ascertain how to best serve the art. Whenever I have an idea that’s 60% or 80% of the way there, Jay knows exactly what it needs to reach its highest potential. Over the years, since most of our time together has been spent on developing my artist project, we’ve worked in a very specific way together. But as our partnership evolves we’re planning to make it even more collaborative in terms of production and writing for other artists rather than just myself.
What can we expect to see from you in 2022?
Seeing as how I just relocated to the south, I’m in a particularly inspired mindset! Jay and I have a studio that we’re building a name for here in Nashville. We’re going to be doing everything from taking our own solo artist projects to the next level, to building relationships with plenty of new artists we’ve been lucky enough to meet recently. I’ll be keeping my eyes and ears open around town for people to work with in any/every capacity. Moving to Nashville has already afforded me new opportunities to work with a handful of truly great muscians/writers/ producers, and I’m looking forward to integrating them into the Endure Studios family!
Instagram @casey.sabol