Paul Castelluzzo - Hether Interview
Born in San Diego, CA, Castelluzo grew up skating and surfing with friends and was inspired by his mother’s talent as a violinist, his older brother’s taste in bands such as VU, The Butthole Surfers and T Rex and his father taking him to see The Stones and ZZ Top for his very first concert. Tragedy struck the Castelluzzo family when he was young, but Paul found a way to express himself and heal through his very unique approach to music. That project is called Hether and with the explosive response to his music over the years and his most recent release of “Covered In Hether” back in March, Castelluzzo is making a name for himself and creating the art he wants to see, feel and hear. In this interview we explore his process and approach to music, his thoughts and ideas of expression and influence and what he has in store for Heather.
When and where were you born? What was your childhood like growing up? When did you first begin to fall in love with music?? Was this something that was relevant around your household growing up? Do you have any siblings?
I was born in San Diego, CA. My childhood was cool aside from some traumatic events, it shaped me to be who I am today. I grew up surfing and skating around San Diego, failing all my classes and thinking I wouldn’t amount to much in terms of a “regular life”, but I always loved music. I grew up in a working class family. We didn’t grow up rich, my parents worked very hard to give us a good childhood, and I love them very much. But I remember seeing how stressful money was for for my parents and how frugal they were with us, but that kind of upbringing helped me in many ways retain modesty and humbleness. I fell in love with music at a very young age, there’s videos of me at the piano at 2 years old playing notes and hearing things you’d be struck to believe would come out of a 2 year old’s fingers. My mother plays violin, she was never classically trained, but she has an insane ear and perfect pitch. I have an older brother Charlie who is a professional Gypsy Jazz guitarist in NYC, he’s 8 years older than me, but we are and always have been extremely close, he’s like my other half in many ways. Charlie showed me music at a young age.
He was a near pro skater in his youth, but also was a punk rocker and loved all sorts of cool music. He showed me the Butthole Surfers, Velvet Underground, T Rex (Charlie was OBSESSED with T Rex) and many others. I had a sister, she was the oldest of the Castelluzzo’s, she passed away in 2017 from a fentanyl overdose. She was struggling with mental illness and drug abuse since I was a little kid. I’ve seen and been a part of a lot of traumatic things due to the people she surrounded herself with. Being a little kid around severe mental illness and drug abuse can be quite traumatic. I remember pulling a gun at someone in my house trying to break in when I was 16. The week before my house was robbed while I was sleeping, the robber never came into my bedroom because it was locked, but he stole everything from us, my parents wedding rings, my piggy bank, my guitar. That kind of stuff kept happening in my youth, I felt like we were cursed. Everyone else had a normal childhood, mine seemed fucked up. I miss my sister every day and she was an incredible soul that got fucked by substance abuse, rape, and mental illness. I will reunite with her one day and I dedicate all my successes to her and believe she is looking over me and giving me grace and helping steer me in the right direction, she is one with me and I love her forever.
What would you and your friends do for fun growing up? Who were some of your earliest influences? When and where did you see your first concert and when did it dawn on you that you wanted to be a musician? Did you participate in any groups, or projects prior to Hether?
Me and my friends would do all sorts of fucked up shit. I used to walk around my neighborhood with bb guns shooting shit, one time I accidentally shot this kid in the head and that was when I was like ok no more of this. I was a real surfer punk, my friends and I would go surf all day, skip school, drink beers and smoke cigarettes, this was before cell phones really were a thing. We’d use the one cellphone our friends had and call the school office pretending to be our parents saying that “hi, Paul is sick today he can’t come in”. We used to skate, surf, be assholes to society, flirt with girls, get in fights, but be truly pure and happy. I miss those days so much, things were a lot simpler and a lot more primal. I think we’re always trying to get back to that version of us from out adolescence that had yet to be kicked and prauded by the fucking bs life does to us, which turns everyone into a shell. My first real concert was either The Stones, or ZZ Top. My dad got me and him tickets to go see them. I’ve always known I wanted to be a musician because I was always good at it. Everywhere I go/went I’ve always been the best musician in the room. Its the only thing I’m really good at and that I really care about. I had been in so many different bands growing up. They all sucked and I hate not being in charge. That’s why I made Hether. Because its just me.
My earliest influences were basically whatever records my dad, or brother had. My dad has an amazing record collection, because of him I discovered Coltrane, Philip Glass, Son House, Sonny Rollins, Elmore James, Howling Wolf, The Stones, The Beatles, Neil Young, I mean he has all the great records. I love all genres of music, from all walks of life and continents. Good music is universal and the soul is an innate thing that some possess and some don’t. I have soul, I have been playing music since I was a kid. I’ve always been able to tell immediately if someone has it, or not. I can tell in 2 seconds, shit I can tell by how someone walks, talks, holds their instrument; if I will like their playing, or not. I’m not impressed by much these days, its more like innovation is dead and were living in a pastiche paradise, who can copy the best? Its fun though. I do believe things will evolve, they always do. I grew up playing in bars and shit, jazz gigs, wedding gigs, to pay rent. I was a working jazz guitarist in San Diego before moving to LA. I posted videos of me playing on social media and they garnered a lot of attention. I never graduated high-school, I never went to college, I have devoted my life to music and have hustled my way into things. Most people in the music industry have connections. I didn’t. I moved to LA knowing not a single person.
How did you initially want to approach this project and how did the name come about? When and where did you make your live performance debut and what was that experience like?
2017 I had gotten of a long tour with Romeo Santos, I quit the gig, my sister passed away, I hated playing gigs, all I was doing was playing guitar for people who sucked. I knew I had something in me but couldn’t ever figure it out. I decided to just go for it. The first song I wrote for Hether was SHY, “I found my voice“ and was like fuck it I’m calling this Hether, cuz why not? It means nothing and I like that. I hate how deep everyone thinks they have to be to compensate for their lack of skill, or musical depth. But the reality is I could have named the project Adolf’s Last Diarrhea and it would have been successful because names don’t matter, music matters. Everyones so focused on everything, but the music these days.
You recorded a number of singles in 2019 before releasing your debut full length “Sticky Thumb” in 2021. Tell me about writing and recording that album? What was the overall vision and approach to this record? When and where did recording begin and would you mind giving some back story to some of the songs that are featured on the album?
Everything ive made has been kind sloppy to me, just like I Jackson Pollocked that shit. I like it that way though, but these days I’m trying to take more time and really explore new things sonically, and as a songwriter, engineer and producer, musician etc. I’m a weird case because, if I didn’t have Hether, I could make a living off being a virtuoso guitarist, I’m a good ass guitarist and there’s a whole lotta people who followed me before Hether for that. I was never into indie music, I kind of just fell into it, I actually hate indie music and indie musicians, I think its really just a playground for trust fund kids and robots trying to recreate 4 of the same albums. I feel like I’m a Jazz musician who makes songs, sings and is also the the child of if Les Paul, Madlib, and Coltrane had a baby. My taste and musical identity bounces around more than a bee in a pickup truck. I could go on and on about this, but whatever. Sticky thumb? I’m sure there’s articles about that album somewhere. I don’t love that record. I don’t love any of my records. Once their done I hate them and move on. Its a beautiful toxic relationship.
2022 saw the follow up with “Play It Pretty”. Can you tell me about the approach to this album and what you wanted to explore with this material? How did you want to approach this record that differed from the previous album?
I was really angry and watched a lot of weird scary movies while I was making that. I don’t love this record, but I loved making it. I was alone in my garage during Covid and was just fucking around recording myself on all these shitty old tape machines this guy gave me off Craigslist. I was just experimenting with new styles, signing differently, singing louder, signing mad. I was mad when I made that. I love garage rock, but I don’t know if its the best fit for Hether, or maybe it is. Either way that was my “garage rock record” Hether is genreless, I approach new styles every record. But I do feel like by doing this I’m getting closer and closer to getting my own sound, which I call Earslime. My fingers are getting tired typing, fuck. I honestly am so lazy I am answering these questions horribly.
Your very anticipated 2023 release “Covered In Hether” has received great attention and praise! How much has changed about the project since you first started out? What was a huge part of writing and recording this record and what did you want to express and achieve with this release? Would you mind walking me through some of the songs that are featured on the album such as “Lonesome Town”, “Sad Song”, “Dreams” and “Nature Boy”?
I wanted to make this record to get myself out of my own head and it fucking worked. Making all these covers and seeing how capable I am when the song is done and all I have to do is produce it, showed me that the roadblocks I have experienced in the creative process are due to rushing the production stage while sacrificing the source stage which is the composition arrangement and source capturing of instruments In the early engineering stages. I love to start manipulating sound, its my favorite part of production. I wanted to create a vast landscape and a lonesome landscape in Covered In Hether that encapsulates some of the feelings that are intrinsic to my musical indenty. I love Jazz, I love hiphop, etc. I wanted this record to be something someone finds at a store in 50 years and is like wtf??? And samples the shit out of it. Though no-one really does it like that anymore, but hey, sampling off YouTube is cool too. Covered In Hether, I played all the instruments, mixed and mastered in myself, it was a lot of fucking work, but I’m really proud of how it came out.
I think it’s my best record yet in terms of sonics and identity. Lonesome Town I tried making it feel like if Charlie Megira recorded it at John Lennons studio with Phil Spector producing it after smoking way too much salvia. Sad Song is one of my favorite Lou Reed songs, I tried to make it sound exactly the same, but if Duster was producing it. Nature Boy was fun to make, I have always loved that song and wanted to cover it because as a jazz musician that’s a standard that every artist needs to interpret, I wanted it to feel like if Rza was at Stay Studios and was producing a George Benson record. I like creating this weird scenarios when I approach a production. Like what if DJ mugs was producing a Paul McCarney record, with Jimi Hendrix on guitar and Al Jackson Jr. on drums. I’m a real multi instrumentalist and I spend most of my time transcribing and emulating my musical heroes, engineering heroes, and producer heroes so that I can use those references in creative ways when I am approaching music. I think Covered In Hether is the best cover album of all time.
What’s in store for this Spring and Summer? Any shows, or tours in the works?Is there anything else you would like to further share with readers?
I want everyone who’s reading this to know that Hether is back, I lost myself during covid in a lot of ways, but I’ve rediscovered what makes Hether Hether and I’m currently writing an amazing album of original songs that I feel will be a career defining moment for the Hether discography. I’m playing Bleached Festival this August. Come out!
https://earslime.bandcamp.com/album/covered-in-hether
