Kai Caster on "No more Parties"
KAI CASTER ON HIS NEW SINGLE, “NO MORE PARTIES.”
Because of COVID, we have all gained a little extra time at home. While many of us have spent that time walking our dogs or watching Tik Toks, Kai Caster has kickstarted his music career. His latest single, “No more Parties,” may be the artist’s second release, but it’s maturity shows that Kai is here to stay. His music is timely—just look at the title—and his background in acting gives him a unique perspective on the music industry. I got the chance to ask Kai a few questions about his latest single and his decision to start making music. Read our interview below.
“NO MORE PARTIES'' IS YOUR SECOND RELEASE EVER. WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START PUTTING OUT MUSIC?
I just started making music in June. Before then I hadn't really broken into the music scene at all. There were a lot of things that made me want to start releasing music, but it started with the pandemic. I’m an actor and I went from going to work every day to not working at all. It was hard for me to change my lifestyle like that. It’s hard on your mental health and hard on a lot of other stuff too. I wanted to try something new and my best friend Josh is an amazing producer. We were hanging out one day and he was like, “You should try making music.” And so I did. I’m having a great time with it. It’s been something I've always wanted to do—I’d just always been kind of nervous.
WERE YOU LESS NERVOUS TO PUT OUT THIS SECOND SONG?
It was a lot easier. I’m so surprised and so grateful for the response that the first one got. It built my confidence up a lot and allowed me to be a lot more comfortable with myself as an artist. I'm still learning so much about making music. I wouldn’t call myself a pro at all yet, but I'm having so much fun trying to figure it out. I don't plan on stopping at all.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST THING YOU’VE LEARNED ABOUT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY?
It’s been crazy to see just how similar making music is to acting. I love to tell stories and I love to make people feel things and you have the power to do that with both acting and music.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACTING AND MAKING MUSIC?
Music is a lot more technical. At least, it is when you’re recording. With making music, there are so many moving parts and so much to look at beyond laying vocals on a track. You have to look at individual notes and pitches and timing and everything. I wouldn't say it's harder, but it is so different.
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO MAKE “NO MORE PARTIES?”
“No more Parties” was the second song I've ever recorded. Making the track took Josh and me maybe two hours. I wrote the lyrics to the song on my own in about a day, and then I rewrote it again the next day before we recorded the vocals and sent it out for mastering. It was about a four-day process.
DO YOU LIKE WRITING TO A TRACK?
Yeah, that's the only way I really like to write. I like to hear the track first. Josh and I are very collaborative about the production. I obviously have no idea what buttons he's pressing or what he's doing on the computer, but I know going into it how I'm feeling and what I'm prepared to write about. We bounce a lot of ideas off each other when we're making the track. If I want to talk about something deep or heartbreaking, Josh will make a beat that allows me to do that.
WHAT’S “NO MORE PARTIES” ABOUT?
I won't go too much into detail, but I've recently gone through a breakup. One of the things that I enjoyed about the relationship was being with that significant other and not having to go out and go to parties or clubs. I just wanted to be with that person. In general, having someone that you want to stay home with and connect with—that to me is a party. I’d much rather sit at home with somebody and have fun with that person than be in a large group setting. That’s the root of the song.
THE TITLE IS SUPER RELEVANT TO TODAY. WITH COVID, PEOPLE ARE LEGITIMATELY NOT ABLE TO GO TO PARTIES. BESIDES STARTING YOUR MUSIC CAREER, WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU BEEN DOING TO STAY BUSY DURING THESE TIMES?
I'm big on writing. It’s another one of my passions. I'm always hearing things and turning them into little snippets and poems. One of my best friends and I, we write skits all the time. We're always creating little random movies and making soundtracks. I'm always writing. That's my biggest passion. When it's not music or acting, I also really enjoy sports. I’m a big basketball player. It’s not really safe to do that right now, so sometimes I’ll play tennis with my close friends.
DOES WRITING FOR THINGS OUTSIDE OF MUSIC HELP YOU WITH YOUR SONGWRITING?
Yeah. I think any type of writing exercise makes you more comfortable with writing in general. The more I write for skits and scenes and other things, the better I am at writing songs. It helps me be able to think on my feet and stay in tune with my emotions because it forces me to put what I'm feeling onto a piece of paper. Writing is something that you learn. It's not an easy thing to do and it definitely takes work in practice.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE LYRIC FROM “NO MORE PARTIES?”
I really like this line from the first verse. It’s, “My Golden Girl, San Francisco.” That one to me is very visual—the first verse in general is very visual. The main hook of the song is beat driven and vibey, but in that first verse I could tell more of a story.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM THE SONG?
I think the biggest takeaway is that you don't have to go along with what everybody else is doing. You don't have to feel like you always have to be out at the clubs because that’s what everybody else wants to do. You don't have to be that guy or that girl. You can be a homebody. You can be a dude who wants to chill out and be all relationshipy. That's totally acceptable. You don't have to want to go out all the time. You don't always have to be super social. There are so many different things you can do with your life that can be perceived as fun.
ANYTHING ELSE?
For everyone thinking that there's a double meaning to the song that has to do with Corona—there is. Stop partying. Don't go to parties. Wait till this is over. I definitely thought of that when I was writing the song.
YOU CAN FIND “NO MORE PARTIES” BY KAI CASTER ON STREAMING SERVICES LIKE SPOTIFY AND APPLE MUSIC. GO STREAM THE SONG AND MAKE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE TO TWENTY MINUTES LATER FOR MORE INTERVIEWS LIKE THIS ONE.
