Low Hanging Fruits and Vegetables (Volumes 1 - 4: 1996 - 2012)
Silent Kit, “Low Hanging Fruits and Vegetables (Volumes 1 - 4: 1996 - 2012)″ (50 Songs recorded between 1996 and 2012.)
Silent Kit, “Low Hanging Fruits and Vegetables (Volume 5: 1996-2016)″ (17 Songs Left Off of Volumes 1-4, including new material recorded between 2013-2016.)
Friend. songwriter and poet, Cameron McGill, offered to help me tie up a music project in 2011 that I started in 1996. It was abandoned due to many personal, financial, and creative factors.
Over 400+ songs / demos / ideas ended up on cassettes in shoeboxes, and then on hard drives between 1996 and 2012. Some songs worked over and over until they were destroyed rendering my efforts foolish and fueled by digital ego. Some songs ended up straying away from home and for the better.
Midwestern punk rockers, The Pimps, recorded a version of my demo, "I.M. America," for their 2010 record, "F*ck This Sh!t, We're Outta Here". "Ghosts" barely missed making the final cut for the theme song of the independent film, "Last Rites of Ransom Pride," starring Kris Kristofferson, Lizzy Caplan, Dwight Yoakam, and the magnificent Jason Priestly. Miles Nielsen borrowed lyrics from a demo of mine, "Good Heart Sway," for a song of the same name on his 2009 solo debut, "Miles".
From 1996 until 2010, I recorded songs under the moniker, "Donkey Boy (USA)". A popular, European pop group by the same name—Donkey Boy—contacted me in the mid-2000s and threatened a lawsuit, but dropped their threats when I proved with a few documented tape demos that I had been creating under the name far before they existed.
A zip download of songs were freely shared from 2004-2010, "Donkey Boy (USA) & The Anthony Graigs". A few popular indie music blogs had kind words to share:
“Donkey Boy - "Midnight With Simon". Yes, it's a song that's centered around masturbation, but man, the beats here are awesome. The crunch of the downbeat, the seething feedback, and then the coda's astonishing slip into acoustic guitar. This is part of a new album by Donkey Boy, to be released in 2005. Dave DeCastris is writing song-stories about the absurd sheen of Midwest normalcy, the "freak" neighbors who stare through the window as you eat your cereal. The song's protagonist has his hand in his pants, yes. He watches TV and then he falls asleep. But around it all, the buzz of guitar, the tumble of percussion, and that peculiar shift into glimmery guitar.”
— Said The Gramophone, August 20th, 2004
“Donkey Boy - "Upchuck". Donkey Boy's stuff was passed on to me by Dave, whom I assume is Donkey Boy himself, and it's fine, splintered alt.folk - like Sparklehorse with toy instruments and a lofi pop glimmer. I like the wryness that breathes within the dustiness, the way the singer has withdrawn slightly from the back-and-forth of synths and sound-effects. It's sweet and forlorn, but there's a grin behind all that - it's a heartfelt song that ends with someone smilingly talking shit.”
— Said The Gramophone, April 19th, 2004
“Speaking from experience and i can only assume this is true no matter your zip, area or postal code, but no matter where you lay your head you are bound to hear of a local musician that is a bit reclusive with their works. i can name at least two guys i know from Chicago that wrote and recorded some amazing songs, but never could be convinced to share them with anyone outside of a select few. God damn shame I always thought, and i tried my damnedest to try and coax, at least one of them, to bring his songs out into the public, but my pleas fell on deaf ears. There’s a chap named Dave DeCastris (aka Donkey Boy USA) that resides just northwest of Chicagoland in the lovely city of Rockford that seems to seems to have been suffering from the same kind of inner struggle as my friend, or maybe he’s just lazy. He’s amassed a shoebox collection of 400+ songs, most of which i dont believe have been put to tape. He’s been slowly working on the album, “& The Anthony Graigs,” for the better part of 13 years. He did some recording at an actual studio, but that studio, Fuse Recordings in Rockford, shut down in 2008. Supposedly he “& The Anthony Graigs” will be released in 2012. In the meantime, what we have here is a rough mix preview of said record. If you are a fan of Lou Barlow’s “Sentridoh,” Pollard, Westerberg, Silver Jews, East River Pipe and bands/artists of the like you should enjoy this. It’s far from perfect, but lyrically he’s pretty funny and the music itself is pretty solid.”
— Captain’s Dead, 2009
Many of those songs reappear throughout this collection. Some with new mixes, most never heard to begin with due to creative A.D.D.
I decided to change Donkey Boy (USA) to "Silent Kit" in late 2012 while planning an official release with Cameron of what became Vols. 1 and 2. Songs had evolved from the bedroom to the studio, from solely creating to collaborating with members of The Wandering Sons, Rusted Hearts, What Army, Joie de Vivre and anyone who cared to lay down tracks between 2007-2010.
I shelved the physical release towards the end of 2012 due to a lack of finances. Reality became that my other life, and work for fellow artists, didn't allow me the freedom to finance my own creative work.
Volumes 1 and 2 features the original sequence of songs planned with Cameron. Volumes 3 and 4 include 24 songs not intended for the original release. All together there are 50 songs here for you to find, listen, enjoy, hate, whatever, please share.
Silent Kit, "Low Hanging Fruits and Vegetables (1996-2012: Volumes 1 - 4"
Produced By: Andy Whorehall
All songs written, recorded, performed, edited, mixed by Silent Kit (Dave DeCastris), *except where noted. See credits below.
Recording Notes, Additional Performers, Engineers, Producers and Credits: 1996-2005: Recorded in bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms, garages, offices on various lo-fi devices in Peoria, Chicago, Oak Park, and Rockford, IL. 2006-2010: Recorded at home in my living room, kitchen, bathroom, and additional sessions at Fuse Recording Studios and Sock Monkey Sound Podcast/MIA Studio, Rockford, IL. Sessions during these years included performances, recording, production, engineering and mixing by Zach Staas, Mark Muraski, Daniel James McMahon, Barrett James, Dave DeCastris, Andy Whorehall, Mark Gustafson, Noah Harris, Charles Koltak, Andy Scarpaci, Jim Westin, Kevin Schwitters and more. Zach Staas and Mark Muraski handled engineering and mixing on many songs recorded from 2009-2010. Mark Gustafson handled the engineering and recording / mix of the only live-performance band-session by Silent Kit recorded in Nov. of 2009.
* "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," by Bob Dylan. "New Madrid," by Jeff Tweedy. "Johnsburg, IL," by Tom Waits. "Achin' To Be," by Paul Westerberg. "Surfer Girl," by Brian Wilson. "Tonight You Belong To Me," by Billy Rose and Lee David. "After Hours," by Lou Reed.
For direct inquiries, please contact:
imasilentkit(at)gmail.com
