Singled Out: Tenk Van Dool / Paul Sears' It's Raining in Casmalia

11-25-2024

Tenk Van Dool / Paul Sears recently released their new album "Aperiodic Grok" and to celebrate we asked Tenk to tell us the story behind the song "It's Raining in Casmalia." Here is the story:

The town: Casmalia is an odd, isolated little town in Central California. Its name is derived from the Chumash Indian term Kasma'li, meaning "it is the last", which is a perfect description!

It is not far from a city which has a population of over 100,000 people, but as you make the ten-minute drive away, on a winding two-lane road through rolling hills and agricultural fields toward the coast, you can't help but to think you are going the wrong way and are heading toward a dead end.

During the winter rainy season these rolling hills turn into a magical green wonderland with nothing but barbed wire fences, black mossy posts and sparse tiny aging barn structures.

So much green as far as the eye can see! So placid! The feeling of isolation is penetrating. You rarely see a car other than an occasional farmer's pickup truck.
When you reach the town, you make a right turn on to the main street. One street. According to the 2010 census, the population was 138.

Casmalia is host to a renown steak house. If you happen to have a reservation in the early evening, you may be observed by the local population who like to take in the sunset from their porches, staring at you like you are from outer space. You almost feel like you are trespassing.

There is one more interesting thing about Casmalia.

It is home to an infamous toxic waste dump that operated from 1973 to 1989 which accepted 5.56 billion pounds of waste. The facility is currently in the third phase of a 76-year cleanup plan.

I have driven to the locked gate at the facility. I've gotten out of my truck and planted my feet there on a stormy day. It is an eerie feeling. You cannot see the 252-acre crater left from the removal of soil over the decades but the imagination almost makes it worse. It is a sobering contrast to the surroundings. A closed and locked chain link gate with an abandoned guard kiosk.

The song: It's working name was "piano song". This was before Casmalia had anything to do with it. It was an exploratory chord progression. It was so dull and dry on the piano because of the chord spacing that I was really close to abandoning it, but when I played it on the Rhodes it started to work. The guitar part just wrote itself. The guitar is a D'Angelico hollow body played with the thumb. There is also an improvised 12 string solo at the end, and some sprinkling of mandolin.

Paul recorded his drum parts at his Garage Mahal studio in Arizona. He had just replenished his drums with new fiber heads, and had acquired a wooden snare and his kit sounds superb. Paul attributes the appeal of this song to how much "air" is in it. I cannot disagree.

During the mixing and production of the Aperiodic Grok album I would make the drive to Casmalia to test the mixes through the truck stereo. This was during the rainy season. "Piano Song" had an uncanny resemblance to the placidity, irony, melancholy and realities of the place, so the song became "It's Raining in Casmalia".

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here