By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Friday, June 1, 2018

The Mighty John Caseys are a supergroup duo comprised of Joey Affatato of The Carousers and Johnny Ott of The Cryptkeeper Five. Both Joey and Johnny are the frontmen of raucous punk bands, but with The Mighty John Caseys they decided to pick up their acoustic guitars and try their hand at folk music. The sheer power of both of their voices together in a stripped down setting is everything fans of their respective bands could have hoped for. The group was gracious enough to answer some questions of mine about their new project.

How did you two decide on the name?

JOHNNY: My grandfather, Joey's great-grandfather’s, name was John Joseph Casey. We were both named after him... John Joseph Ott & Joseph Casey Affatato

What were your influences for this acoustic project?

JOEY: For me, definitely singer/songwriters like Elliott Smith, The Everly Brothers, and Langhorne Slim. Although, I love hearing punk bands like The Menzingers do stripped-down acoustic versions of their songs. That On The Impossible Past acoustic record they have is pretty great.

JOHNNY: I agree with all of Joey;s choices... hmm... geez.

I think most of times I play with an acoustic act, it influences me somehow or another... AND there’s a lot of great local acoustic acts like Doug Zambon and Sammy Kay and Keith Monacchio and Brian Rothenbeck... I could go on forever...

Lately, I’ve been on an Avett Brothers-Brandi Carlile-Johnny Cash/American Recordings kick

What made you want to do an acoustic project?

JOHHNY: I like hearing songs in their rawest, purest form. You can’t get more stripped down than a dude/or dudes and acoustic guitars.

JOEY: I’ve been on a “folk music” binge now for a while. Listening to a lot of singer/songwriters and thinking how cool it would be to do something similar. Specifically, though, I remember Johnny told me to watch that movie Inside Llewyn Davis. He showed me a scene where it was just Oscar Isaac playing a folk song on stage at a bar. I was pretty inspired, and it's when I knew him and I should start jamming.

JOHNNY: Such a great movie.

Do you prefer playing live in a loud punk band (i.e. The Carousers), acoustic, or are they two different worlds you can’t compare?

JOEY: It’s hard to compare. I really enjoy having both projects since they’re so different. It’s cool to be able to take influences of mine and apply them to both bands!

JOHNNY: I agree, I truly love doing both... I love all the bands I play in... but my heart lies with The Cryptkeeper Five.

What is it like to play acoustic music on a punk bill?

JOHNNY: It’s fun. I guess as long as the crowd is good, any show is fun.

When can we expect recorded music?

JOHNNY: Soon? I think? We’re in the demoing stage right now.

Where can everyone see you live next?

JOEY: No upcoming shows yet, but stay tuned for more content online soon!

JOHNNY: We’re always down to play. Hit us up at...

JOEY: themightyjohncaseys@gmail.com!

Make sure you like The Mighty John Caseys on their Facebook here to stay updated!