Savannah-based Chris Casey is mixing Tyler-style bars with Weezer riffs, and the vibe is catching on fast. West Coast Funeral has already passed 150,000 streams, and it has quietly become our summer obsession. With his new EP Buried Out Back, Casey leans into fake blood, cemeteries, and DIY grit to carve out a sound that’s raw, playful, and very much his own. We talked about nostalgia, Savannah’s punk spirit, Molly Ringwald, and how West Coast Funeral came back to life after a year in the grave of forgotten loops.
Oasis are back, Radiohead, the Pixies are still touring. The ’90s feel like they never ended. Are we just recycling nostalgia, or is there still something fresh to steal from that era?
★ Chris Casey: I definitely think those sounds are still worth exploring. It’s funny because I didn’t even think of what I was doing as “90’s influenced” until people started pointing it out, but honestly it’s super accurate. Those garage and grunge type tones always grab my ear, and I just wanted to make stuff with that same feel and energy. It’s simple enough to catch on to, but the melodies stand out in a cool way, and I think rapping over those sounds adds that extra unique layer.
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New York and LA always get the spotlight, but you are coming out of Savannah. How does being there shape your perspective and give your music something different from these big-city scenes?
★ CC: The music scene in Savannah is so sick. It’s small but super passionate, everyone I’ve met is so genuine and in love with music. Going to DIY shows made me think about music in a different way, because up to a certain point I had only really known the digital parts of it. The energy at those house shows is unparalleled, and it’s something I want to capture at every show I have. There’s also a rawness in all of the music from there that you don’t really see too much other than in small DIY scenes. Very authentic punk and hardcore stuff that gets people moving. I try to take what I like about all of that and put it into what I make.
Every artist has that one story that sounds fake when they tell it. What is yours?
★ CC: Molly Ringwald liked one of my reels earlier this year, but I didn’t screenshot it and wasn’t able to find the notification, so I have no proof. This story isn’t that crazy, but I couldn’t think of a better one.
Your EP plays out like a whole TV season, blood, cemeteries, tracks called “Bodies,” “Don’t Get Murdered,” “West Coast Funeral.” Is this your own American Horror Story or what?
★ CC: LMAO. I had an idea for a project a while ago to have a “death motif,” and I guess that’s what Buried Out Back turned into. I like it because it’s not very apparent beyond the titles, but really digging into the tracklist it subtly runs through a lot of the lyrics and just the tone of the songs at large. I definitely leaned into it all the way for the cover art and the video for “Bodies.” Fake blood goes a long way for visuals, I’ve learned.
You run into someone who has never heard your songs. You have three words to explain your music. What do you say?
★ CC: Tyler (the Creator) joined Weezer.
“West Coast Funeral” sounds like you found some lost Weezer demos on a cassette during one of your cemetery walks and ran home to rap over them. Where were you when the idea hit?
★ CC: So I made the first demo of “West Coast Funeral” in October 2023. I was at the peak of a long Weezer phase and found the loop of the chords on Splice. The tone immediately stuck out to me, probably because it sounded exactly like something off Blue or Pinkerton. I threw the drums on it, recorded the first verse/chorus, and that was pretty much all the song was for about a year. I went back to it and just rounded it out more. My bassist recorded the lead melody that plays over the drop, and the rest is history.
So when is the Brooklyn show, the “East Coast Funeral”?
★ CC: I want to play New York so bad. I really just want to play everywhere. Can’t make any promises, but I’m excited for next year.
Check out Chris Casey and Buried Out Back here