80-Proof Throwdown

Summary
80-Proof Throwdown was a heavy metal band based in Cape Coral Florida. Established in 2005 by singer/guitarist "Beerkeg" Brandon Casterline and singer/guitarist/programmer Mike Black, 80-Proof Throwdown boke new musical ground with its signature fusion of thrash metal, death metal, industrial and Southern rock. The band released one album, Trailer Park Rhapsody, before disbanding in 2007.

History
"Beerkeg" Brandon Casterline and Mike Black met at the end of 2003 when they both began working at a local Wal-Mart. Black was then working on an ill-fated industrial-rock project at the time, however Casterline had never been in a band before. The men began hanging out and jamming together at Casterline's house and became fast friends. Before long, they began recording metal songs together in a project called All Hope Lost with Casterline on guitars and bass, and Black on vocals and drum programming, as they couldn't find a suitable drummer for the project.

All Hope Lost recorded a self-titled EP with five songs on it, however they never released the EP because neither member was happy with Black's vocals. Black has stated that, in retrospect, the probably should have had Casterline doing the vocals because he had a better singing voice than Black. As a result, the EP was scrapped and the project discontinued.

The duo recorded a few industrial-metal songs during 2004, however after the death of Pantera and Damageplan guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbot on December 8, 2004, Casterline and Black shifted their sound to a much heavier metal sound and began using synthesizers less and less over a period of time. Black made a conscious effort to get better at guitar as a tribute to his two favorite guitarists Dimebag Darrell and Johnny Ramone, who both died in 2004, and this helped shape the overall sound of the new music. Without a permanent band name, Casterline and Black began recording a new LP in January 2005, beginning with a new song called "Virgin No More".

Later in the year, the duo adopted the name 80-Proof Throwdown, referring to an inside joke about the weekly parties that took place at Black's house where large quantities of alcohol were consumed, and all the drunken antics that took place at these parties. The band's membership was open-ended, with Black and Casterline being the only permanent members of the band. Other "guest" members included Black's longtime friend Dan Savage on vocals and Brandi Typhoid (credited as "Brandi Famous" in 80-Proof Throwdown's liner notes), Sailor Barry, and Casterline's cousin Friggin' J.

Recording of the album progressed slowly, mostly due to the fact that the band members were usually drunk during recording, added to the fact that the band didn't have its own recording equipment early on and had to borrow equipment from friends. The process sped up slightly when Black was given an old computer from a co-worker at the trailer park he lived in. Originally, Savage was named the band's singer, however Savage ended up contributing to only four of the album's songs and later on was not listed as a permanent member due mostly to creative differences. The tracks that Savage's vocals can be heard on include "B.I.H." and "Raising Hell", which he did all the main vocals on, and "Virgin No More" and "Cattle" which feature him on backing vocals. Friggin' J and and Sailor Barry can be heard on "The Beer Song", with J on main vocals.

Decline and CD Releases
2006 was a tough year for the band; Black tended to move from place to place all year long, which further slowed the recording process. That summer, with recording for the disc on hiatus for several months, Black began recording new electronic-rock songs by himself and called the new project Khaos Faktory. Shortly before completion of 80-Proof Throwdown's album, which had by then been dubbed Trailer Park Rhapsody, Black had completed five songs under the name Khaos Faktory and self-released an EP titled Open for Business to a local record store in North Fort Myers, Florida called A.B.CD's.

Just after the Khaos Faktory demo was finished, Casterline and Black were quick to finish Trailer Park Rhapsody because Casterline had signed up to join the United States Marine Corps, and had only a few weeks left before he shipped off for boot camp. The final guitar work for the album was recorded literally the day before Casterline departed.

Black took a month to do the final mixing on the album before self-releasing the Friday The 13th EP, which featured three tracks from Trailer Park Rhapsody and a hidden "stupid shit" track, which was a one-minute snippet of Figgin' J and Casterline goofing around in a drunken stupor. Friday The 13th was appropriately released on Friday, October 13, 2006 and followed by Trailer Park Rhapsody on Halloween the same year. Friday the 13th had a limited-release run of only 50 copies, which were given away for free, and the album was sold for only $5 a copy.

Aftermath
Beerkeg Brandon Casterline's departure marked the end of 80-Proof Throwdown as it had been. Black continued on with the project for several months after Trailer Park Rhapsody's release and auditioned several potential lead guitarists, but was unable to find a suitable replacement for Casterline. Black recorded five new songs that he planned on using for a future 80-Proof Throwdown album or EP, however none of these songs were ever completed or released in any way. During 2007, for a short time Black was joined by Neither bassist Steve Angelero, however he left the project before recording anything due to the fact that his own band was in the process of finishing up their long-awaited debut LP Onubtainium. With that, 80-Proof Throwdown was placed on indefinite hiatus.

Near the end of 2007 Black resuscitated Khaos Faktory and put together a full band. A new version of 80-Proof Throwdown's song "Cattle", which had been track #2 on Trailer Park Rhapsody was recorded and released on Khaos Faktory's debut LP Sinthetic Alchemy. Black has also hinted at recording a new version of "At The Gates", also featured on the 80-Proof Throwdown album, for Khaos Faktory's sophomore album Twisted Fixed & Remixes.

Black has also stated on 80-Proof Throwdown's Myspace page that he eventually wants to bring the band back from the dead if the opportunity presents itself.