ABOUT

Like in any musical family, while growing up Stan was compelled to take piano lessons, as well as a wind instrument, which in his case was French horn. However, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones put an end to that, singing about girls and with no French horn in sight.

Piano, however, had its place on the pop radio that he was beginning to hear as a kid; and he had taken great interest in the 20th century symphonic music that his parents would blare through a large hi-fi. They were also interested in both extremely low notes and the hearing capabilities of bats. So while he was avoiding his French horn lessons, he did his own experiments with music, mostly by ear. Guitar had portability, as well as use in instrumental surf music. That seemed a good fit.

High school and college years presented everything from Buffalo Springfield to Mississippi John Hurt, John Mayall, Chet Atkins, Yes, Julian Bream, Maurice Ravel and Luigi Boccherini. It was these latter composers that brought compositional relevance to him, although he still plays largely by ear. Playing bass in cover bands put him through college, but taking a guitar out into the wilds while studying birds and fossils is where he made up most of the music he plays today.                

Stan Cassell has become a mainstay of the thriving Portland, OR music scene. He plays, in large part, what could be called Americana and worldly guitar and is highly regarded for his original compositions. He performs widely around the area, including for tens of thousands of travelers every week at PDX as part of their entertainment program, as well as with his band, The Mighty Grebes.