Stillcastle

As the drummer for Columbus-based Stillcastle, I get to combine my passion for rhythm with my love for technology. We formed the band at Capital University in 2022, where I'm currently studying Computer Science and Music Technology. Our journey started at Full Moon Festival, and since then we've grown into an established part of the local music scene.

My background in marching band and experience with different styles - from gospel worship to rock, pop, and jazz - helps bring a unique energy to our sound. Working alongside Hope Selah, Grace Kmiecik, and Thomas Tye, we've evolved from our indie rock roots into an alternative pop sound that really captures who we are as musicians.

Being part of Stillcastle isn't just about playing drums - it's about pushing creative boundaries and finding new ways to connect with our audience. As we continue to grow and develop our sound, I'm excited to keep exploring the intersection of music, technology, and visual art.

Check out our music on Spotify, Apple Music or anywhere where you listen! Follow us on Instagram @stillcastleband

Beyond drumming with Stillcastle, I'm always working on technical projects to improve our performances. One of my proudest achievements was designing and building our own custom in-ear monitor system. I engineered the entire setup from scratch, starting with a detailed component design that included a rackmount splitter system, custom wiring configurations, and a patch bay for maximum flexibility. I also included a breakout cost sheet so we knew how much this would run us.

The heart of the system is a 16-port XLR patch bay I wired myself (thanks Niral from Infinite Cables for being awesome!), connecting to a Behringer MS8000 microphone splitter and integrated with our audio interface. My colleague Jack Sears and I spent an entire afternoon soldering all the XLR connectors and running the audio cables - it was quite the project, but his help made it possible to complete everything in one session. The whole system is housed in a compact rack case, making it both portable and professional.

What makes this system so effective is its seamless integration with venue sound systems. When we arrive at a show, we simply plug the mics into our rack and provide the FOH engineer with our transformer-isolated splits. This means minimal setup time and maximum reliability - we get perfect monitors in our ears while the sound engineer gets clean signals for the house mix. Even better, the system allows us to incorporate backing tracks into our live performances, which has been a game changer for our stage presence and audience engagement. We can hear ourselves clearly and stay perfectly in time with the tracks, which has dramatically improved our live performances.