TASTING NOTES MIXTAPE 8 by Casey
This time out, Highbury Library’s very own Casey Mckinney has compiled a playlist whilst drinking Tenuta Foresto’s La IDEAle 2020. She has been working with us whilst finishing her masters degree in philosophy and film studies and many who frequent the bar will recognise her friendly face.
Casey was born in San Diego, California but then moved to Phoenix, Arizona around the age of 11. As a youngster she trained in classical and jazz piano but modern music never really captured her attention until she went to university. She blames this on her parent’s bad taste (her words) for artists such as Bon Jovi and Aerosmith and remembers long road trips to the miserable soundtrack of Meat Loaf! She studied in Salt Lake City, Utah where her boyfriend at the time got her into bands such as Death Cab for Cutie and Pavement.
After returning to Phoenix, she distinctly remembers how the Ron Howard documentary on The Beatles really opened up her mind as to how special the band’s music is. This moment was the start of her own journey through music from 60s and 70s including that of artists such as Led Zeppelin, Cream and Donovan and then later the Laurel Canyon sound. She was living next to a second hand vinyl shop at this time which always supplied her with something inspiring but it was usually at least a few decades old. That was until she met her partner Garrett. They initially bonded over a mutual love for George Harrison but he opened up Casey’s mind to more contemporary music styles as they were often rooted in the genres and scenes that she had previously been into.
In Phoenix the pair would go to gigs regularly and when Casey moved to Paris for a year they made each other playlists once a month to keep their musical connection intact. Garrett is a musician himself and one of his songs is included on the playlist. He releases music independently on streaming services and Casey makes the artwork (and sometimes even plays on the records). It seemed only right that they work on this playlist together. We supplied a bottle of Tenuta Foresto’s winter warmer La IDEAle 2020, a big and bold Barbera from Piemonte and the pair have curated a cosy playlist to match.
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