Two Point Oh is an alt.rock band from New Jersey. We (Academy Order) played with vocalist Cameron Castan playing full band versions of his solo music on a tour date back in 2023. Talking music, seeing that iteration perform and looking into past projects (see: Whiner) made it clear there’s a pool of undeniable talent coming out of the region.
I sat down to speak with Cameron about the band's new EP, the music scene in New Jersey & New York, and life in general.
Introduce yourself (name, what you do in the band)
Hi, I’m Cameron..I sing and play bass…and usually am the one in the band crashing out [laughs].
Hey, I’m Henry. I play guitar and do other stuff. I love playing Halo 3 while I’m at work.
We’re backed live and in the studio by brothers Paul and Matt Rose…Local rock legends heavily entrenched in the New Jersey DIY hardcore music scene. Paul plays guitar and sings harmonies and Matt plays drums. I guess our producer Adam Cichoki is kinda a 5th member since he’s been shredding so hard lately while we’ve been working on new music at his studio, Timber, in Bayonne, New Jersey.
How long has Two Point Oh been active, and how did you all come together?
Henry and I grew up together in North Jersey. We’ve known each other forever. We met in the Boy Scouts in 7th grade. Played freshman football and took remedial math classes together almost every year of high school. Henry and I played in an ondie/post-punk band called Whiner for almost a decade.
Long story short, our old band broke up and we were kinda depressed and aimless for a while… Henry got a “real” job. I started making solo music and was lucky enough to have Henry come back to support me on keys/synth for a few studio sessions and bigger headlining shows.. After we played around NYC/NJ a bunch we got inspired by the vibrant new wave and resurgence of heavy rock and shoegaze bands and wanted in on the fun ourselves.
We started writing the songs for what eventually ended up becoming this band in the summer of 2023. Many long days and nights commuting back and forth between my loft in Bushwick and Henry’s house in Jersey. Carrying gear up and down stairs, setting up stuff to record with over and over. A rotating cast of friends coming over to jam and give their two cents.
Pretty much, any chance we could we tried to meet up to write and develop the sound we had been chasing. Learning how to produce our own music with a DAW, and rethinking the way that we wrote songs definitely was a big part of the process. Playing all the instruments between two people was definitely different from the band dynamic we were used to.
There was a lot of frustration and literally doing things over and over before we started to have good faith that we were on to something. It took us a while to find the direction for the band/music creatively as well. I initially wanted to try to chase this vision I had for a more indie/pop oriented group, and Henry really sold me on coming hard with a big guitar sound and rhythmically making sure people could head bang.
We both really wanted to try and give being in a band another shot, hence the name , “Two Point Oh." Once we had some songs together and we were able to shape our sound with the help of mixing and mastering engineer Trey Freye of Korine, we started looking for members within our community and after jamming with a few different people we were truly blessed to have both Paul and Matt sign on.
Where is the band based? What do you find noteworthy about being a band from there?
The band is based out of Boonton, New Jersey, that is where we write and record most of the songs. We literally recorded the first 4 songs ("Fading," "Jackie Smile," "Swallow," and "Wet Dreams") in Henry’s closet. Paul and Matt are from Edison, and we sometimes practice in their basement, and I (Cameron) have been living in NYC for a number of years, so we have a strong connection to the music scene in the LES and around Brooklyn.
The pros are that we have a wide network of friends in multiple scenes between nyc and nj and we have really nice spaces to write, record, and practice out of.
The cons are that because we live kinda far apart it can be challenging to consistently meet up to work on music and practice or rehearse. There's also this dynamic of seeing what's going on in the city and what people are into and juxtaposing against what people are into in the suburbs. How proven sounds compare to those crafted from obscurity .
What are your influences?
OLD: Deftones, Third Eye Blind, Interpol, The Cure, Pixies, Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins, Aphex Twin, Modest Mouse, Elliott Smith, The Used.
New: Superheaven, Gleemer, DIIV, Basement, MX Lonely, Korine
We aim to make hard hitting, ethereal, catchy, and emotional music that tells a story and creates this alternate world of sorts. We're inspired by a lot of different sounds and styles of music. We draw from everything.
Tell us about the subject matter for the new record.
The new record has a lot to do with overcoming trauma and mental illness. Our band is sadly riddled by anxiety. It makes functioning as an everyday person hard enough, let alone trying to execute something as difficult as making meaningful and impactful art that resonates and is able to reach others in similar positions.
I think we write from this place where we both feel trapped and like our legs have been cut off by the world and society around us, trying to shape us into what is supposed to be “right” or “normal." The songs are an escape and place for us to reflect on our feelings in an authentic way. A lot of the songs deal with loss, grief, battling dark, intrusive thoughts, and finding yourself again after relationships have gone sour. Redemption through creating and chasing that cathartic feeling from connecting with something bigger than yourself has always been the goal for us through all of our iterations and keeps us grounded amidst all the chaos.
Are you working with a label for the new record?
Not yet, but if any label is interested in working on upcoming projects please don't be shy we got a couple bangers up our sleeves.
What are some bands from your area you’d recommend?
In Blue, Nodding Off, Fashn, Lying Season are all awesome new bands that we feel like we're treading this new terrain out there in the wild with. Seriously such great and supportive people who just wanna rock and have a good time playing music.
Do you have any touring plans?
We’ve been steadily playing around NJ and NYC. We’ve hit Connecticut and Boston. Have shows in the works for Maine and Baltimore. We're itching to get on the road, so if you want us to play your city please do not hesitate to get in touch! The dream is to play europe and central/south america.. Just trying to put that out into the universe. We really wanna take this band as far as we can!
Final thoughts?
We just want to thank all the people that have been supportive of us along the way. We’ve been lucky to have a lot of help from friends, family, and fellow artists in our community. We don’t take it lightly that we have a privilege to create and perform, and we truly feel blessed that we get to do the things that we do!
We want people to know that things aren’t “over” for you just because you’ve reached a stage of life or have been through some shit, you can always start over, reinvent yourself, and try again. As long as you’re alive it’s never too late.
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Two Point Oh on social media: Instagram
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