By: Alexandra Kukulka, Contributing Writer

Casey Barth, 18, plays acoustic and electric guitar, drums and keyboard. He also writes his songs, performs shows and manages to make time for college. He is a solo artist but has help from many different musicians, such as Dickie Paris on drums; Tim Archibald on bass; and Lawry Kook on lead guitar, to help make his songs come together. A freshman at Columbia majoring in music with a concentration in composition, Barth released his debut album, “Make Your Heart Go,” in April 2010. He also attended GRAMMY camp in 2009 and 2010.

The Chronicle chatted with Barth about his music career, songwriting and GRAMMY camp.

The Chronicle: How did you get started playing music?

Casey Barth: I started through drums. I picked it up at age 6 and stuck with it throughout high school. But around freshman year, I realized I really wanted to write songs of my own. I had recently gotten interested in poetry, so I began by learning piano, guitar and singing as much as I could. The more I played, the more songs I wrote. I just fell in love with that feeling of pure creation. It was addicting and still is.

The Chronicle: What is GRAMMY Camp?

CB: GRAMMY Camp is literally the greatest music industry boot camp anyone could ask for. It’s nine days of intensive music creation, collaboration, performance, seminars, networking, etc. There is no other program in the world like it, and I can safely say the musicians and professionals I met there changed my life. The GRAMMY Foundation is doing some seriously wonderful things for the next generation of musicians.

The Chronicle: What were the important steps in making your first album, “Make Your Heart Go?”

CB: I was lucky to have a supportive net of professionals and family around me to help me make it happen, but it was a lot of work. I spent every weekend [during] my senior spring break in my producer’s studio. And when I wasn’t at his place, I was writing and recording new tracks at my home studio. It was a continuous cycle of creating, refining and recording.

The Chronicle: How did you find the members of your band for that album?

CB: For the album [“Make Your Heart Go,” producer] Brian Maes brought in the guys he thought would best suit my music. I had no idea how close I was gonna get with that band. Dickie, Tim and Kook are just as much my buddies as anyone. They each brought such a good energy to the project. It was inspiring to work with all of them.

The Chronicle: Are there specific steps you take when writing a song?

CB: There are certainly tendencies I’ll resort to sometimes, but the more I write, the more I try to treat each song independently. Whatever I’m hearing or feeling, I’ll just try until I find something that really sticks. It’s honestly just as much about patience as it is creativity. I’ve spent weeks or months writing a song, and all of a sudden a spark just lights and I can finish it.

The Chronicle: How do you select the melody for your songs?

CB: Gibberish and mumblings. It’s [the] most productive language I know. I’ll loop whatever progression I’m writing and just sing random vowels, word-like sounds and rhythms over it. The sound of the note is just as important as the note itself. So the lyrics often come with the original melody until I fill in the blanks later. But I want to get certain emotions across, so the feeling I get from each word plays a big role. I need to love saying the words as well as

singing them.

The Chronicle: Do you ever fear you won’t make it?

CB: That fear is innate for any career path. There’s always that voice that says, “Hey guess what? If it doesn’t work out, you’re screwed.” But then there’s the fact that I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. Music is my lifelong passion. And given that I’m only 18, I have a lot more of it to live. A good friend of mine once told me, “It’s the people with no backup plan, the people who are willing to fall forward into the unknown, those are the people who make it.” I have no clue where this career is [going to take me], but I’m excited to find out.

For more information, go to CaseyBarth.com or Facebook.com/CaseyBarthMusic.com to listen to Barth’s music and hear his new song, “Daylight.”