Meet Casey Ottmann

Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey Ottmann.

Hi Casey, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I come from a family that was divided in half and then multiplied by two. As a result of that expansion, I was the new kid in school each year until the 5th grade but had already found my favorite way to communicate. Music! I spent my childhood balancing a variety of sports and instruments until I finally found the ones for me, which are skateboarding and bass guitar. At around the same time, I found the bass, my mom showed me my other favorite language.

Food! We started a family food business called Pastamore that, in 2021 is celebrating our 20th anniversary! While we grew our company, I found the truest version of creating in producing music as Thunderthief, my artist alias.

Ever since 2015, I made the decision to dedicate myself to the languages and people that I love. Creating incredibly delicious food that has been enjoyed all over the country and creating and performing music that gifts goosebumps across the world. I’m incredibly grateful to get to live this weird little life on this weird little planet!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’d been a smooth ride until 2015, then it got overwhelmingly dynamic. I was playing in Austin during SXSW for the first time when my step-dad collapsed in Vegas and was now in the ICU fighting for his life. It would take nine months of intense family collaboration to get through it alive. Just as he was feeling like himself again, my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. And for the next four years, I did my best to balance our family business, be there for my family, and write my first full-length album.

I released my debut full-length album Happy Accidents on Jan 17, 2020, three months after my mom died and two months before COVID. Since COVID, most people have experienced similar hardships, so it hardly seems fair to dive into those complexities, but throughout the pandemic, I’ve managed to buy my first house, keep our company afloat, and write my next album, Past Amore. So I think I’ve been able to contribute to the world in the best ways I can through the last year and a half.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a Music and Food Producer! As Thunderthief, I continue to evolve in blending all the sounds of my youth into brand new spectrums of sound to groove to. I listened to artists like the Beastie Boys, Blink 182, BT, The Crystal Method, The Chemical Brothers, Coheed and Cambria, and Saves the Day and that’s resulted in a genre I like to call Alt-House. I designed an instrument that’s a bass & a guitar that I got to show my mom before she passed and has been the primary tool that I used to make my upcoming album.

At Pastamore, we handmake certified gluten-free and guaranteed gluten-full pastas, balsamic vinegars, olive oil blends, and a variety of marinades. Our pasta flavors include Garlic Toasted Onion, Lemon Pepper, and Wild mushrooms, alongside around 15 other flavors. While 18-year-old Barrel-Aged Balsamic and Olive Oil blends taste amazing and help elevate most home-cooked meals. I love the fact that I get to make things that people enjoy, it’s the most ignitable feeling I’ve been able to find my whole life.

Contact Info:

• Website: iamthunderthief.com / pastamore.com

Image Credits
Aaron Bradley, Dom Vigil, and Jon Engele