My Brothers Keeper

I have seen many siblings interact. Some families have their own dynamic and I am glad to say the Casler's have a calmer vibe than most. It was not always so, in fact, I really didn't like my brother growing up. He was always tagging along, telling on me, getting me into fights because he would smart off to someone and then say "You wont do anything, my older brother is right over there and he will beat you up."

Then there were the times when he would chase me around the house with a butcher knife because I hit him or something. I had plenty of time, behind a locked door with the constant thuds of a sharp blade hitting wood to think; man, this kids really is fucking annoying.

I kinda laugh now when my two girls vow to hate each other for life because in truth, I slowly came to like my little brother. Maybe it was the fact that early on in Hawaii we just had each other in a new and wondrous place. I got my love for music from my father and his old records. Later when I started to write lyrics my brother and I would make up our own dance moves and I watched him start his own little group with a buddy. I fondly remember DJ'ing one of his birthdays.

When he entered into high school I was a senior with plans to join the Marines. It seemed he had become his own man with his own personality and we would awkwardly get into trouble together. My favorite stories of my brother are his growing pains. The time he lost his virginity and came running into my room, frantic, almost in tears "DAVE!!!!! I need your HELP!!!" The story is great, maybe for him to one day tell but what shocked me more is that my little brother needed MY help? See, Dan has always been head strong and always insisting to do things on his own, his way, his rules. Sometimes I felt like I was outside his life, desperately wanting to get in and be apart of it so we could be closer.

Just when we were actually getting along, I graduated high school and left for Paris Island, not to return to Hawaii until my ten year high school reunion. I saw Dan a handful of times but mostly due to my deployments, eventual marriage and kids, his schooling and band, timing just seemed to be something that eluded us. I remember my father calling me and screaming into the phone frantically. My brother gets on and start to tell me story in which he got caught with nude photos, at school, of his ex girlfriend and then he says "I told dad that they were yours, that you took them."

"WHAT!!!! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!!!" I yelled. His reply "Dude.......you're 3000 miles away, he cant kill YOU!!"

My brother had always been a crafty bastard. As kids, when he did something he wasn't supposed to do and you caught him on it, he would stub his toe on purpose then pretend to cry in an attempt to change the subject.

When I moonlighted as a pizza delivery guy while in the Marines, I would use my free time to call Dan and listen to him tell me all about the progress of his band and his life. I would blast his three song demo constantly in the pizza shop and then after work I would take copies that I made and drop them off at the local radio stations. I would spend hours emailing links to his music record labels. I was proud of my little brother.

Our relationship changed when I almost died in Iraq from a car bomb bombing. We became closer, talking more often. When I was going through my divorce I was able to tour with Dan and his band while in our home state of Hawaii and watch him play in California. If you've never had the pleasure of watching Dan and National Product rock out, it's nothing short of amazing. Here was this kid that used to chase me around with a knife while screaming like a banshee, on a stage mesmerizing a crowd to include me. His stage presence reminds you of Mick Jagger in the way that he his confident and animated while drawing each and every person listinging into the moment he orchestrates. It's as if you're afraid if he stops you'll never see it again, it's that rare. When watching him sing, I like to briefly scan the crowed to she there reactions. You can tell by their focused stares that they are realizing something amazing too. My last conversation about my brother to my grandmother days before her passing, was describing to her how amazing he is. She was always worried about my little brother and hearing that he had a new album and that he was this amazing performer eased her mind and she smiled.

When I got married to Maria, I couldn't imagine him not being by my side and he was.

Today, my brother and I have a very different relationship than we did we when we were younger. We dream together, plan together and what we will accomplish together will only bring us closer as brothers.

Happy Birthday Dan, I love you.

David