Growing up in Hawaii, Danny Casler grew up listening to a lot of reggae and Hawaiian-style music. He enjoyed listening to those types of music, but still found himself drawn to rock music.

Growing up in Hawaii, Danny Casler grew up listening to a lot of reggae and Hawaiian-style music. He enjoyed listening to those types of music, but still found himself drawn to rock music.

So he started a rock band.

That band, National Product, is already quite a force in Hawaii and is beginning to make a name for itself in the lower 48 states as well. The band is doing so by venturing out on an American tour alongside Sound the Alarm and Lorene Drive, which includes a date at Café Revolution on Monday, Oct. 15.

Before the trio of bands hits San Antonio, Casler chatted with 210SA about growing up in Hawaii and why Pabst Blue Ribbon holds a special place in his heart.

210: How is National Product different from most other music in Hawaii?
DC: Whenever you turn on the radio or MTV here (in the lower 48), you're going to hear one of three things: pop, rock or hip-hop. In Hawaii, you turn on the radio, and you're going to hear mainly Bob Marley, reggae music and Hawaiian music . . . I love it, but at the same time, I love to rock.

210: We've heard something about your van being on fire at some point, and Pabst Blue Ribbon somehow being involved. Could you elaborate?
DC: We were just on a Canadian tour with Saosin and Poison the Well, and as we were leaving one town to go to Calgary, we started to smell this brake smell. As we're going down a hill about 70 (miles per hour), our back axle snapped. We thought the tire just went flat . . . but when we finally ended up stopping, our tire rolled right past us on fire. At that point, we knew we had a bigger issue than a flat. So we got out of the vehicle and noticed the back end of the vehicle was on fire. The brake drum had completely snapped, leaving the axle grinding on the freeway, and the entire wheel was a ball of flames. A lot of the guys evacuated and ran down the street, so me and the tour manager grabbed a cooler of PBR and ice and water and threw it on the fire . . . It's funny because having the Pabst on hand kind of helped . . . like beer saved the day.

210: You should get PBR to sponsor your tour.
DC: It would be true to the heart. I actually had a dream about Pabst last night. It was the weirdest dream. We're in Vegas, and we're using our street-teamers to replace band members, and they were playing instruments. I just remember having a Pabst and having somebody yelling at me that it was the worst drink in the world. We started arguing over it, because Pabst is a rad drink, but it's a really crappy drink for most people. To me, there's something rad about it.

210: In Texas, some of us feel the same way about Lone Star.
DC: I'm a huge Lone Star fan. It's incredible.

210: In past interviews, you've expressed displeasure at bands that aren't playing for the love of it. What did you mean by that?
DC: With anything in life, whether you're watching football or someone working at McDonald's, it doesn't matter. Passion is one of those things that creates something around a person. Going to a show and seeing a 15-year-old band onstage that sounds terrible but is absolutely passionate about what they're doing, when I see that, I no longer focus on the fact that the music isn't rad. I start to smile and focus on these kids doing what they love to do. To me, that supercedes their musical talent at this moment. They're going to get better because they're passionate, and they're going to force themselves to get better. I know how terrible we sounded when we first started. For me, I hate playing a show or ordering food and seeing someone who hates their life and hates what they're doing. If you're not doing it for the right reason, what the hell are you doing it for? You're not going to make money in this business, because 99 percent of us won't make money. The girls? That, too, is fickle and short. What else are you doing it for? That's my question.