The Truth, The Whole Truth & Nothing But the Truth, So Help Me Blog… Part 2

There has got to be something better out there for me. I have got to make something happen.

On February 3rd, 2005, I was in my office checking my emails. An email popped up that said:

Subject: INXS-Lead Singer Auditions-CHICAGO

INXS, the multi-platinum international Rock band is looking for their next lead singer. Mark Burnett Productions, the creator of Survivor and The Apprentice has created a new reality TV series on CBS that will give singers and songwriters the opportunity to become the next lead singer of INXS. We are looking for Men and Women of all styles that are ages 21 and up. Audition will be asked to perform up to 3 songs (INXS songs are NOT required.) They may perform to a CD track (w/ no vocal) or with 1 musical instrument.

Auditions will be held in:
CHICAGO
On 2/6/05- Open Call (At Schuba's Tavern) On 2/7/05- Invite Only/Industry Referrals To schedule an audition or for more information, contact:
P**** ****n
Talent Producer
www.INXSrockstar.com

Audition cities:
Atlanta, GA - 1/20/05
Orlando, FL - 1/22
Charlotte, NC- 1/25
Nashville, TN- 1/27
New York, NY- 1/30
Minneapolis,MN- 2/1
Toronto, ON - 2/4
Chicago, IL- 2/6
Boston, MA- 2/9
Omaha, NE- 2/11
New Orleans,LA- 2/14
Austin, TX- 2/16
Seattle, WA- 2/19
Los Angeles,CA- 2/25
London, England -2/8
Sydney, Australia -TBD

I clicked on the email and read it thru. I turned my head away from the computer screen and let the information settle in my bones for a moment. I recall thinking, "Audition, I have never really auditioned for anything in my life!" And in letting my insecurities think for me, I mentally said to myself "Reality TV is so lame, why would I want to be a part of that?". Upon finishing up that thought I quickly grabbed the mouse and landed the arrow on delete and threw the email into the virtual trash. My next email message popped up and it was an identical of the previous email with other names included on the address line. In the mix were members of Blackmaker, Gelheads and the rest of the Lovehammers (Billy, Bobby & Dino). While I was scrolling thru the other names listed on this distro I kept thinking that no one on the list had as much stage experience leading a band as I have had.

At times my voice had been compared to Michael Hutchence and I thought that might be a good sign. We are both more or less tenors albeit he had a little higher reach in his range. I started daydreaming a scenario of me being on a tv show with a winner's wreath of green laurel leaves falling over my shoulders while shaking my clasped hands from shoulder to shoulder. I made a quick reply email and said I could be there anytime after 1 pm and clicked send. I immediately stood up from my chair and paced the office thinking about what I was gonna sing. It made for an exciting day.

I had to get my game plan together for the audition. I went thru the songs I had written most recently and thought thru to what might work best to showcase my voice. I wrote down the titles of the songs on a yellow legal pad and begun crossing off titles that I knew would not work. I worked in a flurry and when I was finished two songs remained on the list. The first was a little ditty called "The Riddle" that was simple and memorable. It had a solid vocal hook and the guitar progression was pretty easy to play and sing at the same time. My confidence as a guitarist was tested at the time because I usually fronted the Lovehammers with just a microphone and played little guitar on stage. The remaining song was a new song I had recently written in New York called "Trees". It was another fairly simple tune with a huge vocal hook and positive message. I felt comfortable with these two songs for the audition. I put the notepad aside and switched my brain to the right side (analytical) and got some appraisal work done.

The coming weekend was Superbowl weekend. New England Patriots versus the Philadelphia Eagles. I took it easy over the weekend and layed low. I knew if I had gone out all weekend tearing it up with my friends I would have been worn out for the big game. On Superbowl Sunday I headed over to my friend Timmy Mac's house in neighboring Evergreen Park. I arrived just in time for the kickoff. The most exciting part of the game that I recall was watching the racy Godaddy.com commercial starring the well-endowed and scantily clad brunette in a tank top. It was the talk of the game. The game was a close match, and I was talking with my friend Jim during Paul McCartney's halftime show. I mentioned that I had the opportunity to audition to be the lead singer of INXS. The moment I completed that statement he kinda leaned back on his heals with a concerned look in his eyes and said "You're gonna do it right?" I said I wasn't sure (insecurity speaks again). I knew that if I were going to hangout all night then I would be pretty wiped out for the audition. Jim whom is usually the one coaxing me to do a shot or have a beer took me aside and said that I should take this audition seriously. He said that when I mentioned the audition he felt like it was something big, that it was important. He said we should go eat some jambalaya in the kitchen before the second half starts. We had some grub and then continued to watch the game. After the third quarter I pulled a disappearing act and walked out the back door of the party. I went home, grabbed my guitar and sat on the floor of my living room. I had no furniture in my place. I knew that I was only living in my condo till I found a tenant so I only had a bed and some really nice kitchen utensils. I strummed out "The Riddle" and "Trees" and sang them thru a couple of times. My voice felt good and I felt confident I would do well at the audition.

I laid in bed and thought about what I would wear and fell asleep. I woke up and headed to my office in the Loop. I busted out of there after lunch and I headed over to Schuba's. I got there about 15 minutes before my scheduled time. I checked in and filled out the first few pages of appearance contracts. It basically stated that they were taping the audition and they could use it as part of the "INXS Rockstar Show". This would be the first few pages of the 1,000's of contract pages I would eventually initial or sign over the course of the 4-month audition process. I remember the last question on the page was "What is your favorite sports team?" and I put CUBBIES! I handed in my signed documents and they took a Polaroid picture of my face and handed me a number. I tuned my guitar by ear and waited for my number to be called.

Minutes later my digits were called and I strutted my way to the stage in a separate room of the venue. They asked me a few quick questions and then told me to play them a tune. I realized at that moment that I had tuned my guitar to D on accident and I thought: F**K it, I'll play "Tunnel". I jammed thru the tune and my voice was really powerful. I was glad I played that tune. It was impassioned and effective. There were about 10 people in the room. 2 guys running the show and some Chicago booking agents, band managers and music attorneys that I had seen around town but never really met. They were engaged in the performance. I finished the tune and they clapped politely. They told me to play another one so I played "Trees". Finished that one and played about 30 seconds of "Riddle" and messed up the chording so I ended up doing a really short version. They asked a few more random questions about my performing experience and then said, "We really love your voice but INXS is looking for someone to front the band." I told them that's what I normally do but needed some accompaniment for these songs. They told me to learn one of the INXS songs off the greatest hits cause they had backing tracks I could sing over.
Basically Karaoke style with no lyrics monitor. They also said I could bring a friend to play guitar. I asked when was the callback and they said "TOMORROW". I was kind of shell shocked cause I would have to choose a song, memorize the lyrics and get something together overnight. I was psyched I got asked back but knew I had a lot of work to do. I packed up my stuff and headed to a work appointment I had scheduled in Downers Grove later that afternoon.

On my drive out to the burbs I called Billy and asked if he could come play some guitar for me at the crazy audition I had the following afternoon. He had no idea what the heck I was talking about. Billy was on vacation with his family in Mexico and just got home that day. I could tell he was really tired from the trip, and he said he didn't know if he would be able to make it. I could tell he had a lot to do cause he just got back and had a ton of work to catch up on. I said "Ok, no worries". I hung up and thought about calling Ben Kelly. He played guitar in Lovehammers for many years before his law career took off. It got to the point where he didn't have enough time to do music and law, and we let him go it was a really hard decision to ask him to leave the band. Worse than any "break-up" scenario I had ever been involved in before. I had to deliver the news when it all went down, and I felt terrible about it. Because of all of this our friendship was tarnished, and we didn't talk much for a very long time. I didn't know whom else to call to help me. This was really important and I literally said out loud to myself "What the hell, I'm calling Ben."

I called and he picked up. He said "What up Mart". That was a good sign. He had not deleted my number from his phone. We talked for a few minutes and then I blurted out rather abruptly... "I need a huge favor..." In his lawyer state of mind he said "Are you in trouble?" I said, "No, it's nothing like that, I need a HUGE favor and I hope I'm not out of line in asking you". He said, "What's up?" I excitedly told him about the INXS audition and spoke so excitedly that the words tripped over one another. After my impassioned rant he simply stated, "Tell me where to be and I'll be there." I was so relieved to hear that. I told him we needed to be at Schuba's at 1 pm the following day. He mentally took a second and told me he had to be in court at that time but he would arrange for someone to cover him. I calmly said, "Thank you so much Ben, you have no idea how much this means to me."

I stopped off at a Best Buy to find INXS: Greatest Hits but they did not have it in the store. I knew I had a copy somewhere in my boxes of cd's in my basement storage unit but wanted to start picking out a song NOW. I went to my appointment then headed to my brothers house cause my parents were in town, and we all had plans to hang-out that evening. I had so much to do but didn't want to cancel on the family. We hung out till about 9 o'clock and then I raced home. I ripped open my huge box of cd's and sat Indian style on the floor with the box in front of me. I probably had about 250 cd's so I would pick up a stack and fling them one by one onto the concrete floor. I rifled thru and in about 10 minutes I found INXS: Greatest Hits. I ran upstairs and put the disk in my cd player and started listening thru. I hadn't heard the cd in awhile and I realized it was going to be a tough call to choose one song cause there were a lot of cool tunes. I thought I should choose something that would stand out. The casting agents would have heard "Never Tear Us Apart", "Devil Inside" and "I Need You Tonight" a million times. I narrowed it down and chose "Listen Like Thieves." It wasn't a huge hit but I thought I could really make it rock. I took the cd in my car and started driving west. I don't know if it was a magnetic pull of Los Angeles or what but I just wanted to listen loud that was the direction I was driven.

Driving makes me sane. Movement keeps me grounded. I listened over and over just trying to figure out the meaning of the song. It's important to know the meaning of a cover song in order to deliver a powerful performance. When I caught a grasp of the intent I started to picture the lyrics like it were a movie script. I had little time to get these lyrics down and had to visualize some mental cues if I was going to get thru it without a lyric meltdown.

I drove for about 45 minutes all the way to the oil refineries in Lockport, Illinois. It's a surreal environment there. Black of night with huge smokestacks and cyclone fencing. It feels like an Area 51 alien spaceport. There are thick layers of smoke in the air and the yellow tinged floodlights make it feel like you've entered the Twilight Zone. I was so immersed in the song I didn't really engage in the setting until the song ended. I looked around and said "Whoa!
I'm getting the hell otta here". I pulled a u-turn and headed back in the direction of home. Nobody was out on these roads at this hour. It was deserted. A mile down the road I got stuck at a train crossing with a slow moving engine making its way across my path. There were no railcars attached. Just lazy engine engine number nine switching tracks. As I was idling at the railroad right-of-way I looked around my car to make sure there wasn't a random toxic avenger or man with a hook hand popping out of the gully. I locked my doors. You know the feeling, when you keep your eyes straight ahead and feel around with your left hand like a blind man locating an elevator call button. I pressed the automatic locks and felt a bit more secure in this eerie scenario. If there were a toxic avenger out there it wouldn't be politically correct to racially profile his species so I did the door locking on the down low. The train passed and the blinking gates swung open and I floored it.

I got back to my listening/learning session and had a good grasp of "Listen Like Thieves" by the time I arrived home. I downloaded the song onto my I-Pod, brushed my teeth and jumped into my comfy bed. I put the headphones to my ears and set the player to repeat. I set the volume pretty low and started to mentally picture my performance. I was really into it and was even twitching my hands and feet with every mental scissor kick or imaginary hand flourish. I feel asleep with the song playing thru the night. In the morning I found the I-Pod across the room. At some point my subconscious had enough of the repetition and ordered my sleeping self to hit the manual eject button.

I rushed thru my morning rituals and grabbed the same outfit I auditioned in the day before. I heard somewhere that if you ever get a callback you should wear the same outfit cause that was part of the reason they liked you. I think I had a black shirt, vest, red tie, striped pants and a multitude of belts that never manage to keep my butt crack in check. Yea, I know, pretty much the same thing I wear to this day, but hey, it's me. I raced to work and threw my bags on the floor. I put the cd in my corporate issued PC and put the volume to the top of the line. I rolled up my sleeves and manhandled the desk into the corner of the room and shoved the cadenza into the other corner. I set up two cardboard boxes of files like monitors in front of the gy-normous window that overlooked the grey daze of wintry Chicago. I pulled the blinds wide open, spilled the #2 pencils out of the pencil holder and imagined it were a microphone. I jumped around the room and figured out some distinctive moves for various highlights of the song. I would put my foot up on the box of files and impromptu some rockstart posing. I was jumping around mad conductor style and really digging in to orchestrate a performance piece. My window faces 100's of other offices in neighboring high-rise buildings and I have to believe that someone saw me absolutely freaking out in my vanilla box office. I can't imagine what that would have looked like.

After an hour or so I fell into my swivel chair with sweat dripping down my face and a #2 leaded pencil tip in my right butt cheek.

To Be Continued...... Marty Casey