Blog of Marty Casey

Seen The Scene

2008-09-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

Buenos Aires, Argentina

We arrived in Buenos Aires with no more than 3 hours of sleep and a full days schedule ahead. We were greeted by a new promoter, Pablo, ah yes, Pablo the Promoter. I think I am getting the hang of this. Pablo was taking us to meet a man named Chino that was responsible for arranging this tour through South America. Chino was holding court at a nice restaurant on the river with uncorked bottles of wine awaiting us. It is 1 pm and the party has already begun. I think the reality of Argentina is that the party never ends. I ordered some "Pasta con Calabasas" (pumpkin stuffed pasta shells) and chugged some sparkling water cause I know how they roll here with the wine. Chino speaks very little English so Pablo acted as translator throughout our stay here. Chino told stories about some of the different bands that he has brought down to Argentina. He ended up having the most drama with Velvet Revolver but also had a great time with them as well. Next on his list is Motley Crue coming to Argentina in October for the first time ever. There are posters all over the city promoting this event and Chino is excited.

After lunch we headed to the Hotel NH City to check in and hopefully get a few minutes to rest. The hotel was beautiful and located in the heart of the historical district. All of the government buildings were at the end of the block situated around a small central park. There was a lot of activity in the busy hotel and as I was walking up to the desk I noticed someone that looked kinda familiar. I looked over again and wondered, "Where do I know that dude from?" I couldn't figure it out until I saw a tour laminate on another person that said "Boy George". What a crazy situation to see Boy George in Buenos Aires. I walked up and said "Hello Boy George". He stood up and said hi and told me that I looked like I was in a rock band. I told him LA Guns had some shows in town and mentioned I saw posters for his Culture Club Greatest Hits Tour In Lima, Peru. He told me he was pissed that it was promoted as Culture Club and Greatest Hits because it was neither. He said, "It's just Boy George". I laughed when he spoke of himself in the third person. It was a fun conversation because he was in a good mood, cracking jokes, making fun of himself and I think he was just happy to talk in English. His band came over and I got to meet some of the musicians and backround singers. George asked if we wanted to go to his show at the Luna Park Arena. Then he said, "If you don't wanna go I won't take offense, you will probably be bored to tears with the show anyway". I told him we would love to go and he waved his finger and a tour manager showed up and took down all of our names. We snapped a picture and I told him to "Break a leg!" We ended up getting there about 30 minutes into the set and saw the last hour. We had third row seats in this huge arena and enjoyed the show. There was a great mix of pop, reggae, rock, dance and soul showcased throughout the set. At one point he said he could not hear himself loud enough so he told the band to exit the stage and he performed a duet with the female backround singer. I was impressed with the way he just changed the entire set cause he didn't like how it was going. It turned out to be the highlight of the show. It was also really fun to see Tracii, Jeremy, Chad and Big AL at a Boy George concert. We definitely stood out in our black attire because everyone else was bright as butterflies. Tracii and Jeremy hung out in the very back and just chilled out while the rest of us enjoyed being up closer and checking out the show. We had passes to go backstage after the show but George was getting really bitchy on stage because of the poor stage monitor system so we thought it would be best to just roll out.

In Buenos Aires we ended up having three shows in 24 hours. We had an acoustic performance at a club just after midnight where Tracii and I played songs together. It was more of a meet and greet with the fans than anything else. The people coming to this particular show were not necessarily hardcore fans. I got the feeling that they were there to see an American rock band. Many have heard of Tracii and others saw Rockstar: INXS but mainly the crowd would listen intently and clap along with the beat of the songs. When we finished the short set we hang out, took pictures and signed autographs.

The next show this evening was at a unique place called ROXY that was situated underneath the subway. UNDERNEATH THE SUBWAY!!! A true underground club constructed with cement walls in a catacomb like structure. The club was huge and slit into two separate venues. One side was Rock n' Roll and the other side was a Discothèque playing dance music. When we walked into ROXY at 2:30 AM you could hear a mix of the opening rock band and the deep thumping bass of the dance club. There was no way to keep the sound divided and each venue was trying to out-boom the other. I was excited. This was a cool place to get to play and it made us feel very much a part of the city and a part of the scene. The way things work here is that many of the clubs open at 2 AM and close at 8 AM. At 8 AM the partiers head to the "Post Parties". Yes, a Post-Party that begins at 8 AM. Definitely an alternative lifestyle. By 3 AM, ROXY was slammed with a line down the block. I could not believe how many people were just beginning their evening in the wee hours of the morning.

We were escorted to a VIP section in the back of the club that had video games, fooze ball and nice couches to chill on. We hung there for a while and I got restless and decided to explore the place. There is no drinking age in Buenos Aires and most clubs allow anyone in over 18. The dance floor was filled with teenagers just going crazy and it seemed like everyone had a can of Power Energy Drink in their hand. There was so much intense energy going and I just stood in amazement. I have never seen this scene in the states. I was the only one in the dance club at that moment not dancing. It was wall-to-wall one huge dance floor. I started bending my knees and swaying my hips a bit to jump into the party but I just ended up feeling like a complete idiot. I felt like Steve Martin in the movie "The Jerk" when he was learning how to dance. This foot here, this foot there…… I wasn't up for dancing at the moment. I just wanted to witness. I walked around the perimeter of the club and stumbled upon the DJ booth. The DJ was a rockstar in his own regard with a mass of girls pushing their way up towards the booth. He was clad in total DJ gear with neon yellow and black hoodie, baseball cap tilted to the side, black sunglasses and perfectly manicured 5 o'clock shadow. He looked like his stage name would be "DJ Bumblebee". I wandered around for a few more minutes and decided to check out my dressing room.

I was surprised that there were a bunch of dudes with Hell Angels jackets hanging out in our dressing room. They knew the club owner somehow and I kicked back and hung out but their Spanish was spoken too quickly and with to much slang to understand. I just pretended they were talking about knives, motorcycles, loose woman and Jack Daniels!

I was wondering how I was going to get my energy level up for the show. We were real tired at this point and still had another hour and ½ before showtime. We ended up meeting with fans and just talking our way through the evening. By the time we hit the stage at 4:45 AM, the place was slammed packed from front to back and the energy in the room got me going. The crowd was really intensely involved in the show. They would dance, sing and sometimes even chant in-between our songs. It sounded a little like the chant "O-ley, O-ley, O-ley, O-ley…." but different. At one point in the show I saw a girl in the 4th or 5th row flicking me off out of the corner of my eye. I was a bit stunned and when I turned towards her to address her she then put both fingers in the air. I flexed my brow signifying "What's Up with that?" and she cinched her lips and scrunched her face and waved the birds at me. I kept on with the show but had to laugh thinking, "What the hell is that all about!" After the show we hung in the dressing room and then headed out to meet some fans. I saw the double bird girl and walked up and asked her "Porque (why)" and then held up my middle fingers. She said "No Se (I don't know)" We laughed and I once again thought "What the hell is that all about!'

At 6 or 6:30 AM we got the crue together and headed back to the hotel. We were absolutely beat and needed to get some sleep for the full day ahead.

We got a few hours of sleep and then the rest of the guys headed to Chino's house for a BBQ. I stayed back and caught a few more hours of sleep. It was nice to also take a walk thru the market and get a feel for the city of Buenos Aires. I stopped in a record store and bought a compilation of Tango music, the music of Argentina and then had some lunch

I have noticed a unique thing about Buenos Aires. Whenever the topic of eating comes up, everyone needs to lean in and tell you how amazing Argentinean meat is. They tell you before you order, "Beef de Argentina is the best", after you order they tell you, "You are going to love the Beef" and then when you are eating they ask you "Are you loving the Beef?" It so out of control that when I was placing my steak and fries order with the waiter at an outdoor café, a passerby gave me a thumbs up when he heard me order. This is getting out of control!

When everyone arrived back from the BBQ we were escorted to a club to do press and a meet-n-greet and then over to the big show at SUPERROCK in the evening. This club was packed and when we hit the stage I was surprised at the amazing LA Guns banner that was the backdrop. I had never seen it before. Between songs I asked Jeremy where the backdrop came from and he said "Chino made it for us!" We played for an hour and ½. I liked that the crowd drew big signs as requests for songs they wanted to hear. It felt like ½ rock show and the other 1/2 soccer game. We played everything they wanted to hear and even had some guests come up and perform with us. At one point I jumped into the crowd near the end of the show and I didn't expect the response I encountered. My black handkerchief I wear on my wrist, scarf I had hanging out of my back pocket and my Trees necklace were tore off me. Even my cheap red belt was broken at the buckle. When security pulled me back on stage Chad was laughing his ass off. He said "I tried to tell you, if they get the chance they are gonna steal your stuff!" I was a little stunned and my neck had a little slice in it where the necklace was yanked off. I never felt threatened in any way; it was more like piranhas nipping at your knees. During the last song I saw the different articles I had lost held up in the air. One guy had the handkerchief, another guy had the scarf and was waving it in the air and I saw that a girl had torn then necklace off of me. That cut still stings a bit.

After the show I had a conversation with Chino and he told me via translator that he was sending Pedro with us to Uruguay to make sure we caught the boat and everything went smoothly and safely for us. He knew we needed a translator so he gave us his. I was really amazed at how caring he was and how he was willing to send one of his crue with us to manage the 24 hour excursion. Chino is an amazing man and he treats us like family.

Monte Video, Uruguay

We arrived in Monte Video, Uruguay via boat at 11 AM. The people of Uruguay take Sunday very seriously. Every store is closed and I saw few people out and about. We jumped on a bus and took a ride to the hotel. One thing that I realized when we arrived is that it is winter here. I jumped of the boat in a tank top and a vest and needed a down jacket and a scarf. Tracii saw that I was freezing and dug thru his bag and gave me a long sleeved shirt and a jacket. When we were driving to the hotel we passed a cute old couple that was riding along in their horse drawn carriage. I felt like we were in a black and white movie. The sky is grey, the buildings are grey, the streets are dusty black and there is absolutely no movement going on. At one point we passed thru some activity at the local flea market. At the market they had everything that you need for life here in Monte Video; Fishing rod reels are 2 for $10, a rubber rain suit can be purchased in multi-colors, you can buy used car parts, old shoes and even live chickens. Good choices for my brothers and sisters upcoming birthdays!!! We arrived at the Hotel Los Angeles (fitting) and were all ready to get a few hours rest. We got done with the post show meet-n-greet responsibilities at 4 AM this morning and were headed to Uruguay at 7 AM. We are all a bit tired and cranky. We headed up to our rooms and Chad and I were sharing a "Suite", Jeremy shared his with Big Al and Tracii had his own. The hotel gave me the feeling like I was living in the board game CLUE. There were candlesticks, butlers, swords, debutante guests and a mahogany main bar. While we were checking in I felt like I should push on the walls and find the secret passage. The hotel workers were all very polite but had a suave creepiness to them. When I arrived at the 5th floor landing the maid came rushing past me and slipped into a large broom closet and closed the door. She is the FIRST suspect on my list!

Our room consisted of 3 narrow beds with hard mattresses and it was so cold you could see your breath. There was no thermostat, no available heater or anything else to do but jump under the mound of blankets on my bed. I think the blankets are as old as the capital building down the block. They smell musty but I'm happy that I have them. I flipped on the TV and the first thing that pops up is some foreign language show featuring a huge gorilla brushing a woman's long blonde hair and then it showed the same gorilla driving a car. I know that Chad and I were slaphappy from lack of sleep but we were rolling with laughter from the ridiculousness of it all. Chad said "Only in Uruguay!!"

We slept for an hour and ½ and got escorted to the venue for sound check. The place is a cool theatre in the heart of town and the promoters said they expect a good crowd. I am always a little nervous and wondering if people are going to show up and fill up these huge places but every show has been packed up so I need to just relax and enjoy the ride. Now we are headed for some dinner and I requested some local traditional food so I can get a taste of what life is like here. Dinner is always fun because you get a chance to meet the people responsible for bringing you into their country and it usually turns into the pre-party for the show with friends and random fans finding their way to the fiesta.

I'm interested in seeing the crowd reactions to American Rock N Roll in this extremely conservative town. I'll keep you posted…. Cheers!

Marty Casey

Lima, Peru

2008-09-10T07:22:00.000-07:00

9/8/08 - 9/9/08

Sitting at Gate 110 at LAX Airport in Los Angeles waiting for my flight to Peru. Tracii, Jeremy and Chad flew out this morning at 8 AM. I got a lucky break and scored a direct flight later in the afternoon. I am mentally preparing for this 8 hour flight. It was getting close to flight time and I called Big Al and asked "Where You At?" He said, "I'm on the plane". Turns out I was at the wrong gate and needed to head over to Gate 108 for final boarding. The ticket agent at the gate was speaking over the mic, "Final boarding call for Martin" as I was running to the desk waving my boarding pass and I said "Casey". I have no idea why I was at the wrong gate but I was glad I didn't lose my seat.

I managed to get everything for this trip stuffed into one backpack. I didn't want to be checking a bag everyday and just paired down to what I absolutely needed. Got two pairs of pants, 3 vests, board shorts, a few undershirts, socks and underroos. That's it, that's all. Just wanted to keep it simple so I can get in as much time as possible to explore these cities. The most exciting part of this adventure is that I have absolutely no idea what to expect. I have been so busy the past few weeks that I have not gotten to invest any time checking in online and learning about these destinations. I like it this way. I'm just gonna wake up early and go to bed late and try to cram in as much South American experience as possible. Kinda like my overstuffed backpack.

On the plane I noticed that Big Al and I really stand out from the other passengers. We are the only two blonde headed, pale skinned dudes on the entire plane. Everyone else is darker complected and speaking what sounds like Spanish or Portuguese.

I realize that the best way to keep us airline passengers happy is to feed us or give us something to do every 30 minutes. First a drink, then a warm cloth to wash your hands, then lunch, then a movie, then coffee service, then some Six Flags style turbulence where the plane drops from underneath you and your stomach is in your throat. I can't stand turbulence! It's when I realize I have absolutely no control of the plane, and I have a hard time accepting that.

We landed in Lima, Peru after the long flight and then spent about an hour getting through immigration and customs. Turns out we are getting charged a "Tax" to bring some of our music gear into the country. We didn't question it, we just paid the piper. The tour promoter, Pablo, was at the airport to greet us when we arrived. I am determined to remember names on this trip so I said to myself "Pablo The Promoter". I think I can remember that! There were some fans with posters and they were jamming LA Guns songs. We took a few pictures and then Pablo told us that he had plans for us this evening and escorted us to a party that he had set-up near downtown Lima. We drove down the Pacific Coast with just enough moonlight to see the crashing waves. It's the beginning of spring here and everyone is in that change of mood where they are shedding their winter blues and diving into the spring of change. After a 30 minute drive we arrived at the party. There was a security guard that directed us up to the house. The place was really beautiful. Palm trees and a well-manicured garden sprawled across the front lot. We headed to this modern style living room with large couches arranged in a big square around a glass table in the center. There was all sorts of booze, a selection of South American wines, cigars and Peruvian cigarettes. A woman came out of the kitchen off the living room and asked what I would like to eat. I said "What do you got?" She said, "Carne Asada?" and I said, "That sounds great." I took a short tour of the place and was most impressed with the amazing artwork on nearly every wall. We ended the tour in the backyard area that was lit with Tiki torches around the pool and guesthouse. Pablo The Promoter was familiar with the Rockstar: INXS show and requested that I play "Trees" at the show. I told him that if he wanted to hear "Trees" then we would play it. We hung out and drank some Chilean red with Chad and discussed the upcoming tour. Pablo told us that the tour was going to be great, and we would have the time of our lives. He told us that he wished we were in Peru longer because everyone needs to go to Machu Pichu once in their lives. I'm putting that on my list of things I gotta do. We eventually headed back into the party and it was really hoppin'. I'm amazed there are this many people up in the middle of the night on a Monday. This town never sleeps. Out of nowhere my meal arrived, and I had completely forgotten about it. I had some sort of potato cheesy thing, Spanish rice and Carne Asada. I really was starving after the big travel day and the food was divine.

I finished my meal and then wandered thru some conversations. All of the conversations were in half Spanish and half English. I spoke my Spanglish and it was cool that some actual communication was happening with such limited fluent language. Everyone was excited to see the show tomorrow night, well actually TONIGHT! It was a wonderful introduction to this amazing adventure and time for us to head out and check into our hotel.

Chad and I woke up and headed over to the bazaar market a block from the hotel. We grabbed some local coffee. There is a Starbucks on every other corner here just like the US but Chad and I are determined to try unique things from each country we visit. We had our local caffeine and it was terrible. But we drank it and were happy to choke down the local mud. When in Rome! We found a stand with hand painted pictures of saints. All of the colors were really rich and vibrant. Chad immediately saw something that he wanted. I asked the store clerk "Cuánto cuesta?" The lady said a number but I couldn't figure out what the number translated to. So, I took out a pen and asked her to write it on a piece of paper. She wrote "55". I scribble bartered a slash across her "55" and wrote "40?" and she shook her head no. She took the notepad and wrote "50!" I grabbed the notepad one last time and wrote "2 picturas para $90!" She looked me in the eye, smiled and said "Si." A deal has been made, two paintings for $90. I looked around at the beautiful framed paintings and quickly saw one I liked. It was an angel whispering into a Saint's ear. I have not seen it before but I liked the colors and thought it would be nice to get some stuff up on my bare walls at home. I grabbed it off the wall and handed it to the woman. She dusted off the paintings and wrapped them for travel. She asked my name when she was writing up a receipt and I said "Martin". She said that the painting I had selected was of Saint Martin. She assumed I knew that and that was the reason for my selection. She noticed from my surprised reaction that I didn't know, and she laughed at the coincidence of it

Our transportation arrived to take us to lunch at La Carreta with a group of people the promoter wanted us to meet. We started of with some red wine from Argentina and it seems like every meal down here starts with a glass of some really great wine. There were no appetizers and after going thru handshakes and hugs with the large group, the feast arrived. The meal consisted of firewood heated metal platters of meat. Meat Meat and more Meat. We had two different types of steak, chicken, different preparations of pork, blood sausage and spicy sausage. I also tried a few things I have never had before. Pablo pointed to a particular piece of meat and asked if I had tried that yet. I said "no, not yet". Everyone was staring and said "Try it, we'll tell you what it is later". So I sliced off a decent piece and ate it. It had a potent taste and a rubbery texture that I was chewing on for a minute but to no avail. It was like chewing gum and I couldn't get it down. I grabbed my napkin and politely spat the BBQ bubble gum out. It was cow stomach! They all laughed and asked if I was ready to try the spicy chicken hearts. I passed and took a big gulp of wine to cleanse my palate of the aftertaste. After the carnivorous main course we were treated to Pisco Sour (honey, egg whites and Pisco Liquor which is the Peruvian Tequila), assorted desserts and ordered coffee but ended up taking off before it was served. We had to get "Yellow Fever" shots and then head over to soundcheck.

Driving here in Lima is absolutely brutal. Every street is construction and there are literally 7 cars scrunched across a four lane road. I felt like a Skiddle on the production line. The cars end up nearly nudging each other to find their space. A really aggressive car kept punching in on our right. This car was so close to us. Aggressively lunging forward and then quickly braking forcing their car to shimmy along like a wave trapped in a waterbed. I finally looked over at the neighboring driver that was so close I could nearly wrap my arm around their shoulder. I was stunned that this aggro driver was an elderly old lady with huge dark sunglasses. She never looked over, she punched it and nudged the front end of her car ahead of us and grabbed the pole position. I was impressed with her skills!

We arrived at sound check and it was one of the longest we have done. The sound crew here is very precise and taking every measure to get the sound perfected. There is already a fun vibe in the air. There is a huge video screen behind the stage and two projection screens off to the sides. There are approximately 30 disco balls hanging at different heights from the ceiling and spot lighting the dance floor. Yep, this is Peru and there is a dance floor. I wanna see people "Dance" to metal. This is going to be interesting to say the least. What a great place to start the adventure.

Marty Casey

Six Hours & A Hundred Dollars

2008-08-08T06:52:00.000-07:00

I woke up in New Jersey at 10 AM on a Wednesday morning. I got a decent night's sleep and I felt like sliding out of bed and making something of my first day off in 2 weeks. Getting stuck in the bus every single night with a 5 to 8 hour drive can make your bones crack. Like sleeping on top of a running bull. As if the back bending live show wasn't enough for the spine, the multi-hour drive while bouncing in the air over harsh terrain makes you nearly break. You slither out of your bunk and lift your head up and see someone else doing the same thing. Bent over with one hand on the lower back and just internally whispering… Ooooouuuuch. You look at each other and give a lifting of the chin "What Up!". My body was tired but my mind wasn't. I got myself together and walked down to breakfast with the other early risers. Me, Taime, Chad, MT, Bones & Tender decided to hit the Tick-Tock Diner. A bit of a local legend for great greasy food. I walked in last cause I was tired and my toes were bleeding from my Chuck Taylor All-Stars that fit a bit to tight. With all the jumpin' around on stage my feet start to look like a concubine. When I lazy walk thru the doors the hostess doesn't say "Welcome" or even a "Good morning". She simply lifts her hands like a matador holding a redflag and whisks me over to the table of black embalmed musicians. She knows I am with them, no questions asked. Taime is hidden behind gigantic black sunglasses with no hint of his eyes. His hair is dyed jet back and hangs to his 7th vertebrae. Chad is chill and open with his exposed face, messy head and a shirt that says "West Coast Killers". A fine statement to make at a quaint suburban diner. MT is always looking stage ready. His hair is slicked back under a hat and black bandanna and his bangs hang to the right. He has mad style and always looks perfectly imprecise. Bones has a loose t-shirt that hangs nearly to his knees and a pair of shorts. He is always chill, always laughing. He's seen more bands, more musicians and more insanity roll thru tour busses over the last 15 years than we could ever imagine. He keeps it ALL to himself but you can understand when you look in his eyes that "He Knows". But with all of this display of depth cursing across the room, Tender is a pure statement of honesty that doesn't get overlooked. People don't glace a stare and then turnaway. He has a hypnotism about his presence. He doesn't want attention but for good reason his aura demands it. He has on the same thing he had on yesterday and even the few days prior. He chooses his get-up at the beginning of the week and wears it the week thru. Tender inspires me. He never tries to be anything but himself. Very courteous and confident. He never cares about what others might make of him. He is 6 foot 4, has blacker hair than the LaBrea Tar Pits and his clothes cling tight. His voice scratches the pavement when he speaks and every other sentence makes you laugh. Laugh so hard at times that you almost kinda pee a little. He don't try to be funny. He just is. And don't get him started on why he hates ducks. He's got good reason and if you ask him about it you might pee a little bit too.

We order our food and get it fast. Service so fast you kinda think they wanna get you out of there. Before you had your first bite the check is face down slipped under the edge of your perspiring waterglass. We liked it. We didn't wanna be in there longer than we needed to. We left the restaurant individually as we each finished. No customary dining etiquette. Someone would push their empty plate to the middle of the table, stand up, dig in their pocket, pull out a mess of dollar bills, throw a few on the table and leave. No goodbyes, just vanishing thru a dining room full of gawkers.

I stayed last and took my time. It's hard to devour a big meal in the morning and it took me awhile to chore the food down. With no semblance of a well balanced diet or any normal eating schedule, it's hard to eat at times. I finish my meal, throw my dollars on the table and take my turn at vanishing.

Back to the bus. I'm thinking about what I am gonna do today. I recall that Chad mentioned at breakfast the New York City was a few miles away. I walk up to the lobby of a nearby hotel and ask some questions. "How do I get to Manhattan?" The concierge (it's Jersey, so let's just call him the guy at the front desk) gives me a bus schedule. I pull the schedule open and start to digest this 6 panel glossary of times and places. I get a handle on the schedule and see that a bus is swinging by Clifton in 20 minutes. I ask a few questions, get some directions from the "Concierge" in broken English and a lot of pointing in one particular direction. I walk out of the hotel and head in the pointed direction and it leads me to a divided highway with a 4 foot barrier. I don't think this is the way… I mentally calculate the possibility of running across the high speed traffic, jumping the barrier and playing Frogger across the other side of traffic. I laugh at myself and think "Who are you kiddin', your feet are already bleedin'".

I see a guy saddling up on his Harley motorcycle nearby and walk over and say "Can I ask you a question?" He gives me precise directions to the bus platform to get me to the city. I hustle over following the bikers directions and find "The Platform". It turns out "The Platform" is merely a sign posted on the emergency lane of the Jersey Turnpike. Nothing more than standing a few feet away from multi-lanes of dusty speeding traffic. I can see the New York City skyline rise up above the end reaches of the Turnpike. I'm close. I lean against the rusty sign that says BUS STOP. I wait for about 30 minutes. I get my things together. Wallet with cash in the front left pocket, phone in the right. Back pockets have my less desirable etceteras including a bus schedule, lighter and candy. I love candy. Shoulda kept that in my more protected front pockets.

The bus grinds to a hault and I step up quickly and pretend like I have a clue as to what is going on and how this works. I say "How Much". The driver says $4.40 . I struggle thru my pockets like my pants are on fire, pulling out all my belongings cause I'm nervous. I don't have a handle on my new pocket scenario and I'm confused. I'm patting and pulling at all of my pockets. I got all my stuff out and find my wallet… Finally. I got my money so tightly wound up in my miniature wallet and I rip out the wad of bills. I look to my left and see the 20 or so riders craning their heads into the aisle and staring me down. They are giving me that "Hey idiot, why don't you have your fare ready". I scramble and pull out 5 crumpled dollar bills and I say to the driver, "What do I do with them?", thinking I need to insert them somewhere. He laughs at my novice bus riding skills and says quite loudly "Give em to me". He counts the bills, punches some keys and my change dispenses like I was at Wendy's. I now have my phone, exploded wallet and lighter on the bus floor and the bus schedule hanging from my mouth. I'm kneeling on one knee and I grab my change. I feel like I'm genuflecting. I grab everything in my hands and secure it to my chest with my arms so I don't drop anything. I stumble to the very back row of the bus. I throw my stuff on the seat and the forward momentum of the bus throws me face first into the seat. I gather myself and put my hands to my side and push out a deep breath. I'M GOING TO NEW YORK CITY!… I got 6 hours and a hundred dollars. Well, actually about $95.60.

To Be Continued…. With Pictures!

Marty Casey

Sweet Blog O' Mine

2008-06-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

Just getting started on this 8 week stretch of the Summer Blackout Tour. The tour bus picked me up in Chicago on Thursday and I threw my suitcase in the storage bay and stepped up onto the bus. The tour bus driver, "Bones", greeted me at the door and said "You Ready?" I replied with "as I'll ever be." As a kid I always imagined the tour bus picking you up from your house and then you set-off on tour. I keep feeling like "Is all of this really happening?"

I checked out our home on wheels and went to the back to select a bunk for sleeping. I chose the drivers side – middle bunk. I jumped in and checked out the sleeping quarters. There's a flatscreen with a dvd player, fan and a reading light. I brought my own blanket and also got an amazing pillow as a gift. Didn't wanna think about who was in this bus prior to us. I imagine many a band over the past 5 years have been calling this bus home and clean digs are important.

There is a large lounge in the front of the bus with a TV, a few couches, a dining room table, a kitchen and a bathroom. The bathroom has the feel of an airplane bathroom with a bit more space. The middle section of the bus has bunks and then there is a rear lounge with leather couches for 9 or 10 people and the new guitar hero game. It's a comfortable set-up for the tour. The band had bought me a cold water humidifier and set it up in the rear lounge so I could keep my voice hydrated cause they know the tour schedule is so intense. I appreciated them looking out for me.

We took off and I sat in the front of the bus and watched as we rolled thru my neighborhood (Wicker Park) down Division Street. It was a beautiful day in Chicago, and I was sad that I was leaving at the very beginning of summer. I had struggled thru the brutal winter and now I was leaving when the weather in the city finally pays off. A real sense of nervousness ripped thru me and my heart started racing.

Everything is happening so fast and I haven't had a single moment to let it sink in. I thought I was headed to Canada for a week to complete some songwriting, and it ended up manifesting into a 3-month globe-trotting escapade. It takes sincere thought to get your feet underneath you and feel grounded. I latched my belt onto a 747 airliner and I'm trying so hard to not lose my grip. It's tough to leave with a new crue of people. I have been traveling with Bob, Dino and Billy for years and this new adventure is unknown. The first week is figuring out how you exist together as a new group. Feels a bit like rock-n-roll boot camp. The interesting thing is that when you have existed with a group of friends you have known nearly your whole life there is absolute understanding of a person's actions, motives and moods. You know what makes your friends tick. When you enter a new group you get an understanding of who you are, who you are perceived to be. More questions are asked, and there can be moments of awkwardness as you decipher the differences in personalities. You get an understanding of how new friends define who you are and it gives you a clearer picture of your own person. I don't know what anyone thinks of me yet. I have a feeling they think I'm a bit weird. I'm passionately quiet and then all the sudden I open up and put it all on the table. I need to loosen up a bit and breath easier.

We arrived in Green Bay and I took a long walk around town listening to the LA Guns tunes and memorizing memorizing memorizing. Felt like I had a good handle on the tunes. We had two hotels provided by the promoter that evening. Not one of us slept in the room. We all stayed on the bus cause I think we just feel so comforatable there and that's where we wanna be. We are all excited to get this tour rolling.

We headed over to the venue and Tracii received his shipment of 12 new Dr. Z amps. He jammed on them for about an hour and seemed like a little kid that just got a "Knock Em Sock Em Robot" for Christmas. He also bought a theramin and worked with the settings of the machine and got it sounding very Zeppelin. We were set to have a really long sound check because we had yet to rehearse the songs for the tour. This is a crazy place to be. We had to perform an hour and a half set with NO REHEARSALS. This was going to be our dress rehearsal. My nerves were wracked! We did about 5 songs at soundcheck and then had to let the opening bands get ready so it was going to be a fly by the seat of our pants scenario. We worked on the album for every moment of the month while in Canada and rehearsing was not the priority. Steve Thompson (producer) kept saying "The record will last a lifetime so focus every moment of that" and we did.

It was an amazing feeling to see all of the familiar faces arriving at the venue. We got a chance to hang out before the show. It was an overwhelming feeling of support, and it blows me away that some flew all the way across the country to see this first show. After hanging out for awhile, I worked for a few hours listening to the LA Guns tunes and was still trying to memorize all the lyrics. It reminded me of being on Rockstar and having to get a new song down every week. This time around I was trying to get about 10 songs memorized, and it was quite a difficult task.

When the show started up we launched in "No Mercy" and it felt good. The nervousness I felt prior to the gig quickly settled away, and I just focused on handling the vocals and finding the energy in the music. The interesting part of this new experience is figuring out how to perform the songs. I get inspired by different parts of the songs and you realize how to describe that emotion to the crowd with movement and energy. A full set of new tunes gives me a lot of work to do in figuring out how to perform each song. I realized at one point in the show that the sound at the club was not sufficient. The club had never had as big a crowd and their sound system wasn't going to be able to handle the capacity. We powered thru the set and I was amazed that I had the songs down and didn't botch many parts. There were some really hard core LA Guns fans that knew every lyric hanging out in the front row so it made me more determined to get every lyric right. I knew the Guns fans were critiquing as the show went on. I work hard in a effort to win them over. The stage was a decent size but I was surprised that the four of us jamming up front didn't crash into each other all night. We had a good flow working between us and I could see that our interaction on stage was going to come alive as we progressed thru the tour.

I really enjoyed Tracii's theramin solo during the song "Rip and Tear". He never mentioned that he was going to include this as part of the show, and it really excited the crowd. I was also psyched that we fit in a short drum solo. I always wanted to experience watching a drum solo up close and Chad is pretty amazing. The unique thing about the LA Guns show is that the focus shifts from band member to band member at different points throughout the night. A bit of a drum solo, a guitar solo or theramin solo, Jeremy sings a tune, Alec jams during "This Town" and I get a moment with my solo acoustic performance. It feels like the old blues band mentality where everyone gets a few moments to shine.

I realized that there is a lot of potential for the band. I also realized that we have a lot of work to do to get there. I am a bit of a perfectionist and know we need some time to lock in the show. I will work to figure out the best set list, highlighting the performances, getting us tighter and working as a unit so the music feels massive at some points and emotive at other times. I got an understanding of how to get it to be great and have the determination to work to get it there. With over 50 shows to go I think we will be able to create some inspiring moments this summer.

Now we are off to Puerto Rice. I have never been there. I'll snap a few pictures and let you know how it goes. Have a great 4th of July holiday and dodge all those bottle rockets that the neighbors are shooting at ya!!!

Marty Casey

Change is Everything

2008-06-03T04:43:00.000-07:00

I wanted to reach out to everyone and let you know of some equally amazing and difficult changes going on in my life at the present moment. With sincere thought and sleepless nights, I have made the decision to change my current musical direction. I am still deeply committed to the creation and performance of music but have decided to take on a new opportunity. This scenario appeared very quickly and I only had a few days to make the decision. I chose what I felt was right for my life.

I have been working in Los Angeles and Toronto as a songwriter for the new L.A. GUNS album, and as we were working on the album, the former singer of the band made some extremely bad decisions and left the band as a result. The band was in the studio in Canada with their producer, Steve Thompson, and all set to record the songs we had written together. On top of the month of recording that needed to be completed, their world tour was confirmed to begin at the end of June.

They offered me the opportunity to step in and be the new voice of L.A.GUNS. I thought about the opportunity and the possibilities it opened up for me. I loved the songs I had written with the band and felt it was time for me to embrace this new direction. I was excited at the opportunity to record this album and then join the "Summer Blackout Tour" which will take me all over the world over the next year. I chose to dive into the creativity and momentum. It was a tough decision because the Lovehammers have always been very good friends and musical brothers. It was incredibly hard to talk to them and let them know of my new musical direction. My intent was not to hurt anyone. My intent is to continue passionately in creating and performing music. I have felt stuck for some time, and when this scenario presented itself, it felt like the clouds opening up and showing me a bright light of possibility. I am excited to record this album that I have so passionately been writing and then set-off on tour for the next year. It feels like the right place for me.

I hope you embrace my change in direction and I hope you understand. I am working incredibly hard recording the album and want to affect people with intense live performances. A place has opened up for me, and I am committed to making this a success. I also hope there will be future Lovehammers shows because Bob, Dino & Billy are a big part of my life.

I hope to see you all soon and all the best to you,

Marty Casey

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

2008-02-25T14:35:00.000-08:00

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

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Happy New YEAR!!!!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSS!

What a blast we had at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare on Monday night into the wee hours on Tuesday. I will be constructing a blog about the evening and the San Francisco ARF show over the weekend.

I wanted to let you know about an album that my good friend NUEL has released today. You can download it for free at : www.KEjNU.com. ( http://www.kejnu.com ). I met NUEL in Portugal years ago and then we recorded some songs in Switzerland. This is not mainstream in any way shape or form. This is just pure honest emotion. I think he is a musical genius at 22 years of age.

Download it free and let him know that Marty Casey fans support emerging artists like Kejnu (pronounced (K-No).

Hope to see some familiar faces in San Francisco this weekend!

Marty Casey

Traveling Times Thru the Modern Mind

2007-12-14T14:07:00.000-08:00

We are coming down to the end of the line. Two more shows to go and then we head home for Christmas. Last night we played in the town of Chillicothe, Ohio (chilla-coth-ee for those of you playing at home). It is the original capital of Ohio. They somehow lost their status as state capital but regained it a few years later. Nobody seemed to know why Chillicothe lost their capital status or how they got it back and I think they were wondering why I even cared. I didn't mention Columbus in fear of insighting a very calm and polite riot. I played a club called Cardo's and the building was formerly the First National Bank Federal Reserve. Inside of the club are a series of safes. Each safelock door easily weighed 10,000 pounds and you could see the functional locking mechanisms still ready and willing to secure. It felt like being inside of a Rolodex watch. When they eventually closed this Reserve they removed more than 100 million dollars in cash from the basement vault. I'm sure this Union town never even knew they were sitting on top of a gold mine.

My voice felt really strong after having a day off. I was trying to persuade the crowd to interact with me and ask some questions but that was outside of their federally reserved nature. They sat and listened intently and clapped at the appropriate moments. The biggest rise came when I screamed the climax of the song "Creep". They came out of their shells with some hooting and hollering. One cool kid in the front row knew every lyric to every song and sang along with me. I got a little freaked out when I glanced over and thought I saw him singing one of my new songs that I knew he had never heard before. I kept looking over at him to see if he really knew the lyric. There he was singing along. I couldn't figure it out. Then finally I saw that he was chewing a wad of gum so big he was just jawing at it. For a moment I thought he was a clairvoyant.

All of the drives are fairly short between gigs. This string of shows is really easy breezy and we have been taking our time and stopping at a random restaurant (Glass City BBQ in Lancaster, Ohio) or a dusty resale shop along the slow moving state highways. Feels like we are driving thru middle America in 1957. Along the way we witness tree roots strangling the rusty skeletal frames of Model T's and 57 Chevy's; Rotting wooden porches clinging on to their chip painted farmhouses; Unfarmed fertile soil packing for the hard winter ahead. An impending winter as hard as the times that deserted these ghost towns. There is nothing much left here anymore. But, there has been a bit of a resurgence of sorts. The instigator is the least likely source. GPS... Yes, you heard me correctly, GPS. Global Positioning System. Thanks to this new technology many unknown routes and highways are being utilized by travelers looking for a more direct route or shaving a few precious moments off their total travel time. Dan and I saved 20 minutes by using alternate routes and getting off the predictably bland Interstate Roadways.

There is a deserted gas station along one of these old routes with a sign that reads: Regular Leaded $1.019. A Pall Mall Cigarette sign dangles awkwardly from rusty link chains in the window of the single bay auto repair shop. They never sold any bottles of water here, but I'm sure many travelers have filled up gallon tanks of tap water to replenish their thirsty radiators. On a side note, it's interesting to me that in the modern age we complain because gasoline is $3.05 a gallon but we readily and without thought pay $1.25 for 16 ounces of "spring" water. Based on my calculations this means we are in effect willing to pay $10.00 for a gallon of bottled water.

So we slice thru these blink and you'll miss em towns and are making our way towards Cambridge, Ohio. Neither Dan nor I have ever been there. Cambridge sounds very academic but I know that is guilt thru association. Nonetheless, I will rock both horses in this town.

Dan was particularly quiet while we were adventuring down a dirt road that was listed as "Unknown; Highway Information Unavailable" on the GPS. He cleared his throat and said, "It's fun going down roads that you know you'll never go down again. I said "Yea, that's a lot like life...a road you only go down once".

Marty Casey

Feeling Fine; Feeling Good

2007-12-12T19:39:00.000-08:00

I haven't been this happy in a long time. I don't quite know if it's the change in the weather (85 degrees in Florida) or a change in the tide inside of me. I feel the performances are more insightful and honest than I have delivered in a long time. It's something about being out on the road that makes me feel at home within myself. I remember my parents telling me that when I was an infant I had difficulty falling asleep. They managed to find a remedy. My Dad would put me in the van, drive around and I would quickly fall asleep. Dad would make a few laps around the block and I would be sleeping like a baby (literally because I WAS a baby. hence the term). When I am mobile I feel sane. My bones are never feeling more settled than when they are in motion while cruising across the pavement at 75 miles per hour.

The bar I played this past Saturday was called Rockstarz in Ft. Myers or as the locals call it Ft. Misery. The club has only been open for 6 weeks and the owner (Allen) really worked hard at getting the word out that I was playing there. He did a solid radio, magazine and flyer advertising campaign. The street teamers were also all over the market selling tickets and popping up posters. The turn-out was great. The set up inside the venue was really intimate (small stage with minimal lighting). The crowd was really interactive and we had so much fun playing off each other. One woman kept coming up during the show and whispering her song requests into my ear as if they were secrets that only I should know. Then she would yell “WILL YOU SIGN MY ASS!!!” really loud across the bar. I told her to whisper all requests in an effort to minimize her absurdity. I must say that this show has been one of my favorites. The place was packed and I appreciate that everyone listened very intently, especially to the new songs. We had such a blast.

I have often been asked on this tour how it feels to be touring solo acoustic without the band. It is a cool change of pace. The set-up is so simplistic. Just me, a guitar and a microphone. There is never any rush or stress because it’s just a 2 person crue. Playing with this stripped down feel gives the songs a chance to breath. The lyrics and melodies take center stage over the bombast of a full band. When singing songs like “Hold On” I feel a lot closer to the story behind the song. A lot of the songs in this set-list are extremely personal and letting the fans in on the back-story and why the songs were written is therapeutic for me. I feel that by talking about these difficult times I can finally let them go and make room for new songs and new times. It is also inspiring when someone in the crowd tells you in confidence that a particular song helped them thru a tough time or helped them figure their way out of a mental mess. I can understand that some fans are torn when they see me sitting on a stool with a guitar and no agenda. To me it feels perfect for the moment. I just want to let my voice do the talking. Geeze that sounds obvious. My voice... Do the talking?

Sunday afternoon we brought the show to The Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, Florida. The weather was still kicking at 83 degrees and it felt good to be in the heat. Chicago is in the 30’s with icy rain crystallizing the city. Dan and I snuck out of Chicago at the most opportune moment, hours before the first snowfall of the season. We have been blessed with great weather the entire tour. Hopefully it will continue thru Monday.

The Hard Rock Show was all-ages and I was excited to have all the kids show up. Their response to songs and the performance is always so genuine. When they like something they really let you know. When I did "Trees" they were on their feet and helping me with the lyrics. When I did a slow lamenting song some of them were rolling around on the ground in utter boredom. They want the upbeat and fun. I like that they don't have time for sad songs. The more up-tempo the better because then they can bounce around the room like they're jumping on pogo sticks. They take the energy of the song and throw it all over the room. I love their free spirit.

After the early set I got to hangout with my sister Jenny, my cousin Danny and his wife. It was nice to see some of the family cause it makes you feel right at home while out on the road. My cousin Danny hooked my up with the best meal of the entire trip at his restaurant Snapper's. I stuffed my face with fresh stone crab, and I was so food comatose that I could barely get out of the booth. Then we headed over to see his newest restaurant Mad Fish in St. Pete Beach. Danny and his wife really treated Dan Howard and I like gold and it was GREAT to reconnect with them and meet my cousins cool kids.

The drive from Tampa to West Virginia was absolutely brutal. We had no issues with weather and Dan didn’t get any more speeding tickets but the miles driven were just too much. 15 hours in the car and you start to go bananas. Just blank staring at the road ahead and quick stops to eat and fill up the tank. But all that really matters is that we made it safe and sound. We arrived just in time for the sound check at The Monkey Bar in Huntington, West Virginia. On every tour you have your one venue that just isn't up to speed with what is going on. No one at the club expected our arrival. The venue is only open when they have shows and they didn't have any this week. There had been a bit of communication breakdown between the club and promoter. So, the club didn't know there was a show, so no promotion of any sort. Thank our lucky stars that the mc.org, lh.com, sisterhood, Lh Fansclubs, myspace, team Mig, facebook and internet connected West Virginians were on the boards and knew I was playing. I am still floored that fans will drive 7 hours to see a show. I owe it to them to play a show a little closer so they can spend more time at the show than on the road. A special shout out to SUSIE for celebrating her birthday with us at such an "interesting" venue in such an "interesting" town.

When we got to this club in West Virginia I had a really bad feeling about the whole scenario. The club was in a really desolate area and the place was really beat up. Most nights of the week there is a strip club on the second floor. This is a pretty seedy environment. When we arrived and there was all of this confusion regarding the show, hotel rooms, dinner and all of the contract issues. I was extremely thankful that Dan Howard took total control and made everything work out perfectly. It was in moments like these that I realize the importance of having someone looking out for you while out on tour. All Dan said was "Don’t worry about anything, I’ll take care of it. Just promise me you’ll have a good show". I want to thank Dan for all the hard work he does for me. He never gets any of the glory and applause of being on stage and he does twice the work. This tour never would have been such a success without Dan making it all run so smooth and always having him watching my back. We have had a lot of laughs over the course of the last week and ½ and he has really helped to make this entire tour so much fun.

Today is a drive day to Ohio. We have chosen to take the scenic back roads and really see the state. I know it’s cold but it feels good to be getting back to the Midwest. There has been no feeling of the holidays so far on the tour. When it's 88 degrees and sunny it's hard to start dreaming of a white Christmas.

Marty Casey

Devil on My Shoulder

2007-12-07T14:29:00.000-08:00

Last night was such a trip. We survived the 9 hour drive and arrived just in time for the soundcheck. The club owner (Troy) was there to greet us, and he was really excited that we were playing. The vibe in this club made us feel really good. When we finished checking the gear, Troy asked us what we wanted to eat: steaks, seafood, Italian, Asian fusion, hot dog stand... I said "hot dog stand, NO…" Asian fusion, umm not in Ocala, I just don’t notice a very big Asian population here and I question the authenticity...A fusion of Asian and what? is also a concern. So it's either steaks or Italian. Schlitzy, the Limo Driver, yea that's right, SCHLITZY! Spoke up and said "Nah, I got it, we’z goin to Bella Luna. I'm from New Yawk and I knows I-talian cuisine. C'mon, jump in the limo I gots ya covered". We arrived at the restaurant, and they had a special "John Travolta" (yea, he lives here) private dining room set-up for us courtesy of Schlitzy. We had a really good pasta dinner, and Dan was happy to get his daily ration of nutrition.

We headed back to the club after dinner and got ready for the show. All of the club owners were there and were treating us like royalty. The show was fun, dark, ridiculous, inspired, funny and overall just a blast. I like walking on stage with no plan and just winging it. I don't know what I’m going to play or what I'm going to say. Once the crowd interaction is established, there is a lot of back and forth between me and the crowd. Lots of laughs but when the music starts everyone is intently listening. The perfect yin and yang of intensity and release.

After the show we did an 1½ hour meet 'n greet. Fans had driven from all over the state of Florida and flown from different parts of the US of A. You can't imagine the overwhelming feeling when someone tells you they flew cross country to see a 1 hour acoustic show. I'm absolutely blown away. What a life!

It was Dan's birthday, and Troy the club owner kept calling Dan the wrong name. He kept referring to him as Dave. So now you know me well enough to guess that I am going to be calling Dan “DAVE” the rest of the tour. He hates I but hasn't tackled me yet so I’ll keep it up till he threatens my life. That's when you know Dan, I mean Dave, has had enough, and it's time to quit it. It's his birthday today and I'm going to make a spectacle of his big day during the show tonight. I know the fans are bringing some cakes and same candles. I want to fire 'em all up and have the crowd sing Happy Birthday. He is loving the fact that he is celebrating in 80 degree weather, but I also know he really misses Nicolette. She's back at home in Chicago in the snowdrifts, and I know Dan really wishes she were here with him to celebrate his birthday.

While I'm on the subject, it's time for the Daily Dan Report: Everyone has unique habits and tendencies. I have never spent this much time with Dan and in such close proximity and I'm getting to know what makes him tick. The Zen of Dan. I awoke pretty early today (noon) and Dan was sound asleep. I was working on the computer at the desk in the room and tap tap tapping away which I'm sure was manifesting itself as a semi-automatic machine gun firing into a enemy bunker in Dan's diluted dreams of weaponry, warfare and a subliminal coup de gras in nightmare-ville. I looked over at him at one point and he was lying on his side with his head propped up on his elbow. His eyes were open and he was looking at me. I said "Sorry about the typing Dude, I’m trying to get some work done before we roll out". He didn’t respond. I thought maybe he was pissed I woke him up and was giving me the silent treatment, so I said "Sorry man" as I threw my hands to the side and said "What..................................What?………………………” He just stared back and was motionless and then I heard a light snoring sound. He was sound asleep with his head propped up and his eyes open and staring. I walked over and waved a hand in front of his eyes and few feet in front of him, and he was out cold. No response. The devil on my left shoulder whispered in my ear "you should scream and clap really loud and freak him out of his sleep". The angel on the other said "let him sleep". I wanna tell you that if it wasn’t his birthday I would have scared the sh*t out of him, but that is no way to start off your birthday. I'm not that E-vil... I want to assure you that 'm not trying to pick on Dan by including him in these blogs. He's just really interesting, and I know that he doesn't mind being included. Or at least he doesn't know about it yet. Haha (can you actually see the horns pop out of my head). So I thought I had this all figured out by sleeping with one eye open but Dave sleeps with TWO eyes open. I’ll never win...

Marty Casey

Day 2: Blog 2

2007-12-06T18:34:00.000-08:00

Living High on the Blog:

There it was, there it went. I lost my solo acoustic virginity last night, and it felt great. It was a little bit like the real first time. I didn’t really know what I was doing, I made a few mistakes, but in the end I think we both enjoyed the experience. Me and the crowd that is. The songs from Rock Star went over really well (Lithium, WYWH, Mr. Brightside, HMBOMT, Creep & I Alone). I played a few Marty Casey & Lovehammers tunes and a few new tunes (Just Go, Diamonds in the Dirt, My Kind of Wine & Hopes and Fears Collide). I had some beautiful crowd participation dancers for My Kind of Wine and Trees. One girl managed to slide one very c-c-c-cold finger down my buttcrack, and I jumped off my bar stool like I got electrocuted. I had to stop the intro of the song and tell her to keep her fingers where I can see 'em. She said she'd never wash her finger again, and I replied "That’s disgusting"! Those Carolina girls be c-c-c-crazy!

I was amazed to find out that a select group of fans are going to be at every show in Florida. That’s a total of 4 shows from Thursday thru Sunday. It's a fun challenge for me to have to keep every show a little different and interesting for those fans seeing multiple shows on this tour. I think that all the shows are unique in that the crowd interaction between songs is always so different. Last night I had my first heckler. She was not cursing me out in any way. She just wanted to ask me a bunch of the most random questions while I was trying to sing. She'd shout out "Who is your president incumbent?" or "You’re in North Carolina!" and I replied "I know" and she said "Yea you are. Believe it!" I was confused and a little flustered. It was a funny interaction, and we were all laughing at her ridiculous-ness. Unfortunately she passed out in the back of the venue about 30 minutes into the set. Down goes heckler...

I had an interesting conversation with the fans regarding the Marty Casey & Lovehammers fan community. Since the beginning of the band there has always been an extremely supportive fan base immersed in the music. The fans first start coming to shows to see the performances, and then they meet friends in the audience. They see them at a few shows, and they get more acquainted each time. Then they will start to meet and talk outside of the confines of the live shows and truly become friends. That is where it becomes a fan community. After a matter of time the fans are not only coming to MC&LH shows to see the band, but they are coming to hang out and reconnect with their bonafide friends. I love to see this happen and feel lucky that we are a part of that experience. There is something very organic about it. What had started at live shows has now extended to the internet and new friendships are being made virtually on the boards. Last night it felt great to be a part of the fan community after the show and hang-out with all my friends. Interaction with the fans is becoming as important as the actual performance. I'm a lucky man to have such amazing fans. Thank you...

A special shout out today to Katherine that has been helping out the band for years now. It's her birthday today, and I want to let her know how much I appreciate all her help with getting these blogs posted, videos posted, pictures posted and dealing with my daily insanity. She is as talented as she is beautiful and she really makes our life on the road so much easier and keeps all the fans connected. You rock Katherine...Happy Birthday!

And now it's time for the DAILY DAN REPORT: I caught Dan doing something really weird today. He bought a fountain drink from the gas station and was standing in line behind me waiting to pay. I told Dan I would pay for his drink. He said "No, that’s ok, I got it". I said "Shut-up dude, I got it". So I grabbed the cup from him, and he was reluctant to release it. I snatched it out of his hands and it was light as a feather. I held it in my hand a shook it slightly back n forth to feel if there was any liquid in the cup. It was completely empty. He had the cup with a lid and a straw poking thru it but it was empty. I just looked at him and shook my head. I placed it on the counter and paid for it. I knew better than to ask him what the heck he was up to. Man is Dan one weird dude! He does make this trip an interesting experience though. Why the heck was he buying an empty cup of nothing and pretending it was a drink? I better start sleeping with one eye open.

Marty Casey

Day 0, Blog #1

2007-12-05T06:47:00.000-08:00

Departure Date: Maiden Voyage So Low Acoustic Tour
December 4th, 2007

This morning I opened my eyes inches into the electric red of the digital alarm clock on my nightstand. My face lying so close I had to let my eyes focus for a moment to read the time. It was 11:04 pm. First thought: Wow, I had a really long nights sleep. Second thought: What time am I supposed to pick-up Dan. Third thought: Oh sh*t! I was supposed to be at his house at 10:00 am. I laughed and thought what a way to start of the day, one hour late... I called Dan and from the crackling voice on the other end of the line is seems he to is in no rush because I woke him up. It's going to be an interesting tour. You have two of the most lacksidasical people embarking out on tour together. This should be called “The World Can Wait Tour”. From the relaxed vibe when we were planning the tour and getting everything together it has been such a chill vibe. I like it because there is no stress. The details are written on the tour advance sheets in regards to what time and where and everything else will be flying off the cuff.

The cool thing about touring with Dan Howard is that he is the type of guy that will sit and drive and not say a word for hours. It's great because I can read, write blogs and sleep without interruption. Some travel companions are nervous people and always need to be talking talking talking. They'll talk about personal stuff you never wanted to know including personal hygiene, relationship details, the state of the economy, Hollywood’s latest fiascos, etc, etc, etc. Not Dan though, he's got his eyes drilled to the road in front of him and hasn't said a single word all day. So after cruise controlling thru an entire $60 tank of gas I get a scary feeling. Why hasn’t Dan said a word? Is he mad about something? Is he sick of driving? This guy doesn't even blink. Now I’m getting freaked out. What the hell is he thinking about? Is he mentally rehearsing the step by step process of constructing a silencer for a Colt 45 handgun? Is he going over his checklist of order of operations when a car submerges into a body of water: 1) Be calm and remove seat belt 2) Wait for the car to fill up with water completely 3) kick out rear window with heels of feet 4) swim to safety. Maybe Dan knows the coordinates of a secret nuclear missile silo in central Florida and is figuring out how to take a detour so we can "check it out".

Man, four plus hours now and not a single word. I’m getting freaked out, what is he thinking? Why won’t he speak. COME ON SAY SOMETHING! Let me know what crazy business is going on in your head. It's building to a frenzy in my head and now I am staring directly at him and he never takes his eyes off the road. I'm thinking: What! What! What are you thinking! I'm staring so close and so hard as if I am actually going to be able to look into his ear and see the thoughts on his aural movie screen. At that moment he turns his head to the right, staring right back at me and he says... "Isn’t it weird that both Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears were on the Mickey Mouse Club together?" My fear subsides and I burst out in a shout of laughter so loud that Dan winces from the pure volume. A burst of relief that my tour manager for the next two weeks is more concerned with the affairs of the Mickey Mouse Club than the 3 deadliest death grips in the manual of mortal combat.

We are headed to Plum Crazy Too in Kernersville, North Carolina just minutes from Greensboro. We've got many hours to go and are in no rush to arrive. The inspired feeling in the air is that this tour is going to be a crazy adventure.

In the coming blogs I will keep it geographically simplex and shout out the actual town of the performance and the closest major metropolitan city you may have heard of. This way you can track our logistical progress if you wish. I will also try to keep the blogs coming daily and throw in some video blogs as well. The underlying mission statement of this mini-tour is to keep all the fans in tune to the experience even if you can’t make it out to a show. I'll try my best to keep the information delivered interesting and self-deprecating as usual.

Day 1 here we come,

Marty Casey

Ps: Dan’s birthday is this Friday so if someone could bring a cake or cupcake or cookie or McDonalds Fruit Pie and a candle of some sort we could sing to him at the show. If I bring it then it will no longer be a surprise. But now that I mentioned it I might have to have Dan pull over and stop at McDonalds for a fruit pie. Mmmm Delicious! Chow for now Amigos and Amigas.

The Truth, The Whole Truth & Nothing But the Truth, So Help Me Blog...

2007-10-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be time to put my guitar down for a minute, take off my traveling shoes and sit silently for a few moments of reflection. Time to think. It has been a few years since I stepped away from the trees to get a view of the forest (pun intended). The last time I can recall living a more "normal" existence would be...(This is where the television screen starts to spin counterclockwise and the colors swirl as if the picture is being sucked into a whirlpool). I can look back and picture myself crawling along the gridlocked expressway from the Beverly Hills neighborhood (that's in Chicago folks, it's the absolute exact opposite of the Beverly Hills we all know in L.A. Think blue collar, Budweiser beer, Irish day parade and the residence of a lot of Chicago cops). I'm headed to the "Loop" in downtown Chicago in my 1997 Beige Toyota Camry and I'm getting tense because I arrive late no matter how early I leave home.

I got a coffee with fake sugar and non-fat milk in one hand and a whole-wheat bagel with non-fat crème cheese in my other hand. I lived with the Kourelis brothers for years and had been sensitized to fear fat, calories, sugar, salt and anything else that tasted good. We were ridiculous in that we would tarnish from existence anything in the refrigerator that wasn't boneless, skinless, low-carb, no salt added, msg-free or low calorie. Then, after we went out and drank 12 beers (light beer of course) we would come home at 4 am and eat burritos, pizza, ice cream and cake. We would gorge. It was a ridiculously convoluted food pyramid.

Back to the story at hand… Finally arriving at work I pull into one of the last remaining parking spots at the far end of the lot. I have my cell phone lodged between my left ear and collarbone as I'm listening in on a conference call and pretending to be sitting behind my desk taking notes. All the while trying not to let them know I am late...Again...I take one step out of the car with my seatbelt unknowingly wrapped around my left arm and BAM! My body slams to the pavement. This is the result of a phenomenon similar to that of placing a baseball bat on the ground, placing your head to the handle and spinning around in circles for a minute and then trying to walk. I have been craning my neck for at least 35 minutes with the phone lodged to my ear and all sense of balance was skewed to the left. Catching my arm in the seat belt brought me to the tipping point. I hit hard with my hands to the side and no chance to break my fall. My phone scrapes along the pavement and I luckily catch my yell before it escapes my lungs. I scurry to grab the phone and the line is silent. I see that I am still connected to the call. I choke up an un-assured "excuse me" and no questions are asked. Their conversation ensues. I attempt to re-lodge the phone between my collarbone and road-rashed left ear but my ear stings. I switch ears crane my neck to the right. Probably good to switch it up so I can recalibrate some sort of balance. I try to catch up on the conversation so I can throw in an um-hmm, of course or I agree. I pick up my bag and head over to the office. I lose the phone connection while in the elevator somewhere around the 10th floor. I don't call back when I make it to my office. I drop my bag and coat on the floor and I look out the window and stare at US Cellular Field off in the distance. For the first time on this job I have this underwhelming feeling of "What am I doing here?"

I had a private office (I was the only employee at this time in the Chicago satellite office) and had the honor of ordering the furniture, artwork and plastic plants to "beautify" the office space. No matter how I arranged the office, the big wigs from New York would come and tell me to re-arrange the furniture to their liking. I guess a comfortable feel is not very business-like. All couches are to be set at perfect angles and a Chicago magazine on the table is to market specific. I was advised to "Order the Wall Street Journal". I said I would try to think outside the box next time but the fact is I worked inside a box. Four blank vanilla walls, the stagnation of thought creation. I never had a good come back for them regarding the office layout. I'm usually cleavery sarcastic to the point where you don't know if I am being sincere or mocking. But, it's like when you know someone is watching you walk and all the sudden you forget how to walk. You get an immediate limp and your left foot drags along. All of the sudden, just like that, you can't walk normal. It's the definition of self-conscience.

The satellite office that I ran had NO work. Nada. None. I was an appraiser and in order to get work a real estate broker would have to set-up some deals. So, until then, I was told to wait and get ready for the eventual flood of work. At first this was nice. I would surf the Internet looking for old articles and videos from 80's bands (Crue, GnR, VH, Prince, SRV, Accept, etc). I'd have my shoes and socks off and my feet lounging on the desk. I would leave the blinds open cause I figured at least one of the thousand workers in the neighboring office windows would look out and see me and be like, "Damn, that guys got it made". Time started to flow cryptically slow at the satellite office. 9 to 5 felt like spring clear thru to fall. Time flowed so slow it was eerie. I brought in my guitar to pass some time, I bounced a ball against the wall, I Googled distant friends from high school. As it turns out, Ian Rodzilski has written a number of collegiate math books and I sent him a message congratulating him. Like I said, I had WAY too much time on my hands.

Around November 2004, in walks Mr. Bronson, a big time real estate broker that has been brought in by the big-dogs from New York City headquarters to bring some business to the office. I was definitely bored to tears and was glad to hear that we might get some work to do. He was a smart guy and he spoke like he knew what he was talking about. There was lots of talk about interest rates, capitalization, market values and yadda yadda yadda. He never sat still and he made a lot of big statements like "We are going to have a record year once we get things in motion". I responded in agreement and followed it up thinking "We have no record so it should be easy to beat". Things were looking up. Lots of the employees from New York were coming in and we were going to big lunches and we were definitely setting records for jacking up the company expense account. I was happy to come along for the ride and eat at nice restaurants and drink expensive scotch and bourbon and smoke Macanudo cigars. I figured these are the things that bankers do. I tried to play the part all the while feeling out of place with little in common with my peers from NYC.

After a few weeks work started to pickup a little bit and I thought we finally got the ball rolling. One Monday morning Mr. Bronson never showed up for work. He died in his sleep. He was 45 years old. I was stunned and deeply saddened. I just saw him on Friday. He appeared pretty healthy. In thinking back, he did have a noticeable twitch in his right eye. I mentioned to him at lunch one day that his eye was twitching a lot. He said it was from staring at the computer screen so much and the inherent stress of being a broker. Thinking back, I think I missed an indicator of a heart reaching out and saying SOS in some sort of pulmonary Morse Code.

So once again business was dead (literally). Mr. Bronson's passing kick-started my mind into thinking about life and what was really important to me. He had no kids and I think he was divorced. He made a lot of money in his lifetime but at this point that did not seem to matter at all. I started thinking about the dream that I was on the verge of giving up. My childhood friends and I had tried for 10 years to rule the world with our high-energy rock n roll circus. We had our sights set on world domination. It sounds like such an unattainable and corny battle cry, but we believed it. I don't know if we were naive enough or if we were bold enough but we put everything we had into the band. We never made a penny from all the sold-out shows and thousands of albums the Lovehammers sold. We put it all back into the dream. We had sacrificed a lot and now it seemed that I had jumped ship and ended up caught up in my fall back career as a banker. I was making a solid salary and had all the benefits and perks. None of that really carried much weight within me. I felt that there was a lot I had left to do with music. I was living the back-up plan. Plan B didn't feel right to me. I was stuck.

I had started this job in October and by January two new employees were buzzing about in the office with nothing to do. They were as bored and disillusioned with their lives as I was mine. Personally I never imagined that this would be my life.

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

To be continued… Marty Casey

Friday!

2007-10-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

Wow. I finally got some time to read thru all of the letters, cards and open the gifts that were sent for my birthday. I am always amazed at the generosity and creativity of my friends & fans.

I would like to send a special thanks to Amy and Cindy for getting the card and gift sending organized and for their great cards. It's such a nice feeling being showered with some much LOVE on my birthday.

In no particular order I would like to thank:

Pam Dowling (Cindy's friend in Florida), Sharon Brinsdon, Liz from Boston, Teri Chong (awesome homemade pop-up card!), Brenda Jess, Katherine Wilbers, Debbie M., Pat(feathers) Anderson, Lesley, Tricia & Heather, Jane (great pix), Barbera Sequenzia, April Padgett, Rachell Lese (cool red and black hand painted card), Wendy (Dusty Blue), Tricia (thanx for the pix), Telena Davis, Rachael Farmer (such a nice gift), Amy Frank (great costume), Cheza, Amanda Griffin (great Bracelet and gift), IWO (Big ole bottle of Vodka), Sharon (the singing card), Stephanie Tafoya (cool hand made scarves), Shelley Lapin, Tricia Mladic (cool photo's).

You really did make my birthday such a great day. I am always so greatful to have made such great friends along this crazy ride. I look forward to seeing you all and catching up soon.

Thanks,

Marty Casey

SB & THE FIVE-O

2007-02-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

I was talking to my niece and asked her how she was feeling about it being 1997. And she said "It’s 2007 Uncle Marty, you’re stuck in the 90’s". She couldn't have been more right. For the first time in my life I feel like the last 10 years have just blurred past like a speeding automobile traveling in the opposite direction. Bruuuumpppphhhh! Oh there have been some head on collisions with time this past decade, like the weeks of drudgery as a new employee of a relatively non-existent banking company in a satellite market with no clients. Talk about boredom. I remember for one entire day I listened to NPR internet radio and scoured the archives for cult status interviews with white dwarf stars such as David Johanson and his alter-ego Buster Pointdexter (genius) and the drug stenched mysterious songwriter named Izzy Stradlin that was the mind behind Axl Rose. I spent hours etching brick walls on standard ruled yellow notepads until the last slivers of my number 2 pencil slid under my fingertips like Kryptonite spikes into Superman or "I am super bored man!"

I started listening to dozens of ghost stories I found online so I could find one that I could adopt as my own. When at a dimly lit party I could lean in real close and whisper "Wanna hear a ghost story". And then I would swear by all accounts it was true cause it happened to me and could happen to you. I did find that perfect ghost story and it ended with of all things the least scary catch phrase of the ghost story telling world. It simply said "YOU GOT IT", at the exact right time with the vocal timber of intent. It was magical in its simplicity. I know about this sort of thing because my sister made me take a class with her at the University we attended together. It was called "Supernatural Themes in Classic Literature". It was essentially ghost stories with a more sophisticated name. I learned that word "Doppelganger" is German for "Double Person" and if you see your own doppelganger or twin then you die. Now that is a great story. They essentially come to get you cause there is only to be one of you on this planet. With that said, I don’t know how the Germans felt about identical twins. Check their tourism bureau before planning a family vacation.

Back to time flying. I remember more from the boredom times than the time traveling past two years. It's during the mandatory times of reflection that you lay tracks for the future path or at least point yourself in a direction of choice.

Where is everyone going? Maybe I will hitch a ride. You’re always welcome on my trip. I carry a strict policy of more the merrier. Oh, that would be a good song name "More The Merrier". I always keep my eyes peeled for good song names or album titles. "More The Merrier" also sounds like a Steve Martin holiday adventure movie of a large extended family and the hijinks that ensue. By the end of the flick everything is A-OK and sealed with a kiss. Good for Mr. Martin, life is that easy in the thrills of suburban bliss.

I am not a mind reader or predictor or psychic or even a horoscope junkie but I do know what 87.6% of you reading this will be doing this Sunday. Watching the BIG GAME!!!!! Yep that's what I'm gonna be doin. Watchin that BIG Game. Big G....... Nope, wait, wait a minute. I can’t do it. I getta step back for a sec…. I can’t hold back, I feel it burning a hole through my diaphragm and scratching towards the surface, it’s gotta come out. SSSSSS SSSSSSSSSS SSSSUUUUU SUPER BOWL!!!!! There I did it. And it feels pretty good. I don't quite understand how you can copyright those words and nobody on TV or radio or in general public can even say it without paying for it. The Super Bowl is now like the band KISS. Yer gonna pay for it. Weird circumstance is that every time I type the words Super Bowl my computer is making a crumpled sheet of paper noise. Oh hold on someone is at the door. Weird, but I think I just heard something rustling in the bushes. Oh no, it's the Super Bowl popo and the Five-O comin to get me. If you don’t hear from me then you can assume I am buried in the end-zone at Soldier Field due to my forbidden use of the words SUPER BOWL.

You know it. Say it loud n proud.

Go Bears! Sunday Night We’re Gonna Party Like It’s 19-85.

Marty Casey

A Silent Revolution in a Time of Resolutions

2006-12-27T17:32:00.000-08:00

This is the time of year I usually look back and reflect on the year that was and also look ahead in anticipation of the year to come. This year I have decided to simply think about right now. I get so caught up with being nostalgic about the past and plotting the future that I get lost in real time. I have learned alot because my life has been thru so many twists and turns and what I figured out is that you can plan and plan and go over every forseeable detail but life is not predictable. If it were it wouldn't be any fun. There is something to be said for taking things as they come and reacting honestly to the situation. Your instincts guide you and I think the gut reaction to a new situation is usually the most interesting way to go. Not overthinking and depth of comtemplation, just intelligent reactions based on who and where we want to be. There is a beautiful honesty for living in the moment. It's a different state of mind that breeds new course of direction. Gives you the strenght to take chances.

Taking the Big Chances: Has anyone made a new years resolution yet? Have you ever stuck to your resolution without fault? Why is it such a difficult task to make a mental decision and abide by it? The body is so easily swayed by the mind. Or maybe it's vice versa. What if this year we just choose one specific goal. Something that you can feasibly hold on to. An idea or a change that you know would make you feel powerful.

I think the first thing we need to do is envision how great it's going to feel when you realize you are in control of yourself. A successful resolution is all about control. We often put the power over ourselves out of our own self. It's the silent voice in the distance that won't let you do the things you want to do. I make my life more dificult that it should be all the time. I fight with mental demons on a daily basis but am starting to realize something. It's not about spending time arguing with myself. I can ignore those conversations altogether and simply go out and DO what I feel. I know the exact moment that I choose to relinquish control and maybe i can change that.

Your choice of resolution does not need to be stated here. That is something personal to you. What I do wanna know is how your quest is going and keep me posted of the ups and the downs. When do you feel good? What makes you feel weak? If you fall a bit off track were you able to get back to where you wanna be at. Do you feel you have to let other people down by doing something for yourself. Is feeling good about yourself making your relationships better with others around you?

It's important to me that we all have a great 2007. We are intelligent people and we have been successful in most aspects of our lives. This is about taking advantage of today. One small step at a time. Let's do something for ourselves that makes us look back on 2007 with amazement.

Start this tonight and the rest of your life.

Marty