Marty Casey is very savvy and very true; I set up the interview all online emailing him directly(“I’m not going to pay a publicist $3,000 a month when I believe we set up our interview just fine”), and even was a guest at one of his shows when he came through my town and being treated graciously and honestly, like I was an old friend he invited over for dinner. This is a mind set the band have always had, treating their fans like family and friends, inviting them over after the show or playing birthday parties, but, as you may imagine, they would be inviting 1000’s of people as opposed to a couple hundred.
Marty Casey: What’s really hard is we were used to treating fans with open arms, inviting them to our house; in Chicago there would be hundreds…if we did a show for a thousand people, two hundred would come home with us. Now that we can’t do that anymore, it’s difficult to not give them that undivided attention.
RM: So where are you?
MC:: I’m actually in Los Angeles right now doing some Epic meetings and doing some recordings.
RM: How’s the recording going?
MC: It’s going great. I’ve got a bunch of songs demo’d and we’ll submit them all to Epic and see what they think of them. It’s been going great; I have been working with a number of different producers, just working on the demo’s which are pretty advanced; they’re sounding really good.
RM: Did you take a different approach this time recording?
MC: Actually, yeah. I’ve focused on mainly writing the tunes myself; kind of changing up the direction a bit. The record we had released was pretty much what I wrote prior Rock Star INXS. A long time has elapsed since then, and I got to write with Andrew Ferris, of INXS, a lot. I got to write with a bunch of great writers around the country within the past year or so I kind of took what I learned from them and kind starting writing on my own as well. The beauty of “co-writes” with me is to develop from their talent; they’ve had some success with it and kind of see their methodology of going about writing songs and how they do it, and kind of take what I learn from them and put it in my own world.
RM: With the songs you have now, are there any that are your favorite?
MC: There’s a song I really dig called “I See Stars”; “Hopes and Fears Collide” is another one. There’s a little more advanced musicianship now that we’ve all grown and toured so much, we’ve gotten a little better. Lyrically, the contents are a little deeper; a little deeper than “you and me/up in the trees”. (Laughs) But still trying to have the fun left in it, it’s not all brooding and serious. I think when you boil this record down to it, it’s got a lot of positive energy; there’s a lot of hope as opposed to a lot of lamenting and sorrow, trying to get away from that because we’ve had a good year and a half with spirits high and kind of reflecting on that.
RM: Do you think Rock Star INXS was a good vehicle for you?
MC: Yeah, after kickin’ around the Midwest and getting out there slightly, nationally, with Lovehammers. For me it was like I knew something had to happen for the band; we kind of tried everything. We started on an independent label and were really beatin’, you know, promoting ourselves, but it wasn’t happening to the degree I wanted to. I thought the show would be a great vehicle; we weren’t getting’ spun on the radio so I figured, man, if I can get some face time on TV and let people know what I do it could turn out to be a great thing.
RM: Did you expect to get as far as you did?
MC: No, I thought I was maybe a little too wild for a television program kind of when I came in, but then I realized that in order to stick around I would have to modify my performance style. INXS was looking for a lead singer, and they’re kind of a mature band and they are looking for a mature kind of singer. I went in that direction and gave them what I thought would be good for INXS if they would want me to continue on, with something fresh; I had to motivate myself in that direction. Be a little more Bowie-esque and Iggy Pop.
RM: Do you feel as though when you were on the show, even though you mainly did covers, that it helped your songwriting?
MC: Definitely because I knew once we got in there and they gave us some recording equipment that it was really imperative to have some great songs. I knew that you briefly had one shot to turn people onto a song; I knew it had to be ultra “hook”y, and I knew it had to be short and to the point. You only get about two and a half minutes; not even a full length of a song. You know there’s really a big focus on Rock Star, maybe in comparison to American Idol, it was about original creation, and joining a band that wanted to be an original band. That was part of the great process of this was to not only write with the house band but also getting to write with Andrew Ferris, whose a phenomenal writer.
RM: Do you keep in touch with your old cast mates?
MC: You know, more some than others; I keep in touch with Suzie and Jordis a lot; J.D. and I touch base once in a while, just to say hey. When I’m up in Canada he’ll come see me to say hey; only a few of them but most of them no, unfortunately. Everybody’s so busy and you get together every few months and then everybody goes in their own direction.
RM: Did you see any of Rock Star Supernova?
MC: I tried to as much as possible but I was on tour that entire show. We actually did a show at the Roxy and they all came, I think there was 12 of them, and we got to meet them all, which was great. I was looking at them like they don’t even know what they’re in for yet. I’d been through the ringer with the show, knowing how it turns out, then seeing their fresh faces, all excited; it was great to see the enthusiasm and I wasn’t going to say anything, I just thought, “Wow! They don’t even know what they’re getting into”. I was just waiting for them to think this is real and this is really happening.
RM: What was your reaction to hearing the next show was going to be Rock Star Supernova, with respect to your show where there was an established band looking for a singer, rather than a new band with this mix of veteran rockers starting a band with a singer.
MC: Not having an outside perspective, and being on the first one, I’m definitely jaded toward that one, but there was something authentic about finding a singer for a band with a catalog, as opposed to finding a singer for a new band. It’s just not as exciting as a replacement, because then when you go out on tour people sit through an hour and a half set when they no nothing but the one single; it’s a different scenario.
RM: I heard Van Halen was supposed to be next in line for the Rock Star show.
MC: Van Halen would be great but I can almost guarantee they wouldn’t do it. I know they are being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, and they’re just a band a little too big of a band that…but then again they did get Gary Cherone to sing on one of their albums, so who the fuck knows. (Laughs) Who can predict those maniacs.
RM: Having watched the show, and being a fan of the Lovehammers, it almost seems as though you were better off being runner up.
MC: I definitely went there to win, not to just show up, but really to win, and I was disappointed when I didn’t win but you know, a year, year and a half later you realize where you’re at and that is where you’re supposed to be. J.D. used to be an Elvis impersonator, he knows how to entertain and play other people’s songs, to live them and re-energize them; he’s great at that, he’s a great re-creator. I’m more of just a creator. I think it worked out perfectly for everyone; I think INXS got exactly what they needed, and I got what I needed and got to bring my band along for the ride so things have a funny way of working themselves out.
RM: You’ve know the brother’s for a long time; since you were kids…
MC: Yup; long time; since we were nine years old.
RM: It seems you guys were bred for music but I also see you have a finance degree as well and worked as a real estate appraiser also; where do you think you would be if the music hadn’t worked out?
MC: I was in a very successful position commercial appraising out of New York and opening an office in Chicago; I definitely had a career path going on in case music didn’t take off. It was pretty lucrative and I had a chance to make a career out of it. Even before the show, I wasn’t really satisfied with that scenario in my life. It just didn’t feel like that was pulling all the satisfaction out of life that I knew I had. I feel blessed to have crossed paths with this crazy reality show, and I can’t believe I was on one, but it gave me some legs toward a music career.
RM: Was there any tension with your band mates when you were on the show, vying for a slot as frontman of INXS?
MC: Oh yeah, they were very pissed off. Borderline psychotic and crazy. Because we had been together for over half of our lives, there was a lot of tension. This was the one time I went against what everybody said and it turned out to be the right move for me, and for the band. I’m just glad it turned out to be right. Now I go with that gut feeling; whenever anybody thinks I’m wrong, I know I’m right.
RM: Did they welcome you back with open arms?
MC: They realized that this was a big step for us and they would be cheering for me saying, “Go number 2! We’re pulling for number 2!” They’re not very religious men but I guarantee they were praying every night during the duration of the show, that I took 2nd.
RM: Will the next album be “Marty Casey & The Lovehammers” or just The Lovehammers?
MC: Well, it will still be Marty Casey & The Lovehammers; people still know myself from the show but don’t still necessarily know The Lovehammers. I think soon as the Lovehammers are a household name, then we can switch it over. I kind of think of it as a throwback to the old bands; Derek and The Domino’s and like that. (Pause) And, you know, part of me is an egotistical motherfucker, so having my name on the front doesn’t make me feel bad. (Laughs) I’m just kidding about that. You never mind seeing your name in lights but that’s the band.