Post by boudica on Jun 14, 2012 11:04:24 GMT -5
Casey James trod hard path to arrive at Snowden Grove
Casey James, who shares the bill this evening with Craig Morgan at Snowden Grove Amphitheater in the second installment of the free KIX 106 Smokin' Summer Showcase concert series, is a young Nashville star on the rise.
But eight years ago, the Cool, Texas, native's prospects were considerably dimmer. That was when James, 21 at the time, was riding his motorcycle down a highway when a truck made a sudden U-turn in front of him.
"I had no choice but to hit him 'cause I was doing 70 and when somebody turns like that, you have about a quarter of a second to essentially think, 'I'm about to die,'" James recalls. "I remember waking up, coming out of the drugged-out phase of stuff they put you under with, and I didn't feel anything.
"My brother was there holding my hand and I asked him if I had died because I thought that I had. And he said no. That made me pretty happy."
Following his accident, doctors at one point predicted the blond-haired blues singer would never be able to play guitar again, a prediction that turned out not to be true.
Six years later, Casey James catapulted into the public eye as a contestant on the hit television music competition "American Idol." He is one of three "Idol" contestants scheduled to hit DeSoto County stages this week, the other two being R&B singer Fantasia and rocker Chris Daughtry's band.
In the show's ninth season in 2010, James was a finalist, at one pointing heading home with cameras in tow to present his orthopedic surgeon with a signed electric guitar and thank the staff of the hospital that he credits with saving his life.
Ultimately, James came in third on "Idol," a loss that turned out to be a blessing. Without the winner's contractual obligations, James had the freedom to determine the course of his own career -- something that came in handy when BNA Records came calling after the show.
"I just told them I understand what my situation is, and if you guys want to make a record because I was on a TV show, with all due respect, I'm going to pass," James recalls. "I had waited my entire life to make a decent record, and coming out of the show I had enough money to do that on my own. I wasn't about to go public with music I didn't full, 100 percent believe in because you don't get that chance two times."
James' self-assured, up-front attitude -- partially a result, he says, of his near-death experience -- earned him an unusual amount of control as he made his self-titled debut album, which was released March 20.
James co-wrote nine of the 11 tracks on the record, which bears the influence of Lone Star heroes like Delbert McClinton and Doyle Bramhall II as well as the singer's years playing blues in roadhouses with his singer mother and musician brother.
"I put everything into it," says James, whose hard work belies the good-time vibe of the record typified by the lead single, Top 20 hit "Let's Don't Call It a Night."
"I bet I never slept more than three hours the entire time I was making the record," he says. "Every single part of the process, I was extremely involved in from top to bottom. ... So in the end, everything came out really well. There's always going to be things that I wish I could have done better, but I think that's always going to the case. I hope that I always feel that way anyway."
www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/jun/14/singer-james-came-a-long-way/
Casey James, who shares the bill this evening with Craig Morgan at Snowden Grove Amphitheater in the second installment of the free KIX 106 Smokin' Summer Showcase concert series, is a young Nashville star on the rise.
But eight years ago, the Cool, Texas, native's prospects were considerably dimmer. That was when James, 21 at the time, was riding his motorcycle down a highway when a truck made a sudden U-turn in front of him.
"I had no choice but to hit him 'cause I was doing 70 and when somebody turns like that, you have about a quarter of a second to essentially think, 'I'm about to die,'" James recalls. "I remember waking up, coming out of the drugged-out phase of stuff they put you under with, and I didn't feel anything.
"My brother was there holding my hand and I asked him if I had died because I thought that I had. And he said no. That made me pretty happy."
Following his accident, doctors at one point predicted the blond-haired blues singer would never be able to play guitar again, a prediction that turned out not to be true.
Six years later, Casey James catapulted into the public eye as a contestant on the hit television music competition "American Idol." He is one of three "Idol" contestants scheduled to hit DeSoto County stages this week, the other two being R&B singer Fantasia and rocker Chris Daughtry's band.
In the show's ninth season in 2010, James was a finalist, at one pointing heading home with cameras in tow to present his orthopedic surgeon with a signed electric guitar and thank the staff of the hospital that he credits with saving his life.
Ultimately, James came in third on "Idol," a loss that turned out to be a blessing. Without the winner's contractual obligations, James had the freedom to determine the course of his own career -- something that came in handy when BNA Records came calling after the show.
"I just told them I understand what my situation is, and if you guys want to make a record because I was on a TV show, with all due respect, I'm going to pass," James recalls. "I had waited my entire life to make a decent record, and coming out of the show I had enough money to do that on my own. I wasn't about to go public with music I didn't full, 100 percent believe in because you don't get that chance two times."
James' self-assured, up-front attitude -- partially a result, he says, of his near-death experience -- earned him an unusual amount of control as he made his self-titled debut album, which was released March 20.
James co-wrote nine of the 11 tracks on the record, which bears the influence of Lone Star heroes like Delbert McClinton and Doyle Bramhall II as well as the singer's years playing blues in roadhouses with his singer mother and musician brother.
"I put everything into it," says James, whose hard work belies the good-time vibe of the record typified by the lead single, Top 20 hit "Let's Don't Call It a Night."
"I bet I never slept more than three hours the entire time I was making the record," he says. "Every single part of the process, I was extremely involved in from top to bottom. ... So in the end, everything came out really well. There's always going to be things that I wish I could have done better, but I think that's always going to the case. I hope that I always feel that way anyway."
www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/jun/14/singer-james-came-a-long-way/
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