Post by boudica on Aug 25, 2012 8:32:37 GMT -5
The Mavericks
With his debut album, Casey James knows that he comes to many music fans as a totally unknown quantity, while being greeted by just as many others as a familiar face, if not star. “It is a little weird,” admits the American Idol season 9 third-place finisher, “because sometimes when people meet me, it’s like, ‘Oh my God’ – they could be meeting the president! And then, of course, the rest of the time, you’re just a brand new artist.” That’d be enough to give most artists emerging from the show a case of whiplash.
But James figures Idol aficionados are in the same boat as non-viewers when it comes to needing an introduction to his true identity as a singer-songwriter – “because I had to do covers. Yes, you get a taste: You obviously know my voice and some of my style. But as far as the music that you create, nobody has any idea. This is finally the first time that anyone can say, ‘Okay, you don’t know who Casey James is? Well, listen to this,’ and it’ll be accurate. For me, that’s huge.”
His double-threat status as a guitar slinger as well as vocalist made him an obvious standout from the start. But as he concedes, he’s “ambidextrous, so to speak, musically,” which made him equipped to tackle any musical style. “I play everything from bluegrass to heavy metal.
And just as Casey James, the artist, is Texan by birth, so is Casey James, the album, country by birthright. As James points out, “Southern rock is really influencing country music right now, and I just love that” – an affinity heard loud and clear in barn-burners like “Drive” and “Tough Love.” Meanwhile, anyone with the slightest affinity for emotional balladry in any genre will find grittily tender tunes like “Love the Way You Miss Me” and “Undone” meeting them right where they live and love.
One constant between the up-tempo charmers and sad or sexy love songs is the presence of James’ guitar. If you saw him on Idol, you know that he doesn’t leave home without it, professionally speaking. Judge Jennifer Lopez was even moved at one point that this was a singing contest, not a multi-talent competition, as if James bringing along his trusty axe constituted some kind of newly officially sanctioned cheating. But for him, playing guitar while he sings is no more a “choice” than being country.
With his debut album, Casey James knows that he comes to many music fans as a totally unknown quantity, while being greeted by just as many others as a familiar face, if not star. “It is a little weird,” admits the American Idol season 9 third-place finisher, “because sometimes when people meet me, it’s like, ‘Oh my God’ – they could be meeting the president! And then, of course, the rest of the time, you’re just a brand new artist.” That’d be enough to give most artists emerging from the show a case of whiplash.
But James figures Idol aficionados are in the same boat as non-viewers when it comes to needing an introduction to his true identity as a singer-songwriter – “because I had to do covers. Yes, you get a taste: You obviously know my voice and some of my style. But as far as the music that you create, nobody has any idea. This is finally the first time that anyone can say, ‘Okay, you don’t know who Casey James is? Well, listen to this,’ and it’ll be accurate. For me, that’s huge.”
His double-threat status as a guitar slinger as well as vocalist made him an obvious standout from the start. But as he concedes, he’s “ambidextrous, so to speak, musically,” which made him equipped to tackle any musical style. “I play everything from bluegrass to heavy metal.
And just as Casey James, the artist, is Texan by birth, so is Casey James, the album, country by birthright. As James points out, “Southern rock is really influencing country music right now, and I just love that” – an affinity heard loud and clear in barn-burners like “Drive” and “Tough Love.” Meanwhile, anyone with the slightest affinity for emotional balladry in any genre will find grittily tender tunes like “Love the Way You Miss Me” and “Undone” meeting them right where they live and love.
One constant between the up-tempo charmers and sad or sexy love songs is the presence of James’ guitar. If you saw him on Idol, you know that he doesn’t leave home without it, professionally speaking. Judge Jennifer Lopez was even moved at one point that this was a singing contest, not a multi-talent competition, as if James bringing along his trusty axe constituted some kind of newly officially sanctioned cheating. But for him, playing guitar while he sings is no more a “choice” than being country.