Marty Casey

Marty Casey Biography(Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Martin Xavier "Marty" Casey (born September 26, 1973) is an American rock musician who is the lead singer, primary songwriter and second guitarist of the band Lovehammers. After years of building a strong local following in Chicago, Illinois and the Midwest, Casey achieved international fame on the first season of the reality show Rock Star: INXS. Casey made it to the final two of the competition, finishing as the runner-up to winner J.D. Fortune. Although he was not chosen as the new singer for INXS, he was invited to tour as opening act, and in 2006, Marty Casey toured on the first leg of the INXS Switched On Tour. Many fans are happy that he got to stay with his band Lovehammers. Marty was a fan favorite on Rock Star: INXS, receiving the most viewer votes, and topping the download charts with his performances of both covers and original material.

Biography

Early life

The youngest of six children

Born to Marilyn and John Casey, Marty Casey was born in the Chicago suburb of Hickory Hills, Illinois. As a child and youth, Casey was an avid sportsman, competing in both baseball and wrestling. When he was eight years old, while playing together on a local T-Ball team, he met future Lovehammers bandmates Bobby and Dino Kourelis. Casey and the Kourelis brothers formed Lovehammers (initially named The Swinging Lovehammers) in 1988. During this time Casey attended Amos Alonzo Stagg High School, in Palos Hills, Illinois. After receiving a degree in Finance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he worked part-time as a real estate appraiser while continuing to record and tour with his band. He was a member of Star Course, a student run organization at the University of Illinois. He was also a member of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity.

While touring with artists including Nickelback, Jerry Cantrell, Interpol, New Found Glory, and Cake, Casey and Lovehammers began to build a small but fiercely loyal national following. Fans rave about the band's energetic, engaging and compelling live shows, and Casey in particular stands out due to his charisma, intensity and ability to embody the diverse moods and characters in their music.

His influences included Guns & Roses, AC/DC, Cyndi Lauper, Rob Bass, Joe Cocker, and Accept.

Hollywood has taken note of the band's songs, a number of which have been included in television shows and movies. The group's DVD, "Live/Raw" charted well on the Billboard musical DVD charts in 2004. In addition to gaining the admiration of fans, Casey's songwriting skills have gained him accolades. He was a finalist in the annual John Lennon Songwriting Contest, with his song "Rain on the Brain".

Rock Star: INXS

During the competition, Casey gained the respect of the INXS band members as well as the fans. His performances consistently received high marks, and he received the most votes of any contestant on the show. Near the end of the competition, he performed his original song "Trees", which became a fan favorite. Trees was played on mainstream radio.

Casey's extended family and the long-term fans (known as Hammerheads) were very supportive of his run on the show, co-hosting viewing parties for the fans at Chicago bars, and even organizing shuttle buses to get fans to the parties. Casey spoke frequently of being "humbled" and "honored" by all the support he received.

On his Rock Star: INXS blog, Casey wrote: "I love writing music and I think performing those creations completes the cycle and helps me define my life. Writing music is the thought and performing is the action. Great thoughts must be put into action in order to exist. Action without thought can be a train wreck."

Post Rock Star: INXS

After revealing the selection of J.D. Fortune as the new INXS front man, INXS guitarist Tim Farriss offered Casey the job of opening act on INXS's upcoming tour, which Casey accepted. During the tour, Casey and his band released their major label debut, Marty Casey and Lovehammers (released 24 January 2006, through Epic Records). The album could be described as a "best-of" compilation of songs from their previous, indie albums, though songs were chosen largely on the basis of accessibility and to showcase the band to a more mainstream audience. Though some of the songs were re-recorded and remixed for the major label debut, the album featured only one completely new track. There was some fan criticism that the album was sold as "Marty Casey and Lovehammers" as opposed to just "Lovehammers" but, in general, fans understood that the purpose of the album was to capitalize on Marty's exposure on the TV Show and increase their fan base.

Casey and Lovehammers continue to tour, now as headliners. As natives of Chicago's South Side, they are avid fans of the Chicago White Sox, and were particularly excited to be asked to play before some of the games in October 2005 and in 2006. In January 2009, Casey conducted a two week solo acoustic tour of New Zealand, in support of charity Canteen, which supports young people living with cancer. The tour was run by Christchurch resident Tania Gilchrist.

Discography

With Lovehammers

Ultrasound (1997)
Demolition EP (1999)
L'Strange (2000)
How We Live EP (2001)
Murder On My Mind (2003)
Marty Casey And Lovehammers (2006)
Heavy Crown (2009)