Marty Casey becomes a rock star

by Joshua Maloni Grand Island Dispatch, August 4, 2006 Lewiston Porter Sentinel, August 5, 2006 From the sound of it, losing “Rock Star INXS” was the best thing that ever happened to Marty Casey. The Chicago-bred singer finished second last summer in the CBS reality show, which was conducted to find the Aussie band a replacement for its former frontman, the late, great Michael Hutchence. “It’s two completely different scenarios. You win, you step into a machine; you predominately cover a catalog of other people’s songs, and you have a career reinterpreting somebody else’s music,” Casey explained Wednesday. “And, there’s definitely a need for that. And, there’s definitely a need and a high demand for people wanting to see a nostalgic catalog of INXS songs. “And then there’s the path of actually trying to create your revolution and having your own music out there and turning people on with something new, which is definitely a way different battle. But, I think the rewards are much greater.” “I’m more of a creator than a re-creator, I think, in the end, I don’t know how happy I would have been winning,” he said.

Marty Casey (in front) and Lovehammers.

While Casey didn’t win “Rock Star,” he was signed to Epic/Burnett Records – the label that released INXS’ first non-Hutchence release, “Switch.” The singer and his old band, Lovehammers, reassembled and released a self-titled album. The band had independently released four albums prior to “Rock Star,” and Casey said the process was completely different this time around.

“For all of our independent records, you didn’t have to think or answer to anyone else, or contemplate what people might think of your choices,” he said. “It’s more out of just experimentation and having a good time that we released the first four records. There was no thought to ‘I wonder how many we’ll sell’ or ‘What should the album cover look like’ or ‘What should the band name even be.’

“The band name changed from Lovehammers to Marty Casey and Lovehammers. We never put our picture on an album cover before and we were kind of pushed in the direction of putting, predominately, my picture on the album cover because of the show.

“Just as far as song selection and song order and how much screaming I’m allowed to do … you know, you have a lot of different cooks in the kitchen.”

Also new, in a good way, was the reaction the band received from fans after the show.

“We’d show up in a town we’d never been to before and have over 500 people show up at a show, you know, standing in the line for three hours so they can get to the front of the stage,” Casey said. “It’s just so amazing – the power of national television – especially unique type of exposure.”

While Casey remains in communication with 10 of his “Rock Star” competitors (“We all have a unique bond,” he says), he warns that his music – and especially his live show – couldn’t be further from what was seen on television.

“I still understand that people know me from a show, ‘Rock Star INXS.’ That’s why we’re so hard-core on the road so that by this time next year they see me as Marty Casey from the Lovehammers and not Marty Casey from ‘Rock Star INXS,’ ” he said.

“We’re going to have to carry that along with us for a little while, but, hopefully, with a couple more hit songs, and some more exposure for the rest of the band, then it’s about the Lovehammers and it’s not just about me and INXS and ‘Rock Star.’ ”

So, just what should fans expect of a Lovehammers show?

“It’s a really unique situation is what I’m hearing from most people. I’ve heard from more people than I ever have before that it’s one of the most unique shows they’ve ever seen before. It’s completely not what they expect to come see,” Casey said. “I would definitely tell people not to expect to come see ‘Rock Star INXS’ performed live via Marty Casey. It’s definitely an all-original show. People leave with a different state of mind about what I’m all about, and that I definitely wasn’t right for the band INXS.”

“We’re definitely continuing in the vein of what’s missing in rock and roll right now,” he said. “It’s just some raw energy and some old school rock and roll.”

Marty Casey and Lovehammers perform at the Showplace Theater in Buffalo on Friday, Aug. 11, at 8 p.m.