Artist: Casey Donahew Band
Album: Standoff
Bitrate: 258kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: Almost Country Records
Genre: Country
Size: 79.77 megs
PlayTime: 0h 41min 14sec total
Rip Date: 2013-04-25
Store Date: 2013-04-16
Track List:
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01. Lovin Out Of Control 3:08
02. Whiskey Baby 3:14
03. Pretending She's You 4:34
04. Not Ready To Say Goodnight 3:55
05. Small Town Love 3:21
06. Sorry 3:49
07. Homecoming Queen 3:04
08. Missing You 3:27
09. Loser 3:56
10. Put The Bottle Down 5:37
11. Go To Hell 3:09
Release Notes:
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If you build it, they will come. This might be the mantra of one of the greatest
baseball movies of all time, æöField Of Dreams,ö but itÆs also a pretty accurate
description of the career of Texas music sensation Casey Donahew.
The Burleson native, (with the help of his wife Melinda,) has painstakingly
carved out an impressive niche for himself on the country music scene over the
past decade, attracting a solid base of loyal fans who flock to his legendary
live shows. Building his career from the ground up one show at a time, heÆs
managed to perform on countless stages night after night in front of thousands,
topped the Texas music charts several times, released four albums independently
to critical acclaim, and forged a path all his own through the music scene
without the aid or muscle of a major record label or power-suit management
company. And the release of his latest CD, ôDouble Wide Dream,ö may just push
him to heights he never could have imagined when he first plugged in on stage at
the Thirsty Armadillo bar back in Fort WorthÆs Stockyards in the Fall of 2002,
and began constructing his own field of musical dreams.
Though he seems like a born natural when it comes to performing, Casey actually
fell into music gradually. He grew up on a farm the first few years of his life
and quickly grew to love riding and team roping, a sport he still enjoys today.
His grandfather, who loved to play and sing, gave Casey his first guitar growing
up, but it wasnÆt until college at Texas A&M that he first began to teach
himself to play and really focused on writing songs. A big fan of 80Æs and 90Æs
country, Casey had always admired the storytelling in the songs of that period,
and when a wild-eyed Oklahoma boy named Garth Brooks began swinging from the
rafters and employing all sorts of crazy, rock show antics during his concerts,
Casey was immediately hooked.
ôIÆve just always liked the country songs from the 80Æs,ö says Casey. ôIt seems
like a time when there was a lot of great songwriting going on, and I just enjoy
people who can tell a story with a song. And IÆve always been a big Garth Brooks
fan, since the beginning. First there was George Strait, and then here came this
guy from Oklahoma, Garth Brooks. And youÆd see George standing there playing
guitar, but then Garth comes along running all over the stage, playing guitar
and singing all these songs that he wrote. And the thing I was always most
enamored with about Garth was that he wrote most of those songs. He was just one
of those guys who did it all. And he started in Stillwater, not too far from the
Red Dirt scene. You could really take a lot of Garth Brooks songs and put æem on
a record of mine, and I think it would fit right in.ö
It was during his college days that Casey also discovered another rowdy artist
who was forging his own path across the Lonestar state in a big way, Pat Green.
When his fraternity hired Pat to play one of their parties back in those early
days, Casey was instantly inspired by PatÆs way with a song and his ability to
connect with an audience. ôPat Green was really the guy who started it all for
me in college. He just did a great job connecting with fans, and later on when
we started playing, we really tried to mirror how he did that. He was one of
those guys who I thought was a great entertainer, and really told stories that
people wanted to hear and could relate to, and I think thatÆs what made him so
popular.ö
Transferring to the University of Texas/Arlington, Casey began traveling around
with his girlfriend/future wife Melinda to catch shows by Pat, Randy Rogers,
Cross Canadian Ragweed, and other acts who were bubbling up just above the
surface on the burgeoning Texas music scene at the time. And it wasnÆt long
before he was testing the waters himself, playing a regular acoustic gig at Fort
Worth bar the Thirsty Armadillo, trying out the songs heÆd been writing since
high school.
ôI had moved back and was going to UTA, and just started following some of those
guys around,ö he recalls. ôWeÆd go see guys like Randy play at the Thirsty
Armadillo when he was just starting out and the scene was just barely beginning
to go anywhere out here. Pat was selling Billy BobÆs out, and weÆd go see him,
and Ragweed was just starting to break in that timeframe too.
I had also discovered Matchbox 20 during that time, and I donÆt know what it was
exactly, maybe the timing of that first CD when it came out it, but that whole
record just speaks to me. ItÆs one of those records I still listen
to...something about the way he writes songs translates to the way I felt in
life at the time, and it still does. And thatÆs something you try to capture and
recreate and hopefully through your writing you help people through hard times
or get people through situations in life. I donÆt know if there was ever a
specific point where I said, æHey IÆm gonna do this for a living,Æ but I just
enjoyed writing songs and playing. It was a way to get my feet wet -- and I
learned a lot playing at the Armadillo. And it was a way into the industry and
to see how other people did it, and we learned a lot of stuff in those first
couple of years.ö
Within a few years Casey had conquered the small club circuit and was packing
out larger places like the Fort Worth HorsemanÆs Club. He released his first
independent CD, ôLost Days,ö (which included the autobiographical nod to his
home turf, ôStockyards,ö) and the song quickly became a huge hit for the new
band, even among fans who had never visited the Texas city. ôStockyards is one
of those songs we started out with. IÆve been to a lot of places, and IÆve never
been anywhere quite like the North side of Fort Worth. Its just one of those
placesàI grew up in all those bars, and thereÆs such a history down there and
itÆs something I think everyone can relate to. ItÆs weird, it seems like we go
far from Fort Worth and people still sing that song, itÆs one of those things
people relate to -- everyoneÆs got their own Stockyards if you will, their own
place they grew up that they remember going to the bars and running the streets
and getting into trouble, I guess.ö
Around this time, with his wife Melinda spearheading management and booking for
the band, Casey impressed the owners of Billy BobÆs enough to land a gig playing
the legendary club where heÆd attended so many shows as a fan himself. Within
two years of his first show there, Casey was drawing nearly 4000 eager fans, and
heÆs never looked back since.
In 2006 he released a second self-titled CD that included ôWhite Trash Story,ö a
raucous, redneck story tune that instantly became a fan favorite. He followed
that up with a live CD recorded at BostockÆs, (the Stephenville bar that gave
Casey one of his first big breaks), then returned to the studio in 2009 to make,
ôMoving On,ö a project described as ôrattling, rolling and rumbling like a
youthful Robert Earl Keen fronting Reckless Kelly. That project sold an
impressive 32,000 copies thanks to his growing legion of fans, as word spread
like wildfire among the college crowd about this underground indie sensation.
The fans have always been foremost on CaseyÆs mind as he built his career, and
he makes his music with them in mind. For Casey, itÆs never been about
accolades, or awards, or even major label attention or fawning. ItÆs simply
about the music. And his fans recognize and appreciate that. Taking a page from
the live performance playbook of one of his heroes, Pat Green, Casey fuses
genuine, honest lyrics with a contagious, take-no-prisoners energy onstage,
making sure everyone is along for the ride -- which, more often than not, is a
wild one.
ôI think we definitely make music for our fansàwe donÆt worry about much else
except making the fans happy and making ourselves happy, and weÆve been real
lucky and fortunate in that I think we came along and started this band at a
time when social media was really kind of starting to get some legs. And that
really made it possible for a band that really didnÆt have a lot of radio
support to thrive and succeedàyou know we were able to keep people interested
and with social media they were able to share it with their friends in such a
fast way that it really spread the music to a large group of people quicker than
it could have ever before.ö
His latest studio CD, ôDouble Wide Dream,ö is pretty much right in the
wheelhouse of CaseyÆs previous threeàthe songs contemplate all the highs and
lows of real life, from the heartaches to the belly laughs and everything in
between, and the CD is packed full of that unbridled, can-do indie spirit that
has rocket-powered his entire career right from the start. From the
straight-shooting, hilarity of the leadoff single, ôDouble Wide Dream,ö a
redneckÆs declaration of love for his hot mess of a wife, to the heartfelt twist
of ôGive You A Ring,ö and the hotter-than-a-jalapeno, Texas-tinged smoker, ôOne
Star Flag,ö the tunes on this new CD cover a broad range of material and
emotions and showcase a maturity that can only be achieved through lots of
living, loving, and losing -- things Casey has no doubt done his fair share of
throughout his life and his budding career. And though he can work his way
through a tearjerker with the best of æem, for Casey, every song doesnÆt have to
be brain surgery -- itÆs OK to laugh and have a good time and let your hair
down, as in the case of the hilarious title track, or ôWhite Trash Story II -
The Deuce,ö a continuation of the tune that has become a fan sensation and
instant singalong during his shows.
ôHopefully IÆve grown as a songwriter over the past few years, but I donÆt try
to get too carried away with it, I donÆt want to try to be too serious about
everything. ôDouble Wide Dreamö is one of those songs thatÆs just really fun.
Those are songs that provide a little comic relief, and I want people to get out
and jump up and down and have fun. Not every song has to change your life, there
also has to be entertainment in the world. And I like to think we provide
entertainment with those songs. And, I still think of myself as a redneckàI live
in the country, I like to be outdoors, and shoot guns, and hunt, and drive
trucks, so those are things we write about. This album is really not too far
from what weÆve been doing from day one, just a continuation of it, really.ö
With the release of what will likely be his biggest album to date, Casey is
gearing up for his biggest year ever, playing to packed houses throughout Texas
and the Midwest. HeÆs come a long, long way since those early days on that
Armadillo stage, and he still loves to thrill crowds both big and small. But
given the choice -- heÆll take the flamethrower approach every time.
ôIÆm a Bon Jovi fan, and heÆs got a documentary called ôWhen We Were Beautifulö
that kind of captures Bon Jovi on a completely different level than anyone I
even know. But a lot of the things he thinks about the music business translate,
and itÆs crazy to see somebody who has the success he does have the same kind of
anxieties and worries about his music that I think the common musician does. And
he had a great quote in that. HeÆs played lots of little intimate shows, but the
shows he loves, are the huge ones. You know he says heÆd like to play the desert
and sell it out. ThatÆs always stuck with meàI donÆt want to play a small
place, I want to play the desert and sell it out!ö
And though his dream may soon grow much, much larger than a double wide, and
reach heights even he couldnÆt have imagined, Casey is quite content with all
heÆs accomplished thus far in this little career that could. ôI donÆt see anyone
coming to make a deal where weÆre gonna change what we do. IÆm not sure how far
we have left to go, hopefully forever, but you know nothing lasts forever, so
IÆm always mindful of that and prepared that one day this ride could be over.
And IÆm pretty proud of everything weÆve accomplished. I hope thereÆs more, but
if it were over tomorrow, I could look at my wife and say I was really proud of
everything weÆve accomplished. IÆm really excited about this record. I think the
songs on here are great, and are a big step forward, and the fans, whatever
their expectations are, I hope we blow em away!ö