Casey James returns to the American Idol stage! FANTASTIC!!!! But what's this got to do with Possum Kingdom????
LOTS!!!! Casey used to play guitar & sing out at PK as a teen, mainly at the old Lumpy's BBQ joint on Thursday night jam sessions. Yepper, back in the late 90s the scrappy 17yr-old would occasionally join the stage with regulars WayneDawg, AlleyCat & a host of other locals to rev us all up in preparation for yet another wild weekend at the lake!
Back then Casey's guitar skills far outweighed his vocals. For such a young kid he'd dazzle us all for the couple hours he could manage before he had to scoot back to Cool for school Friday morning! Most others on stage were much older than Casey yet they bowed to his talent and let him rip it up with solos & riffs.... nothing but total honor and respect for the youth.
Then there were those few rare times when he'd play at bonfires and serenade a few lucky ones with acoustical Spanish guitars, gently strumming and softly singing amidst the dancing flames. I remember once he played at my house in The Cliffs for a party.... my guests scraped together $100 in fives & tens to stick in his pocket. Looking back, so special.
Casey eventually moved to Fort Worth where along the way to the Idol stage he'd honed his vocal skills. I was floored when I heard him sing on TV the first time in Hollywood (not the bare chest incident in Denver, after that ) His voice had matured dramatically; I recall sitting with my husband thinking "wow, Casey really does have a chance at this thing!"
So when he reached the Top12 we began having Watch Parties every Tuesday at Rockin' S. It was so cool all of watching Casey together, sometimes over 100 of us week after week! We'd be glued to the show then spend 2hours casting votes non-stop while many of the same guys that played with Casey back in the Lumpy's days would jam in the background keeping the voting going strong. We'd raise money to help get his brother, Billy Cole, to the show every week to root Casey on in Hollywood and we'd see him in the Idol audience with the biggest look of pride beaming at his brother onstage!
After reaching #3 on Idol that season and being signed by Sony Nashville we all knew Casey was off & running! We waited anxiously for his debut album. But most of all we've been waiting for the day when he would return to the Idol stage as guest singer because we know in our hearts we helped get him through that AI challenge. Rock on, Casey, the PK WAY - FLY HIGH!
