Casey graduated from the University of Illinois, Champaign with a degree in finance. He went on to do real estate appraisal, while trying to simultaneously keep alive the dream of a future as a rock star. The Lovehammers eventually made it on tour with bands such as Cake, Jerry Cantrell and Nickelback, but they had yet to land a record deal.
Then, one day, a friend emailed Casey information on the Rockstar: INXS audition. After he landed a spot on the show, Casey prepared himself to make the most of the opportunity.
"At first I was really cautious," he says. "I was thinking a lot about how something I said would be portrayed, so I took it pretty slow. I didn't want to dive in and be outlandish and stuff. I figured out how it worked, and then once I got comfortable, it got pretty easy to exist, and not feel like you're playing or portraying."
"I feel like a rock star when I'm on stage," Casey continues, "but I don't walk around like a rock star with my head up my ass on a daily basis. I consider myself a blue collar, hard worker. You know, writing music and creating things, but when I step up onstage, I turn into a whole different monster. That's when I feel really powerful. That's when I control my destiny; when I'm onstage."
Casey worked hard at remaining centered and true to himself while being watched by millions of people for three months. He managed to keep his cool, and proved that not all bizarre, intense living situations have to be packe
d with drama and scandal.
"It was a lucky situation [with the roommates]," Casey says. "When you get to that base level and build friendships with people in a really strange environment, you become friends really quickly. Nobody knows who you are, so you get to walk in there with a fresh palate, and nobody has any preconceived expectations."
Casey wore his inner tranquility like armor against the stress of being under a microscope for three months. In fact, there was only one incident throughout the show that hinted at this angel's oppositional angst; the infamous night that he and fellow cast member JD Fortune snuck out of the mansion to go join locals at the nearest bar.
"I was a standard rebellious kid," he admits, "I snuck out and I got in my share of trouble. But the one thing I always did was get pretty good grades. [It] just happened to be that I hung around with the really crazy group of friends. I was more the sane one of the group, but, you know — that being said, I got into a lot of trouble, because they were pretty crazy."
The producers were upset by the two's blatant disregard for the show's policies. Not surprisingly, they didn't make the unruly contestants suffer any consequences. (Thus proving, once again, that rock stars can and will get away with breaking the rules. In fact, it usually heightens both their personal appeal, and the ratings.)
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