Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey Shea.
Hi Casey, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started writing songs and playing in bands in college. I moved from Florida to Nashville for a couple of years before moving to NYC for my then-girlfriend, now wife. We spent over a decade there before moving to Los Angeles almost a decade ago. If you had told me 20 years ago I’d still be playing music in 20 years, I’d have said, where do I sign up?! It’s maybe not what I envisioned when I was young and dumb and dreaming of worldwide domination, but it’s been an incredible and much more fulfilling journey.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have been a number of times where I was ready to hang it up completely. The music industry seems to be really good at making you question everything. Ha!
Around 2007-08, I had a band that had a lot of momentum and a lot of the right pieces in place. It seemed like something life-changing was gonna happen…and in a way, it did, just not in the way I expected.
After a few weeks touring across the country, we spent a couple of months recording some demos in LA, which got the attention of a major label in the UK who ended up moving us to London to work with some writers for about six months. Everyone in the group had given up everything in New York to make this happen. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, it did not in fact happen and the band fell apart.
That was a big life moment where I really found myself at a crossroads. I spent months back home in Florida with my wife, not knowing if I should quit dreaming and go get a day job. I remember reading Steve Martin’s book “Born Standing Up” during this period. I don’t remember what it was exactly, but it put something in my heart that told me to get back on the proverbial horse. We eventually moved back to NYC, where I recommitted myself to my solo music and spent some of the best and most unforgettable years of my life.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I now have a band in Los Angeles called Grand Canyon. For some ridiculous reason, I decided to start a band in my mid-30s with a friend I met when I moved out here, Joe Guese.
It’s been a great run and we’ve put out a few albums over the last handful of years. We specialize in classic rock and roll, and I’d say we’re proud of the fact that in an era of computer-made, beat-driven music, we’re still doing it the old-fashioned way. We try our best to write songs that we could hear our heroes play.
What’s next?
I’m just trying to enjoy the moment. If anything big comes our way…we’ll figure out how to mess it all up then.
Contact Info:
- Website: Grandcanyonband.com
- Instagram: @Caseysheamusic
- Facebook: @Caseysheamusic
- Twitter: @Caseyshea
- Youtube: @Caseysheamusic
- Other: Caseysheamusic.com
Image Credits
1 – Tristen Sherfield 2 – Amanda Rowan 3 – Amanda Rowan 4 – Shervin Lainez
