Martin Xavier “Marty” Casey (born September 26, 1973) is an American rock musician who is the lead singer, primary songwriter and second guitarist of the band Lovehammers. After years of building a strong local following in Chicago, Illinois and the Midwest, Casey achieved international fame on the first season of the hit reality show Rock Star: INXS. Casey made it to the final two of the competition, finishing as the runner-up to winner J.D. Fortune. Although he was not chosen as the new singer for INXS, many fans are happy that he got to stay with his band Lovehammers. Marty was a fan favorite on the show, receiving the most viewer votes and topping the download charts with his performances of both covers and original material.
After revealing the selection of Fortune as the new INXS front man, INXS guitarist Tim Farriss offered Casey the job of opening act on INXS’s upcoming tour, which Casey accepted. During the tour, Casey and his band released their major label debut, Marty Casey & Lovehammers (released 24 January 2006, through Epic Records). The album could be described as a “best-of” compilation of songs from their previous, indie albums, though songs were chosen largely on the basis of accessiblity and to showcase the band to a more mainstream audience. Though some of the songs were re-recorded and remixed for the major label debut, the album featured only one completely new track. There was some fan criticism that the album was sold as “Marty Casey & Lovehammers” as opposed to just “Lovehammers” but, in general, fans understood that the purpose of the album was to capitalize on Marty’s exposure on the TV Show and increase their fan base.
Casey & Lovehammers continue to tour, now as headliners. They are avid fans of the Chicago White Sox, and were particularly excited to be asked to play before some of the games in 2005 and 2006. |
