Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes???

*editor's note: I didn't like Eric Church back then - I do now*

Let the Fraudy Moon Rise: The Odd Case of Kasey Anderson

I've known Kasey Anderson, as much as you can "know" someone you meet on the internet, for probably 10 years now. I first came into contact with him on the message board at altcountrytab.ca as he began his songwriting/recording career. He always came across as a funny, bull-headed, eccentric self-promoter, but his posts were always interesting. His music was a little too raw for me at first, but it began to catch my ear as he grew as a writer and performer.

Kasey's first solo albums were uneven, but passionate and showing all the creative spark and hard fundamentals required for a budding music career. Nowhere Nights started fulfilling his promise with "catchy alternative pop rock Americana goodness" and slotted at FTM's #8 album of 2010.

When he took on The Honkies as a backing band, his music really took off. Anderson's first release with new backing band, Heart of a Dog, nearly cracked the FTM 2011 top ten albums. The desolate ballad "Exit Ghost" from that album was FTM's #2 song of that year. Let the Bloody Moon Rise, which was a short-time release (originally slated for physical release this year), finished at #54 in FTM's Top Albums of 2012 list. Clearly, Kasey was right in the pocket creating the kind of honest music I dig and that FTM promotes.



The band even made some headway in the commercial world, scoring an opening slot with Counting Crows on a European tour. The Crows also covered Anderson's "Like Teenage Gravity" on last years covers album, Underwater Sunshine.

Kasey's wit and dry approach also brought him some notoriety on Twitter. He gained thousands of followers and became fast contemporaries with professional comedians like Rob Delaney (even doing a show with Delaney) and Harris Wittels. Not bad for an alt-country singer/songwriter.

Cut to August or September of last year when Anderson began vague talk of retirement on Twitter and in his email newsletters. Then came the October Tumblr announcement that he was in fact giving up writing and performing for financial reasons. I didn't give it much thought, other than hating that a good young alt-country voice was going to be silenced for a time.

The Honkies disbanded and Kasey disappeared from my radar completely at this point.

--------------------------------------

This is where it gets weird. I'll let the professional writers do most of the talking from here. This story came out in December.. I somehow totally missed it. Wow.

And yesterday it got much worse.
Make sure you read at least this link... then you might want to go back and read the other one for more insight.

Holy shizz. Well, that escalated quickly. Or maybe it didn't. I don't really KNOW Kasey. Sure, he kicked off the FTM Interviews feature with this winning self-Q&A. Sure I've conversed with him on Twitter and altcountrytab.ca many times ...but I don't know him.

I just thought Kasey was a little askew, but maybe I should have seen the signs. There were always complaints of fans not receiving albums and merchandise they purchased from him. His self-promo on ACT was a little grating at times and Anderson became seen as kind of flaky amongst regular contributors.

Oh and then there was this one instance in 2009 on the message board where he sought legal advice because "i am facing erroneous charges of insurance fraud and falsifying documents." Uh oh! Kasey claimed he was held overseas for an allegation that "involves an insurance claim that was filed in america for a large sum of money - about 150k." According to Anderson's posts, his case was eventually thrown out by the prosecutor. Scarred but whole, Kasey persevered. Not that big of a deal in a vacuum, but in the light of this new, much larger situation... certainly interesting.

I don't know what to think. While I, as someone with not exactly perfect mental health, can sympathize to some degree with someone suffering from bi-polar disorder, I can't make the jump from drinking/druggin/financial woes to HALF A MILLION DOLLARS IN FRAUD. And the names involved and the excuses made and the self-delusion. I just don't know. I didn't even want to bring that last paragraph's information to light because of some sort of loyalty I can't explain. Kasey may be a con-man. He may be a troubled individual that got in comically over his head in a ridiculous scheme that even the investors should have seen through from the get-go. Probably both. He's a talented dude either way and I wish the best for him.

This case, regardless of its outcome, may have killed his music career. Perhaps if Anderson gets out of this hole, he can use his comedic talents and this whole new wealth of content to create a new, legal way to make a living. It's got to pay better than the (alleged) failed-fraud racket.

Butthead Paisley

Country Day Jan. '13 Parody Album Covers Part 4

Country Day Jan. '13 Parody Album Covers Part 3

Country Day Jan. '13 Parody Album Covers Part 2

Country Day Jan. '13 Parody Album Covers Part 1

Lyrics Illustrated: Kacey Musgraves - Merry Go Round

Gary Allan Thanks Country Radio for His #1 Song

Country TwitterFAIL Jan. '13: Blake Shelton, Brantley, etc.

Because we should listen to the guy with the Nazi symbols in his Twitter handle??????????

  

Philosoraptor on the Josh Abbott Impersonator

http://www.rawhideandvelvet.com/will-the-real-josh-abbott-please-stand-up

Same Ol' Song

I wrote this lyric before the days of Farce the Music (or Photocrap, for that matter) and unfortunately it rings truer than ever now. And yes, I name dropped... but it fit the theme - I wasn't doing it for fake country cred.

No Country on the Radio

I was in the mood for a drinkin' song

Some guy cryin' over love that's gone

So I flipped through a dozen stations

I shook my head I couldn't find a thing

No sad fiddles, no whiskey, no twang

And came to the sad realization

(Chorus)

There ain't no country on the radio

No steel guitars, nothing sad and slow

It's happy slappy joy joy

From little girls and pretty boys

Singin' pop songs in a row

But there ain't no country on the radio

I caught the tail end of Shania Twain

DJ said that's the classic of the day

I almost drove off the shoulder

The next song sounded like a Hallmark Card

Some whiner rhyming "heart" with "apart"

I know Waylon just rolled over

('Cause) There ain't no country on the radio

No steel guitars, nothing sad and slow

It's happy slappy joy joy

From little girls and pretty boys

Singin' pop songs in a row

But there ain't no country on the radio

Bridge

I found an old truckstop with a $5 rack

Bought some Yoakam, Paycheck and Hag

The channel may be clear but I ain't comin' back

(Alt Bridge)

Hootie, The Eagles, Bon Jovi, oh my

I know where old rockers go to die

('Cause) There ain't no country on the radio

No steel guitars, nothing sad and slow

It's drum loops and big guitars

Makes me wanna crash my car

God I miss George Jones

There ain't no country on the radio

©2007 Corey Parkman

Honest Eric Church Radio Promo Ad

Monday Morning Memes: Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town, etc.

Awkward Gary Levox Photo of the Week

As It Should Be

Sunday Mornin' Music: Aretha Franklin

Saturday Night Music: Clutch

From the Archives: Darius Rucker - All White (parody)

from JUN 25, 2009

All White

(parody of Darius Rucker's "Alright")

All white, all white,

Yeah, it's all white, all white

Don't take a Sherlock observation

To see the difference that's so well defined

My workplace lacks diversity

Been like that, don't ya know, since the days of Patsy Cline

You can throw a dart and hit the same skin tone

Sometimes it makes a brother feel mighty alone

Cause I've got some shade here in my skin,

But the industry that I'm workin' in

Oh, it's all white, all white

Now I've got boots under my feet

And the whole music chart except for me

It's all white, all white

Just check out CMT

Yeah, it's all white but me

It's no big deal, no, to me it ain't no drama

That I'm an anomaly yes it's true

If not for Charley, I'd be Obama

But the bigs have pride in me as long as I pay dues

Now that I'm well on my way to being a star

I wish Coe'd stop telling me to park his car

Oh, I've got some shade here in my skin,

But the industry that I'm workin' in

Oh, it's all white, all white

Well I've got boots under my feet

And the whole music chart except for me

It's all white, all white

Just check out GAC

Yeah, it's all white but me

It's all white but me, yeah yeah

When I look out at crowds there's just one thing missin'

Nobody in the audience can dance in rhythm

Oh, I've got a whole bunch of melanin,

But the industry that I'm workin' in

Oh, it's all white, all white

Well I've got boots under my feet

And the whole CMA show but me

It's all white, all white

Check out the Walmart CDs

Yeah, they're all white but me