Meet Casi Joy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Casi Joy.

Hi Casi, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve been singing since I was five years old when I entered the talent contest in my hometown of Smithville. I completely fell in love with it and began singing professionally in the midwest opry circuit when I was ten. From there, I dabbled in pop music when I sang in a girl group with Radio Disney, and then moved to rock music until my band broke up in 2012. I then made the decision to go solo and back to where I truly belong; country music. I moved to Nashville in 2015, and have been crazy busy on the road ever since!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think one part of this journey has been smooth, but I wouldn’t change it for the world! We have so many crazy stories from the road, catastrophes with the bus, navigating a pandemic, you name it. I think the biggest struggle lately has been trying to make sure I’m still living my own life outside of music.

Even though I don’t consider what I do “work,” one could still probably categorize me as a workaholic! This industry doesn’t sleep, and I’ve seen where hard work can get me, so it’s a constant battle for me to try to turn it all off and have a night out with friends!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Growing up, I never really took vocal lessons or anything, and don’t come from a musical family, so I was always just being a chameleon; manipulating my voice to sound exactly like the person on the CD. I think that taught me a lot about the different sounds I can make with my voice, and totally different tones I can get out of it. When I was 13, I started yodeling, and that has become a staple in the way I sing today. Even when it’s not full-out yodeling, I still use a smidge of that technique for almost every line I sing. I have a lot of rock tendencies too (thanks, Dad!), and all those little influences definitely peek through in my music!

Being on The Voice was obviously one of my biggest accomplishments, and I can’t say enough good things about that experience. But I think what I’m most proud of is when my fans got my original EP The Bright Side to #19 on the iTunes Country Album charts. It meant so much to me. We actually recorded it in my house and didn’t have a huge label budget, so it stayed pretty stripped down sonically. I was just so desperate to get something new out to my fans, and they really stepped up. I’ll never forget playing at the release party. First off, a crazy storm blew through, so we had to move the outdoor show to the inside of a furniture store. Nebraska Furniture Mart bent over backward to decorate the stage for me, and we turned that store into a honky tonk! During our set, fans would literally stop us playing to announce that we moved up on the charts again! I am forever grateful that I got to share such a special moment in real-time with the people who made it happen.

My latest release, “Business of Breaking Up,” really started from a piano part that I wrote and recorded with my little home studio setup. When I listened back to start adding lyrics, it gave me this dark yet bittersweet, nostalgic feeling. I started humming along with phrases popping out here and there, when “You made me lose my mind” came out. I immediately knew who I was writing about. The lyric inspiration comes from someone in my life who was very manipulative and sneaky. I let them stay in my life for too long, and finally, I realized what was going on; that I let them double cross a line. I didn’t care to give an explanation, or put some label on the reason; it was just business at that point, and it was over.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I learned so much during the pandemic. We, along with every other musician, lost what was going to be a VERY busy touring schedule. In preparation for the business, we had also bought a TOUR BUS a few months before, which was painstakingly hilarious. However, I had already been doing Facebook Live concerts, so when things shut down, we were already locked and loaded to stay connected with fans. Doing those concerts in a time of such isolation helped all of us.

We were able to check in on each other, see what new hobbies people picked up, and it really just created a tight community. Once the lockdown lifted, my husband Bryan, who books all my shows, had a great idea. Since we lived on our tour bus, he started calling campgrounds around the country, and we ended up having a very busy, socially distanced 2020 tour schedule! This industry, and life really, is about building your own path when someone tries to burn the one you were on.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.casijoy.com/
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/casijoymusic
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/casijoymusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CasiJoyMusic
• Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeB6k46H/