Hi Casi, thanks for taking the time to chat with us! How have the last few months been treating you?
Thank you for having me! I’m so grateful to have had a very busy last few months! I’ve been touring pretty much all year, but this summer we really kicked it up a notch! Just in the last month or two, I think I played in 7 states!
You released your latest single “Senses Fail” and dropped a beautiful music video – what is your decision process when it comes to releasing a new song – how do you decide when and which to release?
Thank you for the kind words! I’m really proud of that song and video. I have full creative control over anything I release, but that doesn’t mean I don’t ask for tons of opinions! With “Senses Fail” I felt it was the right time to release it, since my last two releases were more upbeat. It was a nice slow-down moment, and I really wanted to show a more serious, vulnerable side coming off of two fun songs.
Do you take creative control over the look and feel of each of your music videos?
I usually come in with an idea for my director, but after long conversations, that idea usually morphs a lot! It’s always so fun to get creative minds together to brainstorm and come up with something magical! I like to add a lot of humor to all my videos, and I love that my directors have fully embraced that! Even with the “Senses Fail” video, there are a couple shots that are total inside jokes only huge fans would get. I like to have fun in everything I do, even if it’s a serious song. I think the only thing I take full control over is my wardrobe, hair, and makeup! Peep the Crocs in “The Money” music video!
You write all of your own music including “Senses Fail” and past singles “The Money” and “Namaste.” How did writing each of those songs differ? Were some easier than others?
I wrote “Senses Fail” and “The Money” alone, but had two co-writers, Zach and Michelle Hord, on “Namaste.” I think it’s definitely harder to write alone, because you don’t have the outside perspective or opinions you’d get from writing with other people. But with both “Senses Fail” and “The Money,” I was just carrying on with my day, when a line AND a melody popped into my head. When that happens, I try to stop what I’m doing and finish as much as I can before I lose it. In the original voice memo for “Senses Fail,” you can literally hear my family having our Christmas party in the background while I’m tinkering on the piano and working through melodies. I wanted to stay a solo writer for that one, because it was such a personal subject that I felt I had to work through alone. My reward was a finished song that I’m so proud of, and can share with others who may be going through the same thing. For “Namaste” I came into the co-write with the hook and some of the melody, but knew Zach and Michelle would be so fun to finish the song out with! I was so right, and to this day it was one of the most fun co-writes I’ve ever had!
When creating the songs do you often envision how you’d like the music video to look or how you may perform the song on stage?
Absolutely! I’m always thinking about production when I’m writing, whether that be on stage, music videos, or in the studio. I’m a very visual person, so when I’m writing, I sometimes associate the sounds or vibes with colors or textures. I visualize myself on stage singing it, what instrument I’ll be on, and what the crowd will be doing. With “Senses Fail,” it was a dark, smokey blue feeling, so when I worked through the branding of the song, I already knew what it would look like. When I write, I think about how it will make people move, how I’ll move on stage, and what feeling it provokes.
Your performance of “Blue” on The Voice blind auditions will go down in history as one of the best ever! How did you go about choosing that song? Can you let us in on any “secrets” viewers of the show may not know?
Wow, thank you so much! I’ll answer your question and let you in on a secret! You don’t get to choose your blind audition song! There were audition rounds prior to the blinds though, and “Blue” was one of the songs I sang. So I think since the song was so obscure with the yodeling, they chose it for me for my blind audition song too! I was over the moon to get it, because it was a song I was super comfortable singing and had been since I was 10. Forever grateful my mom showed me what yodeling was when I was little, and that I was weird enough to get obsessed with it!
Since The Voice you’ve built a huge tour schedule that keeps you on the road most of the year – what’s your favorite thing about being on the road?
Hands down I have to say, getting to meet so many fans face to face who have, until then, just been a name and a profile picture on social media! I’m an open book on my socials, so I feel like I have a really close relationship with my fans. I know so much about them, but only see a profile picture. I’ve gotten to finally meet so many of my Joyfriends, and I’ve been fangirling over them! It’s been like meeting long-lost family!
Is there a certain venue that you’d love to play some day? Have you ever seen a show at said venue?
The Grand Ole Opry is definitely at the top of the list! It would be a dream come true to get to play that stage. The first time my parents took me to Nashville to record when I was 11 years old, we went to the Opry, and I was in awe. We saw Josh Turner, Trace Adkins, Lonestar, Little Jimmy Dickens, and more. I even saw Little Big Town performing for free in the parking lot! I knew they were going places when I saw them then! It would be quite a full-circle moment to perform my own songs on that stage.
Spreading joy is the Casi way – tell us what has been keeping your spirits up lately?
It sure is! Lately, I have to say what’s been keeping me in extra high spirits is my 1-year-old puppy Wendy Bee Tuna Fish! She’s been such a hilarious handful since we rescued her last March, and it’s been so fun teaching her and watching her grow! I’m also so grateful to be so busy with shows, and able to be on stage consistently again! Give me a puppy and a stage, and I’m happy as a pickle! I’d say clam, but I have a shellfish allergy!
What should fans be looking out for next?
Tour dates for sure! I don’t see myself as ever not having a crazy touring schedule, so I’ll always be somewhere on the road! Wherever the music takes me! I’ve also got some more musical endeavors in the works that I’ll be announcing in the near future!
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