Music Monday (& Tuesday) ~ Casey James + UPDATE

Music Monday is usually about already famous, or legendary but long-gone, singers and musicians. For a change I'm being self-indulgent and posting about my current American Idol favourite Casey James.

Casey has survived the Idol obstacle course of having to sing on some themes foreign to him, and now stands as one of the final 3 contestants. He can do no worse than being second runner-up, even if voted off this week. He can't lose. In some ways it could be more helpful for him not to win the competition. He'd be more free to follow his own course rather than being bound by an Idol winner's contract.

It would be surprising if Casey beat Crystal Bowersox, who has led the field from the start. He has been mauled by the judges, but survived, presumably due to his strong fan base. Those judges can be obtuse at times, for reasons best known to themselves. Casey could (and in my opinion should) quite easily beat the other finalist, Lee DeWyse, to become runner-up. It's not easy to pick the order of the final three from their astrology (see last Tuesday's post). All three charts contain at least one helpful factor when compared with the chart for the 26 May finale.

Casey James, born in a tiny Texas village called Cool, lives for his music. From numerous bits and pieces on line it seems that he's been singing from the time he was in the crib. One article tells that his mother, a singer herself, was worried about him being late learning to speak, yet he hummed when in the crib. A friend pointed out to her that he was humming the theme from MASH, a household favouriteTV series! Casey has said in interview that making music is all he has ever wanted to do. He was married for three years, 2005-2008. His ex-wife has said, in a National Enquirer interview, that single-mindedness about his music and his will to succeed put stress on their marriage. She had nothing worse to say, however, so National Enquirer had to make do with that as "gossip" instead of anything more salacious. Casey admits to his single-mindedness, though adds to his love of music, a love of all animals and especially his two dogs, Basset Hounds, with whom he shares the house he built himself. He freely admits, too, to rather wild teenage years when he spent time in jail following a series of driving offences. A serious accident later left him wheel-chair bound for 6 months, unsure whether he'd be able to play guitar again. This, he says, was the learning experience which set him straight.

Casey's musical style blends rock and blues. He writes songs, is an expert on guitar and mandolin, plays both electric and acoustic guitar with equal aplomb, and often seems uneasy when forced to sing without an instrument. With his band, which includes his brother, he has been playing in pubs, clubs and small venues in his current base, Fort Worth for many years, as well as in venues around Texas and Oklahoma. It's possibly because of his years performing on small stages that Casey seems reluctant to use the massive stage now available to him - or perhaps this is just who he is. Surprisingly, he had never seen a single episode of American Idol before his mother persuaded him to attend the auditions.

He's a good-looking guy, but he doesn't swagger like some other good-looking guys. If he was as intent and focused on his "job" in some other area I guess he'd be termed a geek! It's endearing to see such a good-looker so seemingly unaware of what he's got! When asked how he'd react when the Idol fashion sylists got hold of him he replied, "as long as I'm comfortable with whatever it is, I'm going to let it roll because I know nothing about style. That's kind of obvious." Is it an act? I doubt it. Let's look at his natal chart.

Chart shown is a 12 noon version. ascendant will not be accurate as a time of birth isn't available. The Moon was somewhere in Leo though, whatever time Casey was born.



Sun in Capricorn - not a particularly musical sign, it's a cardinal sign, sign of a doer, a practical go-getter, a sign that knows how many beans make five and how to get 'em. Casey knows what he's about: music, and he knows how to make it....but he also built his own house - remember?

Venus, planet of the arts including music is also in Capricorn, but in the last degrees of the sign and conjunct Mercury in neighbouring Aquarius, along with Mars. These two planets in Fixed sign Aquarius relate to his strong determination to succeed, even when this has meant the break-up of his marriage. Fixed signs can be ridiculously stubborn and single-minded. Airy Aquarius traits, though, do lighten that Earthy Sun and Venus of his. He'll be glad of that Earthy anchor if he is dragged into the great whirlpool of national and international show-biz, it'll tie his feet firmly to the ground.

Neptune, with Uranus and Jupiter conjoined, are all in Sagittarius, with Uranus/Jupiter in helpful, blending sextile to Mecury/Venus. Uranus, the rebel planet, hooked up to his personal planets clearly connects to Casey's wilder early years. His now maturer Sagittarian side helps counteract any overly serious traits from Capricorn/Aquarius. I recall a clip from an Idol episode when the contestants were asked to describe one another, and the thing they all mentioned about Casey was his very loud laugh - that's pure Sagittarius!

Saturn in the first degrees of Scorpio is conjunct Pluto in the last degrees of Libra. I'll guess that this conjunction, of Saturn's limitations and Pluto's dark and sometimes deathly reputation, reflects the road accident which almost cost Casey his life.

Moon in Leo is easy to translate for a person like Casey whose life's work is appearing in the spotlight - whether that spotlight is big or small matters not a lot - as long as it's shining for him, and he's making music.

UPDATE: A kind commenter has let me know that the date of birth I used, supplied by Wikipedia, might be incorrect. Apparently Casey said in interview recently that he's about to turn 28 on 31 May (which makes his d.o.b. 31 May 1982). That's quite a difference! I felt a bit wary of a Sun in Capricorn for him to be honest.

Here's the alternative chart which shows quite a lot more Air - Gemini and Libra, with Venus, planet of music in its own sign Taurus, which is a nice fit. His build and good looks do fit Gemini/Libra too.

Without going further into the chart for now (I will if he survives this week) I'll just say that the planet he has near an angle in the Finale chart is Uranus in the first degrees of Sagittarius. So he does still have a helpful indication.






Here he is, during the Lennon/McCartney theme week singing "Jealous Guy".



This Tuesday the final 3 will each sing a song chosen for them by the judges, then one of their own choice. The song judges have chosen for Casey to sing is Daughters by John Mayer. Crystal's song is Maybe I'm Amazed (Paul McCartney), and Lee's is Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen). I suspect Casey drew the short straw there with the least-known song of the three, but I reckon he's good enough to overcome that!

Fingers crossed !