Much has been made of the differences between the way musicians go about achieving fame and recognition in Nashville and the way things are done in Texas. Nashville tends to revolve around radio promotion, whereas in the Lone Star State, playing live seems to be the preferred way of reaching out to an audience.
The Texas Way
"I think that’s the difference," agrees Casey. "In Nashville, a lot of people put out radio stuff and hope to get success off radio and then use it to drive their touring and I think we were pretty opposite. We started out with fans and really worked on building our live show, going out and performing and word of mouth - grass roots.
"I think that’s why we’ve been able to sustain what we’re doing so long because our fans have been there with us since the beginning and are pretty die-hard about what we do."
Suite 101: What do you make of the music currently coming out of Nashville?
"A lot of people bag on this and bag on that - that's one thing we try to stay away from. Art is art, man, it is what it is and somebody somewhere is loving what they do and so I’m not going to knock anybody for what they’re doing.
"I think the scene is definitely changing. I think the Nashville game is changing and I think Nashville is paying attention to what’s going on in Texas and what some of these bands are doing in Texas."
Nashville Looks West
In recent years, more and more Texas artists have started to come under the spotlight away from the traditionally Austin-based scene, which had until recently remained fairly self-contained.
"Randy Rogers has released a record that was number two on all of country music on i-Tunes and number two on Country Billboard for the week," explains Casey. "I mean that’s got to say something right there.
"He’s number eight in all genres of music, so I mean there’s something going on down here that sooner or later people are gonna take more notice of. I think definitely in the last two or three years, you’ve seen more bands get more representation out of Nashville and there are more Nashville record deals coming down to Texas.
"There’s definitely this thing that’s been going on for over 15 years now and it’s definitely here to stay. I think they’ve finally taken notice and it’s not so much of a joke to them anymore. The more bands like Eli Young and Randy Rogers can go out there on a national level and turn heads, get on Letterman, The Tonight Show and all that stuff, they’re really tearing up the Billboard Charts and I think more and more people are going to start noticing it nationally.
"We can tell..We’re touring out of state a bunch and fan reaction’s been great everywhere we’re going and it’s just gonna continue to grow. There are more and more radio stations that are spinning Texas artists and trying to make the push and you can feel it out there on the road that it’s growing and I think it’s growing bigger out of Texas than it is in Texas right now. Nashville record labels have noticed all the money. Now they’re down here trying to get a piece of it."
The Casey Donahew Band in Nashville?
Suite 101: What does the future hold for you and your band? Is becoming part of the Nashville scene something you would consider?
"We always say wherever there’s fans we hope to take our music to them and that’s what we’re doing right now. We’re still kind of testing the waters and different markets in different states and as long as the response is good, we’re gonna keep going out there and keep pushing.
"I think our goal has been from day one to just try and make each year better than the last, so that’s kind of where we’re at right now. There’s a lot of forks in the road ahead of us for sure. There’s a lot of different directions we could go…but you know, I’m really proud of where we are and I’m really proud of the things we've done.
"If, for some reason, I had to stop, I’d still be proud of the things we’ve accomplished. I mean, I’m happy, so every day after this, is just a blessing. Wherever we can take it, we’re gonna try and take it as far as we can."
Casey Donahew's Current Projects
Things certainly seem to be going well for The Casey Donahew Band at the present time. What have the boys been doing recently?
"We’re still pushing singles off this new record, the Movin’ On record and we've just recorded a video for our new single, which is called Next Time," replies Casey. "That was our first video we ever shot. We’re trying to push that and really hope to get some momentum off of that and get some plays. We’re trying to get it on to CMT at the moment – it’s kind of in the process."
Whether the CDB joins the Texas contingent in Nashville, or remains in Fort Worth, their hard work and dedication to their craft should be enough to ensure that they always find an appreciative audience wherever they go.
Movin' On is out now.
Adrian Peel - Adrian is an English freelance writer and journalist currently living in Mexico. Over the past eight years, he has had articles, features ...
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