By
Stacy Swim
Marty Casey formed the band the Lovehammers when he was 14. He started out playing guitar and Bobby Kourelis played drums. Once Dino Kourelis bought a bass he was in! Marty became the lead singer, and then they found guitarist Billy Sawilchik in college. So when Dino granted us this interview, “WOULD LOVE TO!!!,” was Dino’s response, I was excited to hear about the “Rock Star: INXS” past and the Lovehammers' future!
Dino has said that the Lovehammers “are lucky enough to have a special bond musically and personally that let us create great music and put on great live shows.” I wanted to know if he was surprised that Marty wanted to audition for RSI, and if he was surprised that Marty was doing so well week after week. Dino said, “Marty thought that being on the show could be a positive experience for him and the band. I am not really into Reality Shows, but once he said he wanted to do it, I did everything I could to help him. I would have gone with him, but I can’t really sing!” Then I asked Dino if he was concerned about the future of the band when Marty announced he was auditioning for the show, whether his concerns changed after Marty was chosen for the show, & when it became evident that Marty might actually become lead singer of INXS. Dino’s response, “I knew Marty would get chosen for the show. I didn’t think INXS would pick him, because their styles are so different. I was just worried about how they would portray him, and what kind of show it would be. It turned out being a very classy show, and focusing on talent rather than controversy. Marty has just scratched the surface of his creativity as well, so I don’t know how much INXS would want to change their ways or take different chances.”
Next I wanted to move on to the future: they are the opening act for INXS’s world tour “Switched On” which begins January 18th and their Epic label CD debut, “Marty Casey and the Lovehammers,” which will be released January 24th. The Lovehammers' music has been described as “the best elements of grunge and hard rock with a twist of punk.” So what can people expect at the concerts in terms of the music Lovehammers will be performing? “We have a rather large catalog of songs, so we will be playing originals, and possibly throw in a cover once in awhile to keep everyone on their toes. We want to make the shows different each night, and exciting for people that will come to multiple shows. We are totally live - no backing tracks, so we have the freedom to mess around on stage. Many times Marty will go off & start making up new lyrics, and we’ll make up new parts to songs as we are playing - makes each night special...,” Dino confided. Sounds fun! Marty said on RSI that he “found a whole new voice.” I wondered if the Lovehammers' music and style changed in any way to accommodate his “new voice.” Dino divulged, “Our music is always evolving as we grow as songwriters and musicians. Marty has his same voice, but I think through the lessons he was able to take during the show, he is able to harness the power and use it in different ways.”
Back to the tour! The Lovehammers have opened for some pretty major acts in the past, Nickelback as an example. Will opening for INXS be any different? “We have met and hung out with INXS a bit, so I think the tour will be great. These guys are total pros. ... We have been lucky enough to play with some big acts that were also very cool - I don’t think INXS will be any different,” Dino told me. When I asked Dino if he has been able to wrap his brain around everything that is happening to ‘Marty Casey and the Lovehammers Dino declared, “We have been so busy trying to get the CD out in time for the tour, and just getting ready for the tour, we haven’t had time to think or enjoy what is happening. Things will probably sink in the first time I step on our bus and the tour starts.” I thought we should hear more about the CD. So I asked Dino what he could tell us about the songs. And we’ve heard “Trees” is going to be “amped-up.” How so? Dino informed me, “The Trees version will be the Lovehammers version that was originally written and recorded. On the show, Marty had to shorten it due to time constraints. It is basically the same, but longer and better... The other songs are songs from the Lovehammers' catalog. We wanted this to be an introduction of the band, so we picked songs with management and Epic. There is something for everyone on this album.”
Now I had to sneak MiG in there somehow! I inquired if Marty had shared any stories with him about his friendship with MiG. Dino mentioned that, “Marty has just told us how great of a person MiG is, and how talented he is. One of my favorite things to do is go out, get wasted, steal Marty’s phone and call MiG. It can be 5:00 AM, and we can be as drunk as you can imagine, and MiG is ALWAYS nice and polite to us. If I was him I would just hang up on us drunken idiots!!!!” That’s our MiG! And you wouldn’t you like to be a fly on the wall for those calls!
Lastly, I asked Dino if there was anything else he wanted to tell us. Dino ended with, “Just please give our CD a chance, and come to a show if you can. On another note, I want to thank you for the support, and wish MiG the best!!!”
You’ll Find it on the ‘Net’
By Gisele Williams
The internet can be a daunting experience to the web novice. I know for I am one of them! With the development of computer technology and the establishment of the World Wide Web, global communication and information sharing has never been easier.
I had never registered with a group, negotiated or posted on a message board prior to Rock Star: INXS but when I saw MiG on the show, I knew I wanted to learn more about him. I searched the ‘net’. His official site,
www.migayesa.com was off-line then (and Jonas is still swamped and impossible to reach now!), so I continued ‘surfing’. I found many sites that not only offered information about MiG and his career but offered the opportunity to “talk”, ask questions and get answers about MiG from other fans. I was welcomed like family, a member of an exclusive club or team! I had the opportunity recently to talk to the web owners of four very active ‘MiG sites’, to ask a bit about themselves and their websites. Listed in the order their sites joined the internet, this is what these webmasters told me:
MiGCentral – “MiG Fangirling since 1999”
http://www.migcentral.com/
“Hi! I’m rah, or The Artist Formerly Known as Laura. Rah is a nickname started just after high school and is referred to in the dictionary as “exclamation of approval or encouragement”, which I like to think is pretty “me”....I started as a fan 28 January 1995 and it quickly formed into a friendship. I’ve shared meals with his parents, spoken to his brother on the phone and spent FAR too much money seeing MiG perform! I always know the real MiG is out there when I hear everyone’s stories from meeting him. The Miguel Ayesa Fan Club [was] launched 9 September 1999 [and with many site changes] we became MiGCentral.com in November last year...We were his official site in the beginning, but gave up when we could see how much work it would involve! The original goal of MiGCentral was to give MiG a presence in the internet...
We have a thread on the forum titled "What we're all about - by the MiGCentral old girls", which is the MiGCentral ethos down to a ‘T’ [and definitely worth a read!]. I love MiGCentral and my MiGCentral girls with all my heart. It is an honour to have such talented and beautiful people join me....MiGCentral is made up of various parts; the forum, the official fanlisting, the gallery where members can upload their images for all to see. I also run a "blog" on the main site that aims to keep everyone up to date on MiG, MiGCentral and happenings on other fansites.”
The Mafia Pages (The MiG Ayesa Fans In Adoration Page)
http://www.geocities.com/migayesamafia/
“My name is Corinne Hickman “Cozmo” on all MiG related boards . I'm 22 years old, live in England and live for music (like MiG). I work with animals but music is my life. MiG's a person who I knew of, and met in person on many
occasions when he was in 'We Will Rock You'. I first met him in Feb '05 but first found out he existed in Nov '04 when I went to see the show for my birthday. As soon as he came out on stage and belted out his first number, I felt drawn to him. I knew this guy was special...I wanted to create a website...to help unleash MiG to the world. The website was established on the 26th March '05. I [had finally] mustered up the courage to ask him if it would "be alright to create a website" about him, to which he replied, "Corinne, I would be honored!". As for mission statement....just to spread the MiG love and try and do him proud. The website [is] not private but you have to join before you can view or post on the board
(http://miglover.proboards44.com), and we are accepting new members all the time, anyone is welcome. New fans of MiG might like the photo section as alot of them are candid which I think are always the best. They are very special photos to those who knew MiG before RS, mostly because of the memories that surround them. The site offers "oldie" MiG fans the chance to look back and reminisce, and "newer" MiG fans the chance to see where MiG came from before RS.”
World Of
MiG!
http://www.worldofmig.com/
“Jennie Green [is] known as Jennibobs on WoM (Squishy on TM) and yep, [is] definitely a frequent poster! Other than MiG, a main love for me would lie in theatre. [I am] currently performing in a play/musical called “Through the Times”. I have been following MiG for the past 2 years, have seen WWRY many times [and] I had the privilege of speaking with MiG afterwards...fantastic memories! World Of MiG has been up since August 27th and was not advertised online until just recently so we have a smaller community that post. The goal [here] is to support and love MiG whole heartedly as well as eachother [and] to bring people together who share a common interest (MiG). It’s our way of giving at least something back to a man that gives so much. Everyone is welcomed to join World of MiG. I guess you could say World Of MiG is a bit like a playground....we’re never short of a laugh. A lot of the active members became fans of MiG through We Will Rock You [and] often share our memories of MiG and are always willing to share our stories with others...For newer fans, it’s more personal and gives an insight into MiG before his Rockstar days...he hasn’t changed one bit. There is a We Will Rock You section on the WoM forums...[and] a Simmy section. The forums are very easy to navigate, one additional thing we have is a photobucket account (purely set up for WoM) ...to share [art and photos etc] with others.”
NumbButtSistahs – MiG Ayesa’s “Numb Butt Sistahs” Fan Chat
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/NumbButtSistahs/
She’s “LeeAnn Bergevine....Swtie1968 [on] Yahoo! and swtie1010
[on] teammigcom. I met MiG Oct.6 2005 in NYC. It was the best 2 hours ever! [see the November 2005 newsletter for LeeAnn’s encounter with MiG and his family]. The term numbbutts came about from how our butts felt after sitting and chatting about MiG and waiting on news. We are all still members of TM [but]
preferred the yahoo format [so] we started Numbutts when TM split from the yahoo site. [Membership] is open to anyone, although some new members might not catch on to our terms and abbreviations unless they ask. [Feel free to do so, the posters are very friendly and
accommodating!] Our goal is to be able to communicate with the friends we have made in an open non censorship
environment.. The key we use is ‘diversity without problems’ - in other words no drama and [to join] you must love and support MiG 110%! We have a very easy format. We offer
insight, lots of humor, and the best group of ladies you could ever want to have as your friends. We are a diverse bunch from all over the world and different backgrounds....but we have a lot in common...mainly MiG and his future and how we can help him obtain complete success.”
***
So, the term ‘Team MiG’ may have been born on the boards of the RSI website but, as you can see, the team actually existed long before last summer. The team has continued to grow and, I expect, will flourish well into the future as MiG becomes an international singing sensation! Team MiG is a network of people who support MiG Ayesa and his career and whether we became fans last year, last summer or last week, we are all his fans. What is happening, interestingly, is that in this mutually shared interest, we are joining together and are now also becoming fans of each other! We are crossing borders, oceans and websites to form bonds of friendship! This unity, or coming together of his fans, is a testament to the ‘goodness’ that MiG exudes. We are all members of his team. We are all ‘Team MiG’! So be brave and go on-line. Go to places you may never have gone before. Anything can happen and thanks to the World Wide Web, the possibilities are endless!
