Casey Smiles: Law Records, Sobriety, New Music, and More!
Quickly rising to the top of the SoCal Reggae scene, and kicking off his debut show for his solo project last weekend at the Huntington Beach US Open of Surfing: Casey Smiles.
At a young age, Casey got his start jumping on stage to play guitar with his friend’s family band and quickly found his love for performing. Taking inspiration from bands like Black Sabbath, The Beatles, Grateful Dead, Sublime, Incubus, etc, he started writing his own music and began playing with Seedless, his band Burritos; A tribute to Sublime, and made a name for himself amongst the scene.
This year, he started his solo Project, Casey Smiles, and has been consistently releasing new songs. In late June, Casey signed to Law Records, which was a natural fit, given his long-standing relationships with the label’s roster. “I’m super happy to work with them because I trust them and I know their vision is bigger than just money,” says Casey. Since signing, he has dropped a few singles such as ‘Back to ’99’ and ‘When We Were Young’ in which he plays with the blending of genres while keeping conscious and heartfelt lyrics.
His song ‘Back to ’99’ featuring KC Makes Music, was inspired by his sobriety journey and restoring the feeling he had back in 1999. “I got to a place where I didn’t like who I was anymore because of drugs and alcohol… This song is all about finding myself again and who I was as a kid,” explains Casey.
While performing with Seedless back in the day, Casey connected with Kelly Nowell -Lead Singer of Sublime, Bradley Nowell’s Sister- and built a relationship with The Nowell Family Foundation, performing at their events and working on the creative end. Going on 4 years clean, sobriety has become a huge part of Casey’s journey, and he is now heavily involved with The Nowell Family foundation as a board member, spreading awareness to help others stay sober.
He kicked off his debut show with a headlining set at the Huntington Beach US Open of Surfing on Sunday, July 27th. Backed by his wife Katie Jo Sullivan on Bass, and his friends Zack Zukowski and Ian Foreman on Guitar and Drums, the band delivered a high-energy, incredible set! Opening up the stage was Lively Up and Capital Dub. The crowd was filled with friends, family, and newcomers, all dancing and moshing together in the sand. The band played a mix of originals and covers, and brought out some of their friends/ fellow musicians to jam on the stage with them. Even Casey’s son Griffin, a young prodigy in the making, hopped on the drums to jam with his parents, proving the rhythm runs deep within their family.
With momentum building and a better understanding of how the next shows will go, Casey Smiles is just getting started. He will be releasing a new song every month, playing a headline set on September 21st at Sealegs on the Beach, and will be joining Mike Pinto on his fall tour in October. “More shows, more music, and always spreading the smiles!”
SoCal Reggae Magazine thanks Casey for sharing his story, his music, and his kind words of encouragement with us. We can’t wait to see what’s next, and we hope you follow along with us.
