Casey Wickstrom ought to be famous.
Naomi is the one who invited me to Red Rock Cafe in Mountain View. The place had a Open Mic Night on Mondays and one of her coworkers from the Chemistry department had decided to get onstage and play his guitar. It turned out to be a great idea. Red Rock is the quintessential “community” cafe. It’s a hangout; people of all ages and colors convened there to study, chill with other folks and listen to the music and poetry. It was nice to see Mathieu get up and play, but the real treat was Casey. He was probably just 22 then (just last year), but he blew away all of the other Open Mic performances that night such that I almost felt sorry for them. How can I classify his style? Folksy-bluegrass-singer-songwriter, perhaps? What I am sure about is that the guy demonstrates technical ability on guitar far beyond what is common for guitarists his age, he sings like a professional and he writes appealing music.
I remember inviting Brian to come and see the Open Mic. I wanted him to see actual performers on an actual stage in hopes it would inspire him to practice and take baby steps in attempting to craft a ridiculous career as a conservative rapper. Casey Wickstrom happened to perform again that night and Brian refused to acknowledge the talent. Frankly, that’s when I knew Brian had gone off the deep end. Anyway, Casey was nice, though. I bought his CD and he, Brian, Naomi, Shawn and myself all went to eat In N’ Out down the road. He told us all about himself. He had been playing as a child in different bands in Colorado, came West to S.F. but landed with family on the Peninsula and, at the time, was doing the coffee shop circuit and trying to gain exposure. He has the talent to be a star. I think he can be a star. If he ever does become famous, I’ll have that story to tell.
Anyway, I saw him at Red Rock again last night. A year later and he’s gotten even better. Red Rock knew this time; they hurried through all of the other amateurs and then Casey an entire hour at the end. New songs and a newfound confidence. The audience knew him and they responded to his performance with truly heartfelt applause. Everyone recognized it now if they hadn’t before. I really want this kid to get the widespread recognition he deserves.
