Casey Abrams says he growled too much
"I'm feeling really good," Casey Abrams said Friday, as he answered post-elimination questions. The 20-year-old singer from Idyllwild, Calif., did appear in good spirits as he reflected on his American Idol experiences.
In retrospect, Casey says, he might have growled too much, something he tends to do when he loses himself in a performance. He's not involved with fellow contestant Haley Reinhart, he says, despite gossip to the contrary. And, when he found himself on stage with Scotty McCreery toward the end of the results show, Casey was pretty sure he knew which one of them was headed for the exit.
But it's all good. "Maybe I'll break down crying some other time."
An edited transcript of the conference call follows:
You gave a nice shout-out to Haley at the end of your song last night. Were you saying goodbye to more than a duet partner?
I was saying goodbye to my very special musical friend. That's all it was.
Are you and Haley a romantic couple?
No, we are not.
Were you ever dating?
We were never dating.
You play a lot of instruments. Besides the bass and the electric bass, what other instruments do you play?
Yes, actually. The guitar I've actually played on the show. Piano, the melodica -- those are the ones I've played on the show. But I also like playing the drums, the sitar, accordion, the clarinet. I took lessons for about a month on the sitar, but everything else I've just kind of self taught.
Of all the instruments that you play, which one's your favorite?
I didn't mention it, but I really like the cello. I don't think I play it the best, but I love the sound, because it can be like a violin or a bass. That's beautiful.
Have you had formal vocal training?
I've had vocal training in Colorado, and I've had some singing lessons, over many years in the past. Like, maybe in fourth grade.
Last night, when you closed the show, you seemed like you were having a blast. What was going through your head?
What was going through my mind was just, "Make this good." I was completely on random mode. I didn't plan on ending up on Haley, it just happened. Nothing was planned, and that's what I think sometimes in the best performance. Like, in jazz, when you improvise and play a different solo each time, it's the best feeling in the world.
You brought us a lot of music to Idol that hadn't been heard on the show before. Was that a goal for you, to introduce new music to Idol viewers?
I couldn't feel anything less than amazing. I feel that I've done something pretty cool in this competition. But the thing is, so has everyone else from the Top 13. Look at Paul, bringing all the folky stuff, and Jacob, bringing all the gospel. I think we're all doing our part to make American Idol a little bit different from last year and the years before.
What would your vision be for a Casey Abrams concert?
Pure Craziness is probably the title. There'd be everything. The last two performances [before this week] -- Harder to Breathe and Nature Boy -- sum me up. Let's rock this hard and have some fun, then let's slow it down and play some smooth jazz.
Who's the better kisser? JLo or Steven Tyler?
Steven Tyler. JLo just let me kiss her, but Steven Tyler kissed me back. It's a different story.
You said you didn't plan on some of the things you were doing in that final song. Are you just kind of like that normally, the kind of guy who will kiss somebody more than shake their hand?
Nah, I'm not a big kisser. When I'm on the stage and people are watching, I tend to do things nobody would expect. I think people were going to expect I was going to kiss JLo again, so I tried Steven Tyler, then I tried the whole audience. I think that was kind of unexpected. I try to think, what are you going to say, and what am I going to say that's totally different from that?
What has Idol done for your confidence as a performer?
Every single thing. I used to not like to sing in public. Now, I feel like I'm singing a little bit too much: I'll sing in hallways with people I don't even know. Maybe that's a bad thing, but I just feel a lot more comfortable on stage. I feel like I can do anything on stage now.
Who do you sing to on stage? Anyone in particular?
Not really. I try to look at random people and get strangers to feel my pain or my happiness. Like, if I were on a street corner, I would want everybody who was walking by to look me in the eye and feel what I was saying.
Jimmy Iovine said about your growling, "The family dog does not vote on this show." Is that cruel or good advice?
Honestly, it's hilarious, and it is good advice. I listen back, and I think I was growling a little bit too much. I was having more fun than paying attention to what was going on musically. You've got to have that good balance, and I don't think I had that balance that time. Jimmy Iovine's funny, man.
You went to the hospital early in the season because of your ulcer problem. How did you get that under control, because you never made any trips back that we knew of?
I just kept on getting injections of that good old medicine that really helped me out. I learned how to deal with the stress a little bit more than I have been. The show has been helping me, because I learned how to talk to people, communicate. Talking to Jimmy Iovine and really standing up for myself, it relieves stress. I usually just hold it in, but the fact that I told people how I felt made me a different person. It's going to be less ulcers.
The judges told you to tame the growling and stop staring into the camera. You took that advice but, during the last couple weeks, it seemed like it was back. Were you ignoring their advice?
It is kind of how I sing when I don't think about. I think that's a good place to be, when you don't think about how you sing. Maybe the Maroon 5 and Hi-De-Ho needed it, but I think maybe I gave it a little bit too much. It's a gray area, so it's hard to define what's a good growl and what's a bad growl.
Did you ever expect to get this far after the judges used their save on you? Or did you think you'd only get another week or two after that?
That's what I was really afraid of, and that's why I knew I had to work hard. It would have been embarrassing if I got cut the next week, so I tried to work hard. I didn't expect to really make it to the top. I expected to maybe make it this far. This is, like, exactly what I expected. I can't be mad at that.
Did you have some songs in mind to sing next week for the "Now and Then" theme?
I was thinking from the '60s, maybe like Eleanor Rigby with an acoustic guitar and just sitting on stage. We weren't really sure what "Now" meant, so I was going to try Smooth by Santana or may be a Blink-182 song, just for fun.
What will the first post-Idol album for Casey Abrams look like?
It would definitely have a beard on it and maybe an upright bass. Stylistically, it could be rock, it could be jazz. I have a feeling it's going to be a mixture of rock 'n' roll and some jazzy chords.
You gave a shout-out to Oscar Peterson. What sort of musical education have you had?
Idyllwild Arts Academy. I was one of the only day students who went to the boarding school. So I had the car.
I learned from Marshall Hawkins, my jazz teacher, for about three years. He just taught me the fundamentals. He showed me all this great music. He taught me piano and upright bass. That's why I know a lot of the artists I know these days.
What kind of stresses were you under, being in this competition?
I guess I was just scared of looking stupid on stage, because I didn't know a certain song. I wasn't stressed out this week, because I really didn't know both of the songs I was supposed to sing. I think I had more fun with Haley because I fed off of her energy.
Did you get to talk to Crystal Bowersox last night?
We had a nice conversation. She gave us these cool little microphones. She just waited outside while I was in a conference so she could give me the microphone. It's the little things. She didn't let stardom ruin her. She's awesome, and I loved her performance last night. She had an organ solo and the slide guitar -- it was just so fun.
Pia Toscano said she had a premonition the week she was eliminated. How about you? Did you have a feeling last night that this might be it?
I don't know what it was. Maybe it was that everyone was so incredible that time. I felt like my performance was pretty good, but seeing Jacob kill it, and Haley kill it, then Scotty and Lauren kill it, James Durbin, obviously. It made me feel like, "These guys are incredible. These guys could carry the show. I don't really need to be here. So if I go home tomorrow, I'm prepared.
Do you feel the American Idol thing will hurt your being accepted as a serious musician?
I've always worried about that. But my goal is to bring that kind of music into the popular culture. I don't think the serious musicians have to take me as a serious musician. I just want to get them better known.
Have you ever thought that maybe you'd be cuter without the beard?
I thought about it, but I don't think it would work. If I shave, I don't have a chin anymore.
If you were to take one thing away from your American Idol experience, a treasured memory, what would it be?
Definitely the people you meet. There's a lot of people that can get up on that stage and sing. Even people that got cut really can sing. It's this experience of living with all these other serious singers that really just made the experience what it is. That's what I'm going to miss most about it, to be honest with you.
What were you feeling when you were standing there with Scotty at the end?
A little bit of nervousness, but more like, "Let's get this over with. Let me sing. Just call my name already."
I just had this feeling, as soon as Jacob and Scotty were there and Jacob went off, I was, like, "No one's going to do anything to Scotty, so I'll see you guys later."
What did the judges tell you at any point in the season that will stick with you?
During a results show, Steven Tyler looked over at me and he did this motion, he pretended he had a razor and started shaving his beard. I followed that. I'll remember that, because that was very nice of him.
Last night, after dress rehearsal, he came up and said some really nice things and some constructive criticism. So did Jennifer Lopez. Randy said some nice things backstage, too. He says he's going to teach me how to slap bass, because I really need to learn how to do that. He's like air-bassing. It's been useful.
Did you get better advice from the judges offstage than what we heard on the show?
Off-camera, it feels better, because they're looking you in the eyes and standing right next to you. So when Jennifer Lopez is, like, "I'm sorry I said that to you yesterday; I do it out of love," stuff like that makes me feel a lot better.
Do you have any closing remarks?
Don't take yourself too seriously. Take music seriously, but not yourself.
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