Martyn Paul Casey (born 10 July 1960) is an English-born Australian rock bass guitarist. He has been a member of the Triffids, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Grinderman. Casey plays either his Fender Precision Bass or Fender Jazz Bass.
Biography
Martyn Paul Casey was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England on 10 July 1960 and has a twin brother Mark. Casey's original band was called The Nobodies which was formed in February 1980, with Matthew Stirling (Matthew de la Hunty, later of Tall Tales and True) on guitar and Steve Eskine on drums (this line-up of the band released a cassette of their recordings). In early 1981 he left The Nobodies and played in a reggae band, A2Z. When not touring he lives in Fremantle with his wife and children where he plays with The Painkillers.
Career
The Triffids
Casey joined The Triffids in September 1982 replacing bassist Byron Sinclair. With the band, he recorded their second EP, Bad Timing and Other Stories in October. It was issued by Mushroom Records in April 1983. Mushroom let the band go shortly after its release. The group then saved money from support slots with the Hoodoo Gurus, The Church and Hunters and Collectors, to record and release their debut 12-inch vinyl album, Treeless Plain, for Hot Records, a newly established Sydney-based independent label.
In late 1984, The Triffids moved to London, and recorded the EP Field of Glass. The band's line-up stabilised with the addition of 'Evil' Graham Lee on pedal steel guitar. In August 1985, they recorded their second album, Born Sandy Devotional, with Gil Norton (Echo & the Bunnymen). The group were hailed by the British media, were featured on the John Peel show and supported Echo & the Bunnymen.
In 1986, with delays in issuing Born Sandy Devotional, the Triffids returned to Western Australia where they built an eight-track machine inside a shearing shed on the McComb family's farming property and recorded their third album In the Pines. Born Sandy Devotional was eventually released in March 1986, it reached #27 on the UK charts and #64 in Australia. On their return to the UK, they signed a three-record deal with Island Records. In 1987, armed with the considerable budget of £125,000, and the production skills of Gil Norton, David McComb and a new recruit, Adam Peters, concocted the lush orchestrations of the poignant "Bury Me Deep in Love" and the melancholic wide-screen atmosphere of the subsequent Calenture album. Despite the release of another two tracks from the album as singles, "Trick of the Light" and "Holy Water", Calenture did not have the commercial impact expected.
In 1989, the "Goodbye Little Boy" single featured in the Australian TV soap opera Neighbours. 1989 also saw The Triffids record their last studio album, The Black Swan in England, with producer Stephen Street. Despite being well received, the album wasn't an overwhelming success, which disappointed David and the rest of the band to the point where they decided to dissolve the band. To fulfill their contractual obligations with Island Records, a live album recorded in Stockholm, Stockholm, was released in 1990 the year after The Triffids had split up.
Casey, a talented artist, provides a substantial amount of the art work for the 2009 rock biography on The Triffids, Vagabond Holes: David McComb and the Triffids, edited by Australian academics Niall Lucy and Chris Coughran, including the book's cover.
The Blackeyed Susans
In 1989 Casey joined Bottomless Schooners of Old, made up of McComb on guitar, keyboards and vocals, Lee on pedal steel guitar, Robert Snarski (ex-Chad's Tree) on guitar and vocals, and Ashley Davis on drums. The Bottomless Schooners of Old were a precursor to The Blackeyed Susans He replaced Phil Kakulas who left the Blackeyed Susans for Sydney to play with Martha's Vineyard. Casey however did not appear on any of the band's recorded material and departed shortly after to join Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Casey joined Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on bass in April 1990 while the band was touring to support their record The Good Son. Guitarist Kid Congo Powers quit the Bad Seeds; Mick Harvey switched from bass to guitar and Casey was hired to fill the bassist's role. The line up of Nick Cave, Harvey, Blixa Bargeld, Conway Savage, Casey and Thomas Wydler then produced the 1992 album Henry's Dream. The next album was Live Seeds, released in September 1993, which reproduced many of the Henry's Dream songs in a more raw setting.