Joe Casey

Joseph Kevin Barry Casey (born January 31, 1977) is an American musician based out of Detroit, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of post-punk band Protomartyr. He is known for his distinctive vocal style, "anti-charisma[tic]" stage presence, and sardonic, literary lyrics which often incorporate philosophical themes. He is also responsible for creating the band's visual aesthetic. Early life Casey was born to an Irish-American Catholic family and is the youngest of 3 children. He grew up on 6 Mile on the north-west side of Detroit, which he remembers as an "idyllic corner" of the city when he was a child; his house described as being "the last [...] on a dead-end street, surrounded by a school, a church, and a monastery." However, by the time he was a teenager, his street had become prone to frequent shootings and stabbings, including one on his next door neighbor's lawn when he was just 12. His father - a construction inspector for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department - was a fan of history, which in turn encouraged his interest in the field later on. Solitary in nature and fond of playing video games, he remembers being an avid reader as a child, treating it as "a competition [...] to see who [among his siblings] could read the most". He attended the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy and remembers being a good student, though he describes his academic performance in college - University of Michigan - as being "pretty bad". He recalls trying to learn the flute in grade school, calling the attempt a "failure on [his] part." His school friends included many future musicians, including the members of garage punk band Tyvek (whom he would accompany on a few of their tours and cite as an influence on Protomartyr's music). However, while many of them left for places like New York City, Los Angeles or Chicago, Casey himself chose to stay in Detroit and worked a number of odd-end jobs after film school, a period during which "he drank, [and] got depressed." One of them included the job of a doorman at the Gem Theatre, where he met and became close to guitarist Greg Ahee - then playing in a "caustic punk" band named Butt Babies with bassist Scott Davidson and drummer Alex Leonard (grandson of Elmore Leonard).