Casey James Through the Eyes of His Mother

With this Interview you will learn more about Casey James through the eyes of his Mother. Debra James (Bybee D. James) is the Mother of Season Nine American Idol Top 3 contestant Casey James. The American Idol judges might like to think they know a lot about the contestants. But no one knows more about those contestants than the women who gave birth to them and watched them grow and strive to achieve their dreams.

As a Mother I have often wondered about the Mothers of the contestants on the show and what they had to say about their child. How the Idol experience was for them and so forth. Debra James kindly let me take a few minutes of her time to discuss her son, Idol, his fans and she also graciously shared some tidbits about Casey James. I hope you enjoy reading this as much I enjoyed speaking with Debra James about her very talented son.

Do you have any advice for Mothers that have children who have dreams of music or whatever it may be?

Debra - It was never an option for me not to support them. That thought never crossed my mind. I did not see my living room floor for probably 10 years. It was nothing but amps and drum kits, guitars, mike stands and cords. You can fight it or you can support them. I think it just makes life easier when you support them. Especially when you know that they will never be happy doing anything else.

And sometimes as with Casey their dreams come true.

Debra - Yes sometimes they do. It is a long shot but sometimes they do. That is the whole reason I talked him into going to Idol. I have been around artists all my life and I have seen so many talented, talented people who just never got a shot. If you were working in a restaurant and you were beautiful back in my day you could be discovered, you could be put in the movies but those days are gone. I wanted Casey to be put in a position where he could be noticed and could be seen. I knew the rest would fall into place.

So you are the one who talked Casey into trying out?

Debra - Oh absolutely he did not want to go.

I bet he is glad you talked him into it now.

Debra -Now that I don't have to watch him get bashed on TV every week, I feel good about things. I am sure he is enjoying it all. He has brought a lot of joy into a lot of people's life. Casey is a good boy; His fans have brought a lot of joy to him as well. Casey is a true artist. He is not a wannabe celebrity or wannabe star.

Were you surprised when you created a Twitter account and a few hours later you had a lot of followers?

Debra - I was amazed. I'll tell you the actual true story of how I started with twitter. I am not into the technology thing and neither is Casey. I mean we didn't even have a TV. We are just not real Techno people. I got the Twitter account just so I could keep up with what is going on in Casey's life because I had no idea on how he was doing or what he was doing.

One of my really, really good friends, She is all over the face book and the twitter and this and that. She is very, very computer savvy and she said "Hey did you know Casey went and ate sushi today and he is having a really good day." I said "How did you find that?" Then she told me about Twitter. So that is the reason I got on there.

I miss him horrible it is just awful. We are just a really close family and he is so far away from home. So that is why I did that and he put on their Follow my Mom be nice to her or something like that, bless his heart. It brought tears to my eyes.

I have had some of the most gracious, sweetest people write things on there. Seriously I read them and it brings tears to my eyes. Casey's fans Wow! I'm tearing up now, they are just so darn sweet. His fans are just such good people. I am just so honored. His fans speak a lot of who he is. It is like they are an extension of who he is. The people who love him are just as sweet as he is.

Can you tell me some about you and the boys playing together?

Debra - I am going through withdrawal right now. Last summer from May up until November, Casey had his own things to do as well, but the acoustic gigs he was gracious enough to allow me to play with him, which if he had not been my son I am sure I would have been somewhat intimidated to sit on the stage with him because he is so incredible at it. We did a running gig at Dallas One Arts Plaza last summer and I am really missing that. Billy Cole my oldest son was able to come and sit in some but he is not much on acoustic gigs. He loves the band stuff. That gig was mostly Casey and I but sometimes like I said Billy Cole would come in. I am missing that. It was such an honor for me because you never see that. You never see a Mother and son playing on stage together.

Do you remember the first song Casey sang publicly?

Debra - I don't really remember but I know the most moving song that he sang was actually at my Mother's funeral. He used to play for her when she was so horribly sick and her favorite song was called Deep River Blues and it is by Doc Watson. Casey pulled a chair up beside her coffin and played that song and he never missed a note.

You are a very close family how are you going to handle it when Casey is out touring and it won't be as easy to contact him, let alone visit him? Plus with Casey wanting Billy to be his bass player both boys will be gone.

Debra - It will give me a lot of joy to know that he is able to pursue his dreams. That gives a Mother an untold amount of satisfaction and joy. I am certainly hoping that will happen. His career is sort of up in the air right now. We don't know who is going to sign him and what control they are going to have over him. That is his goal however to have his brother in the band with him. We are hoping that will happen. I am praying that can happen. They can cover each other's backs, the music business can be a tough world to be in sometimes and I want them together, I don't want them to be separated.

I read that people in your town raised money to help you and Billy to be able to go to the show to support Casey. How did that make you feel that they did that?

Debra - I have said this before you hear such horrible things about what people are doing on the news. It is like Don Henley's song Dirty Laundry, bad news always makes the news before good news. You hear all these horrible things about what people are doing and it is so disheartening. But then there were people who would give me money and give me air miles and some people didn't even know us. Most of them did but not all of them. I got a check for fifty dollars from Pasadena, California with a note that said "Hey here is fifty dollars for cab fare". Stuff like that, it redeems the human race. It's was like, I cannot believe that these people are digging in their pockets for my family. It rendered me almost speechless. You hear of random acts of violence, but this was random acts of kindness. There are many, many good people left in the world. It is a shame that they don't get the recognition that they should. I am hoping by me bragging on them it will turn some of that around.

How were you able to keep your cool at times when the judge's comments were not in favor of Casey?

Debra - I'm not going to say that is wasn't hard but I was representing Casey so I had to keep my game face on and sometimes I didn't but I would get a hold of myself and gather my wits about me. I was representing Casey and I was representing Texas. I could not do the things I might have wanted to do. That would have not said a whole lot for Texas women. But I could not have done it, literally I could not have done what he did, I could not have done the show. It is a great thing as far as Casey being seen by people all over but I could not have done it.

What was the experience like in your opinion when Casey returned home for the homecoming?

Debra - I'm not sure there are words to describe that. The adulation of his fans it felt like something almost out of a movie. I was in the limousine with him when we drove up to Millsap and we could hear and see the people and I said Casey people actually spent the night on the field last night to make sure that they got a seat and he stared he was completely speechless. He was staring at them and he could not even speak. He was so over whelmed that he couldn't speak. He could not even find the words, so we sat and I didn't say anything because I knew Casey just needed some quiet time to try and gather his thoughts and his wits about him. I think Casey was praying. I can't really say that because I don't know but he was so quiet and he kept staring.

Finally I said honey they have been waiting a long time. Roll down the window and just wave at them, let them see your face, let them see your arm. He never said a word to me and he just rolled down his window and he stuck his arm out and the people they went crazy. He just shook his head like I can't believe this. I could tell that was what he was thinking. Everything up this point faded into the background as we heard people saying Casey, Casey. When I saw him walk on stage and saw how people reacted to him it put it all into perspective.

During the finale when Bret Michaels joined Casey on stage what did you think?

Debra - I knew it was going to be special even before Bret came out. When the camera man came around behind Casey and I saw that he was going to be swinging two guitars at one time, he had an electric guitar behind his back and he was playing acoustic, I thought oh man this is going to be good. I thought nobody swings two guitars in one song. I have seen everybody that there is to be seen from Eric Clapton to Jimmy Page to Jeff Beck. I have seen everybody that there is to be seen. I knew this was going to be good and I wasn't wrong, it was unbelievable. The energy and the audience support and participation, everything else paled.

All Mothers have a cute story of something their child did as a little one, do you have a story you can share about Casey?

Debra - There are so many but my sister has one that is really, really cute. When he was about two we were at the lake and I was going on a boat ride and I made him stay on shore with my sister and he was really throwing a fit. She was trying to divert his attention and she said look there are some little minnows, some little fishes why don't you play with those. He said I can't play with them they don't have any arms.

This one is from my Dad it is about Casey's hair. He was just a little bitty thing and his hair now, that is how I kept it when he was little and my Dad would just bug me and bug me because he is just an old cowboy. He said you need to cut that boys long curly hair off he looks like a girl. Casey wasn't a real happy camper when I went and got his hair cut off. Not because of his hair, he just didn't want to sit still; he didn't know anything about his hair at this time.

We have heard about Casey's motorcycle accident and how the doctor's did not expect him to play guitar again. What did you as a Mother see as Casey tried and eventually proved them wrong?

Debra - On the show when they told Casey he didn't have any grit what flashed through my mind was the first time that he stood up on that special walker and how he gritted his teeth together when he first stood up. They don't know about that and with all his injuries and all the determination on that kids face. He was going to do it and nothing was going to stop him. I just broke down and I wailed.

I thought you have no idea what you are saying. But as far as him playing the guitar it did not surprise me one little bit. I knew it was going to be a tough go for Casey. As a nurse I understood the extent of his injuries. I saw the x-ray of his femur. I saw the pain, I also so the determination. This kid was determined and he never complained.

When I look back I am amazed at the pain he was in and he would never complain. I mean he would say I need something for pain. But he never whined and he never acted like woe is me, he was so gritty and he was so determined. If there was any way possible I knew he would. I knew he would walk again. It took a lot of therapy for him to walk without a limp. He was in a wheelchair for 6 months. His leg was messed up bad. He has a titanium rod that is screwed in from his knee to his hip. It was rough for a very long time. He was traumatized along with being hurt. He saw it coming in a split second of course. For years I would get panic attacks and I would call and as long as I could hear his voice I was fine. But no I am not surprised as gritty and determined as he is I am not surprised.

What would you most like fans to know about Casey?

Debra - How much he loves them and appreciates them. He knows that no matter how much talent somebody has if they don't have fans that appreciate it then they are sitting in a bar playing and they are just background music.

I don't think he has to worry about being background music anymore. They might be screaming his name while he sings but they will love him.

Debra - That is just great. That is much better than screaming for the basketball game on the TV in the bar.

What has been the worst thing in this American Idol Ride?

Debra - The Cruelty.

What has been the best?

Debra - The best was seeing the things written by his fans. That somebody else sees his brilliance besides me. Not only from people in the U.S but people from Brazil, from Greece, the Philippines and people from Russia that is the best thing. Casey is getting love and respect for what God gave him. That is the best thing for me, because I know how good that makes him feel. Casey really appreciates his fans. He reads every twitter, he reads every fan letter. He has got some set aside but he hasn't had time to get to them all. He told me I am reading every one of them and he will. He took time out when he was so exhausted, when he was here for the homecoming and he was so tired, he was just staring into space but he would spend an extra two hours just to talk to his fans. He knew they had been waiting for him and that's just who Casey is.