In a musical world filled with loud guitars and undecipherable lyrics, Casey Schuck slows it down and makes his lyrics crystal clear. Mixing blues, rock, and poetic musings with a unique acoustic sound is what Casey's music is all about. Make sure to check out his MySpace page at myspace.com/CaseySchuck to hear the music for yourself. But for now, keep the "corn shucking" jokes to a minimum and enjoy our interview with Casey below.

Q: Use three words to describe yourself.

CS: Passionate, Moody, Unpredictable.

Q: How long have your been writing and performing your own music?

CS: I guess since I was eight or nine. My first songs were "Lyin', Cheatin'" and "Tie-Dyed Skies." But I couldn't sing very well and didn't play any instruments, so, no one thought much of my "talent". Thanks to the McClain Family for listening. They still are.

Q: How would you describe your sound?

CS: Passionate, moody, and unpredictable; the byproduct of many poems, stories, feelings and atmospheres.

Q: Originally from Wooster, Ohio, do you find that the warmer climate of North Carolina has affected your songwriting at all?

CS: That's an interesting question. I initially moved here to distance myself from a heartbreak situation. I left everything I knew, up to that point, behind. So, I don't know if it was loneliness or the new humidity but I learned how to play the blues in the Sandhills of North Carolina.

Q: Name five musicians that initially inspired you to write and perform.

CS: I'd be tempted to say The Beatles and George Martin. But I don't think I would be giving due credit. My first influences were Jim Croce (my dad's taste), Billy Joel, Simon and Garfunkel, The Lovin' Spoonful, and The Young Rascals.

Q: If you could jam with anyone, living or dead, who would sit in at your next gig?

CS: I'd love to back Robert Johnson on lead guitar, play rhythm guitar for Jerry Garcia, play piano for Neil Young and sing with Bob Dylan. If I could pick someone to record my own songs with, I'd choose George Harrison in the studio. At any bonfire - without question, John Prine.

Q: You write on your MySpace page that you've written about "heartbreak, alcoholism, getting stuck in strange situations, visiting new frontiers of my own mind, being in love, love gone wrong..." What subject matter do you find yourself coming back to time after time?

CS: I can't write what I don't know - whatever the subject, my songs always stem from my inner struggles or my inner self.

Q: You're a great storyteller, reciting memorable tales in songs like "Bad Liver, Broken Heart" and "Spite". Are most of your stories based in fact or do you have a really good imagination?

CS: Honestly, no. I don't use my imagination much when writing songs. While I'm working, lyrics come to me. They already rhyme. When I play guitar, certain sounds please my ear. I put the pieces together and my songs are the result. Imagination is like a suspension bridge when I get stuck on a songwriting cliff.

Q: When people watch you perform, and hear your words, what do you want them to come away with?

CS: I want my audience to feel stress relief, as I do when I play. But I expect to be taken seriously, as well. Ultimately, I hope everyone has multiple orgasms, but, then again, poets dream.

Q: I say Wombat, you say?

CS: Verbal Combat? Australian marsupial? No - you say "wombat", I say "word whore."