Twenty-four-year-old singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and American Idol finalist Casey Abrams plays bass (most often), acoustic guitar, drums, Wurlitzer, and even recorder. His story is that of a born natural, but it’s also the story of a person who studied diligently and worked extremely hard, striving toward his dream of a life in music. By sixth grade he began playing the electric bass guitar and in time gained proficiency on guitar, upright bass, cello, drums, even sitar. In middle school he started recording orchestral arrangements of his own voice on his karaoke machine. The incredible exposure to the entire range of timeless popular music had an intense influence on Casey’s development. He waxes rhapsodically about jazz icons like Oscar Peterson and Thelonious Monk and “the one song that really changed me: Cannonball Adderley’s version of ‘Autumn Leaves,’ Miles plays on it.” That’s just a small part of his inspiration. He lists James Taylor, Freddie Mercury, AC/DC, and even Jack Black as major influences. And it all comes together! “I want to make music that people love, Casey says. And so he has on his eponymously titled first album.