Musicians can be thieves too. I had no idea who was Kasey Anderson, but there is an article in Pitchfork about him, and it may be the only article they have ever written about him. Unfortunately for him (but he totally deserves it) it’s not a positive one. He was indicted in Federal Court last year with five counts of wire frauds, and was only sentenced to 4 years in prison this week.
According to Pitchfork, he obtained $600,000 from 30 investors for a benefit compilation album (entitled ‘Trapped Like a Ghost’) to support the West Memphis Three. He was pretending to raise money for the defense fund of these three men who were convicted of horrific murders, spent 18 years in jail before DNA evidence proving their innocence was released. The album was supposed to feature huge names such as Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Tom Petty, Arcade Fire, Pearl Jam, Lady Gaga, Johnny Depp,…but the album never saw the light and the artists in question had never heard of the project. How did he think he could get away with this huge lie? He even convinced people there would be concerts associated with the album, he impersonated a Seattle tour manager to pretend he had firm agreements with the rock stars participating, and he announced a collaboration between Springsteen and Gaga… that one would have been a red flag for me! But the list of the things he claimed is absolutely unbelievable, as he also took two old Springsteen classics and said they were new collaborations with Arcade Fire.
‘He forged an email from the wife of one of the West Memphis defendants blaming Springsteen for delays in monetary assistance. He impersonated an entertainment industry attorney. He falsified bank records,’ still according to Pitchfork… he also got money for an album released by another artist, stole money from friends, and the list goes on and on… Billboard is also reporting that he forged a document proving that the project had already earned $1.7 million in advanced sales.
In a letter he wrote to the court, he is naturally blaming mental illness:
‘I lied to myself and others, and believing those lies, I told myself consistently that whatever was going on with me … I could fix it on my own. I convinced myself that it was normal.’
‘I am a deeply flawed and mentally ill person who made some terrible choices, causing so much emotional and financial damage to others. But I believe I have much to offer my community.’
‘I am so sorry for what I’ve done and want so badly to make it right.’
The whole story is astonishing, especially when you read on his own Wikipedia page that the alt-country artist has released 5 studio solo albums and 3 others with the band the Honkies, that he formed with Andrew McKeag, the Presidents of the United States guitarist. He seemed to be a well-established artist, and you can read more details (and more of his lies) in OregonLive, as the guy is from Portland. May be DayTrotter should remove its session with Anderson, although the text is quite eerie once we know about his con-artist activities: ‘Kasey Anderson must have lived before. He might be on his third or fourth life, for all we can tell. You see, what we hear on his new record, “Heart of A Dog,” as we’ve heard on his past records, is a writer who can’t just be making it all up and couldn’t have lived it all either. It’s as if he’s seen things and lived in so many different pairs of shoes, put on so many different pairs of pants, that a reincarnation is the only possible explanation.’ He must have had some true talent to trump so many people.