First things first: try saying chair, without an R, out loud.

There, now we’re all on the same page.

Pshyea is music designed for video games; it is instrumental, cyclical, and thematic. Though typically heavily synth-driven, soundscapes range widely from 8 bit chip-tune or modern guitar-infused pop to traditional string quartet arrangements. As a professional musician and an avid gamer, C. Casey Atwater’s music has long been influenced by the compositions of classic video games. He particularly enjoys Japanese composers that worked in the 80s and 90s including Nobuo Uematsu, Kenji Ito, Koji Kondo, and Masato Nakamura.

Raised in Michigan, Casey’s career in music began at a young age performing in the Grand Rapids Choir of Men and Boys, a time during which he was educated in sight-reading and music theory. In middle school he began to play saxophone, focusing primarily on baritone but also playing alto during marching band season. Around this time he picked up his father’s 1976 Alvarez acoustic guitar off the stand in the living room corner, changed the strings and learned his first Beatles song, Blackbird.

As high school began, several boys in Casey’s neighborhood decided to start a band in the basement of his best friend Mikey. As roles were decided he was naturally drawn to the bass guitar which reminded him of the booming tones of a baritone saxophone. Bass would quickly develop into his primary instrument. The band, which would eventually settle on the name Harlequin, never played anything more than talent shows, but countless hours spent jamming on Zombie by the Cranberries, Weezer songs, and a small handful of originals built chops and confidence. He also performed in the a cappella vocal jazz program of his high school in his senior year.

In 2004, Casey moved to South Carolina to attend the College of Charleston. After two years playing bass with a handful of local bands he eventually joined local act Firework Show which he would spend many years with. During his tenure the group was lauded as one of Charleston’s best experimental rock bands, and it pushed the players to their musical limits. When life inevitably caught up and the group disbanded, he joined up with former members of local band Sir Greendown to form the progressive folk rock project YR LAD.

Through these formative years Casey also began working with Charleston local Ben Fagan, formerly of Plainfield Project, on a new project called the Holy City Hooligans, playing alto saxophone and bass in the original lineup. Over the years, he would play with the group on and off as life became more demanding. For nearly a year and a half, Casey stepped in full time as musical director for the band’s wedding gig venture, expanding his musical role from bass and saxophone to guitar and auxiliary percussion as well as managing a rotating cast of players. He still works with the group from time to time as a session player.

Nowadays, Casey continues to play regularly with YR LAD. He also plays cover shows on the weekends as half of High Tide, jamming on many of the same songs he learned when he first picked up guitar. When not busy with yet another music project, Casey loves to spend time with his wife and cats, study martial arts, and watch movies.