One of Rising Star Entries, Casey Turner had an out-of-this-world launch for his new single recording, “Waves on the Ocean.” Casey was contacted by NASA last year.. Johnson Space Center quality engineer Margaret McPhail suggested, “Wouldn’t it be cool if your music could be played aboard the ultimate station — the International Space Station?” Eventually, U.S. astronaut Robert S. Kimbrough agreed to take Turner’s music with him when he shoots into space aboard Russia’s Soyuz capsule in October, McPhail confirmed. “I was blown away. I immediately contacted the astronaut and thanked him,” Turner said. About three years ago, one of his NASA friends attended a conference in San Diego and brought some colleagues to one of Turner’s shows, resulting in a modest NASA following for the musician. “I was really just planning on doing the usual Planet Earth release, but a zero G intergalactic orbital debut sounds good, too!” Turner jokes.
Turner’s sudden success has been years in the making. He previously worked at Kennedy Space Center as a jet propulsion systems test engineer, then moved to San Diego to work for a private hydrogen fuel cell company. After it folded, he turned to music as a full-time career (caseyturnermusic.com). Now he performs his island reggae/beach rock music, primarily on guitar and ukelele, in large and small venues throughout Southern California and quite often in Hawaii where he just recently returned from a long string of island dates..
You can see Casey at the Tilted Kilt in our next Rising Star Showcase on May 20th and you can vote for Turner on our website and make him our next Rising Star and then see him onstage at the Temecula Balloon and Wine Festival first weekend in June.