It is truly the digital age when an artist gets his name out, without major record representation - which is exactly what Clearwater Hip-Hop-Rock artist, Esky, does with conviction.

And, Esky has garnered almost 80,000 plays on his video SMOKE SMOKE with his strict D.I.Y. regimen.

Otherwise known as Casey Chouinard, Esky is a longtime Pinellas resident and musician. He started playing the drums at eight.

“My mom got me lessons from the Bleeding Hearts drummer, Frank Jerome,” said Chouinard.

At 13, he took an interest in guitar due to the influence of his brother and a friend.

Chouinard played in a variety of different bands in the mid to late 90s including Merde and Guilty of Nothing. Both bands played frequently with other great local acts at the time like Crossbreed and Still Standing.

“Still Standing is still one of my favorite local bands of all time,”
said Chouinard.

Crossbreed still performs today, while Still Standing broke up in the late 90s

Weaving in and out of projects, Chouinard began popping up at local concerts at venues like The Neptune Lounge, asking bands if he could play between their sets. Most bands like Stigma, Suburban Tragedy and Muy Gordo were glad to let him on during breaks.

Although he spent a great deal of time devoted to rock and its varied branches, Esky is rooted in rock with a heavy smattering of hip-hop. Combined with his acoustic guitar licks, this brings an eccentric feel to the sound.

Chouinard said the name of his current act comes from a solo singer/songwriter’s plight. While other groups have a group name to go by, he, as a solo artist became “Casey,” which in his opinion, is not the most glamorous moniker.

“Who wants to go hear a white dude named Casey play,” he said.

So, he conjured up a stage name that would serve a solo or group project.

Chouinard strived to start a venture that would give him the outlet to express himself in a different way than just the average singer/songwriter tied to the same old chorus, verse, and chorus.

“I started doing the hip hop because it gave me the ability to say more,” he said.

The current arrangement of musicians in Esky is still morphing, but he said that it should become a more concrete lineup in the months ahead.

Chouinard plays the Dunedin Brewery open mic every Wednesday. There, he’s accompanied by a variety of different musicians including local musician and music store owner, Jim Terry.

“I’ve known Jim for a long time, and it’s a rush when he plays with me,” he said.

Chouinard points out the fact that there are far fewer labels looking for artists than there were even five years ago, which is why it is so important to him to network in sites like MySpace and Facebook. That, mixed with his aforementioned success on user-controlled site YouTube, is making it easier for him and the group Esky to exist outside the state of Florida, even without touring.

He uses specific keywords in all his videos. The keywords could be anything from “Wayne” for Lil’ Wayne or “420,” a number used to represent a special time for marijuana smokers. He said that while it’s not necessary to use the keywords to attract attention, it makes self-marketing and promotion easier, especially without major sponsorship or representation.

“The record labels just aren’t there anymore,” said Chouinard.

But, at the end of the day Chouinard said the most important thing about his music are the lyrics.

“My songs are the soundtrack to my life,” said Chouinard.

Catch Esky at the Dunedin Brewery every Wednesday or check the schedule at myspace.com/eskyrocks for upcoming shows.