Art Casado - Director
Art is an accomplished composer/musician and a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) since the age of 14. For years, Art performed, recorded, and/or toured with some of the finest musicians in the world.
Recorded music for Columbia, Kama Sutra, ABC/Dunhill, Elektra, TK, Atlantic, and chosen as the first band ever to be signed to Rolling Stones Records. Enjoyed sponsorship by top musical instrument manufacturers like, Ludwig, Zildjan, and Simmons.
Appeared in a dozen trade publications, including the pinup centerfold for After Dark, a San Francisco magazine after returning from a three-month tour of Europe as the opening act for the Rolling Stones. Art still writes and plays music in his home studio and with close friends in South Florida.
Art has also been around the publishing environment since childhood. His father was a syndicated journalist and his uncle a cartoonist for Mad Magazine.
At the age of 15, Art began to illustrate cartoons in local periodicals. As his artwork matured, he began to attract the attention of publicists and agencies, ultimately rendering illustrations for books and other publications.
Growing up in New York City, Art worked closely for many years with his uncle and mentor, the late Antonio Prohias, on every aspect of drawing; from the sting of political cartoons to the cleverness of Spy vs Spy. His lifetime exposure to the art of Frank Frazetta and the masterful guidance of Prohias gave Art a priceless and unique insight to the publishing world.
In Chicago, at the age of 22, Art took time from his music to help develop a successful US National Parks billboard campaign and a winning Art Deco poster for the Wisconsin Hollering Contest while collaborating with Playboy photographer, Paul Gremmler, on magazine covers and other pictorials.
As a volunteer for a program to clean up graffiti in Chicago, Art produced building-size murals using former gang members from the neighborhoods. Art also helped elementary school students raise funds and art awareness by selling modern art paintings done by the children at local libraries.
While living in South Florida and touring with musical artists, Art turned to multimedia and began composing scores for commercials, drawing story boards for videos and publishing elaborate marketing packages for the entertainment industry. Art also helped the Veterans Administration by gathering celebrity friends and performing charity concerts on Memorial day and fund-raisers during spring breaks in Fort Lauderdale Beach.
This period led to 3D modeling and developing digital kiosks for commercial and educational markets. Since the 1996 Olympiad, Art has been contracted by IBM Application Management Services (AMS) as a instructional designer and a consultant/developer for IBM Learning Services Classroom Authoring Systems (LSCAS).
Studied commercial art and design at private schools and the New York Institute of Commercial Arts, where he received three consecutive award-sponsored scholarships, but my dad claims he's been more fortunate to have received priceless opportunities and relentless support from our loving family, devoted friends, courageous artists and talented musicians whose names we would not recognize.
Randy
My loving son Randy, a Civil Engineer & Project Manager with CALTRAN,
was killed on his motorcycle on September 21, 2004; when a teacher,
late for work, ran a red light at a busy San Diego intersection.
AC
