Webster defines “soul” as “... credited with the functions of thinking and willing, and hence determining all behavior”. He also calls the soul “the moral or emotional nature of man.” That deep part of TJ is pure cowboy–and it clearly determines his behavior.The soul of TJ was shaped in him by the precepts of his mom and dad, by his childhood in Montana’s harsh and remote Pryor Mountains, and by close association with horses and cattle before he can even remember. Living primitively (by today’s standards), with no electricity, telephone or indoor plumbing taught him just how unimportant money and possessions really are in life.Mentored by old cowboys and horses, TJ learned honesty, humor, respect, trustworthiness, and strength of character. Wild cattle and younger horses taught him mental and physical brawn and agility, and developed in him a good measure of toughness and tenacity.Interwoven with these forces was the powerful oral history of the cowboy, which TJ was steeped in through poems, stories and songs, passed down from those who’d gone before. That culture became a part of his soul, so that the songs and poems spawned there today are true to his cowboy heritage.Spending two thirds of his life in a saddle, working with cattle and horses on ranches across the West, gives TJ and his words and music an authenticity impossible to manufacture... they are truly “of the land. “Being onstage as an entertainer nationwide across the last three decades gives TJ and his words, music, and presentation a presence impossible to manufacture . . . they are truly “for the audience.”When this larger-than-life artist steps under the spotlight, strums on his guitar and starts to sing, the cowboy from his soul communicates with you . . . you live the song, the poem, the story. You smell trail dust and campfire smoke, feel sweat and grit on your brow, taste the clear spring water after a long, hot day of work.Experience T. J. Casey, Cowboy from the Soul.