Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lance Cowan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
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Lance, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
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After 35 years promoting other artists from Joe Ely to Michael Martin Murphey to New Grass Revival, I’ve begun releasing my own music. Reviews have been nothing short of incredible, which is very validating.
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Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
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I moved to Nashville in 1984 with dreams of becoming a songwriter. I thought writing Country Music would be easy. Then, I saw the masters at work. Guys like Thom Schuyler, Fred Knobloch, Don Schlitz. I realized I had a lot of work to do. I was fortunate to get my foot in the door around 1987 when I went to work as a publicist for Network Ink where we represented Reba McEntire, Nanci Griffith, The Country Music Hall of Fame, and the first act I was responsible for, New Grass Revival. After a year there, I moved over to management where I stayed for 10 years, working as the pr liason between record labels and our clients, which included New Grass Revival, Lyle Lovett, Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith and more. While I never talked to any of our clients about songwriting – they never knew I ever wrote or performed music – I quietly watched them and tried to learn.
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After 10 years in management, I hung out my shingle as an independent publicist where I still work with Joe Ely, Michael Martin Murphey, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and more.
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Meanwhile, I continued writing songs and playing occasionally around town, notably at the famed Bluebird Cafe. BMI sent me to Toronto for Folk Alliance where they paired me with Chip Taylor (“Wild Thing,” “Angel of the Morning”). I had been thinking about putting out a record then, but while there I saw a thousand other artists trying to get attention for their CDs, and realized if I chased that career then, I would probably be divorced and not know my two young sons. So I refocused on my PR career.
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Last year, I decided I wanted to share these songs. They are gifts, and I was being a terrible steward of those gifts. I also wanted to broaden my venue list so I created a cd as a calling card in hopes of being booked in other clubs. I gave my friend John Porter – who’d been asking me for a cd for 30 years – a copy and he got me an international distribution deal and took me on as a management client.
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I was 65 years old, and wasn’t sure what kind of response I’d get. I know music critics, and they either won’t review something they don’t like, or they’ll pan something they don’t like. I was totally surprised that I didn’t get one single negative review, and I got a nice stack of reviews.
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We released my followup record this year. It was produced by longtime industry veterans Scott Paschall and Jason Stelluto, with Clark Hagan (Chet Atkins) engineering. We went into famed Nashville studio The Sound Emporium with some amazing musicians, including Pat Flynn (New Grass Revival), Dan Dugmore (Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor), Vinny Santoro (Rodney Crowell, The Highwaymen), Chip & Billy Davis (Alabama, Dolly Parton), Jay Turner (Demola Adepoju, King Sunny Ade, Joanna Cotten) and pianist / keyboardist Todd Smith (Days of the New). We cut all the tracks in just 2 days because Scott and Jason wanted the album to have a very “live” sound.
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Again, when we released this album, I was concerned critics would like it as much as the first, but it’s being called better than my first.
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I’ve been playing out much more, from New England to Alabama, so we’re having a great time!
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
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The artists I’ve admired most are the ones that, if they’d never made a dime making music would still be making music exactly as they do now. Those are the kinds of artists who aren’t chasing fame. They are chasing excellence with their art. They are uncompromising in the songs they write, trying to convey truthful stories and emotions. I try to emulate those artists in my own work. I realized a long time ago that, for lack of a better way to say it, those are the kinds of artists I want to be compared to.
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What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
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People ask me at what point will I consider myself successful. There’s absolutely nothing more exciting to me than having people moved by one of my songs. When someone tells me one of my songs or albums means something to them – that they have played it over and over, sometimes memorizing the songs – that’s just overwhelming to me. If you’re not connecting with people with your songs, then what’s the point, right?
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