Meet Andrew Cowan

An Interview with Andrew Cowan

Where do you currently reside? 

We live in Saugerties, NY right next to Woodstock. 

How many years have you been playing? 

About 6 years, I'm a late bloomer. I always sang casually and loved Blues, R&B and Soul. People kept telling me I had a good voice and should think about focusing on singing. After meeting some local musicians through friends, I started weekly lessons and practiced about 10-15 hours a week.  I then started singing at local jams at The Maywood Inn, Mexicali, the Hilltop, The Great Notch and others in the area. It was a great way to meet lots of quality musicians. After a year or two, I asked a few of the players I'd met if they wanted to get together and pursue gigs and we put together a pretty good band (Soul Chain) and played in the local venues.

What musicians influenced you? 
The Allmans, Ray Charles, Ray LaMontagne, Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, and Bill Withers.

What’s it like to gig or tour?

I love gigs where the venue supports the band, loves music and is welcoming to the musicians. These venues usually have great audiences that are there to listen to the music and have a good time. The energy is contagious. These are the best: The Hilltop in Lodi, Ranchero in Emerson and Maywood Inn are others.  The Hilltop in Lodi is a standout supporter of live music with the Monday night jam.  It's the best around.

Tell us about your gear? 

Ha, as a singer I don't have much! A Shure wireless mic, a couple of Behringer mixer/amps, JBL speakers, and a stage monitor.

What advice would you give a newbie musician? 

I think everyone is different, but for me, it's about setting goals.  They don't have to be too formal, but for me, it helps keep me focused and directs where best to put my energy.  Things like what songs/styles of music to learn, which ones worth investing the time into, figuring out what or where you want to be in a year. I wanted to put together a band, go gig, play at specific venues; then start recording, put together a CD, write originals and build a specific image as a performer. 

I think one of the first things a newbie should do is find a couple of mentors who will help introduce them to various events and musicians. They can put in a good word for you, call you up on gigs, provide practical advice, teach you the ropes about gigs, venues, equipment, set lists- there's a lot to learn and having direction is helpful. 

In New Jersey, one of my early supporters was Nikki Armstrong. She helped me get going and connected me with dozens of people. In the Woodstock area, it was Sal Miccio.  He reached out right after we moved here and invited me to sit in with his group The Salted Brothers several times and a nicer guy you couldn't meet. Ted Orr, in that group too, has been a great guy to connect and record with, as has Justin Tracy, another talented player and engineer/vocal producer up here. 

Music I've recorded with them is on my site www.andrewcowanmusic.com

What was one of your accomplishments as a musician or what are your goals?

I think for me it was about improving all the time, getting good enough to play with great musicians in great venues and to start recording. It's a labor of love, but I don't think of all the hours and work invested in the craft as labor. Somehow it's not labor at all.  It's a joy to do, and the reward is having people engaged and excited, out of their seats, dancing to the music you're making. It just strikes the right "chord" in my soul. My ongoing goal is to keep on growing, changing my style, my voicing, and songs, surprising people. I'm starting to write originals which are a whole other thing and pretty exciting.  I plan to have them recorded in the next year or so. Currently, I have two CD's in the works, one with stripped mostly acoustic soul oriented songs I'm doing with Justin and the other more high energy, rocking stuff I'm doing with Ted and some other great local guys.

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