By Joe Hyde
Publisher
March 18, 2008
Texas country recording star Kevin Fowler was in San Angelo Thursday for a blow-out concert at Graham Central Station. This veteran performer’s current album is “Bring It On,” and the latest single is “Best Mistake I Ever Made.” The song was just nudged from number one to number two this week on the Texas Music Chart. We caught up with Fowler before the San Angelo show, March 13.
LIVE! Tell us what’s going on with Kevin Fowler professionally.
Fowler: “We’ve had five or six No. 1 [songs on] the Texas Music Chart, and a whole ton [of songs] in the top five. But this one [“Best Mistake I Ever Made”] is the first song I ever released nationally. As Texas artist(s), we just released our [previous] singles originally in just the Southwest. You know: Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Kansas. That’s our strong touring focus. And this one is the first one we’ve really pushed nationally, on Clint Black’s label, Equity. It’s cool. We just did a video. GAC [Great American Country Television] has been playing it this past week. It’s on CMT.com, on their “Pure Country.” You can see it on CMT.com or on our Web site, www.kevinfowler.com. It’s been really cool. We’re just trying to spread our wings, and keep growing and taking the world of the honky-tonk to as many people as we can.
LIVE! It’s a ‘parking’ kind of song, there’s a lot of emotion in that song [“Best Mistake I Ever Made”]. What was the writing process like?
Fowler: I wrote that with a good buddy of mine, Bobby Pounds. And we also wrote “Don’t Touch My Willie” and some other stuff together. This song is like 3 years old. We wrote it right after the release of the last record. And we were sitting down to try to write something [together], and we were getting nowhere. And my daughter, she was about 3 years old at the time, she kept coming in, you know, helping us. Sort of bugging us [laughs]. Finally I told her to go see her momma. And when she finally went back inside, I said [to Bobby], ‘Kids are a pain in the butt sometimes, but that’s the best mistake I ever made.’ And we both looked at each other and went ‘ka-ching!’ And literally, within the next few hours, we had that song nailed. And I think those are always the best songs: The ones that come from some kind of personal experience. The ones that just write themselves like that. Normally when I toil over a song, when it takes me several days to write it, it’s never as good as the ones that just go, ‘boom!’ and they’re done.
LIVE! Do you usually write at home?
Fowler: I write anywhere and everywhere I can. You know, it used to be that I had a part-time job and I was a delivery driver, and I would drive around and write all day. It was awesome. I got paid to drive around and write songs. I kept my little tape recorder with me. But now, we’ve gotten so busy that I have to pretty much schedule in time for writing [songs]. I don’t really have a set way to write. I can write while driving down the road, or in a cubicle with a Nashville writer.
LIVE! I think it would be hard to have to sit down and say, “right now I’m going to be creative and I’m going to push out a song.”
Fowler: It is very hard. You just got to get yourself in the mindset. I started doing a lot of co-writing on my last two records. You know, [my first albums] “Beer, Bait and Ammo” and “Loose, Loud, and Crazy” I wrote by myself. I never really co-wrote. But a friend of mine got me into co-writing some stuff with other guys and once I got into it, I really liked it. It really helps to get me out of my element and write stuff that I normally wouldn’t write. Like ballads, you know. I’m a big beer-drinking songwriter. You know, “Lord Loves a Drinkin’ Man” or “Beer, Bait and Ammo.” But then I started writing with some really world-class writers like David Lee Murphy… I wrote a song that was the first single on this record [“Bring It On”] with a guy named Kim Tribble. It’s called “A Long Line of Losers.” It went No. 1 on the Texas charts, and Montgomery Gentry jut cut it; it’s going to be on their new record. So, the songwriting thing...I am focusing more and more on the songwriting thing and trying to get better at it.
LIVE! What is your stance on Nashville vs. Texas music?
Fowler: I think that Texas music has grown and gotten bigger and bigger, and in the process, that rift between Texas and Nashville has gotten smaller and smaller. More and more of us are having to go to Nashville and be on the Nashville labels if you really want to get your music out. If your fans really want to see you, to pick your record up at Wal-Mart, you really need the machine working for you. I don’t think there is a ‘screw Nashville’ attitude anymore, or a Texas vs. Nashville [rivalry] as much anymore. I do believe that the people of Texas are really discerning about their music, though. They want to hear something that is real, and un-produced, in-your-face, and raw. Something that is real. If you look all the way back to the really cool outlaw movements, whether it was Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, when they were doing the whole jazz thing [it shows that] Texas is really open-minded, and that broke here [in Texas]. And there was the whole outlaw thing with Willie and Waylon and David Alan Coe, they all broke out from here [Texas]. Texas is one of those places where you can play original music, and do something that’s off the beaten path, and people will appreciate it. [On the other hand], if you are in New York, Nashville or LA, that’s not the ideal [place]. Their idea is to “cookie-cutter” whatever is out there.
LIVE! Do you feel you are paving the way for other newer, up-and-coming artists?
Fowler: I don’t particularly feel that way. I feel we are still walking down the road that Willie [Nelson] started. Or all those other guys like Lefty Frizzell. Or any of the other guys that started off down in this area like Pat Green, Robert Earl Keen. It’s just the same road, we’re just trudgin’ along. I’d love to take more credit for it. But I don’t think we are changing the world. We’re just trying to build an awareness of Texas music one fan at a time.
LIVE! So What is the end result of all of this. Where would you like to see it end?
Fowler: I want to see it go on and on. I want to try to build my career where it has some longevity. You know a lot of artists try to go to Nashville, or to a major label, and try to just get a quick top ten hit. But that doesn’t really insure you of a career. What does insure your career is going out there and earning fans, one at a time, two at a time, three at a time. And being true to those fans and taking care of them by coming to see them three or four times a year in their town. I just really model my career after those that have great touring, like Willie Nelson. He still does 200 days per year. He’s out there plugging. And he’ll sit out there every night and sign autographs until the very last person is gone. Since day one, I’ve always sat out there and signed autographs, and talked to every one in the bar. And try to build something that the fans can be a part of. That is opposed to somebody they hear on the radio. [The fan thinks] I’ll never get to hang out with that guy. I’ll never meet that guy. I’ll never be a part of that. But the whole Texas music movement in general is all about the fans, and I am trying to make my career go that direction.
LIVE! Do you prefer smaller dancehalls and beer joints to the larger concert-type venues?
Fowler: I like people right up there in my face throwing beer on me: The honky-tonks. Last week, we played the Houston rodeo. It was a huge step for us and a huge step for Texas music: 48,733 people paid. We’re one of the first ones [out of the Texas music genre] that have played in that big arena. [The promoter in Houston] really stepped out on it. It was big for all Texas artists. We went in there and had a great show, so next year, maybe you’ll see Randy Rogers, or Roger Creager.
This was a great show, but we were like 100 yards from the stands, and it was a lot of fun playing for that many people. But where it really hits home with me is when there can be maybe 50 people and they are right up there at the stage, rockin’ out and having a good time. I like people right there. Right there up-close. I love the connection with the fans.
LIVE! What is the Kevin Fowler experience?
Fowler: Anyone who has ever been to a Kevin Fowler show will tell you it’s all about having a good time and being a part of the show. We try to keep the crowd singing and involved. If you’ve been to the [Blaine’s Hill Country] Picnic, you’ve seen us in all of our splendor—ducking beer bottles and all!
LIVE! Tell me about the last time you were at the picnic.
Fowler: Last time we were there, my fiddle player took a full beer bottle to the face. And I was thinking that the next time, we’re going to have to get some hockey masks or something.
LIVE! You mentioned family, and you talked about Willie Nelson being on the road 200 days per year. What’s it like balancing all of that, and how many days out of the year do you travel?
Fowler: Last year, I counted it up, and I was gone from my home 220 days. So we did 160-something one-nighters. But we’re in a bus, and that makes it so much nicer, being in a [big] bus. You know, you can actually get some sleep. In the old days we were in the van, laying all over each other. It’s really hard to keep a band together when you are all riding in a 15-passenger van, driving each other nuts.
My wife stays home [full time] and takes care of the kiddos. There’s no way I could do this if she didn’t. I have three little girls. One is 9 months old, one is 6 years old, and one is 13 years old. And they’re all ornery.
LIVE! Do you get to bring them on the road with you much?
They’ll come out to some of the fairs and stuff. They’re not really impressed with daddy on stage. They’ll come if their friends are coming, or there’s corndogs or [carnival] rides. And that’s about it. Other than that, they don’t care about coming to one of my shows. They’ve grown up around it since they were born, so to them it’s no big deal.
LIVE! How do you balance the ‘hell raisin’, honky tonk playin’, wild rocker’ image with being the family guy?
Fowler: You get tired of being on the road, you want to get home to some state of normalcy. But after [being] home for three or four days, I’m ready to roll again. I smell the smell of diesel in the air and I’m ready to roll. I’ve been doing this for so long, you know: Home, gone, home, gone, in, out—it’s what you do. You’ve got to love it. If you don’t love being on the road, and on the move, and being busy, you really aren’t going to last very long as a musician. You’ve got to travel. You’ve got to stay out there, and you’ve got to go see the fans.
LIVE! When you talk about a state of normalcy, what is “normal” to you?
Fowler: When I find myself at home, I just want to mow the grass, or I want to fix the fence that has been falling down behind my house for like a year now. Just normal stuff. Everyone thinks I am crazy. They say, ‘When [you] go home, you just work.’ But to me that’s what really chills me out and helps me forget about everything.
We have a ranch out by Junction and we like to be out there as much as we can. We live close to Austin, so to me, any time I can get out and do some hunting and fishing, it’s awesome. It’s a great mind-relaxer.
LIVE! Since you got married, how much did the family life tame your show and persona?
Fowler: I don’t think it tamed it at all. I met my wife at a show, and we’ve known each other for fifteen years. She tolerates it. So knew what she was getting into when she hooked up with me.
The latest Kevin Fowler album is “Bring It On.” The latest single is “Best Mistake I ever Made.” The Web site is at www.kevinfowler.com.
There is more, however. Fowler is working on a hunting, fishing, and music show for The Outdoors cable channel. For a preview, check out www.kevinfowleroutdoors.com, where you can upload your hunting and fishing pictures.
“Each month, we’re going to have another Texas music artist go hunting with me,” Fowler says. “Then we’re going to have a little campfire thing where we play acoustic music around a campfire. It’s all about being in the outdoors, and good Texas music,” Fowler says.
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