This Blog is about Nate Lowery, he is not a native St. Louisan but he really seems to fit in. I first met Nate at one of his shows. This was also the first time seeing him perform. I have to say it was real enjoyable listening to Nate sing. I spoke to Nate during his break and told him he reminded me of a cross between Arlo Guthrie & Jim Croce.
I won’t spoil on how Nate describes his music you can find that out in his answers. But I will tell you that to me Nate’s music is real feel good and honest music. That old time music, which I really enjoy, and Nate performs it very well. One of the other thing about Nate that I think is a plus, that is his shows are just laid back. He makes you feel like you are there with friends. Nate is one of those rare musician that keeps the Old-Time music alive and does it in a way that is as good or not better than the original. I highly recommend that if you are in St. Louis, MO. or planning to visit. You should add a Nate Lowery show to your schedule. I recently got a chance to ask Nate some questions. Here are his answers. Enjoy! 1. How long have you been playing music? I can’t remember a time that I wasn’t singing songs and tapping out rhythms, but I didn’t seriously start to pursue music until I was 13, so that makes it 20 years that I’ve been working on it. 2. How many bands have you been in? I’ve been in eight bands, some of them good and some truly horrible! 3. Where were you born? I was born in Irving TX, right outside Dallas. 4. Are you self-taught? Mandolin was the first instrument that I dedicated myself to, my dad showed me two chords, that’s the only lesson I ever got. 5. Who are your biggest influences? Boy, there’s so many that have heavily influenced different aspects of my musicianship that it’s really hard to pin down. From my Texas heritage there’s Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt, Willie Nelson and Billy Joe Shaver. But I also take a great deal from acoustic blues like Mississippi John Hurt, Bill Broonzy, and Snooks Eaglin. Then there’s the New Orleans piano players like James Booker, Professor Longhair, Dr. John. Honky Tonk music like Hank Sr. and Lefty Frizzell. Jazz from Fats Waller to Nina Simone. And then Doc Watson and John Hartford are massive, along with all the first few generations of Bluegrass. That’s a long answer, but they all figure so heavily into what I do I can’t leave anyone out. 6. What style of music do you consider yours? Down Home Music. Kitchen Music. Folk Music, whatever you want to call it. 7. What was your first gig? How old were you? Busking at Sundance square in Ft. Worth with the first band I was in, I was 14. We made 60 bucks and promptly spent it on beer. 8. What advice do you have for someone starting out in the music business? Depends on what you want from the business I suppose. Personally, if you care about music, if you have a good ear and know what’s good, then keep your nose to the grindstone and keep working on it until you have something that you can look at and say “That’s good”. If it is actually quality then do everything you can to put it out there, and hopefully people take notice. 9. Do you write your own songs? I do, and I’ve released a few records. But being a folk musician, I like to play a lot of old material, I do my best to keep it alive and give people an opportunity to hear it in a live setting. 10. What would people be surprised to hear that you have in your personal record collection? There are a couple Lou Reed songs in there. 11. What would you be doing if playing music was not an option? Probably something else that doesn’t make much money. Honestly though music is just one of my pursuits, I also put time into writing and illustrating as well as woodworking and sculpting. If I had to choose a career outside of the arts though, I would pick something involving manual labor, I really enjoy that work. 12. Besides your own songs, what is your favorite song to perform? That’s a tough one. I would probably say Freight Train be Elizabeth Cotten. It’s my favorite song and also happens to be the first song I ever remember hearing. 13. If you were strictly a songwriter, who would you like to see sing your songs? Colter Wall is good, and Gillian Welch. There are a few really great singers breaking out lately that would be neat to have cover a song, Nick Shoulders and Sierra Ferrell spring to mind.
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AuthorHello, My name is Michael. I am into music, have been for over 48yrs. Big fan of all kinds of music, right now it has been the Blues for the last 10yrs. I do not play any instruments, But I very interested in the recording aspect of the industry. Have messed around with it a little and always learning new things about it. I have met many wonderful people because of Music.. Hope you enjoy my Blogs... In the last two years I have been producing House Concerts. I also in the past 2 years got to produce and engineer an album for a very good friend of mine from Sweden "Magpie". Archives
February 2024
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