Colin Cowan is a very busy man. Formerly Dan Mangan’s touring bassist, he is a jazz aficionado who rubs elbows with the likes of local heavyweights Jesse Zubot and JP Carter, manager of The China Cloud (one of Vancouver’s finest independent cultural spaces), a member of Dada Plan (and eleven other bands) yet still finds time to release his own music at a prolific rate. Cowan’s latest “Eye of Winter” is the second vernal installment to his four piece album series inspired by the “emotional exorcism” each season can bring upon us sensitive earthlings.
You're known in the folk, jazz, punk, rock and even comedy scene. Can you summarize your musical background?
I do bluegrass, gypsy jazz, folk, I guess psych…
You played every instrument on the album. How did you manage to capture the sound of a full band?
The live band is Jenn Bojm (bass), Chris Kelly (keys), and Dan Gaucher (drums) [Ben Brown played on the album]. Jenn laughs at me when I’m teaching her this new stuff from the album… I’ve made this mistake now multiple times where I say “when he plays this”- like I’m talking about a [different] bass player. I forget that it’s me sometimes. I’m pretty good at leaving things now- I’ll obsessively listen, but I’m good at just leaving things and enjoying it and saying “I’m done.” It’s all live tape, so the self-consciousness that would normally haunt me goes away.
Where did you record it?
Bottega Studios [in the Okanagan]. Last year I did it, then two months later it was Dada Plan, then a month later Johnny de Courcy. We were all hanging out there a lot.
Tell me about this “Seasonal Concept” album series.
It’s not necessarily about the standard comprehension of winter I guess. . It’s about your “eye of winter”. Your state of mind in winter. That’s sort of what all of these albums are about. After touring for a couple years... I’d written the song “Fall Paths” [from Cowan's Autumn inspired album of the same name] about my nephew- it was about him growing up and me not being there. So I started writing these tunes on the road...and I’d do these little pockets of demoing on the road…But I didn’t know what it was yet that I was doing.
What is the state of mind for you in winter?
Fall Paths was nostalgia and all that. I felt like I dispersed all of my nostalgia and memories and regrets..I feel like Fall is a pinnacle time of year for creativity, so when I finally did that [Fall Paths] I felt like my mind moved on. And I felt like I was in this hibernation state where I was coming to terms with the darkness… It’s a classic subject matter for art. Coming to terms with the classic darknesses of everything found in politics, art, society, everything. The lack of communication that goes on... People who are liars… who are dishonest… It wasn’t meant to be a “slam album” but it accidentally became one. But in everything I point at, I include myself in it.. It’s conceptually just about hibernation and connecting with the things that are frustrating you rather than trying to “press on” everyday. I feel like you’re allowed to do that as a musician- your job allows you to do that.
What do you think of Vancouver’s music scene?
What I tell everybody is that it actually does exists, its an amazing scene because it is self-propelling, because of the strange, old senior laws that do govern a lot of the cultural legalities. As far as liquor, live and cultural spaces. When its already hard to start a business or make money its obviously harder when there’s rules against what you can do, what you can’t do and where you can do it. All of the multiple limbs that every musician seems to have in this city and the self-propelling ability as far as venues and happenings and festivals and just the independent cause that exists that has actually birthed something extremely interesting that is being recognized… I think its an applaudable city. We all know about the weeds… It’s a wonderful, independent inspiring city, and if more people look to the corners that are actually birthing all of these wonderful thing and harnessing the multi-genre music community that is Vancouver. Everybody crosses! There’s free-jazz with punk shows, there’s indie folk with strings… There’s just cross-genre all the time. Seeing solo bass, fucked up double bass shit.
Colin Cowan & The Elastic Stars "Eye Of Winter" Record Release Party is happening at The Lido on November 28th. FREE SHOW.
