Christal Cooper
Scripted Interview With
Cowboy Personality Randy
Erwin:
Birthdate?
9/19/1957
Birth place?
Ganado Texas
Your first memory of
music
I remember playing
random pop record 45 singles on an old portable player. Stuff from the
fifties. And LP records of Beethoven. I loved all his symphonies about age 3.
And there was a
collection of Mario Lanza hits. I loved those too.
And an LP with short
classical pieces played by Vladimir Horowitz.
I idolized Horowitz and
kept small busts of Mozart and Schubert on dresser.
I started playing piano
at 4 by ear. Simple chords and rhythms. The first song I mastered was “Battle Hymn
of the Republic” just before turning 5. I lived in a rural place, and there was
nothing else to do.
Julia Ward Howe
writer of Battle Hymn of The Republic
When did you decide that
you wanted to be a musician?
When I was five. I
thought I could make a living as a novelty piano act if my parents happened to
die tragically. I was a very strange child. They lived to an old age.
Can you give me your biography
and chronology of your life as a musician?
I started piano
instruction from 5 until 12. At 5 I demanded a used piano and instruction. I
was a real brat about it and kept the pressure up until I got it.
Then trumpet in school
bands and at local gigs with a polka band from 12 until 18.
I was also a backup
singer and keyboard player in a country western band in bars from 14 to 22.
Then solo cowboy western
swing gigs from 22 until the present.
In between there were 7
years playing accordion and singing lead vocals with a gypsy jazz band from
1989 to 1996.
What musical instruments
can you play?
Piano, accordion,
trumpet, guitar, bass, and mountain dulcimer
Do you write your own music,
and/or lyrics?
I did for about ten
years, and then I decided I was a better singer than writer and stopped that
foolishness.
What are musicians that
have influenced you the most?
Tommy Duncan, Roy Rogers
Emmett Miller, Django Reinhardt, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong,
Beethoven, Schubert, and Astor Piazzolla
Tommy Duncan
Roy Rogers
Emmett Miller
Django Reinhardt
Frank Sinatra
Ray Charles
Louis Armstrong
Astor Piazzolla
How does music enhance your
emotional, spiritual, and even physical well-being?
I have to stay thin and
fit in order to withstand the rigors of the road and performance. My main instrument
is voice so my body has to be athletic to support the sound. I love what I do
and that supports me spiritually.
List of CDs if any you
have produced?
Cowboy Rhythm
Back Home
Window to the Sea
The Waltz King with Cafe
Noir (which no longer exists)
Contact Information
or email me at randy@cowboyrandy.com
No comments:
Post a Comment