by Jane Roser
Tom Waits once said, “when you’re writing, you’re conjuring. It’s a ritual, and you need to be brave and respectful and sometimes get out of the way of whatever it is you’re inviting into the room.”
Singer/songwriter Levi Lowrey’s sophomore self-titled album is a courageous, sincere mirror into his life’s story and is part of what gives his music an honest bite. When I mention that I could truly feel each song’s stories come alive and relate to certain themes, Lowrey tells me that as he was digging through some things recently, he found a piece of paper that had written on it, “if I could just make people feel what I felt when I wrote it, then I’ve done my job.”
Artistic prowess is definitely in Lowrey’s genes. His great-great-grandfather, Gid Tanner, founded the old-time band Skillet Lickers in the 1920s which became one of the first commercially successful country bands ever. Lowrey started learning how to play the fiddle in 6th grade and kept up with it throughout high school. “I wanted to play the drums,” he says, “but my mother said no, so I chose the fiddle. Then there was a Butch Walker concert I attended and that really lit a fire under me.”
Lowrey toured extensively with the Zac Brown Band to support his Southern Ground debut album, I Confess I Was A Fool, and also co-wrote the hit song “Colder Weather” which went on to win the BMI Country Award for Top 50 Songs of the Year and was nominated for a CMA Song of the Year Award. When I ask Lowrey about his decision to include a cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” on the album he says, “that was actually a disagreement between myself and Zac. I didn’t want it on the record at all and he kept pushing for it and thought that people would really like it. It was a song that we always played live and was a good one to throw at the crowd when they’re not paying attention to you or talking, so we ended up trying it out and recording it and it turns out that he was right and I was wrong.” The instrumental beginning of that song was written a long time ago as a two part instrumental and instead of going into “War Pigs”, it went into “this other groove-type session, that we’d then bring back around and end up the song.” says Lowrey. “I don’t remember when or why the change happened-why we chose “War Pigs” over anything else.”
Recording this album in Nashville with so many talented artists, such as Clay Cook (Zac Brown Band), Ross Holmes (Mumford & Sons/Cadillac Sky), Oliver Wood (The Wood Brothers) and CMA Musician of the Year several times over, Mac McAnally, was akin to a lively kitchen party. Lowrey recalls, “I’ve always had a really good time with that particular [group of musicians] in Nashville. We would be in the studio, then go lie down in the hotel for a minute, then go back to the studio for a few hours-we practically lived there, sometimes we just spent the night there. It all went a lot quicker than I thought it would.” There were a few things that changed along the way during the recording process, but for the most part, they knew exactly which songs they wanted to put on the album.
Fan favorite, “I’ve Held The Devil’s Hand”, was co-written with his brother-in-law Billy Wilkerson several years ago and was included on a 2008 record that Lowrey released independently. “It’s just one of those songs that explains itself,” he says. “Every word of it is based on some truth-it’s very autobiographical. I grew up in a Baptist church in Georgia, but we were lucky; we had a few preachers that came through preaching hell fire and brimstone, but for the most part, our pastors were much more grace-oriented than most Southern Baptist pastors at that time were.”
“That Is All” is a poignant tune that, at times, makes you stop and question your mortality, as well as your life after death beliefs: “Do you believe that heaven waits just beyond the pearly gates? Do you think you are reborn to try again? And maybe one day you’ll get it right and walk forever in the light. Do you think you have that power in your hands?” I found this song quite enthralling and Lowrey explains that it came about “as the result of a conversation with an individual about God and a higher power. I don’t presume to tell anybody that I have all the answers and that’s my response to somebody telling me that they do have all the answers. The line you just mentioned speaks specifically about the difference in the belief of reincarnation and the Christian faith.”
Lowrey is currently on tour with Clay Cook in “Clay vs. Levi: Round 2” and will be at World Cafe Live April 8th. “I’ve been fortunate that almost every show I’ve ever played in Philadelphia has been packed. Most of the venues I’ve played there have been listening rooms and the audiences are passionate about music.”
I adore the cheeky tour poster and ask Lowrey about the artwork for it. “We expanded upon the first tour. We didn’t have the creative team we have behind us now to help make it a realization. The first tour poster was a ring bell from Ali versus Frazier and we wanted to play up the boxing ring a little more this time around and the team did a really great job with it.”
Passion, honesty and what others might see as uncomfortable subject matter is what endears Lowrey to his fans. Lowrey is an artist who values his craft and has something to say, which makes him work that much harder. Willie Morrison of DC’s The Morrison Brothers Band puts it best:
“Levi Lowrey’s new self-titled 15 track album is the whole package, and his finest work yet. It is refreshing and inspiring to hear someone who puts all of himself into the music. He leaves himself vulnerable and open because he puts his soul into his music, and it is a rarity to find that these days. Levi’s lyrics alone make him stand out as a songwriter and a poet: “If my addictions were my choir, the singing helped me make it thru the day”, but then again so does his sense of melody. Great lyricists sometime lack the ability to find strong melodies to carry their lyrics, but not Levi. This album should make us all pause and give thanks that there are still people out there today who make music that really matters.”
