Editor’s Note: Kevin Fowler’s appearance at Gander Mountain on Sunday has been canceled. He is still scheduled to perform at Hurricane Harry’s that night.
It doesn’t take long to figure out Kevin Fowler’s two passions.
Take his College Station itinerary on Sunday: He’ll make an appearance at outdoor haven Gander Mountain, then perform at Hurricane Harry’s later that night. Go to his website — kevinfowler.com — and you’ll find a thorough history of his music career, along with a page devoted to his (and his fans’) hunting and fishing adventures.
“I’ve been very lucky, and I get to go on a lot of great hunts,” Fowler said in a phone interview from Steamboat, Colo., where he played the annual MusicFest. “As I get older, it’s less about killing or catching fish, and it’s just about getting out there and slowing down. Let’s be still for a minute.”
The need for a change of pace is understandable. The 45-year-old Amarillo native is among the hard-working Texas country scene, playing 150 to 200 shows a year. Yet in his younger days, Fowler started on a much different musical path.
“AC/DC, Van Halen and all that,” he says. “Anything that would piss my parents off — loud and rockin.’”
Fowler attended the Guitar Institute of Technology (now the Musicians Institute) in Los Angeles. He calls it “the DeVry of music.” He moved to Austin in the early ’90s and joined Dangerous Toys, a hard-rock act that used a creepy cartoon clown as its signature on album covers. In other words, about as far from Texas country as it gets.
So Fowler shifted gears back toward the music he rebelled against as a child. He gravitated toward the cool style of Dwight Yoakam and cowboy way of Chris LeDoux, and released Beer, Bait and Ammo in 2000.
Since then, he’s had his share of hits, including Best Mistake I Ever Made and Pound Sign . Montgomery Gentry, Mark Chesnutt and Sammy Kershaw have recorded his songs. And he’s worked with legends of the genre, including George Jones ( Me and the Boys ) and Willie Nelson ( All the Tequila in Tijuana ).
As the latter title suggests, Fowler is particularly fond of the drinking song, following in the booze-soaked footsteps of Tom T. Hall’s I Like Beer , Johnny Bush’s Whiskey River and Jerry Jeff Walker’s Sangria Wine . A sample sip from the Fowler collection: Beer Season , Beer Money and The Lord Loves the Drinkin’ Man .
“I don’t take life too seriously,” Fowler says with a laugh. “Some people are trying to save the world in their songs. There are enough U2s in the world.”
His latest ode to alcohol, Hell Yeah, I Like Beer , came with an entertaining video that featured a slew of friends and entertainers singing along, including Randy Rogers, Jack Ingram, Ray Benson, Dierks Bentley, Pat Green, Roger Creager, comic Rodney Carrington and members of the Boston Red Sox. Fowler calls it his favorite video, but that it was “a logistical nightmare” in getting footage across the country.
“I opened up the phone book and called everyone I knew,” he says. “Luckily, we got everybody in there.”
Fowler’s adventurous side landed him in a song with Colt Ford, one of the few acts attempting the unlikely blend of country and rap. Fowler sang the chorus on Ford’s 2010 song Hip Hop in a Honky Tonk . Fans can rest easy, however: When asked about his rapping skills, Fowler clarified that they’re “about a zero,” then confirmed it with “Yo! Yo!”
But there are more serious moments in Fowler’s music. The father of three girls shows it best in Daddies and Daughters , off last year’s Chippin’ Away album. It’s a sweet exploration of the changes a man faces, from painting his little girl’s bedroom pink to that dreaded school-dance moment of “you ain’t goin’ dressed like that.”
“There’s a definite difference between dads and daughters and dads and sons,” he says, noting that the topic strays from his normal repertoire. “I’m hoping it’s a single. I think it’s one of the best songs I’ve written.”
Details: Kevin Fowler performs with Adam Hood, Sunday at 9 p.m. at Hurricane Harry’s, 313 College Ave. $12. 846-3343. harrys.bcsclubs.com.
Missing Lyon and the Hall of Fame
Kevin Fowler is among the legions of country artists who cut their teeth at the Texas Hall of Fame. The longtime Bryan dance hall shut down in December, a year after the death of venerable owner Johnny Lyon.
“Johnny Lyon, he took me under his wing when I was just getting going,” Fowler says. “He’s always been a musician’s best friend, because he was a musician, too. He treated me so fair, and took care of us. When he passed away, that was a sad day. That place was a legend.”
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Tags: sangria wine
