A beautiful day in the neighborhood
I love my day job. But as much as I love it, it's still a pretty cool thing to duck out a little early; particularly when you're ducking out for something interesting and worthwhile.

Immediately upon stepping foot outside my office building, I could tell it was going to be a good evening. It was EASILY the nicest day of the year in Boston and I was fully ready to get my eat on, my drink on, and most importantly, my interview on. Owsley was in town for a show at the Paradise Lounge and I was granted the priviledge of interviewing the mastermind of the operation before the show.

Finding parking in Boston rules
I found parking directly in front of the Paradise around 4:30. I wandered inside, had a seat at the bar, and waited for my five o'clock interview with Will Owsley. About 15 minutes after my arrival, two excited fans poked their heads in and had a seat at a table directly in front of the stage. I'm thinking, "Damn... the doors for the show don't technically open until 9:00pm!" As I'm thinking this, Will walks in and the two fans rush forward to meet him. They're positively giddy. Like, the pope, Michael Jackson, and Bigfoot could've walked in the door arm-in-arm and these two wouldn't have noticed.

After a brief chat with the fans (and acknowledging that I'm there for the interview), the band gears up for sound check. To my astonishment, the fans (who I later learn are named Chris and Edith) manage to grow even more exicted when Will allows them to select the soundcheck songs.

Without having spoken more than a sentence to Will, I already get a surface sense that he's a pretty decent guy.

Post soundcheck
After soundcheck, Will swings by and we head out the door in search of food and a quiet place to chat. As we walk up the street, I discover that prior to beginning this tour three weeks ago, Will was touring with Amy Grant and Vince Gill. While he clearly appreciates having worked with Amy and Vince, it's apparent that the bigger goal is to push Owsley to the next level. Touring with Amy and Vince was the means by which he could support his wife and children as well as the Owsley tour.

The way he speaks about his family and his love of music conveys how down to earth he is. This is further enforced by the way he asks questions about me and related to the common theme of working hard to achieve one's goals. This should come as no surprise from someone whose latest album from Lakeview Entertainment is titled The Hard Way. Then again, it could be expected that someone whose debut album was nominated for a Grammy for production could be far less accessible.

Pizza, sushi, and music
One slice of pizza and one room-too-loud-to-conduct-an-interview-in later, we find ourselves at a sushi place. As the waitress takes our orders and as the neighboring table looks on in interest, I decide to start off with the nasty question and ask Will about the difficulties he had which eventually lead to his leaving Warner Brothers for Lakeview Entertainment. Details aside, Will divulges, "I feel like everything happens for a reason... there's a higher power in control. It allowed me to write and record my heart out." It surfaces that not only did Will produce an endless stream of demos for the Warner executives, he actually presented them with 32 mastered songs. That combined with a number of business, personel, and personal factors was enough of a sign that Owsley had to move into a healthier environment.

"Be with You", the instantly memorable 'spiritual love song', ended up being one of the 32 completed masters. "'Be with You' is a blessing. It's a simple tune with heartfelt feelings," he says while discussing the duality of how he sometimes thinks of his wife and sometimes about God while singing the song. "God, let me know you're real. Change my life, y'know? I'm really stupid... make it obvious that you're there!" he exclaims while describing the motivation. And it's that type of down to earth humor and... human willingness, for lack of a better term that really shows you the type of person Will Owsley is.

Will mentions how lucky he is to have his friend Millard Powers with him on the road playing bass. In discussing "Matriarch", a beautiful and touching song about his grandmother, he recalls how Millard urged him that he'd "be a fool not to put that on the album. It's the best thing you've written!" And despite recognizing its less than fully radio-friendly nature, it was worthwhile to include on The Hard Way to add substance. This, as much as anything else, really characterizes the type of musically- and family-grounded person Will is.

It's interesting to hear his stance on music in general. "'Power pop' today was just plain rock n' roll in the 1970s... the bulk [of The Hard Way] is just where I come from musically. I am so influenced by the music of the 60s and 70s. It's just what comes out of me." And despite performing with everyone from Ben Folds to Shania Twain, you'll find things like Dr. Dre, Jet, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Radiohead, and The Who in heavy rotation.

The end of the evening
Hours later, the show begins. Though the room is not quite full, the band appears energetic, yet relaxed. The Owsley fans (one of whom came all the way from Florida for the show) are still at the same table they staked out nearly seven hours earlier. Though the entire show was a highlight for Owsley fans, one particularly unusual moment got the all the crazies out of the woodwork: an impromptu and completely unrehearsed cover of "Sweet Home Alabama." It was kind of weird, but if nothing else it showcased the musicianship of everyone in the band (who I'd like to mention were really nice guys). All in all, the show was great end to the nicest day of 2004 in Boston.

And for the record, I had to ask my standard geeky Newmoanyeah question: "Star Trek or Star Wars?" Will humored me by saying, "Star Wars. I liked Harrison Ford... I dunno man, Shatner was just so over the top and I was just never a big Trekkie. My sister was into it... I sometimes watched it as a kid, but Star Wars blew my head off!" On the web: OwsleyMusic.com