Many young musicians have parents who are less than supportive when artistic aspirations are announced. It’s understandable. After all, becoming a doctor, lawyer or accountant are safe career bets. Donning a guitar, writing songs and pounding on club doors for gigs? Not so much.
But Nic Cowan never had that worry. When the native Texan and transplanted Atlantan decided to get serious about his mu
sical career, he turned to the professional musician he knew best—his dad, a drummer who regularly gigged with folk, country and jazz ensembles. As an aspiring frontman and solo artist, the younger Cowan wanted dad’s ideas on what it would take to be successful. And dad, who’d played behind more than a few frontmen—good, bad and indifferent—was more than happy to lay aside his sticks to drop some wisdom.