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Fifteen years ago, Rick Cowling turned his back on a nearly completed electrical engineering degree from the University of Nebraska, hopped behind the wheel of his Volkswagen Beetle, packed what fit (including, of course, his favorite guitar) and lit out for the land of promise: yes, Southern California. With CSNY on the stereo and the steering wheel tight in his grip, Rick figured, "I'll make my million, and you'd better believe I'll always have a Beetle." He was half right. You see, the million dollars is still a chart-topping single away. A born guitar player who started strumming at age five, Rick picked up his restless, musical spirit at an early age. Rick's dad was a musician in a successful touring band; therefore, Rick pretty much grew up on the road. He began playing all kinds of instruments and even started writing his own songs before age 10. The family finally settled in Lincoln, Nebraska, where Rick went through high school and got started on the aforementioned engineering degree. Still, the buttoned-up cubicle life looming on Rick's horizon scared him silly. And so he left school and followed his pop out to a gig in Palm Springs, California, and then headed off to Los Angeles on his own. Rick's been cutting his teeth (and shredding guitar) in bands and as a solo performer in the beachfront clubs of Southern California for years. Befriending Los Angeles-based producers and studio and touring musicians, Rick started getting songwriting gigs for artists, ad jingles and television work, "It's networking, networking, networking out here," Rick observes today. Additional work came when Rick set up a recording studio in his home—the engineering student in him coming out—and began cutting demos and doing production work. "I enjoy the tech side of it, figuring things out. But the real joy is balancing that with the creative side of the work...taking the basic road map of the song and making it everything it can be." Rick's studio prowess and songwriting chops attracted the attention of famed songwriter Alan Roy Scott, who enlisted Rick to join him in Ireland and Cuba for his Music Bridges projects. These talent-drenched events bring American and European musicians together with the best traditionalists from each visited country in musical harmony. "These are memories to last a lifetime," reflects Rick. "I'm playing with Jimmy Buffett, Bonnie Raitt, Delbert McClintonf members of The Police, Fleetwood MacSM—just amazing. And these are the most down-to-earth people, treating everyone as a peer and always searching, always seeking to learn more." In early 2004, Rick deemed the world ready and released his debut album, "Paraffin Stories" The album features all original material recorded in his studio, with Rick on most instruments and key friends pitching in on drums, bass and more. The sound? Well, you might call it adult contemporary rock with an edge—a definite El Lay vibe. Rick's been busy promoting the album in Los Angeles, but made time for a Midwestern tour that saw him return to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a CD release show that reunited him with his old college band. |
Rick's muse? His lovely wife, Sue, helps manage his
career (and inspires him to work harder, think outside the box and
aggressively chase greatness, of course). And so it was that when Rick
and his band were contacted to be the entertainment at the wedding
reception of reality TV stars Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter on Trista and
Ryan's Wedding on the ABC® television network, Sue came up with a great
idea. Instead of playing one of his current songs or a requested cover,
she asked, why couldn't Rick set the words of Ryan's poem to Trista (a
favorite of fans of the show) to music—creating a first dance for the
ages. Ryan found the musical interpretation brilliant, and country music
star Brad Paisley performed the song ("Something About Her") at the
ceremony, in front of a national television audience. In addition to
being featured on Rick's record, the Paisley version of the song is
available on Apple's® iTunes Music Store!" ============================================== |
