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Tuesday, 4 May, 2010 0:24 AM
Stephen Cochran
to perform at the 28th Annual Downtown Hoedown on Sunday, May 16
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com
Stephen
Cochran
DETROIT
-- Stephen
Cochran spent a lot of time in the military and got severely injured
overseas. His doctor told him that he would never walk again. Cochran
was went against all odds--not only is he walking, but he is an
accomplished country music singer. He is working on a new album
for release this October. Advance copies will be available at the
CMA Music Festival in June. Cochran will return to the Downtown
Hoedown this year with a performance on Sunday, May 16th.
Cochran's
father, Steve, was also a country music singer and songwriter.
"There's
basically no advice you can give on this business," Cochran
said. "Basically, he prepared me for politics and the time
it takes to get the record deal. There's a lot of starving artists
in Nashville before you actually get to get on the big stages like
Hoedown and stuff. He instilled in me that you've got to not quit.
That's the whole thing."
He served
in the military as a Marine in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cochran was
a part of the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion; 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force and was severely injured during combat patrol.
"I
was paralyzed from the waist down, they told me I'd never walk again,"
the country music singer explained. "They did surgery on me
here in Nashville. It was about six months intense therapy to have
me back walking again. That really led into me getting another record
deal once I regained my leg and everything. The Marine Corps. really
taught me was the commitment to stand up against anything. You really
need this in this business. No one can tell me anything. I've had
a surgeon tell me I can't do something and I've done it. The only
being in this world that I listen to who can't tell me I can do
something is God."
He spent
some time performing with John Rich and the MuzikMafia in the Nashville
area.
"John
is great, he's someone to look up to," Cochran said. "As
far as being an outlaw in this business, John, he embodies that.
When I saw outlaw, I'm not talking about being arrested or trouble
or anything like that. I'm talking about inviting a different type
of music that mainstream country doesn't always go along with. I
don't write songs I don't live. I think John and the Mafia are a
great group of people who understand music and understand it is
a universal language. I'm honored to share the stage with them."
Ironically,
his band is named New Country Outlaws. How did that come about?
"When
we came into country music, it was hard for us to find a home,"
he responded. "We were playing a little bit of southern rock
and a little traditional country. I wanted my album to touch every
edge of country music kind of like the old Garth Brooks album did.
It was hard for us to find a home because everybody wanted to find
the next Keith Urban. I'm definitely not the next Keith Urban. I
had my own thing, my own style. It was kind of a no-brainer when
we got together when those guys are the ones that make my music.
They take it out of my head and put it on instruments and play it
to the world. They are the New Country Outlaws."
Cochran
is hard at work on his second album, which will be a follow-up to
his 2007 self-titled record.
"I
am probably more excited with this than anything I have in my whole
career in music," the country music singer said. "The
first album I got to do on Aria Records, a small independent label.
I really only got the record deal because not all of the labels
were willing to put the dollars into me not knowing how my back
was going to hold up. We're moving from the small independent to
a major label. They sat down and said, 'Stephen, you definitely
came out, had top 40s and got yourself solidified as a country artist.
We now want to happen what happen in Iraq and Afghanistan in a song.'
"It
was something I've never done before. It was personal to me. I didn't
want people to think he was using his military career to propel
his country music career. I wanted it always to be about music.
First off, we found a producer that fits us. Chris Henderson, the
lead guitar player from Three Doors Down, is actually co-producing
this with Bobby Capps, the keyboard player from 38 Special. We found
someone who understands the music that I want to make. I sat down
and wrote the whole EP myself."
He added:
"There's a lot of people saying, 'Hey, you're on this label
and this label has these writers so you've got to cut this song.'
And that's not who I am. I am a singer-songwriter. There's not one
song on it that I didn't write. I always wanted to do an album that
I had written. So we got to do that this time. I got to sit down
and tap into what it's like to rebuild your life from nothing in
a song called 'Pieces.' And what's it like to give hope back to
the brothers and sisters still serving in the military. That's called
'Hope' in the album. What it's like to take off your dog tags and
hand it to a girl and go off to war and never know if you're coming
back. That's a song called 'Dog Tags.'"
Cochran
said the new album will be in stores this October, however advance
copies will be available at the CMA Music Festival in June.
"However,
we do have a treat for everyone coming to CMA Fest," he said.
"We will have them ready for sale. We're keeping with the same
tradition, my first album we unveiled at CMA Fest to all the fans.
Obviously, that's what CMA Fest/Fan Fair is all about. It's about
the fans and giving back to them. Without the fans, I'm homeless
and everything else. As far as my organization goes, number one
is fans. It will be moving over to internet right after that and
into stores."
The country
music singer returns to the Downtown Hoedown, after a performance
at the festival in 2009.
"I
was 10 years old, back in 1989, Garth Brooks came to Detroit and
played the hoedown," Cochran explained. "It was probably
the reason I'm in this business. It was the first time I ever seen
a rock concert put on country music. It's exactly what I want to
do. I will even credit Detroit and the hoedown with the first time
that I've seen country music at the way that I do it today. My grandfather
worked for GM for 30 years. I spent every summer from the time I
was four to 18 in Detroit in Waterford. The oldest friends that
I have are right there in Waterford. It's home for me. To get to
come home and stand on the stage where I watched the man give me
the dream, I don't even know how to put that into words. It's not
the hoedown, it's the Stephen Cochran Hoedown."
What was
it like performing at the Downtown Hoedown last year?
"Last
year, I think I was so busy, we flew in played the hoedown, ran
into a car and flew out," he explained. "This year, we're
going to hang out a little bit more. I wanted to set aside some
time and actually enjoy the hoedown. So we're going to come in early
and stay late. Last year, I don't think I got to enjoy it because
I was so nervous. I not only played for fans, but half of my family
was there. I just glad that we put on a show that everybody enjoyed."
What do
you have planned for your upcoming performance at the Downtown Hoedown
this year?
"That's
a surprise," Cochran said. "We're definitely going to
involve the fans a little bit more. Last year, we were on the upper
stage. I noticed you're very disconnected from the crowd. You're
a good 50 yards from actually being with the crowd. We asked if
there was anyway we could go on the lower stage to get right in
the crowd and that way bring what we do more to Detroit. All I can
I say is there is going to be a lot of crowd participation."
The country
music singer said he is very excited to perform again at Hart Plaza.
"Especially with the economy the way it is in Detroit, what
a better way to take people's mind off the economy than the largest
free concert in the world."
Look
for Stephen Cochran to perform on the lower stage at the 2010 Downtown
Hoedown on Sunday, May 16 at 3:45 p.m.
For
more information, visit www.stephencochranmusic.com
or visit his MySpace
page.
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com
Stephen
Cochran performed at the Downtown Hoedown in 2009.
COMPLETE
COVERAGE OF THE 2010 DOWNTOWN HOEDOWN
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