An Interview with Peter Rowan

In my review of Day One of the 40th Annual Huck Finn Jubilee Bluegrass Music Festival held this past weekend at Cucamonga-Guasti Regional Park in Ontario, California, I called Friday’s set by The Peter Rowan Band my favorite of the festival, and his turn with The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience to be “my favorite music on stage all weekend.” To the audience of another performer, it might have been jarring to see a septuagenarian play so much wonderful music with such remarkable gusto. But even as Rowan nears his 74th birthday next month, fans of the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter are used to seeing him tour relentlessly, always showcasing both his vivacity as an entertainer and the delicate nature in which he delivers his lyrics and guitar picking.

In between playing his own ninety-minute set and sitting in with The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience later in the evening, I was generously granted a chance to speak with Rowan one-on-one. As could easily be imagined, I saw this as a wonderful opportunity, profound honor, and massive thrill. I knew how much stage time he was putting in that day, so I wanted to be as respectful of his time as possible. Since our conversation was fairly impromptu, I knew I wanted to try and ask a handful of “bucket list” questions about his music and career. Before we started chatting, I had heard Rowan say that he’s playing the famed and fabled McCabe’s in Santa Monica later this year. After we talked about a venue that’s a personal favorite for both of us, Rowan shared memories and insights about writing “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy,” forming Old and In the Way, and playing bluegrass with Jerry Garcia. As I look forward with great anticipation to seeing Rowan again later this year, here’s what he shared with me at the 40th Annual Huck Finn Jubilee.

Jackson Truax: I just heard you say that you’re playing McCabe’s later this year. Is there anything you’re looking forward to about playing there?

Peter Rowan: I just love McCabe’s. I’ve played it forever… I’ve played there with [David] Grisman, with Bill Monroe. It’s just a go-to place… I used to play at the Troubadour with Seatrain. That was a whole different scene. At McCabe’s, most people there really listen. Plus you’ve got all of those beautiful instruments hanging on the wall. That’s inspiring.

JT: Speaking of the Troubadour, it’s mentioned in “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy” on the New Riders of the Purple Sage album “The Adventures of Panama Red.” You clearly have an audience whose initial experience of your songwriting was that album. Were you involved in the recording of it at all?

Rowan: We did those songs with Old and In the Way… So I was involved in that. But the New Riders project was their own project. They used two of my songs. I guess [“Lonesome L.A. Cowboy”] was the Gold Standard of their records… They did “Last Lonely Eagle.” They were still into…West Coast environmental lyrics. A little bit of American Indian. And a little bit of outlaw… It was just of a time. “Panama Red” worked for them. And they did “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy.” But they did it all in Nashville.

JT: Speaking of “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy,” was there a real-life inspiration for that character?

Rowan: I was hanging out with a couple of people down here. Doug Dillard of The Dillards. He was living the life, staying out all night. We were all hanging with him. And then another great songwriter, Bob Neuwirth, who’s here in L.A.. He’s a painter. But he’s also has written some beautiful songs and released a couple of CDs that T Bone Burnett helped him make. He was hanging out, too…  It’s like, everybody’s gone from the scene in L.A., and the “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy,” he’s just sort of riding the night. And the last places open were always the Troubadour, of course. But the last place was Barney’s Beanery, which I think was open all night. It was like a hot dog joint. And you’d just go hang there. You’d have that kind of energy, back in those days. And being up until four or five in the morning, just high on the moment. Then we’d jam. Get together and play some music. But mostly it was just a sense of the lonesome part of the L.A. Cowboy. It was just a thing of the time.

JT: Old and In the Way was seen as bluegrass super-group, obviously headed by one of the most influential guitarist in Rock and Roll. Did you have a feeling of trying to blend bluegrass and jamband music? Or was it more important to try and make music that felt more traditional?

Rowan: I had come out to California. I left a band called Seatrain on the East Coast and got a lot of flack for it. I came out to hang out with my brothers, Chris and Lorin, who were being produced by David Grisman at Columbia Records for Clive Davis. So they were rehearsing, getting ready to go on their first tour… David and I were just jamming in the mornings out on Stinson Beach. We go out on the dunes and we’d play guitar and mandolin. It was like our last childhood years. But we we’re in our mid-twenties. But David and I, we had already recorded albums for Electra Records called Earth Opera, which nobody could categorize. It was like folk-jazz, or something. So we’d just play bluegrass as a kind of refreshment. Because we knew that music. It’s how we learned to play. And one day David said, “You know, Garcia lives up the hill. Why don’t we go on up there? He loves to pick.” So we went up to Jerry’s house and he’s playing five-string banjo… So immediately it’s bluegrass. We took out the old songbooks and we went through all the old material. It was bluegrass material. From bands like The Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe, Red Allen and the Kentuckians. We knew all those forerunners… We were moved to play like them… If you knew bluegrass, you knew Doc [Watson’s] music. So it was all related to that… People like Harry Belafonte and Josh White and the forerunners of the folk movement. The folk movement was just everybody having fun playing music. And everybody knew all of these songs. We just happened to learn all of these mountain songs. That was our thing… But one thing we did was extend all the solos. So they weren’t just turnarounds or a quick little half a chorus. We played every chorus, verse and chorus solos. We were just trying to play bluegrass. It was just fun for us. And the audience liked it.

JT: As someone who spent time playing music with Jerry Garcia personally and on stage, what did he give you as a fellow musician that was unique?

Rowan: He was just a wide open. “Yes.” Whatever you wanted to give. If you had something to give, he wouldn’t shut you down. He had more confidence in us than we had in ourselves. With Jerry onstage you never felt like you were lacking or intimidated.

JT: Can you tell me anything about what fans can expect from your show at McCabe’s or other gigs coming up later this year?

Rowan: I’m going to have a bunch of new tunes.