andrew cowan : music

I have been a ravenous music lover from my earliest memories, with early favorites including The Beach Boys, The Beatles and Kiss (what a crazy variety for a pre-teen). I began playing the electric guitar at age 12, I don't remember where that first guitar came from or what it as, but it was ugly, it was very large and it couldn't stay in tune for more than 2 strums, which was fine because I couldn't make it sound good anyway. It didn't matter, I LOVED playing that guitar and it became the instrument that would dominate my musical interests from that point on. My main guitar influences include Jerry Garcia, David Gilmour, Alex Lifeson and Elliott Smith.

I played continuously more or less through junior and senior high school and played in a number of bands (an unnamed band in 8th grade, TRAC my freshmen year, POR or FOC later in HS). My beloved guitar and amplifier were stolen from my apartment during my sophomore year at college and I stopped playing for maybe a year or two before I acquired a beatup fender strat. My playing became more infrequent for awhile until 2005 when the urge to play grew stronger. GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) took over and my love for playing evolved into a love for writing music, specifically guitar instrumentals. You can listen to a number of my songs with the Soundclick app over there on the right.

Gear: What I use/play

  1. Martin JC16-ME Aura
  2. Brian Moore iGuitar i8.13
  3. '87 Japanese Stratocaster, refitted with a Roland GK-3 Divided Pickup
  4. Custom American Strat made by Haywire Guitars based in SC, USA
  5. Simon and Patrick Acoustic Guitar
  6. Roland GR-33 Guitar Synthesizer
  7. Boss BR1200 Digital Recording Studio