We recently connected with Don Owens and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Don, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Playing on the road was a tremendous learning experience and when I finally connected with producer Lou Whitney, I grew even further as a songwriter and artist. Lou had worked with several signed bands including one of my favorites, The Del Lords. Over the course of the sessions with Lou, I learned so much. This experience taught me the value of mentorship from those willing to share their experience and insight. It’s a lesson I have carried forward as I continue to work towards my current songwriting goals. I’ve been fortunate to find groups in Nashville such as SongTown and NSAI that support and educate songwriters.

There is always more to learn. Never stop growing.

Don, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I fell in love with music at an early age. My cousins began sharing their records with me when I was 8 years old and fortunately for me they had good taste. I really became enthralled with the songwriting aspect, especially lyrics. This led to me taking guitar lessons as a teenager. The best advice I received from my guitar teacher at the time was to get in a band with other good musicians and that would accelerate the learning curve. As I did this it quickly became apparent to me that I thrived more on the songwriting end, though over the years I became a pretty good guitarist.

I played in cover bands in high school and after graduating from college,I began playing in original bands in the 90’s in what was a thriving music scene in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. We released a CD and traveled the country for a few years, showcased at several industry festivals including Berlin Independence Days in Germany, and were a supporting act for bands such as Spin Doctors, The Romantics, Screaming Cheetah Wheelies, Gunbunnies, etc.

In 2015 I began traveling to Nashville several times a year to perform, write and become part of the amazing songwriting community there. In 2017 I won the American Songwriter Magazine Lyric Contest.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I’ve learned over the course of time that most creative people don’t really have a choice. It’s not a conscious decision, it’s something that’s been with me as long as I can remember. I don’t have much of a history of musicians in my family, but music was always something that connected with me as well as literature. I was reading at a very young age and when I put that together with music, it was like a light went off in my head.

My advice is to follow your passion no matter what it is and find other like minded folks. Community is essential.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I walked away from the music business in my early 30’s and spent several years focusing on family life. While I didn’t miss the travel, the struggles, or the up and down nature of the business, I missed the camaraderie of making music with fellow creatives. This eventually led to a band reunion, recording sessions and shortly thereafter my current songwriting journey.

Contact Info:

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