Downtown Tucsonan - July/August 2008 - (Page 14) Downtown Live Mitzi Cowell’s Groove Philosophy Love is the most important thing & how life begins at 40 by Jamie Manser ncontrovertibly, Mitzi cowell is one of tucson’s best guitarists. with a strong bent toward delta blues, the woman’s tour de force includes rock and roll, funk, folk, R&B. whatever the genre, she intuitively connects with the musicians she plays with through her rhythmic groove. and it’s a pretty cool thing to behold. “at Glow last year she ended up on her back in the dirt with a big, ol’ shit-eatin’ grin on her face while I hovered over her sawing the accordion like a banshee,” Gary Mackender of the carnivaleros remembers fondly. “that’s the kind of live playing and interaction you can’t get with just anyone.” cowell’s proclivity is freedom of spirit, balanced by an amazing work ethic, and this is why she can unabashedly throw herself into the tunes. she’s got confidence and amazing chops that come from a thirty-year relationship with her instrument. at 13, Mitzi fell in love with the guitar, during “a time when pyrotechnics was so important. I didn’t play with bands in high school because I was intimidated by the maleness of the scene,” cowell said. “I was more into the bluesers like Eric clapton; the slow and tasteful stuff, so I just kind of practiced at home.” after graduating high school in 1982, Mitzi moved to anchorage, alaska where she started playing in bands. tiring of the cold after four years, cowell was sucked back into tucson’s vortex. In the mid-eighties, Mitzi started jamming with R&B bands. “I played with Bobby taylor for a long time. I played with sam (taylor) a little bit and then Bobby found me and asked me to be in his band. and we gigged quite a bit.” cowell played out about six nights a week while maintaining a day job, and enjoyed the hell out of it. “It was good to be getting my chops up and learning how to communicate with other musicians.” In 1989, Mitzi relocated to new orleans. she had fallen in love with the town after going on a KXcI group trip to the renowned Jazz Festival, but an amorous crush was the impetus for moving to the Mississippi’s delta. “I met this girl, and, of course, as soon as I showed up, she got back together with her ex-girlfriend,” Mitzi explained with a wry grin. albeit, cowell stayed and lived off of her craft, playing at least six sets a night. “I got to play with some really amazing people and do some incredible jams. the thing I about new orleans is just how pervasive music is in the culture.” From that experience, cowell entered into a more intimate relationship with music, and deepened her connections with other musicians by learning how people can get rhythmically and melodically tuned into each other. Back in the old Pueblo in 1990, Mitzi was in a power rock trio called slant six. “that’s were I kind of started playing my original songs, so it was a big deal for me. It was short lived because I kind of threw myself into the Vi- sionary Blues Band – which had the magic players for me – Gary (Mackender - drums) and Jeff (sipe – bass). the three of us just had this amazing natural chemistry between us, with cantrell (Maryott) singing. Jeff left town, and the band got shelved. around the same time, cowell was a part of a four-woman band called Friendly Fire. “that was really fun. we were like the darlings of the lesbian scene.” during the nineties, Mitzi took some music classes at Pima college - where a music composition course brought her into academia’s fold. Her brain was turned on and she made peace with the collegiate education she had previously eschewed. Mitzi continued to take music classes, but didn’t see a need for a music degree; she was already a working musician. But upon an epiphany in 2004, cowell got serious about what she was studying. that year she turned 40, and had a cascade of awakenings: personally, spiritually and politically. “I had a little bit of a physical illness scare and I finally got over a girlfriend I had broken up with and I came into this new relationship with myself. It’s almost like I was asleep until I was 40. I realized it was time for me to take the inward turning spirituality that I had been cultivating for several years and turn that gaze outward to the world and start engaging in the political situation. I had been turned off to political activism in a certain way - partly because of how fucked up the ‘80s were but also because a lot of activists were doing it out of anger, in a state of anger, and I knew that wasn’t the way to heal things, that the love is the way to heal things.” the same year, she released her second solo album, Ways and Means. the tracks are cut from the fabric of music making as political art and influence, a compilation of poignant songs that ought to be in the collection of any music and first amendment lover. continued on page 23. Notes by Jamie Manser the tucson area Music awards (taMMIEs) take place at the Rialto theatre on wednesday, august 15 to recognize critics’ and Tucson Weekly readers’ choices. the event kicks off at 6:30pm with free food from area restaurants along with a free champagne toast for tucson’s Birthday. From august 20-26, the some French Friends Festival takes place. see our spotlight event for more information or online at www.someFrenchFriends.net. the Ho-co Festival takes place Friday, august 29-sunday, august 31 at, of course, Hotel congress, 311 E. congress st. the festival organizers were still working out details in late June. not much was available as of press time, but we wanted to share some highlights of upcoming musical celebrations. on august 3, toxic Ranch Records commemorates 20 years in tucson with a shindig at Vaudeville, 110 E. congress st. the line-up includes Raw Power (from Italy), Feast upon cactus thorns, swing ding amigos and Limbless torso. 14 downtown tucsonan.july/august.08 http://www.SomeFrenchFriends.net
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