Six Questions To Ask Alexander McCowan:


Question One:
Where do you come from?

I come from Winnipeg, Manitoba. If you drew a big X across the continent of North America, right in the middle 
of that X is Winnipeg. I was born and raised there. It is part of the Great Plains, but I know it as the Prairies.
Cold winters, hot summers. It has mosquitoes but no poisonous spiders. Before that, all my ancestors came
from north-western Europe. I have never been to the Southern Hemisphere.

Question Two/Three:
What is your history with music? Why become a musicman?

My mom put my brothers and I into piano lessons when we were seven. We played for six years and then my 
mom gave us the option to quit. We all quit. I picked up the guitar when I was nineteen. The onset of music 
in my life was delayed. I played sports a lot. Mostly basketball and long-distance running. It was not until I was injured and could not play sports that I picked up the guitar and learnt to play music. I
guess I had to wait before...before the signal could be transmitted to me, before I was ready to receive it. 
Because something happened to me when I did first pick up the guitar and learnt 'Keep On Rockin' in the Free World' and 'Into the Great Wide Open.' Something that got 
stuck into me and sticks inside of me to this very day. I do not want to give it a name. I do not want to give
it a reason. It is my guide now in how I see the world.

Question Four:
Ok. What has influenced your music?

Early on Van Morrison's 'Moondance' was pretty big on me. See for me, words came first. I read a lot of books,
mostly fiction but a lot of history books too. I wrote a lot too. When I first heard Bob Dylan's
'Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall', I was amazed. I listened to a lot of hip-hop too, that was poetry with a kick-drum. 
That was a Jurassic 5 / The Roots style of hip-hop. Playing acoustic guitar I was also taken aback by Jack Johnson and that strum-slap method of playing. And
now, a lot of 50s and 60s American Soul music. I like the strong voices and the contained melodies. Other than that, I mean everything has influenced my music. Everything in life and living. Music is just how I work my way
through the land of the living. Music is how I use the words I catch along the way.

Question Five:
What is 'Thief' all about?

'Thief' has seven songs on it. It was produced by a very cool dude named Dale Penner. It was the first time I
ever played with a drummer and a bassist. It was definitely a moment in time and I liked the way it turned out.
I named it 'Thief' for a million and one reasons. And the one reason is that I wanted to pay respects to all that 
music I heard and that had helped me create those songs for the recording. Learning to sing other people's songs
and the concept of Napster played a role too, in the formation of 'Thief'. It is how I am saying, "Hello."

Question Six:
Hello. So what happens now?

Work hard. Sing good music. And be in motion.
Go swing on the vines of life. Be open to chance and opportunity. Let myself develop and grow.
Work hard and sing good music. I'll mostly be touring as a solo performer to promote 'Thief', so it will be a
soulful intimate experience. With the band, the energy will become brighter and stronger, it will make you 
want to dance. And I will be dancing too. Then, we will just see, see how it all plays out.



Question Asked By You:
How have moustaches influenced your life?
My father has always had a moustache and my mother has never had a moustache. I have had a moustache and will have a moustache once again. It's a great word and symbolic for a certain state of manliness. Grow one in November. It's worth the trip.