For those of us that remember the duo Lowen & Navarro, it was not unexpected but sad news that came out this weekend. Eric Lowen died of complications of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) on Friday.
According to their website, Eric peacefully ended his battle with the disease "surrounded by family and awash in love, gratitude and beautiful music."
Lowen & Navarro had early success, writing songs for others back in the 1980s, most notably the huge hit "We Belong" for Pat Benatar. In the 1990's they started performing and recording their own music, and that's when I found out about them.
I got to see and meet Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro several times, loved their music, and found them to be very personable, friendly guys. (Even when I traipsed backstage at the Crystal Corner Bar, uninvited, to chat with them).
My favorite album of theirs was "Walking on a Wire" which was re-released in 1994 with bonus tracks. I think I'm going to have to dig that out and throw it on the CD player today.
(Pictured above, Dan Navarro, Kitty Dunn, Eric Lowen, at the Crystal Corner Bar, 1998).
Eric was wonderfully entertaining; articulate and warm hearted. You mentioned Lowen & Navarro's work was covered by others and as a side note and a tribute to Eric a number of artists covered their work (http://www.lownav.com/keep-the-light-alive.php) including Jackson Browne, Keb Mo and the Bangles. Give their Cds a listen - you ears (and mind) will appreciate their efforts.
03/29/2012 1:44PM
Sad, sad day
Need to get home and put there music on. Walking on a Wire definitely a beautiful album.
03/29/2012 4:48PM
Bummer
I recorded a few Live From Studio M sessions with them back in the 90's. Probably one of the most genuine humans ever to grace the studio. Saw them both years later and they remembered my name. Rest peacefully Eric.
Ed Johnson
WMMM
03/29/2012 6:43PM
Great musician, wonderful duo
Had the pleasure of seeing Lowen & Navarro in Milwaukee at Shank Hall (I think!) in December of 2007. Wonderful, wonderful - Sammy from the BoDeans opened for them. They are great musicians and Lowen and Navarro's voices blend so well together. Truly a treat and I knew there wouldn't be many more chances to see them play together. RIP, Eric. You will be missed! Katie
03/29/2012 6:49PM
And another note...
If you've ever heard Lowen & Navarro sing "We Belong," you'll wonder why you ever liked the Pat Benetar version. No. comparison. whatsover. Their version is just superb. Give a listen - they have many terrific albums. Katie :)
03/29/2012 7:39PM
Broken Moon
Thanks for posting this, Kitty.
Saw them at Club Tavern probably 7 years ago. Superb show in little ol Middleton, WI.
One of my TOP 10 favorites ever is Lowen and Navarro's 'Broken Moon.'
Broken heart upon hearing this news. My condolences to his family and friends.
May he rest in peace. A longtime fan, Betsy
This week' s Gabby's Pick is another track from emerging artist ZZ Ward's debut album , called "365 Days."
In addition to all the radio airplay " Put The Gun Down" has received, you may also have heard her music on several television...
Apparently Oreo flavored Oreos are not sufficient.
Nabisco is continuing its trend of introducing special limited edition flavors for its Oreo cookies. Last year, the internet was all abuzz about candy corn Oreos, which supposedly didn't really...
One small detail I like about Bonnaroo ... the security people's shirts say "Safety" and "Here to help". They seem well-trained and they do the things security folk do ... but I like the emphasis on safety and that they're doing these things...
The Jack Johnson show last night was terrific. He'd been coming just to hang out with other musicians, maybe do a late night jam with friends in ALO. Very low-pro, as Jack said. That changed when Mumford had their medical emergency...
Still no mag. This is as close as my phone zoom can get. The dancers are sparkly. Bjork has a dress that looks like duct work from a dryer vent. The hat face thing looks like a cross between bubble wrap and pinhead from Hellraiser. Which could all be...
We waited at the main gate for over a half hour. A dozen safety full were poised to open the fences. Three on horseback provided back up. When they opened them up, it was a speed walk at first. Upon seeing that another, distant gate had...
This week' s Gabby's Pick is another track from emerging artist ZZ Ward's debut album , called "365 Days."
In addition to all the radio airplay " Put The Gun Down" has received, you may also have heard her music on several television...
Apparently Oreo flavored Oreos are not sufficient.
Nabisco is continuing its trend of introducing special limited edition flavors for its Oreo cookies. Last year, the internet was all abuzz about candy corn Oreos, which supposedly didn't really...
One small detail I like about Bonnaroo ... the security people's shirts say "Safety" and "Here to help". They seem well-trained and they do the things security folk do ... but I like the emphasis on safety and that they're doing these things...
The Jack Johnson show last night was terrific. He'd been coming just to hang out with other musicians, maybe do a late night jam with friends in ALO. Very low-pro, as Jack said. That changed when Mumford had their medical emergency...
Still no mag. This is as close as my phone zoom can get. The dancers are sparkly. Bjork has a dress that looks like duct work from a dryer vent. The hat face thing looks like a cross between bubble wrap and pinhead from Hellraiser. Which could all be...
We waited at the main gate for over a half hour. A dozen safety full were poised to open the fences. Three on horseback provided back up. When they opened them up, it was a speed walk at first. Upon seeing that another, distant gate had...
