I’d first heard of Crosby Loggins back in 2004 while browsing the net, searching for new music by up and coming singer-songwriters.
I happened to run across his self-penned track , “Nobody No More” which struck a chord and I automatically knew he would be one to keep an ear out for.
You know how you can hear a specific song and it suddenly takes you in, then you find yourself playing it over and over again for weeks at a time?
Whether it's the voice of the artist, or the lyrics you can identify with, or maybe it's the melodies or the overall orchestration of the track--certain songs just seem to have that power of captivation to the point where you want to keep it on repeat and let everyone you know hear how good it is.
Such was the case with Crosby and "Nobody No More".
What took me in about this specific song and persuaded me to find out more about this artist, was the way he sung every verse with as much conviction and emotion as the lyrics depicted.
You can feel the frustration and heartfelft explanation in Crosby's voice when he exclaims "I ain't waiting on nobody no more, put away my dancing shows...boxed up my dress clothes. I just thought I'd write to let you know, I ain't waiting on nobody no more". (hear original version)
Needless to say, from then on I was on a mission to let as many people as I could hear what I’d been raving about.
I then arranged an interview with Crosby for SoulsandSounds.com in the latter part of 2004 (our first interview for then brand new site), then in 2005 helped coordinate and promote his first concert in Fresno, CA, which helped expand the knowledge of Crosby's music throughout Central California.
Back then, he and his band, The Namedroppers (which soon became “The Leadbirds”,
then finally “The Light“), had just gone into the studio to work on his first album,
We All Go Home, which was released in the Fall of 2007.
Infused with funk, jazz, folk and alternative rock, We All Go Home featured songs
dealing with frustration, keeping relationships together and even touched a bit on politics
in the song “March On America”.
And yes, his last name is tied to another famous Loggins.
Crosby happens to be the son of hit making chart topper Kenny Loggins--yet this hasn't
stopped him from striving to pave his own career path.
Music has always been a part of Crosby‘s life as he'd grown up around singer-songwriters
such as James Taylor, Michael McDonald and Jackson Browne and began writing music
at the age of 8.
But for years he had done everything he could to avoid music as a career (including constructing houses), escaping the whole “Kenny Loggins’ kid” pigeon hole that would be expected from the music industry and the public.
Yet the fact remained, Crosby knew music was all he wanted to do and in pushing to jdo ust that, he has been quiet busy within the past five years!
Apart from constantly touring and writing, last year MTV asked Crosby to participate in the music channels six week singing and performance competition, Rock The Cradle, where each week viewers would cast their picks for their favorite performer.
Reluctant to participate in the reality show at first, the competition--which also included the offspring of pop stars Eddie Money, Bobby Brown, Al B. Sure, MC Hammer, Joe Walsh, Dee Snider and Olivia Newton John--turned out to be a blessing for the rising star.
Crosby won the competition which not only turned thousands of fans on to his music, but also won him a record deal with Jive Records for whom he would spend the last year completing his debut album for.
He is currently visiting several radio stations promoting Time To Move, which will be released on July 14th and the first single, “Seriously”, is already available on ITunes, Rhapsody and Amazon.
We caught up with Crosby Loggins recently to discuss the new album, the complexity of radio and more!
S&S: You didn't want to do Rock The Cradle at first and with the whole rivalry thing with Jesse Blaze Snider on the show, how was the experience overall?
Was it frustrating?
CL: It wasn’t frustrating at all. It was stressful though! Very stressful to be in that type of competition, but it actually turned out really well. And there wasn’t an actual real rivalry there with me and Jesse.
S&S: Time To Move is your debut major label release. How much creativity was allowed in putting this album together as opposed to your first release,
We All Go Home?
CL: Well Jive is actually an incredible label despite Britney Spears and all that kind of stuff. They’re amazing and have been really good to me. Right now it’s all about radio because a label at this level bases their marketing model on that success, so its really important that something works in that realm this summer.
S&S-Emma: You really reach out to your fans on Twitter, Facebook and Myspace. Do you feel this will help in turning them towards radio?
CL: That’s just all about communicating with my fans on a more personal level. But radio is a very different game. It’s controlled by people who aren’t fans, but on the other hand radio can gain you a lot of fans by getting your music heard. The whole thing is complex.
S&S: John Mayer worked on the title track to this album. How did that come about?
CL: It kind of just happened actually. I worked with John's manager (John Aglia) on this album and he popped in on one of the recording sessions of the title track one day, heard the guitar solo and wanted to take a stab it. He ended up doing the solo and it sounded great.
S&S: Your new single is great! Better than a lot of what’s being played on the radio these days. Have you gotten any feedback from it?
CL: Yeah, it’s definitely been all positive! But it’s a tough time in radio right now. It’s complicated. There’s a lot of forces at work and although you do have to have a strong song, there’s a lot more to it than it just being a strong song at the end of the day. Radio is a really dynamic thing that changes all the time.
S&S: Anything else you'd like to tell your fans?
CL: Just that I’ve had an incredible experience with the whole thing and I basically have the best team behind me that I can hope to have. This is an incredible shot, so I’m looking forward to seeing what the next 6 months will hold. Thanks so much for doing this guys!