I don’t know if Kevin Fowler did it by design or if it just came naturally, but however it happened, he’s managed to create a sound, an image, and a body of work that epitomizes Texas honky tonk. I’ve listened to his music quite a bit, and I always have the same thought when I fire up one of his CDs: Nobody can do honky tonk better than that. Somebody might do it differently, but they’re not going to do it any better.

Fowler reminds me of George Strait in at least one respect. They can both operate in what is seemingly a very small box and find limitless ways to make interesting music. For years, it has amazed me how George Strait can continue to sing songs that are very similar in length, instrumentation, production, and subject matter and still manage to turn out records that a lot of folks, myself included, enjoy. Kevin Fowler does the same thing, but unlike Strait, Fowler writes most all of his tunes; tunes that are best suited for the roadhouse whereas Strait’s are more at home in a dance hall. That may seem like a hair-splitting contest to someone who hasn’t been to the Broken Spoke and Gruene Hall in the same evening.

I interviewed Kevin Fowler last fall during which time I asked him to tell me the tale behind Lord Loves a Drinkin’ Man. I kind of got a three-for-one special. Here’s what he had to say:

“That’s been the song that’s been one of our anthems for the last four or five years. I wrote that one just driving around in my pickup truck. When I first started this (the music business), I had a job delivering newspapers or periodicals to stores, the Austin Chronicle. I worked for them for about eight years while I was getting this thing going. It was the perfect part-time job. It allowed me to have the time to work on my music career. The main thing it gave me was time. When I’d drive around delivering these papers, I’d write a lot of my best songs. I wrote 'Lord Loves a Drinkin’ Man,' 'Senorita Mas Fina,' 'Beer, Bait, and Ammo.' The whole Beer Bait and Ammo record I wrote, pretty much, drivin’ around in my truck. I started joking with somebody the other day; it was my management. They said, 'You’re a little behind on gettin’ this record written.' I was like, I gotta find me another part-time job delivering papers so I can get a record written.”

I really don’t think Kevin’s going to need a part-time job anytime soon, but if that’s what it’s going to take for him to continue writing the kind of songs we’ve all come to expect from him, I’m sure the Chronicle would take him back. If not, maybe I can get him to do the driving the next time I need to transport my family from Big Spring to Corpus Christi. I’ve got two daughters who can find something to fight about from start to finish every time we make that drive. I wonder how Kevin Fowler would operate within that little box.

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