“We really tried to capture country music as a whole,” he says. “This is all about the music, and I handpicked every song on this CD.” From the cracking snare drum that kicks off “Friday Night Fireside,” the album’s raucous leadoff track and debut single, it’s clear that, musically, Cochran means business. Cochran knew he had to record the song that was co-written by Isaac Rich, brother of Big & Rich’s John Rich. Born in Pikeville, Kentucky and raised in the creative heart of Nashville’s songwriting and recording community, he watched his Dad, Steve Cochran, wrestle with the machinery of Music Row as a struggling songwriter and artist. Country greats Bobby Bare and the late Del Reeves are just a couple of the characters that drifted in and out of the Cochran home. “That was my school, coming home and watching Dad practice and play and write,” he says. “With Dad doing his music hustle, I was raised in the business and I learned the ins and outs. My dad is a perfectionist and he’s always been hard on me, but I’m glad because if he hadn’t been that hard on me I wouldn’t have worked as hard as I have to be here. I love music, and that’s what he instilled in me. There’s a song on the album called “Old School” that says, ‘I remember what Daddy told me, you’ve got to play it how it feels and just always keep it real.’” Cochran’s life on his way to his fiery debut release is about as real as it gets. Always a patriotic family, the Cochrans, like a lot of Americans, were forever changed by the traumatic events of 9/11. The music would have to wait. Stephen Cochran knew what he had to do. “The way I was raised was to be very thankful to this country for being able to do our dream, which is music,” Cochran says. “So to stand up and defend it? That’s our honor.” Cochran joined the Marines’ light armored reconnaissance division and headed straight to Iraq. He returned safely, but wasn’t so lucky on his next overseas tour - to Afghanistan. After losing a good friend to enemy fire, Cochran returned home with a broken back and a newfound determination to make his country music dream come true. He used his recovery time well, digging deep to reignite his passion for songwriting. “I love the Marine Corps,” Cochran says. “Everything they did for me structured my life and gave me the drive to know that I can do anything I want to do.” |
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