My name is Shawn Cowan, and I am a singer/guitar player from London Ontario.

I have always enjoyed making music and performing, in fact my favorite classes in public school and high school were choir, orchestra, and guitar. I was definitely hooked and throughout those formative years I signed up for every school orchestra, school band, choir, and musical that I could.

Though I enjoyed the classical music and large orchestras, as a teenager I felt like I needed something else in addition to schools music program, so a few buddies and I decided to start a punk band. I’m sure we were awful, but to us it was the greatest thing ever to unleash the electrified abilities of our instruments. That first project only lasted a couple of months that summer because we were all going to be going to different schools the following year, but it opened up a whole new world for me.

Soon after I started at the new school, I met other musicians and over the next few years we jammed formed several rock bands. Thanks to a few talented and influential teachers I had the privilege of studying under, I never lost my interest and was able to develop a solid foundation. After high school, I moved out of the city for work in the automotive industry. I lived in a very small town and because of my work schedule and distance from my musician friends, I had to resign to playing solo for a while.

At first it felt strange playing solo, but I think it really helped me focus on honing my skills, and it also gave me a really good chance to be creative in different ways. Most of my time was spent learning or writing songs, longboarding, and playing with my dog TJ. (he definitely has a few mentions in songs). I was able to pick up some gigs in the neighboring towns, but because I was working an odd shift (nights Wednesday to Sunday) I wasn’t able to play as much as I wanted. Soon that wouldn’t be a problem!

2008 was a bad year for anyone working in the automotive industry, and I was no exception. After being laid off, I made my way back to London to in hopes of finding a job but they were far and few between. I landed a part time job but even that wasn’t enough to cover the bills, and soon after the shop closed it’s doors for good. I packed up my guitar and harmonica and hit the streets. I had to do something so I went downtown and busked.

While playing I met another young guy who was effected by the economic downturn. He was also laid off and waiting to hear about his EI application. He was more interested in playing lead guitar, and I wanted to sing and play rhythm so after a few practices we decided to combine forces and get some gigs.

When we booked our first gig as the duo we hadn’t come up with a band name yet so I can’t even remember now what we went by, but we gave it some though and due to our employment situation, Waitin On Pogey seemed fitting. WOP had several different incarnation but stayed mainly a duo with with a lead guitar or some percussion. This setup seemed to be what a lot of bars were looking for and we were able to play 3 and sometimes 4 nights a week in London and the surrounding area.

I have been in real estate now for almost 4 years, so the name didn’t really fit anymore. I decided a year ago to keep it simple and have continued to perform under my name. Most of my shows are solos these days, however I host an open mic in Grand Bend, and I do have the opportunity for some full band gigs and like to jam with different local musicians.

Facebook: /b6180b57b66e083b3a34d459cd8be414/pages/Shawn-Cowan-Band/56869975543?fref=ts

Contact Info: [email protected]

Gig Updates:

Shawn Cowan Wednesday Jam at the Roxbury from 9:00-1:00

Shawn Cowan The Lone Star Texas Grill 9-12am

JULY

July 14 & 15, 2015 – Olive R.Twists 8-12am

18 – GT’s Port Stanley 2-6

18 – Crossings Hyde Park 8-12

23 – The Barn duo (time TBA)

26 – Paddington’s 4-8

August 7, 2015 – Midtown Tavern (St.Thomas) 9-1am