Ed Kowalczyk is like a souvenir from the 1990s.

His former band, Live, released one of the most prolific albums of the decade, “Throwing Copper,” in 1994 and had four hit singles that live on today and sound as good as they did back then. This Sunday at the Community Concert Hall, Kowalczyk will perform an unplugged version of “Throwing Copper” in its entirety.

I’m honestly surprised this show is coming to Durango. It seems more like a big-city experience. And judging by his schedule, this is definitely one of the smallest, if not the smallest, places on his tour.

“Throwing Copper,” which has sold eight million copies, is on many lists of “favorites,” and to hear the man himself, Kowalczyk, perform it is a treat.

Over the phone, Kowalczyk is attentive, energetic and talkative. He said he is grateful for the success he’s had with the album.

He said there was no way to know how “Throwing Copper” would fare. And little did he know that the song “Lightning Crashes” would become an international hit when he wrote it in his bedroom at his mother’s house.

“You dream of those, (but) you have to be sort of crazy to dream them,” Kowalczyk said.

He says “Lightning Crashes” began with the image of a hospital, and he came up with lyrics that connect life and death. “It’s kind of all happening in one building, this sort of circle of life.

“It’s the “little song that could,” Kowalczyk said.

His record-label people said it wouldn’t be a hit because of its length, at five-and-a-half minutes. But the slow-building, melancholic ballad ultimately would be the biggest hit of the album and possibly one of those songs that will never go away. It still gets played on the radio and can be heard in local karaoke bars here and around the world.

“I have a little smile inside every time I play that song,” he said. “I have a personal victory and history with it. It’s really gratifying the fact that it’s made such a difference in people’s lives as it remains so relevant to them.”

This song – as well as “I Alone,” “Selling the Drama” and “All Over You” – don’t get old for him. If anything, they get better with age.

“Twenty years later, not only are they still holding up,” he said, “I’ve gotten thousands and thousands of stories that I’ve been told about how this song, or that lyric, or record in general, literally saved this person’s life, or how we’ve played that song at our wedding, or we played this when our first kid was born. So all these amazing stories (have given) me a deeper sense of the importance of the music to my fans.”

Even just looking at the album art for “Throwing Copper” can bring back memories. That haunting image, “Sisters of Mercy” by Scottish painter Peter Howson, is of four women holding back a man from throwing himself off a cliff. Music producer Gary Kurfirst, who helped the band sign their first record contract, also helped them select the art.

“Howson is an incredible talent. I was just really grateful that he let us use it,” Kowalczyk said. “It really embodies the energy of the album in a strange way. Its energy was also classic. And it just made for a great cover.”

The “Sisters of Mercy” painting was sold for $186,000 by Christie’s Auction House in 2005.

And what about the name of the album? Sometimes albums are named after a song title or a lyric, but “Throwing Copper” is nowhere to be found in either.

Kowalczyk and his bandmates were on tour in New Jersey while the album was being made, and at one point, they got bored and went to Walmart and bought BB guns and were out shooting targets in a parking lot.

“Our A&R agent came to me, being a words guy and all, and said, ‘You need to name the album, otherwise it can’t come out when we want it to.’ I said, ‘Man, we’re just out here throwing copper, and you’re bothering us about naming the album.’ And then I said, ‘There you go – Throwing Copper.’”

Kowalczyk won’t be alone Sunday. He’s bringing his guitarist, Zac Loy, with him, as well as a screen with video accompaniment for each song. He’ll also play songs from his two solo albums and other songs such as “Overcome”and “Heaven” by Live from later albums.

So, get to Fort Lewis College on Sunday to celebrate 20 years of one very successful work of art with Ed Kowalczyk.

mhayden@durangoherald.com

If you go

Ed Kowalczyk will perform songs from the album “Throwing Copper” at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Ticket prices start at $21.60. For tickets or more information, visit www.durangoconcerts.com.