The music business is still fun for singer-songwriter Dan Navarro. That’s likely because he’s done things his own way. He had the chance to be part of the songwriting machine, and even danced with some big success as one half of the performing and songwriting duo Lowen and Navarro, co-writing the Pat Benatar hit “We Belong” with his late partner Eric Lowen. It is, however, more fun to be an artist.
Navarro will perform on Oct. 20, playing the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College’s “Pop-Up” Concert Series at Jimmy’s Music in downtown Durango.
“When Pat Benatar cut ‘We Belong,’ and The Bangles cut our songs, we were pro songwriters in the community, yet we’re going ‘this is OK, but we really want to be artists,’” Navarro said. “Our friend said, ‘You’re going to make a lot less money. Sit at home and see if you can write hits for other artists,’ and I thought that I didn’t want to be someone else’s idea of a good time. So, we decided to become artists, we wrote for ourselves and we cracked it with Lowen and Navarro. We figured ‘let’s keep doing this until it runs out of steam,’ and 33 years in, it hasn’t run out of steam. I’m going to keep putting oil in the crank case, gas in the tank and keep pushing and see how far I can take this puppy.”
If you go
WHAT: Roots and folk with Dan Navarro.
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20.
WHERE: Jimmy’s Music & Supply, 1329 Main Ave.
TICKETS: $25.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.durangoconcerts.com.
Navarro took the typical path to being a professional musician. He started as a kid playing along with records, which led to playing in school band in grammar, junior and high school. He jumped into the singer-songwriter realm post-college, had his partnership with Lowen for over 20 years, and since Lowen’s passing in 2012, has continued to drop records on his own, the latest being 2022’s “Horizon Line.” He does voice-over work for animated film and television, while remaining a true, independent singer-songwriter. With Americana being a descriptor for so many musicians these days, you could file Navarro into its catch-all territory, an apt categorization as his influences are many.
“I live in American music and the reason the Americana label has come up for a lot of people is because its kind of hard to put a finger on exactly what something is. But I’m influenced by everything from Ray Charles to Aaron Copland to of course Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne and The Beatles and The Stones and Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. And everything in there – even AC/DC,” he said. “Everything went in there to create a stew, and some days the spoon will pick up a potato, some days the spoon will pick up the beef. What do I feel like today? It’s not really what style do I want to be, its more ‘what story am I telling?’ It’s all meant to be fun.”
Part of that fun remains in meeting the fans. Navarro’s choice to be an artist instead of a gear in music machine means he doesn’t remain hidden behind any type of wall that separates fan from performer. Going on tour means going from town to town and meeting the people who dig the music, not just cranking out product for consumers.
“I’m not going to hide. I’ll hang out, I’d love to get to know you all. I’d love to know what you think about the music, and what you like, not just do the job and disappear. I’m not that guy; that’s no fun. The fun is getting to know people locally and getting a taste of what’s going on there. Just kind of seeing through all of that,” Navarro said. “I’m not the hide behind the velvet rope guy – I never have been.”
Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. Reach him at liggett_b@fortlewis.edu.
