John Chowning - Lost Track - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

About John Chowning By Lauren LaRocca News-Post Staff April 10, 2009 Brunswick - Gravel roads, railroads, old roads, new roads -- they've been a theme throughout the life of singer-songwriter John Chowning, so it's no wonder they appear in his music -- and on his latest album cover, which depicts a scene of the Brunswick railroad station. Chowning moved to Brunswick two years ago from the Gaithersburg area and rides a train each morning into Washington, D.C., for his job at the Department of Labor at Job Corps. His song 'Blue Ridge Express' is about the train he rides home every night from work. The train has a party car where people are sometimes sharing a lot of booze,' he said. 'It's very loud.' His father was a railroad worker, and, maybe because of that, Chowning has been interested in trains throughout his life. Chowning grew up in Oakland City, Ind., a small mining and farming town that resembles Brunswick . His first album, which he wrote about 12 years ago, is about the street where he lived as a boy. After he finished the CD, he mailed copies to the new kids who live in his old neighborhood. Four albums later, Chowning typically gives away each one to friends, neighbors, co-workers and family, though some copies are available for purchase at Beans in the Belfry. His songwriting, performing and recording is a hobby and nothing more, he said during a recent interview, but people seem to like it. From a musical family, he's always enjoyed listening to and playing music. 'When I was younger, I tried to write commercial stuff,' he said. He quickly lost interest. 'Most people writing songs 100 years ago weren't writing them for commercial use,' he said. Instead, he taught himself guitar and began writing about his own life experiences, which he found much more gratifying. In Indiana, Chowning's parents rented five or six rooms of their house at a time to students