Stephen Cochran

If great country music is still built on a solid foundation of compelling real-life stories and soul-deep family tradition, Stephen Cochran was born to the breed. With a Music Row pedigree, a soldier's sense of purpose and a lifetime's worth of stories, this 27-year-old explodes onto the country music scene with a self-titled debut album that combines the best of cutting-edge, contemporary songwriting with the deepest country music tradition. It's a potent combination, and it was Cochran's intention from the start. "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." In a town where an artist’s “story” is routinely embellished by teams of publicists, Cochran’s background is as refreshingly real as his music. His debut garnered critical raves and respectable airplay, but it only hinted at the power and the depth of Cochran’s upcoming sophomore effort. With its infectious summertime chorus and making-the-best-of-the-bad-times message, leadoff single “Wal-Mart Flowers” is generating fan excitement and lighting up radio request lines since its official April 13 release. At every step along the way, even as he’s built one of country music most promising careers and lived the non-stop touring life of a new artist, at every turn Cochran has taken time and leveraged his newfound celebrity status to benefit his fellow veterans. One example is his work with the Coalition to Salute Heroes, an organization that provides tools and therapy to returning veterans. He has also made it no secret that he, as many veterans do, suffers from PTSD. (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) Cochran is currently working with the VA to help get the word out to fellow Warriors that there is an explanation to why they feel the way they do. “Because of PTSD, I’ve lost more friends to suicide, violent crimes and destructive behavior than I did in the Middle East because people are not educated!” says Cochran, “Its not just our returning Service Men & Women that need to be told, but also their families and how to deal with it.” Cochran always sets aside time to play countless benefit shows that have help raise funds for many veteran programs in hopes it will assist them in getting them the help they need.” “The way I was raised was to be thankful to this country for being able to do our dream, and my dream is music,” Cochran says. “These soldiers and their families have sacrificed so much for this great country, and it’s an honor and a privilege to do whatever I can whenever I can to salute them and to help them.” Between road gigs, Cochran has been in the studio co-producing his upcoming sophomore album, working on a book of his memoirs, developing a TV show and cant wait for you to hear his follow-up single to “Wal-Mart Flowers”, “Pieces” which talks about putting the pieces of your life back together. Having filmed and helped co-produce the video for “Wal-Mart Flowers” in front of a rowdy, packed house full of fans at Chevy’s Niteclub in Hammond, Louisiana, Cochran is anxious to get his new songs out there and take on the world, one honky-tonk at a time. “My goal all along has been was to build that bridge – between the newer country listeners who want to rock a little and those who love the heritage of country,” Cochran says. “I really believe God puts everyone here on earth to do something, and I know I was bred to do this music.” Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.