In 1993, I was asked by Mercury Records to fly to Indianapolis and get in a mobile home with two guys (actually six of us) who would become my friends. Their names were Dan Navarro and Eric Lowen. They were LA songwriters (and former singing waiters) whose songs were covered by many artists, among them Pat Benetar, who won a Grammy with their song “We Belong.” When their second album came out they were booked on a tour, and I was asked to photograph them. Within a few hours of meeting them, I realized that I knew more about touring than they did, so I became their unofficial mentor, teaching them how to pack a trailer, how not to leave the bass amp in Indiana, and how to advance hotel rooms.
Every time they would come to Chicago after that, we would hang, have some meals and I would hear some great music by two guys whose voices blended perfectly, and whose songwriting was world class.
In 2004, Eric learned he was suffering from ALS, but it didn’t stop him he continued touring, using a wheelchair to get him to the stage, playing many instruments until his hands would not work anymore, and after that wheeling to the stage and singing along with Dan’s singing and playing. He performed his last show on June 6, 2009 in Virginia. After that, he stayed home overseeing the release of much of the guys archival material.
Eric Lowen passed away yesterday, March 23rd. He will be greatly missed.
If anyone wants to read one of the most moving pieces of writing I have ever read,