Like many people, I was blissfully unaware that Kevin Costner, the actor, was in a band. A country band to be specific, aptly named Kevin Costner and Modern West. I also didn’t know that Costner and his band (separate from the merry thieves he rolled with in ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’) are set to perform at Silver Legacy’s Grande Exposition Hall on Friday, April 24 at 8 p.m.
Costner for me will forever be set in time as the exiled Lt. John Dunbar from Dances with Wolves. However, to hear that he was in a ‘country and western’ band was just icing on the cake for my mother. After receiving this assignment, corresponding with the public relations rep from Silver Legacy led me to believe that I most likely would be able to gain an interview with Costner and when I told my mother that I may or may not be speaking with the father from ‘Field of Dreams’ she just about fainted on the phone. In fact, everyone I spoke with about the band seemed to go all mooney-eyed for him, regardless of age.
Oblivious to his apparent status as a sex symbol, I stayed true to my journalistic roots and began compiling questions to ask him, or hopefully any member of his band. According to the press release, Costner is ‘no stranger to the art of making music and songwriting’ and plays piano and guitar. Growing up he sang in the church choir and has been a lifelong lover of music.
Costner has been with few of his fellow band mates John Coinman (guitar) and Blair Forward (guitar) for over 20 years. In 1991 they first formed a group called Roving Boy, a band with a Western sound. Roving Boy released a record and scored a number one hit in Japan. After that notch on his belt, Costner’s acting career took off and the music career was forgotten for a while. Coinman and Forward met up with Teddy Morgan (guitar, producer), Larry Cobb (drums), got a hold of Costner again and Modern West was born. The band released their debut disc ‘Untold Truths’ November 1, 2008. It reached number 61 on the Billboard Music Charts and Modern West has been touring since.
Every review written has compared Modern West to an earlier time of rock – and all descriptions fall under the category of ‘Heartland Rock.’ While I didn’t know this was a solid classification, I can understand what the reviews mean. While many of the songs depict a generic hardworking man dealing with every day emotions, listening to Untold Truths contains the grit to invoke visions of Mellencamp’s couples sitting outside a Tastee Freeze and Springsteen’s lightless dance moves. Track eight, ‘5 Minutes from America’ tells the tale of one man’s life after Katrina. Despite that time stamp, it’s almost as if the album was made a few decades ago and left to marinate for a while. Regardless, it appears the songs still resonate and Modern West’s brand of heartland rock is still relevant. While Costner’s voice isn’t perfectly polished, its gruff and limited tones only complement the strengths of compositions and melodies, which could be a feather in his cap, considering the countless references to other actors attempting to make the transition from ‘actor’ to ‘rocker.’ Costner is also listed as a co-writer on a half dozen songs, on all of which Coinman’s solid all-American boy roots shine through.
After giving the album a good hard listen, I realized the clock was ticking away on my opportunity to interview Coster, Coinman or anyone else involved with Modern West. According to the PR rep from the casino in Reno, she ‘sent them (Costner’s PR rep) the name of your publication and your request… and they said we may have to do this interview at another time. I have no control over when or which publications they will do interviews with.’ Stonewalled. At this point in the article, I had plans to tell you Costner’s response to what he thought ‘Modern West’ meant. What part of it makes it modern and does he believe their brand of music is a modern version of the modern West? Or, why is it ‘Kevin Costner and Modern West’ instead of just ‘Modern West.’ Finally, how does he feel being compared to the likes of Tom Petty, John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen – if not in voice, but in musical similarities? Unfortunately I’ll never know, unless one of the other publications that was granted an interview with the Oscar winner decided to ask him the same questions.
No matter what his responses may or may not have been – or if our conversation would have even moved that far – you still have the opportunity to see an actor in a completely different setting than your living room and make a decision for yourself regarding his validity as a music lover. Tickets for Modern West are being offered in a wide range for purchase at silverlegacy.com and ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-687-8733 or 775-325-7401.
