Kolander's Biography

Steve Kolander's background is country music. It's all his dad let him listen to growing up. While he used to make fun of all that ridiculous yodeling while riding down a Texas country road, it still had a profound influence on the kind of music he would create later. In 1994, while living in Los Angeles, Kolander got a record deal with River North Records, out of Chicago, and set out to make his own kind of country music. He arrived in Nashville shortly after to try and fit in. He met the who's who in Nashville and the who's who that would pass through. But Kolander was never meant to be a stereotyped, cookie cutter hat act. And while he made his way into the Billboard charts, he made real headway in the

Americana charts when he was number 4 between Lyle Lovett and the Mavericks. Along the road, Kolander met veteran icons such as Carl Perkins, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette and many others. Chubby Checker wanted to talk to Kolander while was playing once upon a time. So Steve left the microphone to talk to the man that sang, "The Twist" back in the 60's. His advise to Kolander, "count your own money, don't let anybody else do it. They'll rob you blind."

During Steve's 2nd CD, he hooked up with producer Buddy Cannon who was good friends with Hank Cochran, who wrote, "I Fall To Pieces" for Patsy Cline, "Make the Word Go Away" for Eddie Arnold, "Ocean Front Property" for George Strait, and hundreds of others. Steve wrote 6 songs with Hank and Buddy and learned plenty about songwriting. He also wrote with Jim Weatherly who wrote, "Midnight Train to Georgia" for Gladys Knight and the Pipps. But perhaps Steve's biggest influence came when he met John Bettis, a pop writer who wrote such major classics as, "Slow Hand" for the Pointer Sisters, "Top of the World" for the Carpenters, "Crazy for You" for Madonna, and "Human Nature" for

Michael Jackson. Kolander and Bettis became instant friends and for two years, Steve would drive from Atlanta to Nashville to write on Friday's and Saturdays. It was a huge learning experience for Steve. He still remembers the day he brought John a few songs he had been working on during the week and John put his pen and pad down and told Steve, "You got it. You don't need me anymore. I'm glad to continue writing, but you are a full-fledged writer. Your words and your melodies are getting extremely original and smart." Kolander could only reply, "You're lying."

And then Steve met an unexpected musician who was interested in working with him. His name is Peter Moore, an African American producer who has played on many a record including most recently, Tony Rich of LeFace Records, an R&B artist based out of Atlanta, Georgia. Together, Kolander and Moore created an original sound that mixes the roots of country with the soul of R&B. Kolander has decided to call it Cowboy Soul. Welcome to 2003.

Steve & Dolly Parton