Meet Coby Brown | Music maker and writer.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Coby Brown and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Coby, how has your background shaped the person you are today?

I grew up in Boston and I loved it.  It’s full of history and culture, but it’s also a great live music town because of all the colleges. When I was a kid, there was also WBCN, one of the all-time radio stations. My aunt Heather was a musician and used to answer the listener line phones there, so she was always in the know about music coming to town. She took my brother and I to concerts and clubs we probably shouldn’t have been allowed into.  Seeing all that live music in a big college town like Boston had a huge impact on me.

Boston’s also small enough that I could learn how to navigate it on my own at a pretty early age.  By 12 or 13, I was taking the train with my friends all over town to explore.  It was a great city to “learn on” that way.  That walking city buzz is something that’s stuck with me and we’re trying to instill it in our kids, who were born and raised in LA and get driven everywhere they go.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

This last year was a busy one.  I wrote the music for my brother, Matt Brown’s, film, Freud’s Last Session, as well as the music for the feature, Fight Like A Girl, from my friend, director Matt Leutwyler.  I also music supervised the film Downtown Owl, based on the Chuck Klosterman novel.

I’ve also recently completed a memoir about being diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, three months after I married my wife, Ever Carradine.  It was a burly year of in-patient treatment at City of Hope that took me down to the studs, but woke me back up to my life and led to me making the first record I was truly proud of, Stars & Curses.

I’d get home from each round of chemo and have to lay low until my white blood cell count rebounded. Whacked out on steroids and unable to sleep, I’d sit in my office all night and strum my guitar to pass the time, not really trying to write anything. I’d actually pretty much given up on music at that point.  But then, songs started showing up.

After treatment, with zero idea about how to restart a regular life, I decided to do the one thing I knew how to do and make another record.  It was the beginning of my second life as a songwriter and composer.  Everything I’ve done with music since has come from being able to write the songs on that record.

I waited for 5 years after treatment to start writing about it all because I didn’t want to jinx anything with my health.  Once I was considered a statistical cure, I began to record the bits and pieces I could remember and over the next dozen years, they evolved into Your Luck Is Going To Change – a title lifted from the last song on Stars & Curses.

When I was diagnosed, my brother got me Lance Armstrong’s book about his cancer journey and treatment, It’s Not About the Bike. I dragged it with me everywhere I went in those early days. I was so grateful that it even existed. Pretty much everyone on the planet will be affected by cancer in one way or another, as either a patient or the loved one of someone going through it so I figured since I was lucky enough to survive, the least I can do was offer up my story. If it offers someone else any of the relief Lance Armstrong’s book gave me, then it’ll have been worth it.

One big lesson I’ve learned is things aren’t linear, as much as I might like them to be. Things bloom on their own time, usually when you’re not looking – songs, relationships, opportunities – all you can do is just show up, do good work and be cool. Then, let it go.

Another is not to wait to enjoy life. When I got sick, the only thing I could see clearly was that I hadn’t been having enough fun. I learned the hard way that happiness isn’t conditional, you have to enjoy things the way they are right now.  If it sounds cliché it’s because it’s true.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

We live in Laurel Canyon, so I think I’d start at the coffee cart at the canyon store. Lily and Spike, who run it, are like the connective tissue for all the people working alone at home in the canyon and lovely folks to boot.

After that, maybe Griffith Park, one of the canyons, or the Hollywood reservoir for a hike. Griffith Park’s one of my favorite places in LA and the driving range is the best bar in town because it’s open at night and you can get a beer on tap and hit a bucket if that’s your thing.

The Hollywood Bowl is hands down my favorite night out in LA. I love going to shows there and taking my kids to hear the LA Phil play live to picture.

A few favorite restaurants are Rao’s in Hollywood.  It’s always Christmas at Rao’s and the meatballs are to die for.

La Cabanita in Montrose is a favorite for Mexican; I get the mole every time.

And I’m a big fan of Grand Central Market. It reminds me of going to Faneuil Hall in Boston, where I grew up. Amazing food at every turn and an LA institution.

And no trip to LA is complete without a trip west to see the ocean. I like to go just over the county line on the PCH so I can let the dog off his leash and watch him go bananas. Then we always hit Malibu yogurt on the way back into town. Can’t beat it.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to give a shout out to my wife, Ever, who puts up with me and so often sees in me what I don’t see in myself, and to my kids, Chaplin and Sam, who make it all worthwhile.

Also, a shout out to my parents, whose faith and support are the essential ingredients in whatever success I’ve had, and to my brother, Matt, who’s been a trailblazer and given me opportunities I never would have had otherwise.

Website: www.cobybrown.com

Instagram: instagram.com/cobybrownmusic

Twitter: twitter.com/cobybrownmusic

Facebook: facebook.com/cobybrownmusic

Youtube: youtube.com/cbrownsongs

Image Credits
Lacey Terrell, Dove Shore, Sean Gowdy, Ever Carradine