Texas-based singer/songwriter Cory Morrow, is one of the many artists from the Lone Star state, who has built a wide following at home to launch himself onto the national stage. Morrow makes sure both he and his fans have a good time at every concert.
People come to a Cory Morrow concert to sing along, clap their hands and hoot and holler. The Houston-born-and-raised singer dances around the stage, as he plays and encourages his audiences to join him in the fun.
Ten years after leaving college to pursue a career in music, Cory Morrow says he is still having the time of his life.
"For the most part, at this point in my life, I figure, if you are not having fun, then you are not doing it right," says Morrow. "Music is a form of celebration and joy, and so it should be a release of all tensions and stress. You should just be going out there and having a blast and that is what we try to do."
Cory Morrow's introduction to music began when he was in high school, and his father brought him a guitar he had acquired in Mexico. He began by learning songs by his favorite rock and country stars, and often played with friends when he went to college in the West Texas city of Lubbock. That is where he met another guitar picker, who would also go on to become a rising star in country music, Pat Green.
"We met each other through a mutual friend. I was sitting around playing guitar with my buddy, and he said he had another friend who played guitar, and he wanted to bring him over to pick a little [play a little], and it was Pat," he recalls.
"He brought him over, and we said, 'Hi.' Neither one of us had even written a song or knew that we would be going down this road. We were just sitting around learning Kenny Rogers songs and John Denver songs and just learning a whole bunch of songs, doing a sing-a-long on Wednesday nights," adds Morrow.
Later, the two collaborated on an album of favorite country songs by such songwriters as Merle Haggard.
After moving to the Texas city of Austin and starting his own career, Cory Morrow became a prolific songwriter, and now writes most of his own material.
"I write the songs for myself, and they are kind of a therapy for me," explains Morrow. "You have to make a buck, and sometimes, after I write a song, I think, "Oh, that is probably going to sell." But while I am writing them, and while I am performing them, I am doing it for myself, and I am doing it for the guy or girl in the audience, who is getting off to [enjoying] the whole experience."
Cory Morrow and his band travel about 80,000 kilometers a year in their tour bus, playing in Texas and in 20 other states, so far. His current album, Full Exposure, is moving up the country music charts. The album contains a compact disc as well as a DVD video of a concert he gave last year in an Austin park. The video captures the music and the fun-loving spirit of Cory Morrow and his fans.
