Los Angeles, CA based musician Kevin Chown, bass player for Finnish artist TARJA as well as CHAD SMITH’S BOMBASTIC MEATBATS, COSMOSQUAD, and DER ELEFANT, will be the featured cast member in this week’s episode of Swedish Emmy-award winning reality TV show Allt för Sverige (Everything for Sweden) which airs this Sunday, October 21 at 9pm on SVT television. Hugely popular in Sweden, Allt för Sverige is regularly watched by up to 30% of the country’s viewing audience.
“The story of how my family got from Sweden to the USA in the 1800s is a deeply complicated story that I didn’t expect”, reveals Chown. “It angered me personally and emotionally. But, it explained so much of why I am who I am: determined! The magic of this show is to tell “the story”, in all it’s unpleasant details if required, of why people left Sweden and headed to America. I had never before looked at my family’s departure from Sweden as being necessary to simply survive. When you look at any immigrant, anywhere in the world, survival or striving for a better life is always the root cause of moving to the other side of the globe. Why would my family be any different? It was wonderful to learn of the difficult struggles they overcame, simply to be given a chance, and to rediscover my roots. I feel blessed to have the life that I do have as a musician. But learning the story of how it all started gave me an even deeper appreciation for just how lucky I am to be alive. And prouder than ever of my own heritage!”
Chown is currently on the road with TARJA finishing up the “A Nordic Symphony ’18” European tour in support of the recent “Act II” DVD/CD release and will back in Los Angeles for a rare live one-off with his progressive rock trio COSMOSQUAD scheduled for Saturday, November 3 at the Baked Potato. “I’m really looking forward to re-connecting with my bros, Jeff (Kollman) and Shane (Gaalaas). Our last gig was over a year ago in Japan and we’ve barely seen each other since. We’ve been all over the place, working with different people on different continents, so it’ll be nice to get together and play our own music for a change.”
The remaining “A Nordic Symphony ’18” tour dates are as follows:
Oct. 18 – Munich, Germany – Backstage
Oct. 20 – Innsbruck, Austria – Music Hall
Oct. 21 – Prague, Czech Republic – Forum Karlín
Oct. 22 – Berlin, Germany – Festsaal Kreuzberg
Oct. 24 – Gdansk, Poland – B90
Oct. 25 – Krakow, Poland – Studio
Oct. 26 – Dresden, Germany – Reithalle
Oct. 28 – Budapest, Hungary – Barba Negra
Oct. 29 – Sofia, Bulgaria – Universiada Sports Hall
Kevin Chown is a native of Escanaba, MI and has been a professional musician since the age of 15. He first made a name for himself as a member of 90’s progressive metal act, EDWIN DARE, before becoming an in-demand session and touring bass player for the likes of TONY MACALPINE, ARTENSION, TILES, UNCLE KRACKER, CHUCK BERRY, SEBASTIAN BACH, and PAUL GILBERT, among others. As a solo artist Chown has released “Freudian Slip” (1996) and the “Light the Way” EP (2013) which spawned the videos “We Light the Way” and “Alive”, respectively. “Freudian Slip” and the “Light the Way” will be available as a digital 2-for-1 re-issue, titled “Kevin Chown”, early next week. The set includes three previously unrelased songs as bonus tracks. Both titles have been remastered by Borislav Dimitrov (COSMOSQUAD, DIESEL MACHINE) at HiZ Productions.
Videos:
Tarja – Until My Last Breath
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqcpUm5wuB4
Tarja – No Bitter End
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqZs-DFtx9g
Kevin Chown – We Light the Way :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLyNyUPlvhg
Kevin Chown – Alive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyCQ151l6PQ
Kevin Chown online:
https://www.kevinchown.com
https://www.facebook.com/kevinchownmusic
https://www.twitter.com/kevinchown
https://www.instagram.com/kevinchown/
https://www.youtube.com/user/kevinchownofficial
Allt för Sverige online:
https://www.svt.se/allt-for-sverige/
https://www.greatswedishadventure.com/
