Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Something From Everything: An Interview with Kostas

Montana, stark and bitterly cold, beautiful and life affirming, is the lifelong home of Kostas Lazarides, known to most people who know of his work as just “Kostas,” one of country music’s best and most successful songwriters. This is a story of a voice from the wide-open spaces. A key player during the years of 90’s Nashville Cool Country, his list of writing credits is stellar. He has written, or co-written more than a dozen Top Tens, including the Patty Loveless chart-topper “Timber, I’m Falling in Love,” several Dwight Yoakam genre-defining songs including, “Turn it On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose,” and “Ain’t That Lonely Yet,” plus singles for The Mavericks, Marty Stuart, and many others.
Kostas at his home in Montana
I met Kostas at his home, a former antique store on Main Street in Belgrade, Montana, just down the road from Bozeman. Kostas turns 70 this year and he’s still writing his achingly beautiful songs, singing them now in his own voice. Accompanied by his dog Bella, we wound our way through a lifetime worth of souvenirs and up to the rooms above the store where, impossibly, even more souvenirs covered virtually every available space. A coffee table has, among other things, a collection of handcrafted knives, each with a story that Kostas can retell as if the knife was acquired yesterday. The walls are covered with photographs and pictures, some with Kostas as part of the tableau, but the majority are just images that piqued his interest.
Kostas turns 70 this year and he’s still writing his achingly beautiful songs, singing them now in his own voice. He is a behind-the-scenes artist, creating entire worlds with just his voice and guitar, and always has something hopeful and beautiful to say.

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