Cory M. Coons Is “Leavin'” Nothing To The Imagination In This Exclusive Interview

In 2018, Canadian singer-songwriter Cory M. Coons teamed up with multi-platinum producer Ron Nevison (Heart, Damn Yankees) to release his critically acclaimed, award-winning album, “The Long Road Home.” That album included Coons’ Top 20 iTunes Canada Rock chart hit, “Break The Fall.” The album also helped Coons receive a coveted Josie Music Award nomination and two International Music and Entertainment Association Award wins. Now, Cory M. Coons returns with another collaboration with Nevison, featuring a special guest on keyboards, Eric Levy of Night Ranger.

Cory released his latest single, “Leavin'” on March 3rd, and he joined us to talk about that single and so much more in this EXCLUSIVE one on one!

Euro Indie Music: Congratulations on your latest single release, “Leavin’.” Tell us about the song, the lyrics, the production, the recording process: 

Cory M. Coons: Thank you! We really like how it turned out. It was released as the new single on MTS Records on March 3rd, 2020! With a cool lyric video to coincide with it’s release, and hopefully another full video to follow in the near future.

The song was recorded between the Summer and Christmas time, 2019 in
Cornwall, Ontario at Muir’s Music Manor. Produced with my good friend and guitarist Marc D. Muir. It was mixed in Oregon by Ron Nevison at his home studio, with mastering by Matt Thomson. We had a very special guest adding some Hammond B-3 style keyboards as well in Eric Levy of “Night Ranger” fame! I played all the acoustic parts, lead vocal and some harmony vocals, while Marc Muir played electric lead guitar, bass and harmony vocals on the track, along with our good friend and occasional live drummer Barry Billingham tracking the drums. The song sort of foreshadows my whole experience in a way I think of getting ready to go to California to meet and work with Ron, and going through the emotions of what it would be like to go away and record music in the entertainment capital of Los Angeles, and then San Francisco. You can get a real sense of of longing on this one… Going away and coming full circle with things in many ways… With the experience of loneliness, relating to a travelling man or musician’s life, and perhaps reflecting on the difficult challenges one faces of being away from our families at times.

 You’ve been compared to artists like Tom Petty, Bon Jovi, Keith Urban, and even the Beach Boys.  What do you think of those comparisons, and who would you say that YOU most sound like? 

Thank you again… I enjoy the comparisons in many ways. It’s nice to be compared to some of the greats that I grew up listening to and admiring! Everybody is inspired and influenced by someone who has come before them. So it’s almost inevitable I think to be compared to other artists. So all in all, I think it’s a good thing! I’m not sure who I would say I sound the most like? But the Artists mentioned above are definitely amazing to be compared to! Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, Styx, Bon Jovi, Keith Urban, Bryan Adams and the Beach Boys are definitely great company! 

Tell us about your recent Nashville trip.  Any inside scoop you can give us? 

My recent trip to Nashville was great! Marc Muir and I spent 3 days working on a couple of new songs at a studio just south of Nashville in Spring Hill called “Two Cats Music”, with Ben Travis. It was great to work there, and in the Nashville area… Such a cool vibe. And Ben our engineer was great as well! We will still be finishing up these songs over the course of the next couple of months with overdubs and mixing etc… still to take place.

 How had working with Ron Nevison influenced your music? 

Ron Nevison is a dream producer I had always hoped to work with. And then in 2014 I was able to do so in Los Angeles and San Francisco while doing my E.p “Share A Little Time”. Working with Ron is always great. His track record speaks for itself. He has worked with so many of the great artists and bands that I grew up listening to and aspired to be like. There are still many elements of the melodic rock genre in my music I think that sometimes come out in the melting pot of the CMC sound, along with Roots-Rock, Country-Rock and Americana. Ron just makes you a better artist all around with his experience and studio magic. There is a reason people still want to go to him to produce or mix their material. He is simply one of the best! I have learned so much from working with him these past few years on two of most recent albums of mine, as well as the new single which was produced with my good friend Marc Muir, (and mixed by Ron). 

How did the idea behind your latest successful album, “The Long Road Home” come to you?  What are your goals/hopes/dreams/fears for your songs?

 The title for the album was simply me coming full circle with my songs and my writing as an artist for that album. It’s been a long journey as a songwriter, and performing/recording artist for myself over the years of working in music. And I sort of feel like I was back “at home” and comfortable with my songwriting and craft, and in a good place at that time… and currently right now as well! My goals are pretty simple, keep writing good songs, performing as much as I can, and maintaining a healthy balance between my music career and my family life. 

 I’m not sure if I have any fears for my music, except that maybe that we as artists should be more fairly compensated in today’s digital music industry. It’s very hard for artists and music creators these days to earn a living from platforms like Spotify and iTunes when we only rely on streaming. So the Live shows and selling of physical product is still have to be a viable source of income for many of us performing today. 

Beyond the current single, “Leavin’,” what does Cory M. Coons have planned for music lovers in 2020? 

I am working on more new material as we speak as mentioned above. There will a couple of new songs on the way, hopefully as part of another E.p release sometime later this year. So be on the lookout for that… 

Any touring plans for 2020?

 I get asked this question quite a bit… Nothing set in stone yet, but there are things I am considering at this time for later this year. I do perform quite a bit in my region of Eastern Ontario, south of Ottawa and the St. Lawrence Seaway Valley on a regular basis. A mix of acoustic shows, and some shows with my band as well! 

Thanks so much for taking the time.  Any last thoughts you’d like to share with our readers? 

Thank you everyone for your continued support on this musical journey! Without all of you we would only be making music for ourselves.Please check out the new single “Leavin” on Spotify, Amazon and iTunes! And all of my music is available at those outlets, as well as through my Official website: www.corymcoons.com