The Secret Radio Interview With Colby

Guide

Hello, The Secret Radio! (Talking to Damian Fowler, original band member and chief songwriter)

What do you enjoy most about being a musician in 2025?

It’s a fascinating time to be a musician. Never before have we had access to such a vast and diverse array of music for inspiration. My algorithm is all over the map — literally. Just this past week, I’ve dived into the dubwise grooves of Lord Echo, Jacques Greene’s seminal Another Girl, and Sebastián Yatra’s romantic new album Milagro.

But this abundance also raises deeper questions: Who are you, and what do you want to say? The constant swirl of music around me is both inspiring and humbling.

Which track of yours means the most to you?

That’s a tough one — it changes with my mood. But if I had to choose, I’d say Alphaville, the only waltz I’ve written. I love it because it takes me back to the early days, before we even had a band. I wrote it in my living room and remember playing it to Bebbo, our guitarist, and our bass player. It came together really quickly and just felt right.

I’m drawn to its off-kilter vibe, its French affect, and the accordion played by my friend Dean Olsher — who can play any instrument. And then there’s what I call the “34th Street chorus”—a group of friends and neighbors who helped give the track its community spirit.

The first-ever gig you played, can you remember it? How was it?

Our very first gig as (The) Secret Radio was in 2009 at Arlene’s Grocery — an old-school, no-frills live music venue on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The stage was intimate, and all our friends showed up, even though it was a Sunday night. I was incredibly nervous. I remember planning a lot of stage banter between songs — a bit of a giveaway, in hindsight.

But maybe the nerves helped. We ended up delivering a great show (if I may say so). The club engineer recorded it, and to this day, I’m still kind of amazed at how we pulled it off.

What do you think is the key to success as a musician?

To me success as a musician isn’t necessarily fame or having a viral hit, though I wouldn’t exactly object to that. It’s more about knowing that something you’ve written or performed has landed with someone, somewhere. That it made someone feel something — melancholy, joy, inspiration, connection.

There’s also a responsibility in that. I don’t want to put music out into the world until it feels ready, although band members roll their eyes when I change the key of a song, even after we’ve arranged it.

Still, there’s tremendous gratification in knowing a song is out there, waiting to be discovered. That, to me, feels like success.

If you weren’t a musician, what job would you be doing?

What I like about being a musician is the mysterious process of writing and creating the songs. If I weren’t making music, I’d still want to chase that feeling of discovery. So, I’d probably be a mystery writer…or maybe an archeologist. Looking for stories and/or lost civilizations seems appealing to me.