'Moving Forward'

For Crosby Loggins, what’s past is prologue.

With Time To Move, his debut Jive Records release, Loggins (son of Kenny) draws on a unique personal and musical history to forge a statement that places his intimate voice front and center.

After several years of leading the jazzier, funk-inflected Crosby Loggins and the Light, the songwriter opted for tighter editing and sharper focus on 'Time To Move.' Its ten songs exude the warmth of mid-70s singer-songwriter LPs, retaining a comfortable, well-worn feel without seeming aggressively retro.

Indeed, Loggins hasn’t always been comfortable with certain aspects of having a famous name. His participation in the MTV reality show Rock the Cradle, which pitted offspring of musicians against one another, was admittedly reluctant, although he wound up winning the contest.

As surely as Loggins’ songs draw strength from their structural simplicity, their open sonic spaces allow his emotionally honest lyrics to resonate within them. Through its tempestuous and tender moments, 'Time To Move' showcases a complex artist whose pared-down songs reveal a voice that’s all his own.

Exclusive Magazine had the recent pleasure of speaking with Crosby about his father, his own sound, ... and, of course, penguins!

Growing up, were you fully aware of who your father was and how influential his music was to those generations? And as you grew, was it a musical genre niche you slipped easily into, or was there a time when a different genre of music could have easily swayed you? "People often ask me if I was aware of my father's celebrity growing up. The truth is I wasn't fully aware of it until I was older, but all of it never occurred to me at any one particular moment either."

"Lots of moments combined to help me understand if and how I was different from other kids. Musically, its almost funny that I've arrived at a genre so close to my father's early work. I have spent most of my musical life playing other kinds of music, especially when I was young playing in rock, ska and punk bands."

As an up-and-coming artist with a Grammy winning father in his shadows, do you think you would have been where you are today without said man beside you/associated with you, perhaps? "There is no doubt that my father's celebrity has contributed to my own."

Growing up, and hanging with all your dads friends, which memory stands out involving one of them and what did you guys do that day to be so memorable to you even now? "I was supposed to go surfing with Michael McDonald once. We were all set to roll, but that morning he kicked a cabinet in his kitchen and busted his toe - really bad. It had been raining in Southern California that week, so the water wasn't super clean, and I suggested that he not risk being forced to cancel his tour due to systemic staph infection."

And, in all honesty, has your dad ever admitted that you were named after David Crosby?! "Um. No. But that's probably because I'm named after Bing Crosby:)"

You're new debut album, 'Time To Move' is poignantly titled, but does it mean more to you - as sometimes, the songs sound very autobiographical? "'Time To Move' actually had totally different lyrics and was a little more dark when I first wrote it. The label urged me to re-write it with more universal lyrics, and I'll admit that essentially most of what I was saying is still there."

Is it true that John Mayer literally just popped in to your studio the day you were recording the title track and laid down the guitar solo? "Yes. John was working in his studio space right next door to us in the same building. My guitarist, Jesse Siebenberg, was taking passes at the solo and John stuck his head in to say hello to the producer, John Alagia, and check out Jesse's rig. He took a few passes since we already had the session up and I liked what I heard. It was super chill - he's quite a talented cat."

Indeed, how easy or hard is it to create a new, vibrant, wanted-by-the-public sound that both builds on and surpasses the musical wonderments and accomplishments that preceded it within the industry? "Wow. Um. Yeah... I totally took a class on that once. I'll tell you all about it, but... you wanna hit this first?"

You have a lyric that goes: "Can't fill the shoes that somebody else wore/They'll never fit, they don't belong to me" - so, and yet with all the wealth of musical talent and paths taken by your father, what is one thing you simply know in your heart you won't follow your father in doing yourself? "Raising a family is a tough job under the best of circumstances. Doing it successfully as a constantly touring celebrity is nearly impossible. I love my dad, but I certainly look forward to avoiding some of the pit falls he fell into as a father in the music biz."

You turned down the offer from MTV three (3) times to appear on their 'Rock The Cradle' TV show ... and then went on to win it! How was the experience overall, are you glad you did it, did it hurt your knees when you fell to the floor upon hearing you had won, and would you tell others to do the show also? "It definitely hurt my knees. I spent a lot of time on them during that show. They still hurt a little really."

If you had one regret in life what would it be and how would you go about having done it differently at the time? "Honestly, I really don't have any regrets. It may sound corny, but my life is incredible and I'm incredibly blessed to have everything that I do. Its easy to look back and nit pick over things one might have done differently, but with where my life has landed lately, I'm deeply ok with all of my past mistakes since apparently they lead me here."

If asked to record one for charity, what '80s (and possibly cheesy!) pop/rock song would you love to cover today and why? "Well, it wasn't very popular so it might not count, but I always wanted to record my father and Jimi Messina's song, "Angry Eyes". Its mostly a 7 minute jam, but I love it."

Lastly, and throwing you a journalistic curve ball, Exclusive Magazine loves Penguins ...do you? "Why, how funny you should ask! I adore Penguin. Especially with fava beans and a nice chianti!"

Interview: Russell A. Trunk

www.crosbyloggins.com