My Playlist with Gowan

There are really two Gowans. He admitted, during his session to record this week's show, that sometimes the switcheroo sometimes confuses even him.

But not really. As affable as he is (there's a reason he's been called the nicest guy in rock and roll) you can be sure that not much gets by either version of him.

First, there's the Canadian solo rocker, Gowan, known for his instantly identifiable vocals, classical keyboard chops and hits like "Criminal Mind" and "Moonlight Desires." He’s a theatrical and energetic mix of progressive and harder-edged rock, who also has an acoustic side. Over the past 30 years Gowan has racked up three platinum and four gold records, almost 10 Juno nominations and a SOCAN Classics award for over 100,000 spins of "Moonlight Desires." He also has a SOCAN National Achievement award. So his trophy cabinet is pretty full.

Then, there's the other one. Since 1999, Lawrence Gowan has been lead singer and keyboard player with American mega-band Styx, replacing Dennis DeYoung. Turns out it's a very good fit. Styx's own style is a theatrical mix of 1980s progressive rock, known for hits like "Lady," "Blue Collar Man" and "Come Sail Away." The band tours a lot -- upwards of 100 concerts a year -- to packed arenas around the world. Gowan has managed to step in and make believers out of long-time Styx fans (and you can see why below, with his performance of "Lady").

Gowan (both of them) was born in Glasgow. Scotland, moved to Canada early on, and grew up in that hot bed of Canadian music, Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto. (He still lives in Toronto.) It’s no accident Gowan plays keyboard the way he does. While still a teenager he earned his Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto status in piano from the Royal Conservatory of Music. I wonder if that where he learned one of favourite pastimes -- dancing on top of the piano.

Probably not.

http://music.cbc.ca/play/Inside-the-Music/My-PLaylist-with-Gowan

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Below find Gowan's My Playlist picks with links to iTunes:

"Undun," Guess Who

"Hey Operator," Coney Hatch

"High Class in Borrowed Shoes," Max Webster

"Hand in My pocket," Alanis Morrisette

"Someone Who's Cool" The Odds

"Criminal Mind," Maestro

"Ageless," Emm Gryner

"Numbered," Devin Townsend