Los Angeles-based artist Mitch Rowland, a former pizza shop worker, has released his debut LP, Come June. Who is Mitch Rowland? Well, he’s a Harry Styles collaborator, who has helped co-write Styles songs like “Meet Me in the Hallway,” “Watermelon Sugar” and “Golden.”
Now, the artist is heading out with a solo album, spreading his own musicianship in full. The album features guest appearances by Styles and beloved songwriter and performer Ben Harper.
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[RELATED: 5 Songs You Didn’t Know Harry Styles Wrote for Other Artists]
American Songwriter caught up with Rowland to talk about his work with Styles, his new album, what it means for him to be a new parent and much more.
American Songwriter: When did you first find music and what interested you most about it?
Mitch Rowland: My dad’s good friend bought a house and was living alone when I was a kid. He cleared out a room downstairs so he could move in his pool table and vintage jukebox. I could barely see the balls on the table, but I was plenty tall enough to insert a quarter and pick out a song. I remember selecting some of those early Black Crowes singles more than anything, like “Sting Me” or “Twice As Hard.” Those records hadn’t been out long, so I was probably three or four years old. It’s unexplainable to me the profound spark between a preschooler and a Southern rock and roll band. Something had been ignited. I might’ve been too young to have an awareness of my own interests, but music at that age began taking up more space in my head.
In my late teens when I began tinkering with songwriting, I suppose Rich Robinson was very much my North Star. Still is, as much as I’d say, Bert Jansch. If it weren’t for discovering open tunings through Rich, I honestly don’t think I’d be making music for a living. Being able to identify with the world of open tunings helped me sort of hack my way into songwriting.
AS: How did you decide to get into songwriting and how did you improve early on?
MR: I was half-heartedly going through college and the songwriting urge was riding alongside. Then it took over. Copying stuff inevitably led me to form my own musical ideas. Detuning the guitar to this and that and having fun with discovery helped me find my voice.
AS: What’s the hardest thing about songwriting for you?
MR: Staying in tune.
AS: When you feel a sense of writer’s block, how do you overcome it?
MR: I guess by not being in a hurry, I tend to avoid writer’s block. I carry half-written songs around in my head and piece them together. Sometimes I play with an idea in front of a microphone while wearing headphones. That can help shift my perspective and maybe guide me somewhere, feeling a song up close, right inside my head. There’s no real trick for me. Some songs happen quickly, but I have time to let them reveal themselves. You only get blocked up because you’re forcing something to come together anyway. Actually, scratch all that. I open a bottle of wine.
AS: What is it like to be you today—from an Ohio-based artist and pizza shop employee to working with one of the biggest names in music?
MR: Oddly enough, working in a pizza shop remains a fresher memory than the day I met Harry. Perhaps meeting him was when things began to get blurry. I’m always looking ahead at what to do next, though. Over the years, that’s looked like camping out in studios with Harry to then taking those songs and figuring out how to play them on the road. Right now, it’s my album Come June, and my mind is focused on how we recreate that live. Luckily, I get to do that with the people I made the record with. Rob Schnapf and Matt Schuessler will be joining my wife Sarah Jones and I on tour. That’s the real cherry on top, getting to do it all together as we move forward.
AS: Obviously your time with Styles in the studio is generally a private matter. But can you give one story or one anecdote about what that experience was like? Something he said, a technique he used that surprised you?
MR: Harry allows himself to go anywhere when he’s making a song. I think if you can manage that, you spend less time feeling boxed in.
AS: How have you continued the upward trajectory of your artistry and your career after having so much success with Styles?
MR: Everything happens by accident. You never know when you’re going to stumble across an idea that’s worth keeping or showing. I pick up a guitar every day. I guess that helps.
AS: What was the genesis of your new album, what are you most proud of?
MR: These songs are sort of snapshots of what was going on right before and after I became a parent. I’m glad I was able to capture a bit of the most important time in my life. If I had to point at one particular song, I’d have to say I’m most proud of “All The Way Back.” Ben Harper’s lap-steel is a sound I know very well and getting it baked into one of my own songs is something else.
AS: How are you thinking about the future today—what’s on your mind the most, personally or professionally?
MR: Right now, it’s all about my son. He’s been touring with us since he was five months old and now he’s two-and-a-half. Time goes by so quickly so I’m not looking very far ahead. But he’s the boss and Sarah and I are doing whatever he wants to do now that we’re home. Alongside that, I’m really enjoying the newness of releasing this music and whatever else comes my way. We’ll have some downtime towards the end of the year, which leads up to a U..S tour in early 2024.
AS: What do you love most about music?
MR: You can’t hold it in your hand. You can’t crumple up a song or set it above the fireplace and admire it. Unlike a sculpture or painting or whatever, you don’t have to take care of or protect it. You could destroy a record, but you can’t kill a song. It will always just be.
Photo by Luke Atkinson / Courtesy Grandstand HQ