Long Before BR549, He Was Just Trying to Find a Bass Player

Jay McDowell showed up in town the way plenty of pickers do, guitar case in hand and no guarantee of anything beyond it. Years before he was known as a member of BR549 and as a writer, he was doing the unglamorous work behind any band's first lineup: making calls on behalf of friends who needed an upright bass player, and coming up short more often than not. It is the kind of legwork this town runs on, the phone calls and favors that happen long before anyone buys a ticket.

With reporting from Nashville Banner.