MUSIC MAN: Leading a double life

Local corrections officer keeps up the creativity

Nick Evans Mowery is a cop who rocks.

On one of his recent days off as a corrections officer at the Las Vegas Detention Center, Mowery, 31, celebrated the release of his new self-produced and recorded album, "30 Years Gone," at his home studio near Farm Road and Buffalo Drive.

Along the stairs leading to his studio hang photographs of Mowery and his wife -- also a corrections officer -- in their uniforms. In the studio itself are posters of Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix, and Mowery's collection of the CDs he's produced.

Mowery is so enthusiastic about his music that it's difficult to imagine him working full-time at anything else. In fact, he can more accurately be described as a rocker who, well, cops.

His "real" job allows him plenty of time to pursue his musical interests and help care for his two children, ages 4 and 9.

"I work three days on, four days off," Mowery said of his police gig. "Then four days on, three days off. One of my albums is called 'Every Other Wednesday,' because that's when I worked on it."

Mowery has law enforcement roots. His father also is a police officer for the Metropolitan Police Department, and his mother is a retired cop. But Mowery's real passion is obviously music, and he hopes one day to move to Nashville to pursue it full-time.

His life has been much more about music than law enforcement.

"I started imitating Elvis when I was 5," he said. "I got my first guitar at 13. I learned piano and guitar by ear."

A Western High School graduate, Mowery starting performing at clubs around Las Vegas while he was still in school. Back then, he was a member of the rock band Force 440.

Soon, he realized he should be producing his own music.

"What made me realize I wanted to write music was that when I was playing in house bands my (bandmates) would say, 'Why don't we play some of the funky stuff you wrote?' " he said. "People would get up and dance. Those basic songs created such emotion."

Since then, Mowery said, he's written about 200 songs.

"I have stacks of lyrics," he said. "My goal is to write songs even if I'm not the person performing them. I love having these songs for my family."

So what do Mowery's fellow officers think of his musical pursuits?

"They're very supportive," he said. "My father took the pictures for my album. My mom handles all the business aspects. At first, (the cops) at work didn't believe it, then some of them showed up at a gig. They look at me in a new light now."

Mowery calls his home studio business Tangent Boy Productions because of a childhood nickname that stuck.

"People called me Tangent Boy because of my music," he said. "They'd say, 'Man, you're always on a tangent.' I play every kind of music because people want to hear everything."

The 12 tracks on "30 Years Gone" are all based on personal experience, Mowery said. He describes the style of the album as adult contemporary. The songs are mostly mellow, funky tunes with catchy lyrics.

Mowery said that thanks to steady sales, he's already close to breaking even on production costs for the album. Most importantly, he said, he's enjoying a life that allows him the freedom to pursue his music.

"I'm the happiest I've ever been -- emotionally, physically and spiritually," he said. "I'm proud of my album."

Mowery will perform from 4 to 5 p.m. Sept. 4 at the Borders bookstore at Rainbow and Lake Mead boulevards. For more information about his new CD, visit www.tboystudio.com.


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