Lowen & Navarro call it quits

Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro have been playing together at Lowen & Navarro for more than 20 years, making beautiful pop-folk sounds and warming hearts with their energetic performances. (They also wrote the 1984 Pat Benatar hit, “We Belong” before they started playing their own material as Lowen & Navarro.)

But Lowen’s been struggling with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) since 2004. He’s valiantly soldiered on, singing with a headset mic and playing seated — a change from his very active and energetic style from back in the day.

But the disease has progressed to the point where he’s not comfortable playing anymore. According to the L&N web site, the duo’s final two shows will be held the first weekend of June:

Because of compromises to Eric Lowen’s playing and singing due to his ALS, aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Lowen & Navarro will cease touring activity in 2009. Our final shows will be held June 5 and 6 in Annapolis MD and Alexandria VA. See listings below for more details. Dan Navarro solo shows will be listed opn this page until his website is constructed sometime this summer.

It’s a shame they won’t be hitting the NYC-area again before “El fin del camino,” but they’ve done well to stay on the road as long as they have and continue to play musice — even putting out their final latest album, Learning to Fall, just last year.

The title track was recorded in 2007 by a host of people whose lives have been affected by the tragically degenerative disease. Click here for a video about the recording session. Every click raises money for the cause. 

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Dan, who is a cousin of Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, will carry on as a solo artist. And Eric will join Dan as Emcee for a musical cruise in 2010.

See Pat Benatar’s video for “We Belong” after the jump.

Pat was pregnant with her first child during the production of this video. She was sick because of it and kept crackers in her blazer pockets to help with sickness.

Vodpod videos no longer available.