Dirty Cowboy

The John Corbett Band plays Brick by Brick on Saturday, July 18.

I really didn’t think I would be impressed with John Corbett, musician. As an actor, I think he is appealing. He has a funky/smart vibe that I find attractive. [He’s] handsome without being a narcissist. Corbett first popped up on my radar in the ‘90s with his portrayal of “Chris,” the deejay on Northern Exposure. For those of you too young to remember, it was the first really “quirky” show on TV. Chris the deejay was a young, hot, Zen philosopher...a not-so-bad guy gone good. Quite delicious.

Corbett went on to do some solid workman-like acting in films like My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Sex and the City, where Sarah Jessica Parker inexplicably throws over his handsome, steady-as-a-rock furniture-maker [character] for Mr. Big, the philandering creep who will not commit. I have never forgiven her for that.

Corbett the actor seems to specialize in “amiable,” with sides of sweet, sly, and sexy. Qualities I find more and more essential as I age. Another thing I have to confess: It makes my heart go pitter-pat that he is dating an older woman. Granted, it’s Bo Derek, who at 52 remains at least a “9,” but bless his heart on general principle.

So I find out Corbett is a musician. Here’s what I expected: earnest folk-rock with “car-bar-star” caliber writing. Sincere, but not terribly creative. Turns out he is a bit of a dirty cowboy, and a talented one at that. I went tooling through some of the tunes on Amazon and found a much more impressive batch of songs than I was expecting. “Bottle of Whiskey” and “Simple Man,” in particular, were just flat-out good. I would put them up against anything on New Country 95.7 today. There are not that many people who can nimbly jump from acting to music. (Joaquin Phoenix comes to mind as a spectacular FAIL.) Corbett does it with ease, I am happy to report.

DJ: LaDona Harvey

STATION: KOGO AM 600

SHIFT: Monday–Friday, 5:00–9:00 a.m.