You Me and Apollo @ Modified Arts

Sir Sean Connery’s classic “We named the dog Indiana” line from 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is one of the best in film history. It would seem Colorado-via-Phoenix songwriter Brent Cowles, who goes by You Me and Apollo when performing his freaky folk rock, took Indy’s dad’s lesson to heart. “I don’t have a bad-ass name to go by. I had a dog named Apollo. I used it in a sentence, as grammatically incorrect as it is, [and] it stuck with me,” he says. Cowles says it’s mere coincidence that he also shares the name with author J.D. Stottlemire’s book about bipolar disorder, but that didn’t stop Stottlemire from proposing a collaboration. “He was, like, ‘Yo, dude, we should totally do a tour together. I’ll read from my book and you do your songs.’ I’m, like, ‘I think that’s an awful idea because my songs have nothing to do with subject of your book and it would just be awkward.'” Cowles may not sing about bipolar disorder, but he uses songwriting as his own form of therapy. “I needed an outlet. I had some heavy personal experiences that needed to be put down on paper. I found putting it into song was the best way to do it.”