To be sure, singer-songwriter Johnson never had to jump out of an airplane or avoid an ambush from Iraqi insurgents. Private first class Covell has.

Covell, a Pacific Grove native who enlisted in the Army in 2006, was recently featured on the music compilation "To The Fallen Records Presents Rock: Volume 1." A singer-songwriter, Covell's song "Bottled Rocket" was one of 12 songs picked to appear on the compilation, which showcases the work of current and former soldiers.

To The Fallen Records was founded by Sean Gilfillan, an active duty Army officer and Iraq veteran. After returning from his tour of duty in January 2006, Gilfillan began a new mission: showcasing the musical talent he discovered among his fellow soldiers.

That included soldiers like Covell, who has long been writing and recording his own music and posting it on purevolume.com and myspace for fans and friends to enjoy. The 25-year-old's music was discovered by one of the label's talent scouts and promptly contacted by TTFR.

"That MySpace page has been up since 2003, so I'll get offers like that once in a while. People will contact me," said Covell. "There's a ton of soldiers in the Army that are musically inclined but, for whatever reason, never got a chance to have their music released. It's nice to have a record label that recognizes that."

"Bottled Rocket" is an upbeat tune, with reflective lyrics about growing up and moving on. Paced by a simple, driving tambourine rhythm and Covell's nuanced guitar melodies, the song is a touching tribute to the transition from youth to adulthood.

"I've lost some good friends, some grown up, sone grown old," Covell wails with a vibrant, catchy lilt.

Covell wrote the song while attending the University of Arizona. It speaks to his experience of "leaving home, growing up and growing apart from your friends and finding your own life after high school."

"It was kind of one of those easy songs that almost writes itself," he said.

Covell began writing and playing his senior year of high school, after listening to — you guessed it — Jack Johnson. After graduating from Monterey Peninsula College, Covell headed to Arizona. After a year of school, he worked as a valet, traveled up and down the state and played music in coffe houses, bars and college campuses, but the drifter lifestyle didn't suit him.

"I didn't think it was moving along fast enough. I didn't really feel like I had the motivation to take the career further on my own," said Covell. "A friend of mine was in the (Army) Rangers, 2nd Ranger Batallion. I joined up as a medic so I could get a little direction in life. Some discipline, I guess."

Eventually, Covell was assigned to the 5/73rd Calvary Scouts, Third Brigade combat team of the 82nd Airborn Division. The unit has the distinction of being the first airborne calvary unit to go to combat.

"It's a great unit to be in," Covell said with a short laugh. "We have the capability of air dropping light calvary units, Bradley vehicles and Humvees."

While deployed Covell would mostly go on air assaults and patrols with his unit, taking charge of the health and welfare of a platoon of recon scouts.

There were some hairy moments. Like the time his platoon was directed by a local tribe to the whereabouts of some "bad men." It turned out to be an ambush.

"They had a .55-caliber machine gun mounted on the back of a bongo truck (a makeshift combat vehicle)," Covell said. "One of our gunners got hit by some shrapnel and ended up receiving a silver star for disabling in the vehicle and killing a number of insurgents after he was wounded."

Covell left Iraq in September and is now stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Since returning stateside, he has come home to the Peninsula and performed a number of shows including the singer-songwriter showcase at Monterey Live.

Sahra Baker, who hosts the showcases on the third Sunday of each month, discovered Stephen before he enlisted.

"Since the first time I ever heard Stephen, I just thought he was really talented," said Barker, who put Covell in touch with a bay area producer to record his second album. "I've done anything I could to support him. He's really like a one-in-a-million talent. If he really tries to break through, I really think he's someone who can make it in the music industry."

While Baker has been supportive of his work, she was taken aback when he first enlisted in the military.

"Stephen kind of knew he needed some direction and he found it in the Army," said Barker. "My suggestion was that he try and find it by taking on the music industry. But he will (enter the music business) because he loves the music."

Covell said he has developed a renewed interest in pursuing a music career, due largely to his stepping back from the music to focus on being a soldier. While in Iraq, one of the first things did was was to order a travel guitar over the internet.

"That guitar came faster than any of the mail I got (from family and friends stateside)," he said.

In his downtime, Covell drove his bunk mates crazy with his playing. He found time to write both music and journals. Some of his experience shows up in his material, but he doesn't mine his wartime travails for lyrics.

"I don't have any real political statement about (the war). Nothing I want to get out there and say," he said. "Honestly, I don't like thinking about it. I don't want to sit there and be reminded of the sadness I faced there. If anything, I've found that experience has allowed me to see the beauty in the little things that I overlooked before. That's what I want to focus on, and that's what fuels my music."

Covell said the public perception of soldiers and the war Iraq might be a little skewed due to media reports that emphasize the combative aspects of military life and don't always reflect the personal. Whether the public views soldiers as being capable artists is irrelevant to Covell because he sees the other side.

"I think soldiers are just as capable of being artistic and creative as anyone, if not more so. We have to live such an ordered, regimented life, it builds a need to define one true self in the little free time we're afforded," he said.

Covell said his music is a true reflection of his life and supersedes his active-duty status.

"(Being a soldier,) it's a job that I do, it's not the whole picture," Covell said. "I have all these different facets of my life. Being a soldier is important to me but there's also the artistic part that I have to express ... It's something that will always be a part of me no matter where life takes me."