Bob Bowen
Bob is originally from McLean, Virginia. He was always fascinated with the
power of music: how it affects people; how it changes the musician personally;
how people react to it within the crowd. It is a great escape from reality
and can change your mood. He began playing electric bass at age 12, the same
day his twin brother, Steve, started playing guitar. He started out playing
what is now considered classic rock: The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The
Who, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix, taking private lessons with Peter Mark
Prince and playing in the school jazz labs. At the same time his older
brother, John, played trumpet and got him involved with the McLean Jazz
Workshop, a big band youth orchestra. They played big band arrangements and
shows such as The 1940's Radio Hour.
Bob took a Music Business degree from Radford University where he studied
string bass with Ed Mikenas. After graduation he worked a duo with pianist
Bonnie Todenhoft at the Greenbriar Resort in White Sulfur Springs, West
Virginia. Then he toured with The Gibb Droll Band playing upright bass in a
pop-rock setting. The band toured clubs, colleges, festivals, and
Amphitheaters performing back-to-back with other bands such as Merl Saunders,
The Rain Forrest Band and Widespread Panic. Their venues included Blues Alley
(DC), The Bayou (DC), Blockbuster Pavilion (Charlotte, NC), Walnut Creek
Amphitheater (Raleigh, NC), The Wetlands (NYC), Mercury (Austin, TX), Buddy
Guy's (Chicago), Aware '98 Showcase (Nashville, TN), Bayfest '98 (Mobile),
and the Fox Theater (Boulder). Bob is currently free-lancing in Virginia,
West Virginia and North Carolina with many groups including the Bob Peckman
Jazz Band.