David Bowen
Born in 1976 in Oklahoma City to a bass player father and a piano player mother, David Paul Bowen was destined for music. At just 3 years old, David determined his career path after witnessing the drum battle between Buddy Rich and Animal on The Muppet Show in 1979. David’s parents finally grew wary of his incessant banging on everything within reach, from pots and pans to furniture, by the time he was 5 years old, so they decided to place him in lessons covering the basic fundamentals of drumming to give him a better outlet for his obviously budding talent. David had already begun performing in various bands – notably, the Bessie Masopust and the Jerry Kaplan Polka Bands, by the time he was 11.
Over the next several years, David continued his lessons and also began to study jazz drumming under the keen eyes of his junior high and high school band directors, Mrs. Jenny Rucker and Mr. Wayne Coon, respectively. Devoting his studies to only jazz at this time, David honed his skills playing every gig he could, from dance bands to cover bands to dinner sets with jazz trios.
After a few years of college in both Oklahoma and New York and a stint on Carnival Cruise Lines, David was called by fellow musicians and long-time friends Cross Canadian Ragweed to help a friend of theirs in need of a drummer, Bleu Edmondson. David toured with the Bleu Edmondson Band for the next 3 1/2 years, playing shows for up to 100,000 screaming country and alternative country fans. After recording “One Voice – the Live Album” (over 10,000 copies sold) and “Lost Boy” with the BEB, David moved on to a world-wide tour with Stoney LaRue and the Arsenals.
David left the Arsenals in December of 2007 and poured his heart and soul into 2 solo projects, The David Bowen Focus (“New Paths Await You” coming soon…) and DB345 – a traditional jazz configuration consisting of various combinations of piano, guitar, bass, drums and horns.
In May of 2008, David was offered the heralded seat as drummer for Austin country legend Dale Watson. Dale Watson and his Lonestars tour rigorously, playing up to 7 nights per week, sometimes in a different state every night. They frequent some of the most notable venues and festivals in the world, including the Grand Ole Opry, the Orpheum Theater, Bumbershoot, Wheatland Music Fest, Ink and Iron Fest, Rick’s International Tattoo Convention at the Oneida Casino in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the Black Tie and Boots inaugural ball in Maryland, and the Kevin Richards Country Cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines (to name a few).
In July of 2009, after a great experience with Dale Watson that took him all over Europe and the U.S. , David was faced with new challenges to his career. He decided to take a brief hiatus during which he married the love of his life and underwent surgery to repair a badly torn rotator cuff. But his relentless work ethic and love for music and drumming would not allow him to sit still for long. David has been continuing to work on his solo projects and has paired with Christian Rock group Sometime After to prepare for the next step in his rhythmic path. The band is currently working on pre-production for a studio album to be released in Spring 2010.
