BMF Plays Loafers and Legends

February 6, 2022February 6, 2022 Brent Bowers

Our first real gig is in the books as we laid down about 2 hours of acoustic rock at Loafers and Legends in Badin last night. As fate would have I, it turned really cold that evening and the normal customers did not seem to be out in force, however at least 15 family and friends came out to watch us and that was really gratifying. Speaking just for me the meal I had on our break was delicious. That place has found themselves and excellent chef I must say.

Zak brought his usual enthusiasm and energy along with 5 or 6 spectators making him my kind of band mate. When new are 100% on the same sheet of music, the sky is the limit and I think we are all ready and willing to do the work to get there.

The absolute best part of the nite was the fact that my family could be there. Mom and Summer came out and brought the light of my life, Delilah who did pretty well with all the excitement. She was bopping to the music and seemed to enjoy the food and was just generally having a great time. I like seeing that and painting those memories for her. She gets music and has paid lots of attention to music since she was an infant.

As far as the performance I’d give us a solid B+. Zak is so new with us we just haven’t had enough of those acoustic practices, but individual talent shewn through and kept us up there standards-wise. Actually, Not just that. Harrison and I spend most of our work time together working on new material or learning the DAW in my studio and tweaking that whole setup out. We have only recently turned out attention to recording. I was in good voice and Harrison as always was particularly impressive on the leads.

Tuesday Night Concert Series

January 14, 2019June 16, 2019 Brent Bowers

So this is an idea that I’ve entertained for a long time as a method to assemble and band that actually knows how to play my songs. As a singer/song writer I’ve found it difficult in the past to keep a group of musicians engaged. Nobody is getting rich on original music around these parts. Onthe contrary it basically costs you to have any sort of band or any duo or trio assembled. The gigs just aren’t there and essentially all opportuities revoled around playing covers. All save for one very special venue. I’m talking about Little Tokyo Lounge.

Putting In All Together

I’ve found the players, so now what do I do? Well, it takes time, that’s the first thing. Everyone I know that plays music has to work an actual job to make a living and just doesn’t have tons of good ole fashion time to do the work. I needed to find a way to make it fun enough for folks to hang in there for 8 – 12 months really, really be able to nail these songs live. Talent is everywhere but talent + commitment to a project is tough to come by.

So after reaching out to the owner of Little Tokyo Lounge to ask aboutt he idea of playing on a night they don’t usually have bands and approaching things like a series of concert […I don’t even know what to called Little Tokyo, Restuarant and venue sure, but I just thing it’s so doggone neat and one of a kind all that seems short shrift to say]. The idea being that if we perform there monthly that in a short time the tightness and execution will improve vastly. Each memeber baiscally has to be professional enough to do the real work for practice on there own.

Today we got together to see if we could get through the tunes. We did. Although more refinement is required by all of us, the basics are there and we’ll be live in action on the 29th of this month. We’ll have myself on guitar and vocals, Chris on the drums, Daniel on the bass, Paul on keys and Tony on percussion, harmonica and flute. I’m still seeking an acoustic player and 2nd backing vocalist but this is where we’ll start. Come see us!

Live Shows End As New Business Launches

May 16, 2018May 16, 2018 Greybro

Because working to make rich bankers richer is a soulless, thankless endeavor, As well as for other reasons, I’ve decided to leave the Information technology field for good. Thankfully, I insured myself against this time when IT contract opportunities have become fewer and further between by launching my wife into the Nutrition store business over a decade ago. That business has absolutely flourished in the past 11.5 years.

An Amazing First Concert at Trail House

January 26, 2018June 10, 2018 Brent Bowers

Last night Joel and I performed for the first time, at least my first time at Trail House in Indian Trail. I really liked the venue and it was quitely lively for a Thursday night. The room was great for sound and the levels were a breeze to set. I hope to be back there again at some point in the future, either solo or with a full band. The crowd and staff really treated us well. We’ve been pretty serious about the rehearsal and I think was well reflected in the first set particularly. Good crowd feedback and great energy. Read more “An Amazing First Concert at Trail House”

An Artistic Line In The Sand

June 30, 2017July 25, 2017 Brent Bowers

This gripy post is going to sound like a bit of a joke, but I wrote it down months ago and held it back so as not to embarrass the place that was kind enough to book me a few times. So….this is about nowhere I have played recently nor anywhere you see me regularly. Little Tokyo, Harmancos, River Wild, those places are fantastic as far as I am concerned, but sometimes places that don’t regular feature musiicans really don’t know how to treat them.

I recently celebrated my 47^th birthday by performing a 2.5 hour music set of mostly original material at a restaurant in a town about half an hour away. I was paid $60 & a free meal and earned around $17 in tips. I’m thrilled to still be making original music and sharing it with with new listeners. On the other hand is that blasted salad bar I was playing behind and the dozens of people who stayed well past their meals to drink and listen and subsequently leave without tipping or even throwing a “Hey, thanks I enjoyed it” my way. Music when done as a business is a thankless job.

I let them know my displeasure at said obstructive bar the first time I played over here as politely as I good. I mean it is a giant empty bar on wheels and they have a huge empty event center right next door which they could easily roll it into when they have performers. I’ve decided to not book there any more. An artist has to have his line in the sand. For me, it’s a big bulky cold stainless steel salad bar mucking up my connection with the patrons. Sorry.