November 13, 2024 • 52 mins
Join me as I chat with Steve Bowman (Counting Crows / Third Eye Blind / the Bittersweets / Luce). We talk about opening for Bob Dylan the Rolling Stones, playing on David Letterman and SNL, working with animals, teaching and more. Nice guy. Tune in!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:24):
You are listening to the figure It's podcast. I'm your
host Nick Leap from the band High on Stress out
of Minneapolis, Minnesota, into Dave's episode of Figure Its podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
I bring you Steve Bowman.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
You may know and missed, the original drummer of the
Counting Crows, and he's done some.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Other really cool stuff too. He was the original drummer
of Third Eye Blind.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
He played in a band called Luce who had a
hit single on How to Lose a Guy in Ten
Days and.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Thirteen going on thirty two movies.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
There, really interesting conversation. Really enjoyed getting to know Steve.
And a good guy.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Very talented.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I love a drummer the plays of the song and
that's Steve. So without further ado, I bring in Steve.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
It sweet see that to.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Me.
Speaker 5 (01:20):
It's got my home on work release.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
You gotta be.
Speaker 6 (01:27):
It's beautiful weather in Tennessee and as I was saying,
I've been doing volunteer work at this place, the Gentle
Barn in Tennessee.
Speaker 7 (01:34):
It's a place for.
Speaker 6 (01:37):
Rescued farm animals, farm animals that have been through neglect
or abandonment, and so it's just it's really an amazing
place to be. And I'm doing that a couple of
days a week and teaching a couple of days a week.
And I'm and I'm doing sessions down here in a
small town in Tennessee with local players and.
Speaker 7 (01:59):
Managed to great mix.
Speaker 6 (02:00):
I'm I'm grateful and I feel guilty. My life is
so easy.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
So oh it's been all right. I uh beg of
the best of it.
Speaker 6 (02:12):
Lemons and lemonade.
Speaker 7 (02:13):
I like that.
Speaker 6 (02:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
So how did you learn about the Gentle Barn? Have
you always been a animal animal guy?
Speaker 6 (02:20):
Or it's uh, it's funny because I discovered it because
I took back up. I moved from Nashville to a
little town called Murphysboro, Tennessee.
Speaker 7 (02:33):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (02:33):
And it's not a little town. We do have a
college here, but certainly compared to Nashville, it's a little town.
Speaker 7 (02:40):
And one of the.
Speaker 6 (02:41):
Things I did when I moved down here was by
a little motorcycle and ride it all around these uh
kind of these country roads. Man, you smell like cows
and and uh and grass burned. You know, they burn
their grass out. It smells so good they cut the grass.
Everything is just amazing on a motor cycle. And I
was riding around these backcountry roads once and saw a
(03:04):
sign that said Gentle Barn.
Speaker 7 (03:06):
And at that.
Speaker 6 (03:08):
Time I had this desire to work with animals, especially
big animals, because I would ride the motorcycle and then
ever once all I'd see some cows and I'd pull
over and just look at them and think, I don't know,
how do I get involved with cows or horses? You know,
I don't know any rangers or farmers, and I thought,
(03:30):
who would let me get near their animals? I'm scared
of horses. Well, I discovered this place, the Gentle Barn,
And next thing I know, I was doing a horse
grooming class down there and volunteering every Sunday. And now
I'm down there a couple of days a week and
(03:52):
I show people cows, We do cowhug therapy, and I
show people forty different animals at this beautiful sanctuary.
Speaker 7 (04:04):
And man, it's the easiest job in the world.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
That's cool. That's cool. And you grew up in the
Bay Area, right, Yeah, I grew up at a little different,
very different.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
It's night and day. I mean, I grew up in
a strong, tough urban area. You know, it was a
big city traffic, and I came out here and I
joke with the people at the General Barn I said,
the only horses I ever saw had cops on them,
you know, and now I get to groom them. But yeah,
(04:39):
Oakland was an amazing place to grow up from music.
And yet at fifty seven, you know, I feel like
the small town life is really what I'm ready for.
What I'm interested in, slowing down, meeting authentic, genuine folks,
and you know, it's been wonderful. There's a little little
(05:01):
square down here, and when I first saw it, I
mean it's got like a clock terr. I was like, wow,
it's like a movie set. To me, I thought, is
this what are they doing? You know, back to the
future for But that's what I have down here. I
can you know, I joke. You go into Helen's ice
Cream and you meet Helen.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
You know, it's like I grew up in a small
town in North Dakota. So I think I know Helen
at the ice cream store.
Speaker 6 (05:27):
And maybe, you know, if you grow up that way,
maybe you want to change your world and get away
from it. But I didn't grow up that way, and
to me, it's quaint and comforting.
Speaker 7 (05:39):
And you know, I'm really happy here.
Speaker 6 (05:42):
Yeah, And I'm lucky because I'm not aspiring right now
to do the next big thing, and I'm happy where
I'm at. I'm I'm happy with what I'm doing. And
so it's a real night. It's a luxury, you know.
I mean there was a point in my life where
I was just talking last night with a friend that's
(06:03):
saying there was a point in my life when I
would have felt like, you know, this wasn't successful, like
this is a failure. I'm not doing anything. I'm not
you know whatever. And at this point I'm perfect right here.
So I'm lucky.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Watch whe Well that's it, man.
Speaker 6 (06:23):
And I wouldn't have been happy doing that at twenty
or thirty or forty, but I am now.
Speaker 7 (06:27):
I ride my bike a lot.
Speaker 6 (06:29):
My bicycle, I you know, go sit in the hammock outside,
Like I say, it would be boring for some folks
I'm in.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
That sounds very comforting.
Speaker 7 (06:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
How long were you in Oakland? When did you move?
You go to Oakland to Nashville.
Speaker 6 (06:48):
Yeah, I was in Oakland for the first forty years
of my life, A very long time. Yeah, My my
then wife and our kids were in elementary school at
that point, and we moved in two thousand and six,
and Jen and I separated in twenty seventeen and in
twenty twenty I moved down to a small town. So,
(07:13):
but we were in Nashville for fifteen years, and that
was the game plan because the Bay Area at that time,
in the early two thousands, there were a few things
that were going on, but it wasn't a place you
could really make a living, and well, it didn't seem
so for me, and I know some people do just fine,
(07:36):
but I felt like, if there's a music city, then
I should go there and i'd actually come out with
a band.
Speaker 7 (07:47):
We were actually the Bittersweets.
Speaker 6 (07:49):
We were mixing their first record and it was a
beautiful record. I was so thrilled that we had this
amazing batch of song. And then we brought him to Nashville,
and so I wanted to go and I came to
Nashville and stayed while they mixed it, and it was
mixed by a great local guy, David Henry. He's here
(08:10):
in Nashville. And in that time, I just loved my
time here. I felt so good in Nashville. I was
here for about a week and I had a couple
of friends, I was meeting more people, and just it
was wonderful. And I realized that if I wanted to
(08:30):
extend my career, this was a great place to do it.
And so we, you know, packed up the truck and
moved to Nashville in two thousand and six.
Speaker 7 (08:43):
And it was great. I mean Nashville back then.
Speaker 6 (08:49):
I mean it's only a few years ago, but it
was really a different city.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
And yeah, I've heard it's changed quite a bit even recently.
I've been there about maybe four or five times. I
really like it, and you know, Broadway's fun and all that,
but like once you get away from Broadway, I feel
like it's even better. Like there's just wow, the cool
things to do. That's very like, oh, that's cool for
like the first night.
Speaker 6 (09:11):
Well yeah, but one of the fun things about Nashville
is there's so many different things to do because it's
got great it's got great history, it's got nature, it's
got lots of music. And you know, I always say
you could, you could fill ten days here, day and
night without getting bored.
Speaker 7 (09:30):
And so it's a fun city to show.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Off any any restaurants in particular that you like there.
Speaker 6 (09:38):
Well, you know, if I if I said one, I
would realize I should have said another another one that
I forgot. But okay, I'll tell you a place I love.
There's a place called Woodlands and it is a vegetarian
Indian restaurant.
Speaker 7 (09:54):
Okay, And it sounds like.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
It it might not work, but it actually is one
of the greatest restaurants in Nashville. Kind of a local
hang and I'm sure there will be people hearing this
and saying, why would you say that on that But
one of my favorite spots is Woodland's Vegetarian Indian And
(10:20):
if I thought, I'd come up with eight more. But
you know, it's also changing. It's like there's so many
new places I don't even know about. Every year there's
places closing and opening. So it's like a really evolving
kind of fast moving city right now.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Yeah, it's not vegetarian, but I pharmacy Burger has like
the greatest patio. I don't know if you've ever been
out to pharmacy.
Speaker 7 (10:45):
Yes, that's another one that's great.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
So good.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
And then our friend Sam we were there last year,
our friend Sam from the nineties band Super Greg. He
took us to there's this like southern soul food breakfast
place that was like the greatest thing ever, like, you know,
to give you the pie before you get everything else.
Speaker 7 (11:10):
Probably Monell's.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
I think that might have been what it was. That
sounds right.
Speaker 6 (11:15):
Go in this old house, you sit at the table
with other people and I'm telling you try. You know,
the food is coming, and you try to pace yourself.
Speaker 7 (11:23):
And there's just no way. It comes.
Speaker 6 (11:25):
A more food, more, it comes all around, and then
inevitably you get like you're too full for the the
apple tart or something. It's like damn. But yeah, Monails
is amazing. And you know you mentioned pharmacy. Right directly
across the street is this funky little Mexican place that
(11:47):
a cool hipster lady opened called Moss Taco. It's in
a former garage for they used to work on cars,
and she made it totally cool and serves like three
or four different and things, but they're all unbelievable. So yeah,
there's cool stuff happening, but you know, mostly how.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Far from Nashville are you now?
Speaker 6 (12:09):
Well, I'm about what thirty five miles, you know, forty
five minutes.
Speaker 7 (12:17):
Not bad, not bad.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
I mean, my adult children are still living up in Nashville,
and I can get up there and see them whenever
I want, and I end up going to Nashville a
couple times a month. But it's funny, the longer you're
down here in this little vibe, it's like the harder
it is to want to go to Nashville and deal
with the traffic and the inevitable construction and new streets,
(12:42):
and it's always just you.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Know, pedal pubs.
Speaker 6 (12:46):
Yeah, man, the bachelorette parties and the you know, I mean,
you know, everybody has their thing. When I was in
the Bay Area, we would people wanted to go see
the barking seals in San Francisco, and you know, that
was our thing. Here people want to go see the
you know, people throwing up on broadways.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
So that right, that's night one menu. Yeah, yeah, you.
Speaker 7 (13:11):
Get you know a little of that goes a long way.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Yeah, exactly. So growing up in the Bay Area, so
you were in Oakland proper.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yeah, yeah, Why did you get into music? What was
what was that first record that grabbed you?
Speaker 7 (13:24):
Well, you know, it's the way it started for me.
Speaker 6 (13:29):
Was I And this makes me sound as old as
I am, But I had a little radio and AM radio,
and I would sit, like sit on my bed with
my feet on the wall and just listen to what
was Top forty radio where they just played the Top
forty over and over again, right every hour. It was
(13:50):
like it was like ten or twelve songs and then
they put a couple in, but it's like the same
songs over and So I started.
Speaker 7 (13:58):
Like early seventies.
Speaker 6 (13:59):
I was five or six years old, and I was
really falling in love with songs. And back then it
would have been Carpenter's, Barry Manilow and then you know,
which morphed into Jackson Brown and you know Van Morrison
and just like so, I loved songs as a kid
(14:22):
before I played drums, and I think it was a
lucky hey man, it was a lucky way to go
because when I started playing drums, I was already focusing
on the right thing. I mean, and I say, by
the right thing, I say, the thing that would make
you a living as opposed to yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Yeah, no, I could hear that in your drumming, you've
got that, you've got that nice swing and you played
the song, because there are some drummers that it's more
about the drummer than it is about the song. And
I could tell when you're playing that you're a song guy.
Speaker 6 (14:58):
So it's interesting that well, but I went through that
phase two. I went in the busy phase two. Yeah,
And I did that for a long time as long
as people could stand it. But I finally, you know,
when you're playing, like with count and Crows, the songs
were so amazing that I could get lost at him
and just react and just dance to the song. And
(15:21):
so then I wasn't thinking about, oh, what kind of
slick thing could I do, what kind of you know,
I was just kind of in it, trying to be
the song. What would the you know, what would the
singer do if the singer were playing drums? Right, That's
what I always tell students, because that is well that
(15:44):
that's how you make a living. You know, you become
indispensable to the people that hire you, which are singer songwriters,
and producers and you know all the people that make music.
Speaker 7 (15:57):
That you know, all the people that make music.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Right, Okay, so what did you start playing drums? Pretty early?
Speaker 7 (16:05):
Yeah? I was.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
I was, And once again, through no credit to myself,
the first drum set I saw just put me in
a trance. And I was at a fair with my
family and I remember seeing a drummer and just thinking,
oh my, the drum set.
Speaker 7 (16:22):
You know, the sound, the look, and I.
Speaker 6 (16:26):
Remember just not being able to leave that, you know,
like just fascinated, like I've seen a UFO or something.
Speaker 7 (16:32):
And I was about five or six.
Speaker 6 (16:35):
Well, I got sticks in first grade, so that was
when I started, and I just beat on everything for
a couple of years, and then in third grade my
parents got me this used little drum set, which ended
up being perfect for like until high school, you know,
(16:55):
so wow. I mean, not everybody has parents that will
get my drum set when they're in third grade or
no listening to it, you know, because once you have
a drum set, then everybody has to be on board
for the fact that there's going to be drumming. And
I had other friends that were great drummers and didn't
have good situations at home where they could play, you know, like, yeah,
(17:18):
the only little time amount before dad got home and
then you know whatever. And you know, I was allowed
to just play whenever I wanted.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Were you like the basement or how did the yeah,
where were your drums at? Because that's that was the
thing as you hear so many stories and yeah, you know,
parents wouldn't let you.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
And I was lucky too. My parents were like, they
let me go.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
I had the guitar cranked in the basement and at
about ten o'clock there'd be the flip of the switch
at the top of the stairs, basically like you're done,
You're done. But they let it go. And even at
that point they let my band practice down there. That
was even louder, you said, stairs, But I know, not
everyone is that lucky, I know.
Speaker 7 (17:56):
And you got to open the windows.
Speaker 6 (17:57):
Sometimes when it's hot, it takes a village to uh
support a musician.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
So were you like a basement situation or how do
they Well, it's operation.
Speaker 6 (18:11):
It's funny because we actually did have hours.
Speaker 7 (18:14):
It was nine to nine.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
But how luxurious because we had a downstairs room. And
I say we because my twin brother played bass nice.
I mean really, and so Mike and I I know,
and we would play down there for we allowed from
nine in the morning till nine at night. And my
dad installed this like school bell, like recess bell on
(18:41):
the wall, and they had a button upstairs and if
they ever just said too much that that thing would go.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
That was your switch.
Speaker 6 (18:51):
It would be louder than the biggest part of our
song and we'd stop and like, ah, that's it.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
That's hilarious, that's hilarious. Art is the light switch. I
love it.
Speaker 7 (19:01):
I know, that's funny.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
That's really cool. So what was your first band? Was
it with your brother?
Speaker 6 (19:08):
Yeah? Yeah, my brother and we met a good friend
of ours on the soccer team was Matt Goldstein, and
he got a strat uh stratocaster for Christmas and or
for uh Hanukkah, and we all formed a band right
then in third grade, and we we had we played
(19:29):
my Sharona and Pinball Wizard, and there was one other one.
Speaker 7 (19:34):
I can't remember, but yeah, that was it man.
Speaker 6 (19:37):
And the first time we Mike and I went d
right and then Matt went Jing Jing King and I
remember when he he the first time we did that.
We all just fell apart, laughing.
Speaker 7 (19:50):
Matt fell back on the.
Speaker 6 (19:52):
Bed with his guitar above him, and we were just
cracking up that we were making music, you know.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Yeah, No, it's funny how that moment you I remember
the first time too. And it's funny because if I
had an audio recording of it, I'd probably think it
was the worst sounding thing I'd ever heard.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
But at that moment, I could not.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Believe what was happening, Like it was just yeah, something
about it just it sets its hook right into it.
Speaker 6 (20:14):
Yeah. Well, so that that was third grade, third grade,
And then we met Andy Baxter in high school and
he was a great guitarist singer, songwriter, and so we
did stuff with him, and so, yeah, I've been playing
with others for a long time by the time I
(20:34):
graduated high school and like first answered an ad and that,
you know, started looking for people I didn't know to
play music with.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
You know, right, did your your brother still play still
around doing?
Speaker 6 (20:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Nice?
Speaker 6 (20:47):
Yeah, Mike is a bassist in h He lives in Oregon,
and he didn't pursue it professionally, but he's he's a
great player and he does you know, weekend warrior type stuff.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Got it and you mentioned you put out an ad
everybody kind of move away, go to college or what
was the basis behind well, outside of the group.
Speaker 6 (21:09):
Yeah, I graduated from high school and I wanted to play.
I wanted to play with you know, professional players. Yeah,
my brother wasn't as into it. They were also into
different styles of music. They everybody in my junior high
was kind of into rush and stuff, which I liked,
(21:33):
but it was I loved the songs and when I
remember in eighth grade when I first heard the song
Mission of Mercy from the Motels, which is a record
called All for One, which I still think one of
the greatest. Just the amazing songwriting performances and her voice
is amazing. But I started finding songs that they weren't
(21:58):
really into. They want more notes and you know, and
that's cool. But at that point we kind of diverged
and I needed to find and then I discovered you know, Duran, Duran,
all that stuff I was loving, like.
Speaker 7 (22:15):
Pop music. I've missing persons, all these.
Speaker 6 (22:19):
Bands that were kind of fusing great drumming and beautiful,
powerful music, you know, and so I wanted to do that.
That's how I felt. I had a lot of energy
and I wanted to, you know, hit.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
So you put up an ad looking for a band.
Speaker 7 (22:36):
And well, I answered anad.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
You answered that. Okay, what was the ad? What were
they asking for? Pro gear, pro attitude, looks and looks required.
I can't remember, but I think they must.
Speaker 7 (22:49):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (22:50):
But the funny thing was, yeah, I was eighteen and
they were all in their late twenties, and it was
a band called Your Face?
Speaker 3 (23:04):
What was Your Face? What did they play? That's hilarious.
Speaker 6 (23:09):
It was like kind of aggressive punk, but lighter rock.
It was, you know, it was a start because they
were playing clubs, and so that allowed me to get
on stage and and you know, I mean I'd never
done anything like that. I'd played like a lot of
(23:31):
a lot of birthday parties in ice cream socials and
you know whatever, church picnics, but I hadn't been on
a stage with people that I didn't know watching me.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
So what was the first show? Do you remember?
Speaker 8 (23:49):
No?
Speaker 6 (23:50):
It not positive, but I remember that the first few
shows I played with them, I wasn't twenty one, so
if they got out, there were hassles and we had
to be really careful. And then one night I had
to sit in the dressing room all night because I
wasn't allowed to leave the dressing room, and they let
me play if I just went to the stage and
(24:12):
back to the dressing room. But yeah, it would have
been clubs that don't exist anymore.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
It's kind of the nature of it these days. So
how long did you play with your face? That's a
sentence I never thought i'd say.
Speaker 6 (24:28):
A doctor once asked me that I did that for
a while. And what happened. You know, what happens in
a thriving live music community is that we opened for
other bands, and then I met other people and got
another band, and then another band, and so that's what happened,
(24:50):
and that's what we were all doing when you know
Counting Crows formed in nineteen ninety one.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Yeah, and if you're a good drummer, you're a hot commodity.
And everybody kind of knows, Like the drummer in my
band plays in like five bands because he just gets
all the calls.
Speaker 7 (25:04):
Yeah, well that's great because you know you have.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
A good drummer yet.
Speaker 6 (25:09):
But at that point, you know, Adam and Dave from
count and Gross wanted to put a band together, and
so you know, that was the community that I was
working with, this person, that persons, this person. We all
knew each other and so that's how that came together.
And it happened from me joining your Face and then
playing with you know, I could go down a list
(25:32):
of names, but a lot of.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Bands got it. So they were kind of in another
were they another local band?
Speaker 6 (25:39):
Okay, so you met and yeah, it was actually just
Dave and Adam at that point, and they wanted to
form a band, and so they got Charlie Gillingham who
was an amazing keyboardist played at B three, and then
Matt Malley had been with in Dave's band, Mister Dog,
and I was doing sessions at Mister at Dancing Dog Studios,
(26:04):
which was Dave's studios, so I knew him. It was
just like, you know, who else was there anyway? Just
kind of what year did that form?
Speaker 7 (26:15):
Well?
Speaker 6 (26:15):
Ninety one was, yeah, the end of ninety one, and
they had played some shows before, not shows maybe, but
they had done some recording, recorded some songs and so
but this was going to be the thing like, let's
see if we can do this. So that's when they
(26:36):
put the band.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
Together, got it and was their label. Interest kind of
out of the gate or were you just.
Speaker 6 (26:42):
Well, actually, yeah, there was a weird situation happening with
a label that was interested, and they got us connected
to a lawyer who well, let's just say the lawyer
thought he could maybe do better, and we ended up
(27:03):
losing everything, but with that lawyer and with some other connections,
and then we were just playing clubs like we were,
and it was like, wow, there was this interest from
a major label. That fits out. But by that point
we'd recorded some songs, we were playing live. It was
and there was a lot of momentum because a few
(27:24):
really great key people in town had heard it and
were interested in helping us. Bonnie Simmons was a local
legendary DJ. And what else happened? A few things happened
which led to Robbie Robertson from the band hearing it
(27:46):
that helps well, and he contacted T B I mean
like and then T Bone Burnette produced it. I mean,
like all these weird things. So back in that time
there were weird things happening with bands bidding wars from
labels and like, I mean, you can't even imagine it now.
It doesn't happen then. But I was on kind of
(28:07):
the last what the last kind of major label band reponsibility. Yeah, yeah,
because it's not that way now.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
No.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
No, So when you were when you started playing with
that kind of grows that first album, were you playing
no songs or is it another batch before it or
was it just this was the batch?
Speaker 6 (28:29):
There were some of those songs and then some that
that were written new songs, But there were yeah, a
few of them.
Speaker 7 (28:38):
Were songs that I learned.
Speaker 6 (28:40):
Some we revamped songs they'd done before but wanted to
try different versions of them.
Speaker 7 (28:45):
So yeah, but there were there were you know.
Speaker 6 (28:48):
Dave had a studio, Dave Bryson had Dancing Dog studios,
So whenever you wanted to record, just going to Dave's
studio and it was a great studio, sixteen track, two
inch and so you'd come out with stuff that sounded
really super professional and good and and so that was
a luxury.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
That is a luxury, especially at that time.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
Oh yeah, studio costs were not cheap if you had
to go so nice. So in that badge, Well, how
did the interest from Geffen come about? Because ultimately that's
where uh d G.
Speaker 6 (29:29):
David Geffen Company. Well, I can't you know, I would
probably get it wrong if I tried to talk about that.
But I know that Gary Gersh was the executive producer.
I had just come to Geffen and he had brought
with them Nirvana, so clot Yeah, and so because I
(29:56):
mean he was with Kevin the executive producer, I don't
know what happened.
Speaker 7 (30:00):
There were a few labels that were.
Speaker 6 (30:01):
Looking and they went out and so, yeah, I'm just
a dumb drummer on those things. Sometimes I say more
than I should because I'm not positive about all the
details of the business.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Sure, So when you finished that record, what was the
you know, what was the feeling. Did everybody kind of
feel like, wow, we really have something here, or any
songs that stood out that you thought, wow, this might
be a hit. I was quite this fascinating because it's
usually not the song that people would think.
Speaker 7 (30:32):
Well, yeah, we didn't know.
Speaker 6 (30:34):
I mean, we didn't know what was but we were
I just wanted to get on the road. I thought
we're going to be able to tour. That's a dream
come true. And and you know, we wanted to sell
enough so that we could do another record. And I
remember Charlie Gillingham saying, I think this record could sell
one hundred thousand copies. And I remember Adam said, don't
(30:59):
be so pessimistic, you know, and but I had no idea. Again,
it's just you know, Bonnie Simmons actually used to say,
good music rises, and I think it was good music,
great songwriting, great well thanks. I mean, I'm grateful and
proud to have been a part of it. But you
(31:21):
know that it caught the attention of David Letterman. He
loved the record insisted we be on Letterman. So that's huge.
Oh yeah, I love Letterman. And then we did Saturday
Night Live again because the person who picks the bands
(31:41):
loved the record. And so you know, it's one thing
to get in there because you're hot and the latest thing,
and they got to put you in because you'd get viewers.
Speaker 7 (31:51):
But we got it.
Speaker 6 (31:52):
Initially in those first two shows, we weren't selling a
lot of records and.
Speaker 7 (31:59):
We all so, you know, because of Geffen, we had
you know, MTV.
Speaker 6 (32:05):
We were in the buzz bin of MTV, which meant
they played our video every hour. It's like a commercial
for your record, you know, and that is a Geffen thing.
You know.
Speaker 7 (32:14):
Geffen says, hey, if you want Nirvana's next record, put
these guys in.
Speaker 6 (32:18):
You know, that's all business. But so got lucky things there,
Lucky Briggs.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
But you know, Yeah, my friend Martin played on. He's
in a band called the gear Daddies and they ended
up playing on Letterman. This late eighties I think was
a similar thing though, where it was like somebody who
worked for Letterman was just listening to a gear Daddy's
record like around and he heard it and was like,
what's this?
Speaker 3 (32:43):
I want them on the show.
Speaker 6 (32:45):
Well, you know, I gotta tell you be behind the
scenes story because it makes Adam. It shows how dedicated
Adam was to the to the musicians and the band.
When we got called to do Letterman, we were all thrilled, right,
and they said, oh, they just want Adam. We're like
(33:06):
what they wanted, just the singer because they got a band.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
They guess what they used to do. Yeah, my friend
Martin had one guy with him and then the Letterman band.
Speaker 6 (33:16):
Yeah yeah, Well we had some friends, Toad the wetsprocket
who'd just done Letterman, and my friend Randy the drummer
was playing tambourine next to Anton fig who was playing drums,
playing his parts it's like.
Speaker 7 (33:29):
That is so crazy. Well, so that's what they said
to us.
Speaker 6 (33:33):
We just want Adam. And so Adam, to his credit,
said well, we have a band, so let us know
when you want a band. And they said, oh what
and they called back and yeah, I know. And they
called back and said, all right, we will take the band.
We'd like to have Paul Sheef or play with you
if it's all right, he's our you know, the keyboardist,
Like Adam said, we have a keyboardist. Thanks though, wow,
(33:59):
and then the confidence you realize what this means and
uh and said yeah.
Speaker 7 (34:06):
So what I heard was that it was Letterman himself.
Speaker 6 (34:09):
Who said, get these guys on the fucking show and
stop messing around with who's on the stage and let's go.
Speaker 7 (34:16):
So I'm glad to hear that. That was the story
I heard.
Speaker 6 (34:20):
And then yeah, so uh anyway, but all credit goes
to Adam because he could have just said all right,
I'll do.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
It with the most people.
Speaker 2 (34:30):
At that point, it would have been the band would
have had to be like this sucks, but it's good
to the band.
Speaker 6 (34:35):
We were sitting in the third row watching like oh well,
but and it would have been great. The band is
so good. They would have been you know, it would
have been yeah, it's still yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
They moved away from that over the years. You might
have been one of the first.
Speaker 7 (34:53):
Well, I don't know.
Speaker 6 (34:55):
There was another point Adam had great confidence. We got
to four star review from Rolling Stone, which is great
and four to five. So they asked Adam what he
thought of the review. He said, well, they missed a star.
It's like, I mean, that's what it takes.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
Right, Yeah, no, I think it does. Some people might
just kind of shake their heads.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
But you know, the people who make it, it seems like,
are the ones that are like, no, this is great
and we're gonna do this thing.
Speaker 6 (35:28):
And what it means is when you get onto a
big show, you're not nervous. You don't feel like, oh,
You're like, this is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing.
Ready started up. That's how we always felt. I mean,
I couldn't wait to get on stage. It was like,
you know, who.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
Are you touring with?
Speaker 2 (35:48):
I suppose you probably had an opening slot out of
the gate for somebody, right.
Speaker 6 (35:52):
We toured with a lot of folks. Started out with
the Cranberries and Swayed and we made Night Away a Dylan.
We did some shows with Bob Dylan Chamby and a
few others. But we did the Stones Tour that was
(36:12):
a big deal. Wow, the Voodoo Lounge Tour nineteen ninety four.
Oh yeah, so yeah, a few of those, and then
started just headlining our own stuff and doing theaters.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
Was was Dylan kind off on his own or did
he did he chat with you? I've heard differing some
people that I've talked to that have played with him,
it's like never saw. Some other people are like he
showed up in a hoodie and just started chatting with.
Speaker 6 (36:39):
Well, what happened with I mean with us was that
he would show up right before the band, like the
band is standing on the side of the stage ready
to walk on, and a van pulls up and he
would come out in a boxing robe, right like a
prize fighter on his way and he'd get to the
(36:59):
stage stand there, they'd take off the rope, put a
cool hat on him, and he'd walk up and then
when he came off, they take the hat off with
the robe ontom back to the van. We never even
made eye contact with Dylan.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
That's so great though, Like obviously you want to like
meet him, have conversations. But there's just something about the
Dylan as this strange figure in your experience.
Speaker 3 (37:28):
Uh yeah, what a weird thing.
Speaker 6 (37:31):
You know, a conversation with a young band and Bob
Dylan is you know, a gift from Bob Dylan.
Speaker 7 (37:38):
What's he going to get out of it?
Speaker 6 (37:39):
You know?
Speaker 3 (37:40):
Yeah? Were they around at all?
Speaker 7 (37:43):
Or were they kind of stones were the complete opposite.
Speaker 6 (37:46):
Man. They were totally into hanging and they had this
huge dressing room with like pool tables and and uh
you know, the catering was nuts. Everything was insane, and
they wanted us to hang out with him. One night,
we are managers came and we were having a meeting
after the soundcheck, and we would normally go hang out
(38:07):
in there and they'd be sitting around you know. Yeah,
Keith Richard's sitting there playing an acoustic guitar with no
shoes on. I mean that's you know. Uh and uh so,
uh we went and we were having a meeting with
our managers and this guy knocks on the doors. You know,
you're welcome to come in the room, you know, yeah, man,
you know we'll be there in a sec. We're just
(38:29):
having a meeting. I mean like we weren't there one
night and they called us in. That's how cool they were.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Yeah, my friend Slim was in the replacements they opened
for for the Stones, and he he said, we got
to hang out with with Keith Richards, which was amazing.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
And he was a good hang. He was out, was
in a good mood.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Just don't I saw somebody touch his cassette player and
he almost ended them, So why change his music?
Speaker 6 (38:59):
Yeah, he was a good hang.
Speaker 7 (39:01):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (39:02):
Well I can't imagine.
Speaker 7 (39:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (39:05):
I had a couple kind of in depth conversations with
Mick Jagger of all people, like I'm just hanging around
sitting there you I mean, he'd sit down next to me,
we start talking.
Speaker 7 (39:13):
I couldn't believe it.
Speaker 4 (39:15):
Uh.
Speaker 7 (39:16):
That was.
Speaker 6 (39:18):
They were all very accessible, except for Charlie Watts, of course,
the guy wanted to meet the most.
Speaker 7 (39:24):
He didn't hang much.
Speaker 3 (39:26):
He was hanging to suit up in his hotel room.
Speaker 7 (39:29):
Well, but the last night, the last night of.
Speaker 6 (39:31):
The tour, he you always like to take pictures with
both bands the last night of the run, and so
we were taking a picture and I got to meet
him and and it was really really neat. He says.
Speaker 7 (39:48):
He says, you're the drummonet.
Speaker 6 (39:50):
And shakes my hand and I crushed his hand like
a you know, that was the joke. They won't be
able to play now because Steve christ I didn't anyway,
but yeah, met him that night and uh and then
that was it. But I saw him one time, nice
wow in a suit with a big glass of red wine,
(40:12):
just like looked like he might. But we're at Giant
Stadium in this cement hallway.
Speaker 3 (40:18):
You know. It's like so it's like that's for strange. Yeah,
what a trip.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
And then you were on Rolling Cover, Rolling Stone as well.
No issues with them, just wanting at.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Him for that.
Speaker 6 (40:30):
I can't remember. They probably did. I mean they probably
pitched it on that one. I remember he had a
friend of ours band he was wearing their shirt and
they said, hey, let's get rid of that band name,
and like that was the argument.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
Who was the band? Do you remember?
Speaker 7 (40:49):
No, you can look it up, but.
Speaker 6 (40:53):
It was a band that was opening for us probably
and I can't remember, but but they wanted it off.
He wanted it on, and you know, you never knew.
It was like all right, well, maybe we're not going
to be on the cover. I guess we are, you
know so, but I think they worked it out in
the end.
Speaker 3 (41:10):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Nice and you were so you were in Counting Crows
for a few years and then you moved on.
Speaker 3 (41:15):
What did you do after that?
Speaker 6 (41:17):
Well, the very next thing I did was was Third
Eye Blind. And it was probably too early for me
to do another band at that point one because they
were really wild rock stars and that was kind of
intimidating for me. Also, I had little money in the
bank from Counting Crows, and I was like, it wasn't
(41:40):
taken much. Well, I wasn't putting myself in uncomfortable positions,
which I maybe should have. But I did that for
a few months, and I was trying to help them,
you know, with my kind of connections. They already had
some of their own. We were kind of building this
thing up. But that was cool. I didn't play drums
(42:00):
for a while after that. I got into books and
reading and collecting books and stuff, and like, it's funny
when when you get a little money in the bank,
you kind of figure out what you're really interested in,
and that.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
How much you're not interested in.
Speaker 6 (42:17):
I mean, one of the reasons I hate to say it,
but One of the reasons I love working with animals
is because, uh, it's easier than working with.
Speaker 3 (42:26):
People, easier than lead singers.
Speaker 7 (42:30):
Well, you know, yeah, you.
Speaker 3 (42:35):
Didn't say it.
Speaker 6 (42:36):
I said, yeah, you don't put on the cover rolling Stone.
But once that's okay for you, then it's a great life.
Speaker 3 (42:43):
I already did that. Yeah, that's funny.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
So what what brought you back into playing again after
all those years of reading books and finding books?
Speaker 6 (42:52):
Well, I always played, and I always, you know, like
I always say, I answered the phone, I just don't
dial it. And and so so fortunately I've had enough
calls to keep me going. And I have friends that
are doing things and they call me when they you know,
And so I'm I work enough at this point. I
don't like moving drums. I mean, I'm sorry, it's terrible.
(43:15):
Like any young drummers, please cover your ears. But like
I don't like moving drums. I don't like staying out late,
and so, uh that disqualifies me from a lot of possibilities.
Speaker 7 (43:27):
And that's okay.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
What So what you said? What two thousand and seven.
Speaker 7 (43:33):
You moved to two thousand and six, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:37):
Okay, So with that band? Were you playing in that
band that you were working with or were you the with.
Speaker 7 (43:43):
The Bitter Suites.
Speaker 6 (43:44):
Yeah, with the Bitter Swites, we did two records, and
the second record, they actually moved out here and we
recorded record for Compass Records out here in Nashville and
toured it. But uh it, uh well, it just wasn't
working financially and time wise, and so what I really
(44:07):
started focusing on when I got to Nashville was just
doing sessions, trying to do sessions, and I did some touring,
but I really love recording and so that was kind
of my bag for a long time. Yeah, we did
two records and then I started doing sessions in town
and they continued as a duo, and I did a
(44:32):
lot of stuff in Nashville. I've always done teaching, kind
of at a as a part time, kind of went
offs with folks that are visiting town, or I have
some weekly lessons that I'm doing now down here now.
And I should point out that I have a website
that talks about all the things I do educationally, and
(44:55):
it's a MOO Moo lab dot org, Murphysboro Music Lab
m U l A B dot O r G.
Speaker 3 (45:03):
And what kinds of things are you doing?
Speaker 6 (45:05):
There well, working with drummers, working with singer songwriters, working
with bands, and trying to well, trying to convey to
young players what I learned in my thirty year career.
See if I can get people started to hit the
ground running and maybe do it with less pain and.
Speaker 3 (45:29):
Yeah, yeah, right, don't do this, do that.
Speaker 7 (45:35):
Well.
Speaker 6 (45:35):
I also did a podcast I should mention Letters to
an aspiring musician, is available at all the podcast places,
and and that was the whole thing was you know,
uh yeah, learn from what I did. Here's what I did,
what I say I said, it was what I saw,
what I did, and what I could have done better.
(45:58):
Nice was the you know ten part series for any
young musicians. It's basically, after thirty years of the music business,
this is what I wish i'd know. And so check
it out.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
That's pretty cool. So where can you find that?
Speaker 6 (46:13):
Spotify or Apple podcasts or wherever they play podcasts.
Speaker 3 (46:18):
Nice.
Speaker 6 (46:18):
I'm not super tick savvy, so I just hope that
people know how to do podcasts.
Speaker 7 (46:25):
I can't tell him how to get there.
Speaker 3 (46:27):
Did you always have a desire to be a teacher
teaching things or is it just something that you decided
to do later.
Speaker 6 (46:34):
On, Well, it was something I did for a while.
A friend of mine had thirty five students and he
was doing The Lion King in San Francisco, the musical.
John made an amazing drummer. So I got thrown into
this thing doing thirty five students. And the idea was
when the Lion King, you know, stops its run, he
(46:56):
can come back and take him over. But it went
for two years, was a huge success. So I suddenly
found myself teaching almost full time for a couple of years.
And that was my introduction to teaching. But I was
also writing for different drum blogs and magazine articles when
I could about drumming, So I like talking about drumming
(47:18):
and I was learning how to teach in that time.
And so now hopefully what I'm trying to do is
is teach from a more experienced way and with more
wisdom and info.
Speaker 3 (47:30):
But you know, got it. So who are you listening
to now nowadays?
Speaker 2 (47:36):
Anything new sticking out at you that's something that you
really enjoy?
Speaker 6 (47:40):
Well, you know, there's not. I mean there's new stuff
all the time that I love. There's all kinds of
drummers now that are playing that are you know, mind blowing,
but I find myself going back to older music still
there are five or six drummers that shaped me. And
(48:01):
and if you consider you know, Ringo, Mick Fleetwood, Stuart Copeland,
I'm trying to think, you know, uh Charlie, Charlie, Nigel
Lols and uh, oh my goodness. And and then I'll
(48:21):
Russ Kunkle. I mean, like all these I end up
going back and what did Russ Kunkle do on running
on empt?
Speaker 2 (48:30):
You know?
Speaker 7 (48:30):
That's I end up wanting to hear that more. But
I do hear new stuff.
Speaker 6 (48:35):
I mean, obviously my students really helped me the most
with that, because they'll often say, you know, I want
to learn this song, and I'll listen to it and go, wow,
that's a great song.
Speaker 8 (48:47):
Baby wooslo Razi.
Speaker 2 (48:50):
Steve Bowman, what a good conversation. Good guy, really interesting background.
There are not a lot of opportunities.
Speaker 3 (48:59):
In this life.
Speaker 2 (49:00):
I have to talk to some of the news open
for the Stones and Dylan's it's not.
Speaker 3 (49:04):
A real common thing.
Speaker 2 (49:06):
So guy's accomplished a lot in his life, really chalented.
Speaker 3 (49:10):
Like I said, on the front end of this thing.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
He plays to the song, which I think.
Speaker 3 (49:14):
Is well, those are my.
Speaker 2 (49:17):
Favorite drummers, the ones that played the play to the song.
Speaker 3 (49:20):
And you know, if.
Speaker 2 (49:22):
You're a fan of Counting Crows, August and everything after,
for sure, the drumming on that record is insane, so good,
so perfect, everything that's just right. So thank you for
being on the show's deep appreciate you listening today. We'll
be back for more episodes at some point here in
the future, doing a little decompressing, reassessing, taking.
Speaker 3 (49:47):
A damn deep breath from life. So thank you so
much for listening. This has been.
Speaker 2 (49:53):
The Figure eights podcast in Minneapolis at the Studio twenty four.
Speaker 3 (49:58):
We will see you next time.
Speaker 5 (50:10):
Maybe's keeping the stuff.
Speaker 9 (50:15):
With my memory answering machine and I lost my comfort
in the past point of seasons.
Speaker 5 (50:26):
Broken down on taxi.
Speaker 4 (50:28):
Can it's time like these.
Speaker 8 (50:33):
Some weakening and the stormy hurts. I guess the ship
to them and the spinstarting move on my side. It's
time like these some weaken leaves and the stormy hurts
(50:58):
and the stormy hurt. I can't she learn to live
in this bird and start movement on myself.
Speaker 4 (51:11):
You just like a clown, You're just like a club.
Speaker 5 (51:31):
You comeback, you comment. You may.
Speaker 4 (52:04):
Be to un in the.
Speaker 8 (52:12):
Evening. The differ be to me the name, to me
to make a fi
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Speaker 2 (00:24):
You are listening to the figure It's podcast. I'm your
host Nick Leap from the band High on Stress out
of Minneapolis, Minnesota, into Dave's episode of Figure Its podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
I bring you Steve Bowman.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
You may know and missed, the original drummer of the
Counting Crows, and he's done some.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Other really cool stuff too. He was the original drummer
of Third Eye Blind.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
He played in a band called Luce who had a
hit single on How to Lose a Guy in Ten
Days and.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Thirteen going on thirty two movies.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
There, really interesting conversation. Really enjoyed getting to know Steve.
And a good guy.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Very talented.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I love a drummer the plays of the song and
that's Steve. So without further ado, I bring in Steve.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
It sweet see that to.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Me.
Speaker 5 (01:20):
It's got my home on work release.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
You gotta be.
Speaker 6 (01:27):
It's beautiful weather in Tennessee and as I was saying,
I've been doing volunteer work at this place, the Gentle
Barn in Tennessee.
Speaker 7 (01:34):
It's a place for.
Speaker 6 (01:37):
Rescued farm animals, farm animals that have been through neglect
or abandonment, and so it's just it's really an amazing
place to be. And I'm doing that a couple of
days a week and teaching a couple of days a week.
And I'm and I'm doing sessions down here in a
small town in Tennessee with local players and.
Speaker 7 (01:59):
Managed to great mix.
Speaker 6 (02:00):
I'm I'm grateful and I feel guilty. My life is
so easy.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
So oh it's been all right. I uh beg of
the best of it.
Speaker 6 (02:12):
Lemons and lemonade.
Speaker 7 (02:13):
I like that.
Speaker 6 (02:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
So how did you learn about the Gentle Barn? Have
you always been a animal animal guy?
Speaker 6 (02:20):
Or it's uh, it's funny because I discovered it because
I took back up. I moved from Nashville to a
little town called Murphysboro, Tennessee.
Speaker 7 (02:33):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (02:33):
And it's not a little town. We do have a
college here, but certainly compared to Nashville, it's a little town.
Speaker 7 (02:40):
And one of the.
Speaker 6 (02:41):
Things I did when I moved down here was by
a little motorcycle and ride it all around these uh
kind of these country roads. Man, you smell like cows
and and uh and grass burned. You know, they burn
their grass out. It smells so good they cut the grass.
Everything is just amazing on a motor cycle. And I
was riding around these backcountry roads once and saw a
(03:04):
sign that said Gentle Barn.
Speaker 7 (03:06):
And at that.
Speaker 6 (03:08):
Time I had this desire to work with animals, especially
big animals, because I would ride the motorcycle and then
ever once all I'd see some cows and I'd pull
over and just look at them and think, I don't know,
how do I get involved with cows or horses? You know,
I don't know any rangers or farmers, and I thought,
(03:30):
who would let me get near their animals? I'm scared
of horses. Well, I discovered this place, the Gentle Barn,
And next thing I know, I was doing a horse
grooming class down there and volunteering every Sunday. And now
I'm down there a couple of days a week and
(03:52):
I show people cows, We do cowhug therapy, and I
show people forty different animals at this beautiful sanctuary.
Speaker 7 (04:04):
And man, it's the easiest job in the world.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
That's cool. That's cool. And you grew up in the
Bay Area, right, Yeah, I grew up at a little different,
very different.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
It's night and day. I mean, I grew up in
a strong, tough urban area. You know, it was a
big city traffic, and I came out here and I
joke with the people at the General Barn I said,
the only horses I ever saw had cops on them,
you know, and now I get to groom them. But yeah,
(04:39):
Oakland was an amazing place to grow up from music.
And yet at fifty seven, you know, I feel like
the small town life is really what I'm ready for.
What I'm interested in, slowing down, meeting authentic, genuine folks,
and you know, it's been wonderful. There's a little little
(05:01):
square down here, and when I first saw it, I
mean it's got like a clock terr. I was like, wow,
it's like a movie set. To me, I thought, is
this what are they doing? You know, back to the
future for But that's what I have down here. I
can you know, I joke. You go into Helen's ice
Cream and you meet Helen.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
You know, it's like I grew up in a small
town in North Dakota. So I think I know Helen
at the ice cream store.
Speaker 6 (05:27):
And maybe, you know, if you grow up that way,
maybe you want to change your world and get away
from it. But I didn't grow up that way, and
to me, it's quaint and comforting.
Speaker 7 (05:39):
And you know, I'm really happy here.
Speaker 6 (05:42):
Yeah, And I'm lucky because I'm not aspiring right now
to do the next big thing, and I'm happy where
I'm at. I'm I'm happy with what I'm doing. And
so it's a real night. It's a luxury, you know.
I mean there was a point in my life where
I was just talking last night with a friend that's
(06:03):
saying there was a point in my life when I
would have felt like, you know, this wasn't successful, like
this is a failure. I'm not doing anything. I'm not
you know whatever. And at this point I'm perfect right here.
So I'm lucky.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Watch whe Well that's it, man.
Speaker 6 (06:23):
And I wouldn't have been happy doing that at twenty
or thirty or forty, but I am now.
Speaker 7 (06:27):
I ride my bike a lot.
Speaker 6 (06:29):
My bicycle, I you know, go sit in the hammock outside,
Like I say, it would be boring for some folks
I'm in.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
That sounds very comforting.
Speaker 7 (06:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
How long were you in Oakland? When did you move?
You go to Oakland to Nashville.
Speaker 6 (06:48):
Yeah, I was in Oakland for the first forty years
of my life, A very long time. Yeah, My my
then wife and our kids were in elementary school at
that point, and we moved in two thousand and six,
and Jen and I separated in twenty seventeen and in
twenty twenty I moved down to a small town. So,
(07:13):
but we were in Nashville for fifteen years, and that
was the game plan because the Bay Area at that time,
in the early two thousands, there were a few things
that were going on, but it wasn't a place you
could really make a living, and well, it didn't seem
so for me, and I know some people do just fine,
(07:36):
but I felt like, if there's a music city, then
I should go there and i'd actually come out with
a band.
Speaker 7 (07:47):
We were actually the Bittersweets.
Speaker 6 (07:49):
We were mixing their first record and it was a
beautiful record. I was so thrilled that we had this
amazing batch of song. And then we brought him to Nashville,
and so I wanted to go and I came to
Nashville and stayed while they mixed it, and it was
mixed by a great local guy, David Henry. He's here
(08:10):
in Nashville. And in that time, I just loved my
time here. I felt so good in Nashville. I was
here for about a week and I had a couple
of friends, I was meeting more people, and just it
was wonderful. And I realized that if I wanted to
(08:30):
extend my career, this was a great place to do it.
And so we, you know, packed up the truck and
moved to Nashville in two thousand and six.
Speaker 7 (08:43):
And it was great. I mean Nashville back then.
Speaker 6 (08:49):
I mean it's only a few years ago, but it
was really a different city.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
And yeah, I've heard it's changed quite a bit even recently.
I've been there about maybe four or five times. I
really like it, and you know, Broadway's fun and all that,
but like once you get away from Broadway, I feel
like it's even better. Like there's just wow, the cool
things to do. That's very like, oh, that's cool for
like the first night.
Speaker 6 (09:11):
Well yeah, but one of the fun things about Nashville
is there's so many different things to do because it's
got great it's got great history, it's got nature, it's
got lots of music. And you know, I always say
you could, you could fill ten days here, day and
night without getting bored.
Speaker 7 (09:30):
And so it's a fun city to show.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Off any any restaurants in particular that you like there.
Speaker 6 (09:38):
Well, you know, if I if I said one, I
would realize I should have said another another one that
I forgot. But okay, I'll tell you a place I love.
There's a place called Woodlands and it is a vegetarian
Indian restaurant.
Speaker 7 (09:54):
Okay, And it sounds like.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
It it might not work, but it actually is one
of the greatest restaurants in Nashville. Kind of a local
hang and I'm sure there will be people hearing this
and saying, why would you say that on that But
one of my favorite spots is Woodland's Vegetarian Indian And
(10:20):
if I thought, I'd come up with eight more. But
you know, it's also changing. It's like there's so many
new places I don't even know about. Every year there's
places closing and opening. So it's like a really evolving
kind of fast moving city right now.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Yeah, it's not vegetarian, but I pharmacy Burger has like
the greatest patio. I don't know if you've ever been
out to pharmacy.
Speaker 7 (10:45):
Yes, that's another one that's great.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
So good.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
And then our friend Sam we were there last year,
our friend Sam from the nineties band Super Greg. He
took us to there's this like southern soul food breakfast
place that was like the greatest thing ever, like, you know,
to give you the pie before you get everything else.
Speaker 7 (11:10):
Probably Monell's.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
I think that might have been what it was. That
sounds right.
Speaker 6 (11:15):
Go in this old house, you sit at the table
with other people and I'm telling you try. You know,
the food is coming, and you try to pace yourself.
Speaker 7 (11:23):
And there's just no way. It comes.
Speaker 6 (11:25):
A more food, more, it comes all around, and then
inevitably you get like you're too full for the the
apple tart or something. It's like damn. But yeah, Monails
is amazing. And you know you mentioned pharmacy. Right directly
across the street is this funky little Mexican place that
(11:47):
a cool hipster lady opened called Moss Taco. It's in
a former garage for they used to work on cars,
and she made it totally cool and serves like three
or four different and things, but they're all unbelievable. So yeah,
there's cool stuff happening, but you know, mostly how.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Far from Nashville are you now?
Speaker 6 (12:09):
Well, I'm about what thirty five miles, you know, forty
five minutes.
Speaker 7 (12:17):
Not bad, not bad.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
I mean, my adult children are still living up in Nashville,
and I can get up there and see them whenever
I want, and I end up going to Nashville a
couple times a month. But it's funny, the longer you're
down here in this little vibe, it's like the harder
it is to want to go to Nashville and deal
with the traffic and the inevitable construction and new streets,
(12:42):
and it's always just you.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Know, pedal pubs.
Speaker 6 (12:46):
Yeah, man, the bachelorette parties and the you know, I mean,
you know, everybody has their thing. When I was in
the Bay Area, we would people wanted to go see
the barking seals in San Francisco, and you know, that
was our thing. Here people want to go see the
you know, people throwing up on broadways.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
So that right, that's night one menu. Yeah, yeah, you.
Speaker 7 (13:11):
Get you know a little of that goes a long way.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Yeah, exactly. So growing up in the Bay Area, so
you were in Oakland proper.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yeah, yeah, Why did you get into music? What was
what was that first record that grabbed you?
Speaker 7 (13:24):
Well, you know, it's the way it started for me.
Speaker 6 (13:29):
Was I And this makes me sound as old as
I am, But I had a little radio and AM radio,
and I would sit, like sit on my bed with
my feet on the wall and just listen to what
was Top forty radio where they just played the Top
forty over and over again, right every hour. It was
(13:50):
like it was like ten or twelve songs and then
they put a couple in, but it's like the same
songs over and So I started.
Speaker 7 (13:58):
Like early seventies.
Speaker 6 (13:59):
I was five or six years old, and I was
really falling in love with songs. And back then it
would have been Carpenter's, Barry Manilow and then you know,
which morphed into Jackson Brown and you know Van Morrison
and just like so, I loved songs as a kid
(14:22):
before I played drums, and I think it was a
lucky hey man, it was a lucky way to go
because when I started playing drums, I was already focusing
on the right thing. I mean, and I say, by
the right thing, I say, the thing that would make
you a living as opposed to yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Yeah, no, I could hear that in your drumming, you've
got that, you've got that nice swing and you played
the song, because there are some drummers that it's more
about the drummer than it is about the song. And
I could tell when you're playing that you're a song guy.
Speaker 6 (14:58):
So it's interesting that well, but I went through that
phase two. I went in the busy phase two. Yeah,
And I did that for a long time as long
as people could stand it. But I finally, you know,
when you're playing, like with count and Crows, the songs
were so amazing that I could get lost at him
and just react and just dance to the song. And
(15:21):
so then I wasn't thinking about, oh, what kind of
slick thing could I do, what kind of you know,
I was just kind of in it, trying to be
the song. What would the you know, what would the
singer do if the singer were playing drums? Right, That's
what I always tell students, because that is well that
(15:44):
that's how you make a living. You know, you become
indispensable to the people that hire you, which are singer songwriters,
and producers and you know all the people that make music.
Speaker 7 (15:57):
That you know, all the people that make music.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Right, Okay, so what did you start playing drums? Pretty early?
Speaker 7 (16:05):
Yeah? I was.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
I was, And once again, through no credit to myself,
the first drum set I saw just put me in
a trance. And I was at a fair with my
family and I remember seeing a drummer and just thinking,
oh my, the drum set.
Speaker 7 (16:22):
You know, the sound, the look, and I.
Speaker 6 (16:26):
Remember just not being able to leave that, you know,
like just fascinated, like I've seen a UFO or something.
Speaker 7 (16:32):
And I was about five or six.
Speaker 6 (16:35):
Well, I got sticks in first grade, so that was
when I started, and I just beat on everything for
a couple of years, and then in third grade my
parents got me this used little drum set, which ended
up being perfect for like until high school, you know,
(16:55):
so wow. I mean, not everybody has parents that will
get my drum set when they're in third grade or
no listening to it, you know, because once you have
a drum set, then everybody has to be on board
for the fact that there's going to be drumming. And
I had other friends that were great drummers and didn't
have good situations at home where they could play, you know, like, yeah,
(17:18):
the only little time amount before dad got home and
then you know whatever. And you know, I was allowed
to just play whenever I wanted.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Were you like the basement or how did the yeah,
where were your drums at? Because that's that was the
thing as you hear so many stories and yeah, you know,
parents wouldn't let you.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
And I was lucky too. My parents were like, they
let me go.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
I had the guitar cranked in the basement and at
about ten o'clock there'd be the flip of the switch
at the top of the stairs, basically like you're done,
You're done. But they let it go. And even at
that point they let my band practice down there. That
was even louder, you said, stairs, But I know, not
everyone is that lucky, I know.
Speaker 7 (17:56):
And you got to open the windows.
Speaker 6 (17:57):
Sometimes when it's hot, it takes a village to uh
support a musician.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
So were you like a basement situation or how do
they Well, it's operation.
Speaker 6 (18:11):
It's funny because we actually did have hours.
Speaker 7 (18:14):
It was nine to nine.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
But how luxurious because we had a downstairs room. And
I say we because my twin brother played bass nice.
I mean really, and so Mike and I I know,
and we would play down there for we allowed from
nine in the morning till nine at night. And my
dad installed this like school bell, like recess bell on
(18:41):
the wall, and they had a button upstairs and if
they ever just said too much that that thing would go.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
That was your switch.
Speaker 6 (18:51):
It would be louder than the biggest part of our
song and we'd stop and like, ah, that's it.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
That's hilarious, that's hilarious. Art is the light switch. I
love it.
Speaker 7 (19:01):
I know, that's funny.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
That's really cool. So what was your first band? Was
it with your brother?
Speaker 6 (19:08):
Yeah? Yeah, my brother and we met a good friend
of ours on the soccer team was Matt Goldstein, and
he got a strat uh stratocaster for Christmas and or
for uh Hanukkah, and we all formed a band right
then in third grade, and we we had we played
(19:29):
my Sharona and Pinball Wizard, and there was one other one.
Speaker 7 (19:34):
I can't remember, but yeah, that was it man.
Speaker 6 (19:37):
And the first time we Mike and I went d
right and then Matt went Jing Jing King and I
remember when he he the first time we did that.
We all just fell apart, laughing.
Speaker 7 (19:50):
Matt fell back on the.
Speaker 6 (19:52):
Bed with his guitar above him, and we were just
cracking up that we were making music, you know.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Yeah, No, it's funny how that moment you I remember
the first time too. And it's funny because if I
had an audio recording of it, I'd probably think it
was the worst sounding thing I'd ever heard.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
But at that moment, I could not.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Believe what was happening, Like it was just yeah, something
about it just it sets its hook right into it.
Speaker 6 (20:14):
Yeah. Well, so that that was third grade, third grade,
And then we met Andy Baxter in high school and
he was a great guitarist singer, songwriter, and so we
did stuff with him, and so, yeah, I've been playing
with others for a long time by the time I
(20:34):
graduated high school and like first answered an ad and that,
you know, started looking for people I didn't know to
play music with.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
You know, right, did your your brother still play still
around doing?
Speaker 6 (20:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Nice?
Speaker 6 (20:47):
Yeah, Mike is a bassist in h He lives in Oregon,
and he didn't pursue it professionally, but he's he's a
great player and he does you know, weekend warrior type stuff.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Got it and you mentioned you put out an ad
everybody kind of move away, go to college or what
was the basis behind well, outside of the group.
Speaker 6 (21:09):
Yeah, I graduated from high school and I wanted to play.
I wanted to play with you know, professional players. Yeah,
my brother wasn't as into it. They were also into
different styles of music. They everybody in my junior high
was kind of into rush and stuff, which I liked,
(21:33):
but it was I loved the songs and when I
remember in eighth grade when I first heard the song
Mission of Mercy from the Motels, which is a record
called All for One, which I still think one of
the greatest. Just the amazing songwriting performances and her voice
is amazing. But I started finding songs that they weren't
(21:58):
really into. They want more notes and you know, and
that's cool. But at that point we kind of diverged
and I needed to find and then I discovered you know, Duran, Duran,
all that stuff I was loving, like.
Speaker 7 (22:15):
Pop music. I've missing persons, all these.
Speaker 6 (22:19):
Bands that were kind of fusing great drumming and beautiful,
powerful music, you know, and so I wanted to do that.
That's how I felt. I had a lot of energy
and I wanted to, you know, hit.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
So you put up an ad looking for a band.
Speaker 7 (22:36):
And well, I answered anad.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
You answered that. Okay, what was the ad? What were
they asking for? Pro gear, pro attitude, looks and looks required.
I can't remember, but I think they must.
Speaker 7 (22:49):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (22:50):
But the funny thing was, yeah, I was eighteen and
they were all in their late twenties, and it was
a band called Your Face?
Speaker 3 (23:04):
What was Your Face? What did they play? That's hilarious.
Speaker 6 (23:09):
It was like kind of aggressive punk, but lighter rock.
It was, you know, it was a start because they
were playing clubs, and so that allowed me to get
on stage and and you know, I mean I'd never
done anything like that. I'd played like a lot of
(23:31):
a lot of birthday parties in ice cream socials and
you know whatever, church picnics, but I hadn't been on
a stage with people that I didn't know watching me.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
So what was the first show? Do you remember?
Speaker 8 (23:49):
No?
Speaker 6 (23:50):
It not positive, but I remember that the first few
shows I played with them, I wasn't twenty one, so
if they got out, there were hassles and we had
to be really careful. And then one night I had
to sit in the dressing room all night because I
wasn't allowed to leave the dressing room, and they let
me play if I just went to the stage and
(24:12):
back to the dressing room. But yeah, it would have
been clubs that don't exist anymore.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
It's kind of the nature of it these days. So
how long did you play with your face? That's a
sentence I never thought i'd say.
Speaker 6 (24:28):
A doctor once asked me that I did that for
a while. And what happened. You know, what happens in
a thriving live music community is that we opened for
other bands, and then I met other people and got
another band, and then another band, and so that's what happened,
(24:50):
and that's what we were all doing when you know
Counting Crows formed in nineteen ninety one.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Yeah, and if you're a good drummer, you're a hot commodity.
And everybody kind of knows, Like the drummer in my
band plays in like five bands because he just gets
all the calls.
Speaker 7 (25:04):
Yeah, well that's great because you know you have.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
A good drummer yet.
Speaker 6 (25:09):
But at that point, you know, Adam and Dave from
count and Gross wanted to put a band together, and
so you know, that was the community that I was
working with, this person, that persons, this person. We all
knew each other and so that's how that came together.
And it happened from me joining your Face and then
playing with you know, I could go down a list
(25:32):
of names, but a lot of.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Bands got it. So they were kind of in another
were they another local band?
Speaker 6 (25:39):
Okay, so you met and yeah, it was actually just
Dave and Adam at that point, and they wanted to
form a band, and so they got Charlie Gillingham who
was an amazing keyboardist played at B three, and then
Matt Malley had been with in Dave's band, Mister Dog,
and I was doing sessions at Mister at Dancing Dog Studios,
(26:04):
which was Dave's studios, so I knew him. It was
just like, you know, who else was there anyway? Just
kind of what year did that form?
Speaker 7 (26:15):
Well?
Speaker 6 (26:15):
Ninety one was, yeah, the end of ninety one, and
they had played some shows before, not shows maybe, but
they had done some recording, recorded some songs and so
but this was going to be the thing like, let's
see if we can do this. So that's when they
(26:36):
put the band.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
Together, got it and was their label. Interest kind of
out of the gate or were you just.
Speaker 6 (26:42):
Well, actually, yeah, there was a weird situation happening with
a label that was interested, and they got us connected
to a lawyer who well, let's just say the lawyer
thought he could maybe do better, and we ended up
(27:03):
losing everything, but with that lawyer and with some other connections,
and then we were just playing clubs like we were,
and it was like, wow, there was this interest from
a major label. That fits out. But by that point
we'd recorded some songs, we were playing live. It was
and there was a lot of momentum because a few
(27:24):
really great key people in town had heard it and
were interested in helping us. Bonnie Simmons was a local
legendary DJ. And what else happened? A few things happened
which led to Robbie Robertson from the band hearing it
(27:46):
that helps well, and he contacted T B I mean
like and then T Bone Burnette produced it. I mean,
like all these weird things. So back in that time
there were weird things happening with bands bidding wars from
labels and like, I mean, you can't even imagine it now.
It doesn't happen then. But I was on kind of
(28:07):
the last what the last kind of major label band reponsibility. Yeah, yeah,
because it's not that way now.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
No.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
No, So when you were when you started playing with
that kind of grows that first album, were you playing
no songs or is it another batch before it or
was it just this was the batch?
Speaker 6 (28:29):
There were some of those songs and then some that
that were written new songs, But there were yeah, a
few of them.
Speaker 7 (28:38):
Were songs that I learned.
Speaker 6 (28:40):
Some we revamped songs they'd done before but wanted to
try different versions of them.
Speaker 7 (28:45):
So yeah, but there were there were you know.
Speaker 6 (28:48):
Dave had a studio, Dave Bryson had Dancing Dog studios,
So whenever you wanted to record, just going to Dave's
studio and it was a great studio, sixteen track, two
inch and so you'd come out with stuff that sounded
really super professional and good and and so that was
a luxury.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
That is a luxury, especially at that time.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
Oh yeah, studio costs were not cheap if you had
to go so nice. So in that badge, Well, how
did the interest from Geffen come about? Because ultimately that's
where uh d G.
Speaker 6 (29:29):
David Geffen Company. Well, I can't you know, I would
probably get it wrong if I tried to talk about that.
But I know that Gary Gersh was the executive producer.
I had just come to Geffen and he had brought
with them Nirvana, so clot Yeah, and so because I
(29:56):
mean he was with Kevin the executive producer, I don't
know what happened.
Speaker 7 (30:00):
There were a few labels that were.
Speaker 6 (30:01):
Looking and they went out and so, yeah, I'm just
a dumb drummer on those things. Sometimes I say more
than I should because I'm not positive about all the
details of the business.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Sure, So when you finished that record, what was the
you know, what was the feeling. Did everybody kind of
feel like, wow, we really have something here, or any
songs that stood out that you thought, wow, this might
be a hit. I was quite this fascinating because it's
usually not the song that people would think.
Speaker 7 (30:32):
Well, yeah, we didn't know.
Speaker 6 (30:34):
I mean, we didn't know what was but we were
I just wanted to get on the road. I thought
we're going to be able to tour. That's a dream
come true. And and you know, we wanted to sell
enough so that we could do another record. And I
remember Charlie Gillingham saying, I think this record could sell
one hundred thousand copies. And I remember Adam said, don't
(30:59):
be so pessimistic, you know, and but I had no idea. Again,
it's just you know, Bonnie Simmons actually used to say,
good music rises, and I think it was good music,
great songwriting, great well thanks. I mean, I'm grateful and
proud to have been a part of it. But you
(31:21):
know that it caught the attention of David Letterman. He
loved the record insisted we be on Letterman. So that's huge.
Oh yeah, I love Letterman. And then we did Saturday
Night Live again because the person who picks the bands
(31:41):
loved the record. And so you know, it's one thing
to get in there because you're hot and the latest thing,
and they got to put you in because you'd get viewers.
Speaker 7 (31:51):
But we got it.
Speaker 6 (31:52):
Initially in those first two shows, we weren't selling a
lot of records and.
Speaker 7 (31:59):
We all so, you know, because of Geffen, we had
you know, MTV.
Speaker 6 (32:05):
We were in the buzz bin of MTV, which meant
they played our video every hour. It's like a commercial
for your record, you know, and that is a Geffen thing.
You know.
Speaker 7 (32:14):
Geffen says, hey, if you want Nirvana's next record, put
these guys in.
Speaker 6 (32:18):
You know, that's all business. But so got lucky things there,
Lucky Briggs.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
But you know, Yeah, my friend Martin played on. He's
in a band called the gear Daddies and they ended
up playing on Letterman. This late eighties I think was
a similar thing though, where it was like somebody who
worked for Letterman was just listening to a gear Daddy's
record like around and he heard it and was like,
what's this?
Speaker 3 (32:43):
I want them on the show.
Speaker 6 (32:45):
Well, you know, I gotta tell you be behind the
scenes story because it makes Adam. It shows how dedicated
Adam was to the to the musicians and the band.
When we got called to do Letterman, we were all thrilled, right,
and they said, oh, they just want Adam. We're like
(33:06):
what they wanted, just the singer because they got a band.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
They guess what they used to do. Yeah, my friend
Martin had one guy with him and then the Letterman band.
Speaker 6 (33:16):
Yeah yeah, Well we had some friends, Toad the wetsprocket
who'd just done Letterman, and my friend Randy the drummer
was playing tambourine next to Anton fig who was playing drums,
playing his parts it's like.
Speaker 7 (33:29):
That is so crazy. Well, so that's what they said
to us.
Speaker 6 (33:33):
We just want Adam. And so Adam, to his credit,
said well, we have a band, so let us know
when you want a band. And they said, oh what
and they called back and yeah, I know. And they
called back and said, all right, we will take the band.
We'd like to have Paul Sheef or play with you
if it's all right, he's our you know, the keyboardist,
Like Adam said, we have a keyboardist. Thanks though, wow,
(33:59):
and then the confidence you realize what this means and
uh and said yeah.
Speaker 7 (34:06):
So what I heard was that it was Letterman himself.
Speaker 6 (34:09):
Who said, get these guys on the fucking show and
stop messing around with who's on the stage and let's go.
Speaker 7 (34:16):
So I'm glad to hear that. That was the story
I heard.
Speaker 6 (34:20):
And then yeah, so uh anyway, but all credit goes
to Adam because he could have just said all right,
I'll do.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
It with the most people.
Speaker 2 (34:30):
At that point, it would have been the band would
have had to be like this sucks, but it's good
to the band.
Speaker 6 (34:35):
We were sitting in the third row watching like oh well,
but and it would have been great. The band is
so good. They would have been you know, it would
have been yeah, it's still yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
They moved away from that over the years. You might
have been one of the first.
Speaker 7 (34:53):
Well, I don't know.
Speaker 6 (34:55):
There was another point Adam had great confidence. We got
to four star review from Rolling Stone, which is great
and four to five. So they asked Adam what he
thought of the review. He said, well, they missed a star.
It's like, I mean, that's what it takes.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
Right, Yeah, no, I think it does. Some people might
just kind of shake their heads.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
But you know, the people who make it, it seems like,
are the ones that are like, no, this is great
and we're gonna do this thing.
Speaker 6 (35:28):
And what it means is when you get onto a
big show, you're not nervous. You don't feel like, oh,
You're like, this is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing.
Ready started up. That's how we always felt. I mean,
I couldn't wait to get on stage. It was like,
you know, who.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
Are you touring with?
Speaker 2 (35:48):
I suppose you probably had an opening slot out of
the gate for somebody, right.
Speaker 6 (35:52):
We toured with a lot of folks. Started out with
the Cranberries and Swayed and we made Night Away a Dylan.
We did some shows with Bob Dylan Chamby and a
few others. But we did the Stones Tour that was
(36:12):
a big deal. Wow, the Voodoo Lounge Tour nineteen ninety four.
Oh yeah, so yeah, a few of those, and then
started just headlining our own stuff and doing theaters.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
Was was Dylan kind off on his own or did
he did he chat with you? I've heard differing some
people that I've talked to that have played with him,
it's like never saw. Some other people are like he
showed up in a hoodie and just started chatting with.
Speaker 6 (36:39):
Well, what happened with I mean with us was that
he would show up right before the band, like the
band is standing on the side of the stage ready
to walk on, and a van pulls up and he
would come out in a boxing robe, right like a
prize fighter on his way and he'd get to the
(36:59):
stage stand there, they'd take off the rope, put a
cool hat on him, and he'd walk up and then
when he came off, they take the hat off with
the robe ontom back to the van. We never even
made eye contact with Dylan.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
That's so great though, Like obviously you want to like
meet him, have conversations. But there's just something about the
Dylan as this strange figure in your experience.
Speaker 3 (37:28):
Uh yeah, what a weird thing.
Speaker 6 (37:31):
You know, a conversation with a young band and Bob
Dylan is you know, a gift from Bob Dylan.
Speaker 7 (37:38):
What's he going to get out of it?
Speaker 6 (37:39):
You know?
Speaker 3 (37:40):
Yeah? Were they around at all?
Speaker 7 (37:43):
Or were they kind of stones were the complete opposite.
Speaker 6 (37:46):
Man. They were totally into hanging and they had this
huge dressing room with like pool tables and and uh
you know, the catering was nuts. Everything was insane, and
they wanted us to hang out with him. One night,
we are managers came and we were having a meeting
after the soundcheck, and we would normally go hang out
(38:07):
in there and they'd be sitting around you know. Yeah,
Keith Richard's sitting there playing an acoustic guitar with no
shoes on. I mean that's you know. Uh and uh so,
uh we went and we were having a meeting with
our managers and this guy knocks on the doors. You know,
you're welcome to come in the room, you know, yeah, man,
you know we'll be there in a sec. We're just
(38:29):
having a meeting. I mean like we weren't there one
night and they called us in. That's how cool they were.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Yeah, my friend Slim was in the replacements they opened
for for the Stones, and he he said, we got
to hang out with with Keith Richards, which was amazing.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
And he was a good hang. He was out, was
in a good mood.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Just don't I saw somebody touch his cassette player and
he almost ended them, So why change his music?
Speaker 6 (38:59):
Yeah, he was a good hang.
Speaker 7 (39:01):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (39:02):
Well I can't imagine.
Speaker 7 (39:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (39:05):
I had a couple kind of in depth conversations with
Mick Jagger of all people, like I'm just hanging around
sitting there you I mean, he'd sit down next to me,
we start talking.
Speaker 7 (39:13):
I couldn't believe it.
Speaker 4 (39:15):
Uh.
Speaker 7 (39:16):
That was.
Speaker 6 (39:18):
They were all very accessible, except for Charlie Watts, of course,
the guy wanted to meet the most.
Speaker 7 (39:24):
He didn't hang much.
Speaker 3 (39:26):
He was hanging to suit up in his hotel room.
Speaker 7 (39:29):
Well, but the last night, the last night of.
Speaker 6 (39:31):
The tour, he you always like to take pictures with
both bands the last night of the run, and so
we were taking a picture and I got to meet
him and and it was really really neat. He says.
Speaker 7 (39:48):
He says, you're the drummonet.
Speaker 6 (39:50):
And shakes my hand and I crushed his hand like
a you know, that was the joke. They won't be
able to play now because Steve christ I didn't anyway,
but yeah, met him that night and uh and then
that was it. But I saw him one time, nice
wow in a suit with a big glass of red wine,
(40:12):
just like looked like he might. But we're at Giant
Stadium in this cement hallway.
Speaker 3 (40:18):
You know. It's like so it's like that's for strange. Yeah,
what a trip.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
And then you were on Rolling Cover, Rolling Stone as well.
No issues with them, just wanting at.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Him for that.
Speaker 6 (40:30):
I can't remember. They probably did. I mean they probably
pitched it on that one. I remember he had a
friend of ours band he was wearing their shirt and
they said, hey, let's get rid of that band name,
and like that was the argument.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
Who was the band? Do you remember?
Speaker 7 (40:49):
No, you can look it up, but.
Speaker 6 (40:53):
It was a band that was opening for us probably
and I can't remember, but but they wanted it off.
He wanted it on, and you know, you never knew.
It was like all right, well, maybe we're not going
to be on the cover. I guess we are, you
know so, but I think they worked it out in
the end.
Speaker 3 (41:10):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Nice and you were so you were in Counting Crows
for a few years and then you moved on.
Speaker 3 (41:15):
What did you do after that?
Speaker 6 (41:17):
Well, the very next thing I did was was Third
Eye Blind. And it was probably too early for me
to do another band at that point one because they
were really wild rock stars and that was kind of
intimidating for me. Also, I had little money in the
bank from Counting Crows, and I was like, it wasn't
(41:40):
taken much. Well, I wasn't putting myself in uncomfortable positions,
which I maybe should have. But I did that for
a few months, and I was trying to help them,
you know, with my kind of connections. They already had
some of their own. We were kind of building this
thing up. But that was cool. I didn't play drums
(42:00):
for a while after that. I got into books and
reading and collecting books and stuff, and like, it's funny
when when you get a little money in the bank,
you kind of figure out what you're really interested in,
and that.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
How much you're not interested in.
Speaker 6 (42:17):
I mean, one of the reasons I hate to say it,
but One of the reasons I love working with animals
is because, uh, it's easier than working with.
Speaker 3 (42:26):
People, easier than lead singers.
Speaker 7 (42:30):
Well, you know, yeah, you.
Speaker 3 (42:35):
Didn't say it.
Speaker 6 (42:36):
I said, yeah, you don't put on the cover rolling Stone.
But once that's okay for you, then it's a great life.
Speaker 3 (42:43):
I already did that. Yeah, that's funny.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
So what what brought you back into playing again after
all those years of reading books and finding books?
Speaker 6 (42:52):
Well, I always played, and I always, you know, like
I always say, I answered the phone, I just don't
dial it. And and so so fortunately I've had enough
calls to keep me going. And I have friends that
are doing things and they call me when they you know,
And so I'm I work enough at this point. I
don't like moving drums. I mean, I'm sorry, it's terrible.
(43:15):
Like any young drummers, please cover your ears. But like
I don't like moving drums. I don't like staying out late,
and so, uh that disqualifies me from a lot of possibilities.
Speaker 7 (43:27):
And that's okay.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
What So what you said? What two thousand and seven.
Speaker 7 (43:33):
You moved to two thousand and six, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:37):
Okay, So with that band? Were you playing in that
band that you were working with or were you the with.
Speaker 7 (43:43):
The Bitter Suites.
Speaker 6 (43:44):
Yeah, with the Bitter Swites, we did two records, and
the second record, they actually moved out here and we
recorded record for Compass Records out here in Nashville and
toured it. But uh it, uh well, it just wasn't
working financially and time wise, and so what I really
(44:07):
started focusing on when I got to Nashville was just
doing sessions, trying to do sessions, and I did some touring,
but I really love recording and so that was kind
of my bag for a long time. Yeah, we did
two records and then I started doing sessions in town
and they continued as a duo, and I did a
(44:32):
lot of stuff in Nashville. I've always done teaching, kind
of at a as a part time, kind of went
offs with folks that are visiting town, or I have
some weekly lessons that I'm doing now down here now.
And I should point out that I have a website
that talks about all the things I do educationally, and
(44:55):
it's a MOO Moo lab dot org, Murphysboro Music Lab
m U l A B dot O r G.
Speaker 3 (45:03):
And what kinds of things are you doing?
Speaker 6 (45:05):
There well, working with drummers, working with singer songwriters, working
with bands, and trying to well, trying to convey to
young players what I learned in my thirty year career.
See if I can get people started to hit the
ground running and maybe do it with less pain and.
Speaker 3 (45:29):
Yeah, yeah, right, don't do this, do that.
Speaker 7 (45:35):
Well.
Speaker 6 (45:35):
I also did a podcast I should mention Letters to
an aspiring musician, is available at all the podcast places,
and and that was the whole thing was you know,
uh yeah, learn from what I did. Here's what I did,
what I say I said, it was what I saw,
what I did, and what I could have done better.
(45:58):
Nice was the you know ten part series for any
young musicians. It's basically, after thirty years of the music business,
this is what I wish i'd know. And so check
it out.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
That's pretty cool. So where can you find that?
Speaker 6 (46:13):
Spotify or Apple podcasts or wherever they play podcasts.
Speaker 3 (46:18):
Nice.
Speaker 6 (46:18):
I'm not super tick savvy, so I just hope that
people know how to do podcasts.
Speaker 7 (46:25):
I can't tell him how to get there.
Speaker 3 (46:27):
Did you always have a desire to be a teacher
teaching things or is it just something that you decided
to do later.
Speaker 6 (46:34):
On, Well, it was something I did for a while.
A friend of mine had thirty five students and he
was doing The Lion King in San Francisco, the musical.
John made an amazing drummer. So I got thrown into
this thing doing thirty five students. And the idea was
when the Lion King, you know, stops its run, he
(46:56):
can come back and take him over. But it went
for two years, was a huge success. So I suddenly
found myself teaching almost full time for a couple of years.
And that was my introduction to teaching. But I was
also writing for different drum blogs and magazine articles when
I could about drumming, So I like talking about drumming
(47:18):
and I was learning how to teach in that time.
And so now hopefully what I'm trying to do is
is teach from a more experienced way and with more
wisdom and info.
Speaker 3 (47:30):
But you know, got it. So who are you listening
to now nowadays?
Speaker 2 (47:36):
Anything new sticking out at you that's something that you
really enjoy?
Speaker 6 (47:40):
Well, you know, there's not. I mean there's new stuff
all the time that I love. There's all kinds of
drummers now that are playing that are you know, mind blowing,
but I find myself going back to older music still
there are five or six drummers that shaped me. And
(48:01):
and if you consider you know, Ringo, Mick Fleetwood, Stuart Copeland,
I'm trying to think, you know, uh Charlie, Charlie, Nigel
Lols and uh, oh my goodness. And and then I'll
(48:21):
Russ Kunkle. I mean, like all these I end up
going back and what did Russ Kunkle do on running
on empt?
Speaker 2 (48:30):
You know?
Speaker 7 (48:30):
That's I end up wanting to hear that more. But
I do hear new stuff.
Speaker 6 (48:35):
I mean, obviously my students really helped me the most
with that, because they'll often say, you know, I want
to learn this song, and I'll listen to it and go, wow,
that's a great song.
Speaker 8 (48:47):
Baby wooslo Razi.
Speaker 2 (48:50):
Steve Bowman, what a good conversation. Good guy, really interesting background.
There are not a lot of opportunities.
Speaker 3 (48:59):
In this life.
Speaker 2 (49:00):
I have to talk to some of the news open
for the Stones and Dylan's it's not.
Speaker 3 (49:04):
A real common thing.
Speaker 2 (49:06):
So guy's accomplished a lot in his life, really chalented.
Speaker 3 (49:10):
Like I said, on the front end of this thing.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
He plays to the song, which I think.
Speaker 3 (49:14):
Is well, those are my.
Speaker 2 (49:17):
Favorite drummers, the ones that played the play to the song.
Speaker 3 (49:20):
And you know, if.
Speaker 2 (49:22):
You're a fan of Counting Crows, August and everything after,
for sure, the drumming on that record is insane, so good,
so perfect, everything that's just right. So thank you for
being on the show's deep appreciate you listening today. We'll
be back for more episodes at some point here in
the future, doing a little decompressing, reassessing, taking.
Speaker 3 (49:47):
A damn deep breath from life. So thank you so
much for listening. This has been.
Speaker 2 (49:53):
The Figure eights podcast in Minneapolis at the Studio twenty four.
Speaker 3 (49:58):
We will see you next time.
Speaker 5 (50:10):
Maybe's keeping the stuff.
Speaker 9 (50:15):
With my memory answering machine and I lost my comfort
in the past point of seasons.
Speaker 5 (50:26):
Broken down on taxi.
Speaker 4 (50:28):
Can it's time like these.
Speaker 8 (50:33):
Some weakening and the stormy hurts. I guess the ship
to them and the spinstarting move on my side. It's
time like these some weaken leaves and the stormy hurts
(50:58):
and the stormy hurt. I can't she learn to live
in this bird and start movement on myself.
Speaker 4 (51:11):
You just like a clown, You're just like a club.
Speaker 5 (51:31):
You comeback, you comment. You may.
Speaker 4 (52:04):
Be to un in the.
Speaker 8 (52:12):
Evening. The differ be to me the name, to me
to make a fi
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