Bob Bowen

Bob is originally from McLean, Virginia. He was always fascinated with the power of music: how it affects people; how it changes the musician personally; how people react to it within the crowd. It is a great escape from reality and can change your mood. He began playing electric bass at age 12, the same day his twin brother, Steve, started playing guitar. He started out playing what is now considered classic rock: The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix, taking private lessons with Peter Mark Prince and playing in the school jazz labs. At the same time his older brother, John, played trumpet and got him involved with the McLean Jazz Workshop, a big band youth orchestra. They played big band arrangements and shows such as The 1940's Radio Hour.

Bob took a Music Business degree from Radford University where he studied string bass with Ed Mikenas. After graduation he worked a duo with pianist Bonnie Todenhoft at the Greenbriar Resort in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia. Then he toured with The Gibb Droll Band playing upright bass in a pop-rock setting. The band toured clubs, colleges, festivals, and Amphitheaters performing back-to-back with other bands such as Merl Saunders, The Rain Forrest Band and Widespread Panic. Their venues included Blues Alley (DC), The Bayou (DC), Blockbuster Pavilion (Charlotte, NC), Walnut Creek Amphitheater (Raleigh, NC), The Wetlands (NYC), Mercury (Austin, TX), Buddy Guy's (Chicago), Aware '98 Showcase (Nashville, TN), Bayfest '98 (Mobile), and the Fox Theater (Boulder). Bob is currently free-lancing in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina with many groups including the Bob Peckman Jazz Band.