American singer-songwriter
Kevin Bowe
Born (1961-02-27 ) February 27, 1961 (age 63) Origin
Minneapolis , Minnesota, U.S. Genres
Alternative rock ,
roots rock ,
blues Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter, producer Instrument(s) Guitar Years active 1979–present
Musical artist
Kevin Bowe (born February 27, 1961) is an American songwriter, record producer and musician from
Minneapolis . He is best known for his work with prominent rock and blues artists including
Paul Westerberg
[1] and the
Replacements ;
[2] writing songs for hit albums by
Jonny Lang
[3]
[4] and
Kenny Wayne Shepherd ;
[5] as well as
Etta James ' Grammy-winning
Let's Roll .
[6] He has contributed to dozens of albums over his career,
[7] including several of his own as a bandleader; he has appeared on many film and television soundtracks
[8] including
ESPN
[9] and
The Sopranos .
[10] His songs have been covered by many prominent rock and blues artists, including
Joe Cocker ,
Lynyrd Skynyrd ,
Robben Ford , and
John Mayall .
Career
After growing up in rural Minnesota, Bowe became part of the burgeoning rock scene in early 1980s Minneapolis which spawned
Hüsker Dü and The Replacements,
[11] fronting
alternative rock and
Americana bands including The Dads,
[12] Summer of Love,
[13] and The Revelators.
[14] His career began when his Revelators song "Riverside" was covered by Kenny Wayne Shepherd on his platinum-selling album
Ledbetter Heights
[5] leading to a songwriting contract with rock legends
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1997.
[15] Bowe discovered blues guitarist Jonny Lang, then still a teenager, at a blues jam in
Fargo, North Dakota .
[16] He contributed songs for Lang's breakthrough hit albums
Lie To Me in 1997
[3] and the
Grammy -nominated
Wander This World in 1998.
[4] The next year, Bowe made his debut as a producer with another teenage blues guitarist,
Shannon Curfman 's
Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions .
[17]
Bowe's most famous work has been as a songwriter for other artists. He co-wrote four songs on Etta James’ 2003 Grammy-winning album
Let's Roll ,
[18] including "The Blues Is My Business," which was later covered by
E Street Band guitarist
Little Steven Van Zandt on his solo record
Soulfire .
[19] Other notable songs include "Sault Ste. Marie", covered by Three Dog Night
[20] as well as Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Dead Man Walkin'" (co-written with the band) on the 2003 album Vicious Cycle .
[21]
[22]
Bowe has a longstanding friendship and working relationship with Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg, having begun as contemporaries starting out in the Minneapolis music scene.
[23] Bowe's band The Dads were the headliners at the earliest known recorded live performance of the Replacements, at Minneapolis club
Jay's Longhorn Bar in July 1980.
[24] He played guitar in Westerberg's solo touring band His Only Friends in the early 2000s,
[1]
[2]
[12]
[25] and joined the Replacements in 2012 to record the six-song EP
Songs for Slim .
[26] The band also recorded at Bowe's home studio around that time, though none of the material from those sessions has yet been released.
[27]
Besides Westerberg, Bowe (often with his band Okemah Prophets) has also frequently been a touring or live backing musician for
Freedy Johnston
[28] and the
Jayhawks '
Gary Louris .
[29] Bowe has produced records by several notable Minneapolis bands, including indie-folk band
Communist Daughter 's 2016 album, The Cracks That Built the Wall,
[30]
[31]
[32] and punk group
Suicide Commandos ' comeback album Time Bomb .
[33]
[34]
Work as a primary performer
Bowe has released five albums with his roots-rock band the Okemah Prophets, most recently Every Part of the Buffalo . 2012's Natchez Trace included a song co-written with Westerberg, "Everybody Lies,"
[23] and guest performances by Westerberg, the
Meat Puppets ,
Wilco guitarist
Nels Cline ; Communist Daughter's Johnny Solomon and Molly Moore; Jayhawks drummer Tim O'Reagan, Freedy Johnston,
Chuck Prophet , Phil Solem of the
Rembrandts , and
Bob Dylan violinist
Scarlet Rivera
[35]
[28]
[36] The band is named after folk singer
Woody Guthrie 's birthplace,
Okemah, Oklahoma .
[37] The band has received critical praise for Bowe's songwriting, which
No Depression magazine says is "criminally catchy."
[38]
Personal life
Bowe also taught music and audio production at Minneapolis' Institute of Production & Recording.
[30] His wife, Ruth Whitney Bowe started Fine Line Music Cafe, a Minneapolis nightclub in 1987 and owned it until 1990.
[39] The couple began dating shortly after Bowe performed at the club around the time of its opening.
[9]
Prince asked her later to help him open another club in downtown Minneapolis, Glam Slam.
[40]
[41]
Selected discography
As main performer
Kevin Bowe and the Okemah Prophets :
[42]
Every Part of the Buffalo (2018, Okemah Records)
Natchez Trace (2012, Okemah Records)
Angels on the Freeway (2003, Corazong Records)
Love Songs & Murder Ballads (2001, Okemah Records)
Restoration (2000, Orchard)
The Revelators :
Blackie Ford's Revenge (1994, Sun House Records)
[14]
As writer, producer or backing musician
1995:
Kenny Wayne Shepherd ,
Ledbetter Heights (writer)
[5]
1997:
Jonny Lang ,
Lie To Me (writer)
[43]
1998:
Jonny Lang ,
Wander This World (writer)
[44]
1999:
Shannon Curfman ,
Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions (writer, producer)
[45]
2000:
Peter Case ,
Flying Saucer Blues (writer)
[46]
2000: Where the Heart Is (Original Soundtrack) (writer)
[47]
2001:
John Mayall , Along for the Ride (writer)
[48]
2002:
Ana Popović , Hush' (writer)
[49]
2001:
The Proclaimers ,
Persevere (guitarist)
[50]
2002:
Three Dog Night , Three Dog Night With the London Symphony Orchestra (writer)
[20]
2002:
Robben Ford , Blue Moon (writer)
[51]
2003:
Etta James ,
Let's Roll (writer)
[6]
2003:
Lynyrd Skynyrd ,
Vicious Cycle (writer)
2004:
Warren Brothers ,
Well Deserved Obscurity (writer)
[52]
2005:
Tommy Castro ,
Soul Shaker (writer, producer)
[53]
2006:
Paul Westerberg , Open Season (producer)
[54]
2006:
John Brannen , Twilight Tattoo (writer)
[55]
2007:
Tommy Castro , Painkiller (writer)
[56]
2009:
Meat Puppets ,
Sewn Together (mixer, guitarist, dulcimer, percussion)
[57]
2012:
Communist Daughter , Lions And Lambs (producer)
2012:
Joe Cocker ,
Fire It Up (writer)
[58]
2012:
The Replacements ,
Songs for Slim (guitarist)
2014:
Tommy Castro , The Devil You Know (writer)
[59]
2014:
Mark Boone Jr. , Bang Bang (producer, guitarist)
[60]
2015:
Communist Daughter , Sing Sad Christmas (producer)
2015:
Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Method to My Madness (writer)
[61]
2016:
Communist Daughter , The Cracks That Built The Wall (producer)
2016:
Ana Popović ,
Trilogy (writer)
[62]
2017:
Steve Van Zandt ,
Soulfire (writer)
[63]
2017:
Suicide Commandos , Time Bomb (producer)
[33]
[64]
References
^
a
b MacDonald, Patrick (February 18, 2005).
"Are you a friend of Paul Westerberg?" .
The Seattle Times . Seattle.
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^
a
b Jim Walsh (November 30, 2009).
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ISBN
978-1-61673-978-2 .
Archived from the original on July 14, 2018.
^
a
b
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AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^
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b
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^
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c Owens, Thom.
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^
a
b Henderson, Alex.
Etta James – Let's Roll at
AllMusic . Retrieved 14 July 2018.
^
Kevin Bowe – Credits at
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^ John Bowe; Marisa Bowe; Sabin Streeter (February 4, 2009).
Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs . Crown/Archetype. pp. 327–.
ISBN
978-0-307-56576-1 .
Archived from the original on July 14, 2018.
^
a
b Bruch, Michelle (October 29, 2012).
"An album of his own" . Southwest Journal . Minneapolis. Retrieved July 1, 2018 .
^
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^ Hage, Erik.
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^
a
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978-0-306-82203-2 .
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a
b
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^
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978-0-8166-7642-2 .
^
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a
b
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AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^ Randy Poe (November 16, 2005).
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ISBN
1-59963-330-2 .
^
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Dead Man Walkin' at
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^
a
b
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^
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^
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^ Gensler, Andy (April 24, 2015).
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^
a
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MPR News .
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^ Riemenschneider, Chris (April 29, 2013).
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permanent dead link ]
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a
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Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2018 .
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Twin/Tone . 2017. p. 3.
Archived (PDF) from the original on June 15, 2017. {{
cite AV media notes }}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link )
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^
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^
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^
Wander This World at
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^
Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions at
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^
Peter Case – Flying Saucer Blues at
AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^
Where the Heart Is (Original Soundtrack) at
AllMusic . Retrieved 13 July 2018.
^
John Mayall – Along For the Ride at
AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^
Ana Popovic – Hush at
AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^ Azpiri, Jon.
The Procl;aimers – Persevere at
AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^
Robben Ford – Blue Moon at
AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^
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^
Tommy Castro – Soul Shaker at
AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^
Open Season (Original Soundtrack) at
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^
John Brannen – Twilight Tattoo at
AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^
Tommy Castro – Painkiller at
AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^
Meat Puppets – Sewn Together at
AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^
Joe Cocker – Fire It Up at
AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^
Tommy Castro – The Devil You Know at
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^
Mark Boone Jr. – Bang Bang at
AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^
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AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^
Ana Popovic – Trilogy at
AllMusic . Retrieved 15 May 2018.
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archived from the original on October 21, 2017, retrieved June 29, 2018
^
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Suicide Commandos . Minneapolis:
Twin/Tone . 2017. p. 3.
Archived (PDF) from the original on June 15, 2017. {{
cite AV media notes }}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link )
External links
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