Monday, August 3, 2009

August 2 Steven Bowers


This is Steven Bowers latest CD, Homing and a picture of him performing on stage. You probably never heard of him. Here's the story of how I met him.
A few years ago, Chrissy & I drove across Canada to Nova Scotia, then drove back through the US. It was a dreary October day on Prince Edward Island. It had stormed all day. By the time we found the Trailside Cafe & Inn, it was about 8:30pm. The owner apologized profusely about screwing up our reservations. He said an artist friend of his would put us up for the night just a few blocks away. He took us to Mary's house and kept apologizing. He said he would feel better if we came back to the café to watch the musician performing that night. Anything we ordered was on him. We settled in, washed up and headed downstairs to chat with Mary. The old lady was very engaging so we invited her to go with us to the Trailside Café. She declined. She wanted to finish the book she was reading. She told us to enjoy the latest traveling troubadour. The Café was almost empty. Only about six people were there. A young man with an acoustic guitar walks onto the stage, then he says since the crowd is so small, why don't we all move to the middle and he'll play while sitting at one of the tables. After two songs, I am a fan. He is a gifted songwriter. I felt sorry that no one was there to see him. As he tells stories about the songs, takes requests and spends time just talking about music, songwriting and living life, he continues to perform as if it is a packed house. He introduces his father, who came with him from Halifax, Nova Scotia. During a break, I began talking with Steven's father. I tell him his son is a great songwriter and performer. Then Steven sits with us and we talk about music. The conversation continues long after he is done playing. Steven asks about our trip and when we say we'll be in Nova Scotia next week he gives me his phone number and insists we call if we need a place to stay in Halifax. I bought his CD, Tired Light. We listened to that CD every day for the rest of the trip. We didn't take him up on his offer, we drove straight through Halifax. The whole trip I kept thinking that kid deserves to be heard by more than 6 people. He really is very talented. When I got home, I found out that Steven Bowers is very well known in Canada. He has won the Canadian Grammy for songwriting. I would have never guessed it. He was extremely humble about my praise for his music. So now you have heard of Steven Bowers, check him out and support a fantastic musician.

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