Wade Bowen drawing on real life for his music, playing Oklahoma City’s Wormy Dog Saloon
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Wade Bowen’s honest songwriting, taken from the pages of his own life, makes him an open book for his fans.
The singer-songwriter cites truthfulness in the music and sincerity in the camaraderie often when discussing what makes the red dirt/Texas music scene distinctive.
“I look at my last two albums as open diaries for people, and the more I get to know these … other artists, I feel that they do the same thing,” Bowen said at last month’s Country Fever Music Festival in Pryor.
“They talk about things that are very personal to them, they keep it very honest and open. When we play shows together, we invite each other out on stage and sing songs and play guitar … and it’s out of true friendship more than anything. And I think that’s just the coolest thing.
“I think that’s why people are drawn to this music so much right now.”
The Waco, Texas, native will play Oklahoma City’s Wormy Dog Saloon tonight before embarking Sunday on The Big Music Cruise of the Western Caribbean with Cross Canadian Ragweed, Stoney LaRue, Stephanie Briggs, and more of his red dirt/Texas music cohorts.
Known for playing more than 200 shows a year, Bowen is touring in support of his third studio album, “If We Ever Make It Home,” released last fall. All Music Guide declares that with it, “the Lone Star troubadour proves himself a challenger for the Red Dirt Music throne.”
“I’m in my 11th year of doing it, and it’s been a crazy roller coaster ride, but it’s been a blast,” Bowen said of his music career.
He wrote poetry and prose from an early age and was given his first guitar when he was 9. But he really picked up the instrument as a 17-year-old inspired by Texas singer-songwriters Guy Clark and Robert Earl Keen.
At Texas Tech University, he studied marketing and started the band West 84 with friend Matt Miller. In 2001, Bowen graduated, moved to Austin and started performing under his name.
He released his debut album “Try Not to Listen” on his own in 2002, and with relentless touring, the title track cracked the Top 10 on the Texas Music Chart. He followed up with “Live at the Blue Light” and “Lost Hotel” in 2006.
The father of two sons said he taps real-life experiences for his music.
“Over the past few years, I’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from my family and from the road, and the constant battle of trying to balance the two out,” said Bowen, whose brother-in-law is Ragweed frontman and former Oklahoma resident Cody Canada.
“That’s been the focal point of my marriage for the past two or three years, the constant battle of staying in love and staying in love with the road as well. It’s a hard balance.”
On his new album, the songs “Turn On The Lights” and “From Bad To Good” are based on his wife Shelby’s struggle with postpartum depression. “Why Makes Perfect Sense,” which he co-wrote with pal Randy Rogers, conveys the loneliness of the road. The title track expresses the concerned father’s desire for love and peace to overcome hate and fear in the world.
“When we first started running around and met each other, we didn’t have any families or any of that. It was just being single and probably pretty stupid. But now it’s funny how things have changed ‘cause we’re all like, ‘Man, we’ve gotta get out of here so we can get home and see our family for three or four hours before we leave again,’” he said of his music buddies.
“I was joking around with Cody the other day (about) how things have changed. We still feel the same way … when it comes to the music side of it all. But there is a lot more responsibility.”
The singer-songwriter said he is proud to be part of the red dirt/Texas music scene, whose artists haven’t forgotten the feeling of playing near-empty bars and cling to the friendships forged during those uncertain days.
“The world of music is just, I think it’s a little shaken up right now. And so I think people really enjoy seeing that. Just our country right now likes to see those things. They like to see smiles on people’s faces doing what they love to do with their lives,” Bowen said.
“You know, I got friends that have lost jobs, lost houses, lost their retirement and all those things that are going on. And they really enjoy coming out to the shows and getting away from it all. And that’s a huge thing for us to be able to do that, have an impact on people.”
In concert
Wade Bowen with Modern Day Drifters
When: 9:30 tonight. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Where: Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E Sheridan Ave.
Information: 601-6276 or www.wormydog.com.
-BAM
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