Steve Bowman

 

Inspired to bang out rhythms on coffee cans and pillows, Steve Bowman fell in love with the first drum set he laid eyes on. With encouragement from his uncle, who taught him to do a paradiddle, he moved on to his own set of sparkling blue Ludwig “Club Dates” in the third grade. Bowman owes his early education partially to the local juvenile hall, where his father worked and collected the unwanted records from kids thirsty for funk and soul. Accompanying the sounds of Bad Company, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, ELO, BTO and Earth, Wind, and Fire, he taught himself to play, and by age 23, set out on his first tour with the S.F. Band, The Looters. His work drew the attention of producer Dave Bryson, resulting in an audition and hiring as the drummer for Bryson’s new band, Counting Crows. Steve’s time with Counting Crows saw the release of August and Everything After, which sold over 7 million copies, performances on David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, and a spot on the Rolling Stones’ Voodoo Lounge tour. Steve and the band were able to see the world, as was the world able to see them on the covers of such magazines as Rolling Stone, Musician Magazine, and Hits.

Bowman left Counting Crows in late 1994 and went on to play briefly with Third Eye Blind. He has since played with John Wesley for the album Awake, as well as Penelope Houston on her album Tongue, including her European tour. He recorded with Luce on their debut record, which featured the song Good Day, later used in a series of films and TV shows.  More recently, Steve has recorded with Tremolo, Megan Stankard, and Keith Varon. His 2nd album with Luce, Neverending, featured the song Buy a Dog, the number 1 hit on a slue of radio stations nationwide. In the three years since the San Francisco radio station KFOG began releasing a local sampler CD, Steve has been featured on six tracks with 5 different bands. He currently tours with The Bittersweets, and has recently released the instructional book Groove Control.

Steve lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and continues to tour and record with great musicians.