Greetings public!

 Again, I apologize for taking so long to finally update my website, or if nothing else a new entry. 

First things first, I have CHANGED my email address to Andrewbowers.bassist@gmail.com  so if you have any booking requests, please re-direct your emails there and make the changes to your address book!!!

 Okay, now onto actually filling you all in:

West of Eden just released our EP:  Sing if You Sing: The Overture   on July 15th in Omaha, NE at a venue called, The PS Collective.  Since then we have been booking shows to support this album, and will likely be at the heaviest of our booking in early fall!!  Gotta admit, we are very excited for the growth of this band!

In my own personal career, I recently acquired a teaching job that is completely awesome!  I get to work with kids who form a band and teach them all the finer things about being in an ensemble:  Writing tunes, arranging, dynamics of the band, image, business, presswork, and feeding their growth and hunger for making it in the modern day rock scene!  They have been absolutely great and a real treat to work with!  Looking forward to seeing them again in the fall!!!

As for my practice routine, I will admit, not too much has changed, though the minor things that have are crucial landmarks in my own playing.  I have begun to listen to other artists more, transcribe more, and spend a lot of my time refining my technique, touch on the bass, tone settings, etc. It has worked wonderfully and I write everything in my practice journal!  

I strongly recommend for you people that actually follow this if you are a musician to keep a practice journal and mark your progress and celebrate the milestones you pass!

Till my next post, take care!

Andy 

Hello readers!  

I realize that it has been quite sometime since I blogged about anything musical.  So here is a chance for me to hang my hat, grab a beverage, and chat with you! Lately I've been working quite hard on my progressive rock project, "West of Eden!"  Guitarist Kaleb McEwen, Drummer Seth McKenzie, and myself recently put some long hours into polishing up some old W.O.E tunes for an upcoming recording date in August!  We will be recording a 3-4 song EP which will help us throw our progressive sound to the wind!  The entire album is in pre-production right now and we will be entering Chicago's Flashpoint Academy for the Recording Arts in the second week of August to start cutting tracks! 

In other related news, West of Eden was fortunate enough to book a show at a local venue with the Prog-metal band, "Graphidum," and Dub-reggae artists, "Plain and Simple!"   The show was an incredible success with each band bringing talented, heartfelt, and energetic music to the club's listeners!  West of Eden will look forward to doing shows and collaborating more with our new and close friends, "Graphidum!"

Greetings all,

Okay, unfortunately spring break is over and I'm back to the daily grind.  However!  During spring break, I had the opportunity to visit high schools around the omaha metro area to recruit for some bass students for summer lessons.  The numbers look promising!  If you come across this site, please check my lessons page located on the right side of the site, send me an email, and I will schedule you in immediately!!!

 Additionally, the Western Illinois Jazz Rhythm section festival is coming up and I will have a chance to play with the Mike Kocher Trio, attend some master classes with the bassist, and be able to teach what I learned to my students!

I added a quotation and review page to my site so you can see what people have been saying about yours truly over the last few years! I also added more to my musical biography should you be interested in my background before signing up for lessons!!!

Keep swingin'!

Andy 

During summer break, one of my activities will be teaching bass lessons again.

Check out my Music Lessons page.   

Hello all that view this page,

I first must apologize for my lack of updates within the last month or so.  Much has happened musically and with life.  So now, as I'm taking a break from a rehearsal, I'm going to update this site with an entry

I've recently been bogged down with rehearsals with my jazz sextet (of which a name will decided shortly), playing gigs, practicing, and working on a big band chart!

News regarding my sextet: We are 3 weeks into rehearsals now, rehearsing 2-3 times a week now and we just finished our first show at a local jazz club here in Macomb, IL!  The first show was a success completely filling out the club with a variety of locals and students!  I've noticed the audience's demographics are appealing more to college kids, which is always a pleasant surprise to see people relatively close to my age enjoying bebop and modal jazz!  As of now we are currently deciding on a name that expresses the groups artistic and personal nature.  Additionally within the next two weeks we will be playing at other venues for a much larger crowd!  As the group expands it's taste in music, we're taking a little bit of an avant-garde / dark fusion direction for an edgier sound!

The Big Band Chart:  I've currently been writing a big band chart for my old high school jazz band to play!  I'm struggling with some of the voicings in the brass, keeping in mind the players I'm writing this for.  I hope it's a good learning experience for them as much as it is an opportunity for them to play something with a hip modern sound (not to boast)!  

The Practice Routine:  I've been logging 5-to 6 1/2 hour days running a variety of exercises, etudes, tunes, etc.  In my jazz studies I have been playing anywhere from 3-6 tunes a day in The Real Books Vol:1 and 2!  My bass professor encourages me to memorize chord changes and the melody to expand my musicianship, I have to confess, it's grueling but it has made me a better player!  My classical bass studies have been revolving around my change in bow grips from German to French.  As I'm becoming more familiar with the mechanics of each bow and their uses for specific situations, I find myself having a soft spot in my heart for both grips!  I'm currently working out of Sturm's 110 Exercises for Double bass and running the odd-ball scales (Db maj, Bb min, F#maj) 3 octaves with a bow!  It truly tests your intonation, your left hand technique, and your persistence with such a demanding discipline.  With Electric bass, I'm running every scale you can think of in all 12 keys, even some interesting altered scales such as:  Diminished whole-tone, lydian augmented, lydian minor, phrygian dominant, whole-tone, in-sen pentatonic, etc.  

Self development:  I've been taking the time to make sure that my personal life is just as much intact as my music life is.  Going out of my way to spend time with friends, family, loved ones, reading books, watching movies, etc.  All things that truly do affect your creativity.

Studio: I will be returning to Omaha, NE during my spring break March 16th to see if any young student from middle school to college would like to take bass lessons.  My emails are at-bowers@wiu.edu, and abowers56@cox.net.  Either one of these accounts are checked multiple times daily, and I would be more than happy to discuss rates and times with anyone interested.  

Anyway,  with all of that being said, it's time for me to get back to my rehearsing and work!  

Drop a line on any of my email accounts, write a response to what you think of this entry, mainly... just keeping listening and exploring who you are as musician, but most importantly, who you are as a person!  

Swing out!

 Andy 

       This photo is the legendary Bob Mintzer and myself playing his original tune, "Run for Yer Life"

  With the JSO featuring Chris Vadala at the Green Mill in Chicago 2007

There are moments when reading Rolling Stone, AP, or Downbeat that I thought to myself that the icons and idols inked on to the paper were untouchable.  As I grew to learn more about playing with others, I learned one fact that to me is the core of playing in ensemble.  Each band or group started out with a connection.  A connection that not only allowed each member to grow, but their collective musicianship to be nourished.  A true musicians strength comes from the musician standing next to him...  

 I am thankful enough to share the stage with my best friends... bottom line.

Andy Bowers Music is a place where I can hang my hat, set down my bass, and express a little about myself.  Oh, you will still see me on Facebook, MySpace, and maybe Twitter since this Blog tool has a Twitter RSS feed, but here I have room to spread my thoughts out.

Check back often as I hope to have pictures, and stories that I update after each little adventure I take.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Andy