Chris Bowen is an American musician and has been performing and recording in the U.S. for over 16 years. His first professionally produced album was for the rock band, “Greedy FLY,” as lead guitarist and backing vocals. In 2007, his song writing gained him a management agreement under a major recording industry leader and a recording contract with a multi-million dollar studio in Southeastern Connecticut.
In 2015, he received production and publishing support from the Boston based indie label Brewhouse Records and Aberrant Sound Studios. His highly anticipated debut album, “KINGS AND QUEENS,” ties together themes of conquering adversity through perseverance and motivation. Easily relatable, the tone creates a classic atmosphere of love, life, and reality that resonate with his audience.
In this interview feature, we chat with Chris about influences, his newest project and more.
Full Q&A along with links and a stream of Picture below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
I’ve always been a fan of rock and popular music since I was little. My parents always had the radio going which mostly blasted classic rock. I guess you could say rock n’ roll is genetic (laughs).
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
I’ve been writing and performing original music for almost 20 years. I’ve found that audiences have a deep appreciation for music you create vs music you replicate.
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
I like to listen to the originators of certain genres; those folks inspire me. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath – they spawned hard rock. Alice in Chains opened heavy grunge. Beatles and Stones went through phases of pop to certain dark aspects that I really dig. Its an eclectic mix but historical music figures and their accomplishments motivate and inspire me the most.
Tell us about your single “Picture”:
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific with this single? Creatively or otherwise?
Picture went through an evolution that opened my eyes to the collaborative song writing process. I’ve enjoyed working with producers in the field who have a great range of experience regarding publication, industry recognition and notoriety. They’ve taught me A LOT! From a personal perspective, I wanted to create a song that resonated with everyone in its story-telling and melody. I wanted the music to not only communicate a message of personal strength but to be dance-worthy and uplifting to the audience.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Vinyl. I’m an analog man in a digital world.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Streaming and the ability to download has made for an availability of music to the public that, before recently, had been unprecendented. Artists do not necessarily need the distribution power of a major label to get their music out to the public if correctly planned; brick and mortor distribution is (and has been) a crumbling business model. The industry still reels many years later from the advent of the internet for capitalizing upon distributing and showcasing music. Instead of suing Napster, song sharing should’ve been embraced, directed and managed to stem the bleeding. But I digress…
I’m a strong supporter of artist-rights so until Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming outfits start paying artists fairly for their music I’m reserved in my opinion from a creator-perspective.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
Promotion is still a challenge. People have many avenues of access to music. An artist has many avenues of access for digitally distributing their music. But the promotion of music to get it in front of and heard by the listener takes a lot of money and continues to elude a large portion of struggling artists.
Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?
I’ve gigged and performed for years! I haven’t live streamed…yet. We’re looking to start the booking process for the new music shortly since we recently wrapped up a live TV performance and interview as our “maiden voyage.” You’ll find us in Boston, Providence and New York City to begin.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
You can find the music at my facebook page, reverbnation and website:
And you can find it on any major digital distributor like iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc.
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
Thanks so much for reaching out and being willing to talk about my new single, “Picture!” A big shout out to my producer and the band! Without Brian, I wouldn’t have anything recorded. Without Stan, Steve and Mike, I’d be playing solo to my couch. And of course, my family for their unending support!
Play what you love and love what you play!
