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magazine issue #072 — Aug 2012
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Having first stepped on stage with a guitar at the tender age of 15, local lad ALEX BOWEN recently stepped out of the collaborative band environment to set out solo. He spoke to KEVIN BULL about recording his solo debut EP. Why the need to ditch the Lucky Dutchmen and branch out solo? It was more of a mutual and gradual agreement, with myself having the final decision to pull the plug. I really had a great time with the Lucky Dutchmen and we had some amazing experiences but it had come to the time in my career that I needed to express myself entirely and not write collectively. We were a selfmanaged and independent band that worked really well together, both musically and with managing the band. I have taken a lot away from the whole experience with the Lucky Dutchmen and am very honoured to have played with them. How has your music changed by going solo? Going solo has brought forward a lot of my soul and early blues influence. Because it is now only me writing my music, I am able to string together all of my own influences and express them how I want. To me, it really makes my lyrics mean a lot more when the music behind the words is expressed in the same emotion. I listen to a lot of ballsy soul singers such as Joss Stone, Susan Tedeschi, Jon Stevens, and my guitar playing is influenced by players such as Jonny Lang, John Mayer, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Your debut single, ‘Wait for Me’, was recorded at Grove Studios. Can you tell us what it was like recording in such an environment? The experience at Grove was incredible. I had the debut single jitters on the morning of recording day but as soon as I arrived at the studio, I felt completely relaxed and focused. Even though Grove is situated right next to the freeway on the way to Sydney, the environment there, with beautiful rainforests and lots of greenery, really gives you a sense of seclusion. Engineer Ben Whincop and mixer Josh Telford gave me the full reins and were very easy to work with.
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Are you planning on completing the upcoming EP also at Grove? I’m stoked with the sound that was captured at Grove, and very much intend to stay there for a few days at the end of the year, in their three-bedroom house connected to the studio, to finish the fivetrack EP which will be released late January 2013. Your first live performance was alongside Paul Kelly. How did this come about? This came about from my ex-drummer’s (Tom Myers, Papa Vs Pretty) father who worked at Tamberlaine Winery where the concert was held. We put together a quick home-recording demo and he pulled some strings to get us on the bill. It was pretty surreal being only 15 and having a cup of tea with Paul Kelly backstage before the show. Paul was very welcoming to us young players and I hope to reconnect with him on another show somewhere along the line. Does Newcastle have a blues underbelly that supports like-minded artists? Newcastle has a blues scene that has slowly been rebuilt. Blues-influenced artists such as Benjalu, Zoe K, Funkwit, myself and many others are now spoilt with options for venues, who are more than happy to have blues riffs and soul singers fill their rooms. Venues such as the Great Northern, The Lass, Wickham Park Hotel and even the Cambridge are opening their doors to more blues artists now than any other genre. It seems the belly of the blues beast in Newcastle is beyond just being stirred up. The blues scene is as much part of Newcastle as the surfing and nightlife culture that the city has been renowned for for years. Alex Bowen performs at the Brewery, Byron Bay on Saturday August 11; Grand Junction Hotel, Maitland, on Friday August 24; Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Islington, on Saturday August 25.
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