Robbie Bowden began playing music in the 1960s and has not stopped since.
His memoir, “Been Around,” details his life in the music industry from living in Arizona, Colorado and his life in Brown County, including the early days of rock and roll here, and the times when he rubbed elbows with the rich and famous.
“He was something of a wandering minstrel: A Brown County troubadour,” a press release about the book says.
Bowden wrote the book with the help of local writer Jeff Tryon.
Bowden played key roles in two major musical happenings in the county: The String Bean String Band and the Liar’s Bench/My Brown County home series.
Bowden has been back in Brown County for a little over 10 years now after a life that led him to living periodically in four states. “I’m not going anywhere except maybe an overnight gig somewhere. That’s about it. I am perfectly content just to stay here,” he said.
He still performs. He has a trio with fiddle player Carolyn Dutton and Stephanie Walker.
“I’ve been really busy from just about the end of winter going into spring, it’s been real steady,” he said.
The memoir also features photos from Bowden’s childhood and musical career. Well-known local musicians John Franz, Slats Klug and Dave Gore are featured, along with many other popular musicians from all over the country.
“I have a whole wall full of pictures of me in different bands and different things,” Bowden said.
“I’ve been really lucky to be considered an equal to people like those people.”
Gore wrote the foreword for the book. The two have played music together for almost 60 years.
“Robbie and I are lifelong musical brothers and we’ve shared a ton of laughs over the years,” Gore wrote.
“A troubadour, “road scholar,” and local music legend; I’m glad he came back home to Brown County to continue his musical legacy.”
Q: What’s this book about?
A: It’s my memoirs. It’s about my childhood in Brown County and then my musical life. Some experiences and some of the people I’ve rubbed elbows with and played music with. Some fairly famous people: Roger McGuinn of the Byrds, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Bob Henke with Goose Creek Symphony and also Dr. Hook and Medicine Show. I worked with some guys who later on became Glen Campbell’s band. This was out in Arizona. … JJ Cale, Slats Klug, of course, I was on all of his Brown County CDs. There are others: John Hartford, John Vassar Clements, the fiddle player. The Dillards, they were the Darlings family on “The Andy Griffith Show.” I did a gig with them and had a nice conversation with a couple of them. Billy Ray Latham who was the third banjo player for The Dillards was in a band with me in Colorado for about a year or so.
Q: What inspired you to write it?
A: I would tell people about my adventures and misadventures and my experiences. They said, “You have to write about that.” That went on for years, and of course, during those years, I made many more experiences. Somebody said they would help me out and they never came through. I got to thinking, “Jeff Tryon.” I really like his writing a lot and he has done other things about me and situations I have been involved with musically. … Jeff said, “Yeah, I would be glad to do it.” It took us about six months to put it all together and we released it in November last year. I had a book signing at the Playhouse on July 23. That was very successful. We also had a live performance. Some of my friends joined me and we played some music.
Q: Have you written any other books?
A: I’ve written a lot of songs forever, since the early ‘70s, but I’m not much of a salesperson, so people, if they hear something that I wrote that they like, they might want to take advantage of it by recording it. … (In the book) those are my words from my memories and Jeff recorded everything I had to say and put it in some kind of logical order because I was jumping from time period to time period, all over the place. He titled the sections and the chapters. Besides songs I do poetry, too. I’ve written poems forever — lots of free verse, some rhyming stuff, but that usually goes into being a part of the lyrics of a song. I like the free verse, observations of nature especially, sunsets, flowers, birds and rain, you name it.
Q: What keeps you busy during the day? What’s your day job?
A: I don’t have a day job. I might write some. I watch a lot of movies. I’m a real movie buff. I don’t watch commercial television. … I go to the library and I find movies at thrift stores and the dollar store has a bunch of movies. I take walks. Just kind of float around, take it easy. I was on the road for years performing. It was an adventure. It could be a grind driving from, say, Chicago to Grand Forks, North Dakota, straight through, the guys in the band switching driving the van and sleeping as best we could.
Q: What are your connections to Brown County?
A: I am a sixth-generation Brown Countian. I was born in Seattle because my dad, who was a fifth-generation Brown Countian, was in the Navy in World War II. My mother was from a small town in southwest Minnesota. She moved out to Seattle to live with her cousin. … Then she met my dad, this sailor from Brown County. … As soon as the war was over we were back here. I am a Brown Countian; I just happened to be born someplace else.
Q: What’s your writing ritual? In what environment do you work best?
A: I don’t have any schedule. If something comes to mind I jot it down. Sometimes it becomes a complete piece, either a song or a poem. I do these little short free verse poems. They’re not really haikus because they don’t have the proper amount of syllables most of the time. A haiku has to have so many syllables. I call them hillbilly haikus. … A lot of times a certain person will inspire me. I’ve written about different people in my life, mostly women. (With the book) it was either by phone or he would come to my place.
Q: What’s the last book you read? Do you have a favorite?
A: (I’ve read) all the way through that one, my book. I read articles in magazines, other publications. I have all kinds of books. It’s been a while since I’ve read a whole book through except for mine just to kind of go over it.
Q: Where can people buy this book, and for how much?
A: It says right on the cover: $20. That was Jeff’s idea. Weedpatch has a couple of copies. I try to keep them supplied with a couple of copies. My CD is also there at Weedpatch. The book is also on Amazon. The CD is basically either Weedpatch or me.
Q: Do you have any book signings or related events planned?
A: On Aug. 27 at the B3 Gallery. It’s in the Village Green building. There will be other local authors there as well, 4 to 7 p.m.
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B3 Gallery, 61 W. Main St., will host a local authors night on Friday, Aug. 27 from 4 to 7 p.m. All of the authors are from Indiana and the majority live in Brown County.
- Michelle Pollock, poetry
- Donna Cook, children’s books, coloring books
- Molly Myers, novel
- Dee Manzenberger, coloring book
- Sharon Bussert, novel
- Jamie and Gabriel Lehman, children’s books
- Nancy Chen Long, poetry
- Shana Ritter, novel
- Cynthia Stafford, novel
- Marilyn Wolfe, poetry
- Tom Hastings, poetry
- Robbie Bowden, non fiction
All are welcome to meet the authors and learn more about their works.
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