James Bowman (musician)
| James Bowman | |
|---|---|
Bowman performing with Against Me! in 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Robert Bowman |
| Born |
May 14, 1980 St. Petersburg, FL |
| Origin | Gainesville, Florida, United States |
| Genres | Punk rock, Folk Punk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, singer, guitarist |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Labels | No Idea, Sabot, Fat Wreck Chords, Sire, Total Treble |
| Associated acts | Against Me!, The $cam$ |
| Website | www |
James Bowman (born May 14, 1980) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the punk rock band "Against Me!". Starting as a solo act in 1997, "Against Me!" eventually expanded into a quartet, having currently released 7 studio albums. Despite the various lineup changes over the years, Bowman has remained a constant member of Against Me! since 2001.
Bowman moved around frequently during his childhood, living briefly in Louisiana and Virginia. As a teenager, he lived in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he played in his first band, "The $cam$". Although "The $cam$" didn't get very much recognition outside of St. Petersburg, they did release a self-titled record, which can be found on the internet. Bowman is fairly shy and rarely talks about his childhood. He is the only child to a single mother, and has very little memory of his father, who died when James was aged two. Bowman attended Naples High School where he met Laura Jane Grace on the first day of freshman year in 1994. They soon dropped out of high school to play in punk bands. The two of them have remained close friends to this day.
In 2000, Grace convinced Bowman to move to Gainesville and began teaching him how to play Against Me! songs on guitar. They made a deal; Bowman could come on tour if he'd buy the guitar strings; which he agreed. Bowman first went on tour with Against Me! in 2000 shortly after the release of their self titled EP. It was a month and a half long tour which ended with car trouble. It was at this point Bowman left the band, though he returned several months later just after the recording of Crime as Forgiven by Against Me!. On April 23, 2001; while traveling south on I-75, heading home from their first tour as a 4 piece band, their van was hit by a semi truck. They landed upside - down in a ditch. No one was harmed but the van and equipment were destroyed. Bowman and [Kevin] Mahon, (drummer at the time) left the band. The band actually broke up for several months that year. Grace and [Dustin] Fridkin played as a duo for a brief time. Eventually Warren Oakes joined the band, and Bowman returned in December 2001 during the recording of "Reinventing Axl Rose". In 2002, Bowman starred in a short film entitled, "Boredom", with a few other friends. It was shot on location in Gainesville, FL. In 2003, "As the Eternal Cowboy" was released, followed by a tour documentary in 2004.
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