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Mark Bowling
Reviews
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There should be a television series called "Survivor: The Songwriter"
That's because they have little choice. They have to write. They have little control of when it happens, sometimes coming at very inconvenient times. With few exceptions, songwriters are doing everything else in the world just to make a living. Go to almost any restaurant in Nashville and ask a waiter to sing one of his songs and chances are he will do it and never drop the salad. Writing songs is not an overnight process. Many of them take years with the beginnings written on napkins, post it notes, or receipts; notes written on the back of the hand that come from the back of the soul looking for light. There are 16 here and they are definitely views from Mark Bowling's Room. It's a room that looks out on the country, a country that's more than boots, jeans, and a guitar. Mark's country is one where you feel the horse beneath you, where you can feel the life all around you, and sometimes even smell the far off rain that's on it's way. "I Was A Cowboy" will take you there. "The Storm" is really about shelter given by the ones you love. All really good songwriters are melodic autobiographers. "Monsters" stirs the kid in all of us who want all that innocence back. "Speak To Me" speaks to the human frailty of romance and it's redemption and it's sung with the love of his life. "What's Your Favorite Color" captures those first exhilarating moments when you first fall in love. There are sad songs here but there are some that let us laugh at who we are such as "The Diet". There's a little of everything; about raising kids, raising hell.....but it's mostly about Mark Bowling's views from a room called Hope. The next time you pass a honky-tonk with a sputtering neon sign that reads:
It may be another tomb of an unknown songwriter. So here's is your chance to know one
(As reviewed by Ron Lyons) Ron Lyons spent over 40 years as a radio personality at dominant radio stations in San Francisco and also created and produced the biography CD of the legendary songwriter: "Mickey Newbury: An American Treasure" |
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Kicking off the show, the top three contestants from the Colgate Country Showdown were given a chance to prove why they should be winners. Mark Bowling, I have to say hands down, was the winner from the moment he walked on stage. Mark sang a song he wrote for his son, “Live Like a Man” and not only was his song outstanding, his performance was as well. I think Mark needs to head to auditions for Nashville Star 3 next year. (I am trying to send you some talented people Tracy!) Of course, in the end it was Mark Bowling who was declared the winner as I predicted.
Indiana Country Music Expo 2004 |
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By Chris Green The Hutchinson News cgreen@hutchnews.com It's a dream that didn't seem all that far-fetched at this year's 24th Annual Colgate Country Showdown state competition. After all, Scott City's Heather Shelley, the winner at last year's fair event, launched her career by ultimately winning the Colgate Country Showdown National Final and a $100,000 prize. Singer-songwriter Mark Bowling, 34, Arkansas City, earned the first shot to follow in Shelley's footsteps by winning Sunday's showdown, the state level of America's largest country music talent search. Playing solo, with just his acoustic guitar, Bowling sang two songs he'd written himself, including a witty ditty called "The Diet." That song about a woman who dumps the man who constantly complains about her weight - and thus loses some unnecessary pounds - was based on real-life experiences of one of Bowling's friends and brought both laughter and applause from the audience. Bowling, who's written songs for years but stopped pursuing a career in music to raise his son, now 15, said he was surprised to win the competition - and the $1,000 check that came with it. "It was just incredible," Bowling said, "really outstanding." Now, Bowling, a construction company owner, will compete in the Southwest Regional Showdown at Sky City Casino in New Mexico. The winner at that competition will advance to the national final. "We're going to try to give it another shot," Bowling said of his music career. Competition host Pat Moyer of KZSN 102.1 in Wichita said he was impressed by the level of talent in the competition, which featured everything from covers to originals of different styles of country music. All contestants won the right to perform by winning local competitions sponsored by radio stations across the state. "When you get to this level, the folks are good," Moyer said. The fact that last year's champion, Shelley, went on to be so successful only added to the excitement at Sunday's showdown, Moyer said. "You generate a new excitement for a show like this," Moyer said. The competition also included Sarah Good of Garden City and 11-year-old singer, guitarist and yodeler Emalea Dell of Grove, Okla. The other contestants were: Jesse Casement, Wichita; Lil' County, McCook, Neb.; Doug Mellen, Caney; Paula Prosser, Tonganoxie; and David Richard, Manhattan. 09/19/2005; 1:33:36 AM |