Raybob (Robert Raymond) Bowman - Multi-instrumentalist playing pedal steel guitar, dobro, guitar, bass, fiddle and vocalist in northern California, performed his first paid gig with “The Bobsâ€, (Bob Peacher, Bob Ross, Bob Bowman) at age 12 for a sorority party and earned a whopping 5 dollar bill back in Fort Thomas, KY. “I was playing the bass line on the low strings of my guitar on that gig because there was no bass players our age. Mom got me a bass later that year.†He played electric and upright bass for Highlands High School for all vocal concerts and electric bass with the 14 piece jazz band. He was in various bands during high school performing music such as Hendrix, Cream, then later, Allman Brothers.Moving to San Francisco in '75 with dreams of playing bass in rock bands, he was introduced to his first taste of country music. “All the rock bands had garage rehearsals with no gigs but Dave Judd, C&W singer, had real gigs. I learned all the songs but really had to learn to KISS (keep it simple stupid).†Interest in C&W really grew after seeing Willie Nelson in concert with his two drummers and Emmy Lou and the Hot Band w/James Burton on lead. Then Dave Judd let him tape his record collection including George Jones, Ernest Tubb, Emmy Lou Harris, Jerry Jeff, etc. They added a steel guitarist, Joe Shelby. Joe got a new double neck and sold the old Maverick to Raybob which he learned and began gigging and recording with the likes of Mike Brown, Bobby Veltre, Kitty Margolis, Naomi Ruth Eisenberg (Dan Hick & the Hot Licks), Dale Pryor, Bill Bowen (Sons of Champlin), Western Electric, Harry Moore, Pete Charles, Hickory Switch, and the Cowpokes with Bobby Lee. The Cowpokes backed up the Judd's on their first stage performance at the Rancho Nicasio before they left the bay area for their Nashville fame.
In 1978, he moved back to northern KY/Cincinnati area taking up mechanical design/drafting to actually try to earn a real living. Weekends always found him gigging or recording or sitting in with the likes of Randy Black, Junior Spivey, Ed Spivey, Nick Root, Kevin Tolle, Fritz & Linda Brown, Dillard Anderson, Scotty Anderson, Ben Studer, Orangie Hubbard, James Woods, Rick Jacobs, Frank Hammonds, Shawn Hammonds, Junior Bennet, Boxie, Bobbie Mackie, Dave Short, to name but a few.
1992, he moved back to the SF bay area performing and recording with “Cheyenne Bodieâ€, Doc West, KSAN's Frank Terry, The Bounty Band, Hayfever and others. He moved to Big Sur performing solo guitar at Fernwood and Big Sur Inn and Memphis Blues restaurant in Monterey, then moved to South Lake Tahoe performing with The Outpsyders swing band, later Big Skinny String band and currently "Cash Only Band"- Tribute to the Man in Black.
Currently Raybob has his home studio operational with Adobe Audition and Protools where he can overdub tracks for his friends and others that need backup tracks added. He's been the entire backup band for two singers from South Lake Tahoe. If you can use steel, dobro or other tracks added to your project, feel free to inquire. With modern technology, working with other studios is a breeze. He now has a company manufacturing remakes of the blackface Fender amplifiers at Tube-Tone.com
Merry Ghost Riders
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